Northwestern Build - Updated 7/4/2010 - Done!

[BigDaddyCool]

you got carpentry skills!!!

looking real good keep up the good work !

[starleen2]

Do you think this thing is going to be strong enough???

YES! I didn't use that much framing, but of course, My trailer does have weight restrictions. It will be solid enough. FYI - Rayvillian (gary) Gave me some advise on building the hatch. Build it in place and temporarily screw it to the sides. That's what he did and I followed the advise. It was definitely easier and ensured that the hatch fit properly and tolerances were in check.

[starleen2]

Do you think this thing is going to be strong enough???

YES! I didn't use that much framing, but of course, My trailer does have weight restrictions. It will be solid enough. FYI - Rayvillian (gary) Gave me some advise on building the hatch. Build it in place and temporarily screw it to the sides. That's what he did and I followed the advise. It was definitely easier and ensured that the hatch fit properly and tolerances were in check. Just gotta love the Aircomperssor mount (never seen one on a tear and the Box fan, but I also live in Texas and in the summer time its needed

[aggie79]

Bill,
You are movin' along. If I don't visit soon, you'll be done. Everything is looking incredible!
Tom

[wlivesey]

Bill,
You are movin' along. If I don't visit soon, you'll be done. Everything is looking incredible!
Tom

Thanks, Tom. It's changing everyday... My wife really want's to go camping this summer. I can't believe we're only two months into the build.

[wlivesey]

I'm thinking of adding a very large front window - right on the curve. It will give us a great view of the stars and really make the camper feel a lot bigger inside.

I've done a bit of research on building my own windows but I haven't seen any done like this. (That might be for a good reason)

How do you think I could make this happen??? I'm thinking about an aluminum frame with a lexan pane but I've never done anything like this before.

[Alan Wood]

I think sealing the curved window against rain will be troublesome.

[starleen2]

Sealing the entire window and creating the frame work for the weatherstripping seal shouldn’t be that difficult –Kind of like the old style car windows with a rubber H gasket. However the problem comes in bending a rather large sheet of lexan with out distortion, bubbling, or condensing water on the polycarbonate. It would look cool though fi you have the means to do so
Some useful links about forming lexan
http://www.wisil.recumbents.com/wisil/bubbles/hpvbubbles.htm
http://www.wizdforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4119
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=6842

[Prem]

Bill,

I agree with the others. From my experience, that curved window is going to be near-impossible to make happen. Even if you did get Lexan to curve that much, it's constant pressure trying to go flat will likely cause leaks to appear. Even if you heat formed it to fit, it wouldn't be perfect and uniform, resulting in a bad fit and leaks.

Instead, why don't you move it up to make it a flat skylight on the roof? Skylights let in more light than windows on walls. It could therefore be even smaller. No stress. No leaks.

What do you think?

Prem

[bobhenry]

LEXAN ???


MORE LIGHT ???




This was 3/16 +/- and it bends to a 2 foot radius on a real hot day real slowly. It will let you know if its unhappy.

SNAP !

[wlivesey]

Bill,
I agree with the others. From my experience, that curved window is going to be near-impossible to make happen. Even if you did get Lexan to curve that much, it's constant pressure trying to go flat will likely cause leaks to appear. Even if you heat formed it to fit, it wouldn't be perfect and uniform, resulting in a bad fit and leaks.
Prem

I went to home depot last night and took a look at the Lexan (and Plexiglass) they had on the shelf. I don't recall how thick it was but it was VERY easy to bend. The Plexi, on the other hand was very stiff. I've seen a few other threads where folks talked about heat forming etc. It didn't seem as though it would be nessesary with the Lexan. Of course, it may just be that what I was looking at was too thin. Surely, thicker Lexan would be harder to bend.

Instead, why don't you move it up to make it a flat skylight on the roof? Skylights let in more light than windows on walls. It could therefore be even smaller. No stress. No leaks.

What do you think?

Prem

I'm not ruling out the idea, infact, a skylight was our first thought. The front window, where I have it placed, would act like a skylight and a window. Even better if I can work it out!

This was 3/16 +/- and it bends to a 2 foot radius on a real hot day real slowly. It will let you know if its unhappy.

I'm going to have to take another look at the stuff I saw at home depot, it was definately, "LEXAN", and seemed to bend very easily. How did you attach/seal the lexan to your tear?

[wlivesey]

Sealing the entire window and creating the frame work for the weatherstripping seal shouldn’t be that difficult –Kind of like the old style car windows with a rubber H gasket. However the problem comes in bending a rather large sheet of lexan with out distortion, bubbling, or condensing water on the polycarbonate. It would look cool though fi you have the means to do so
Some useful links about forming lexan
http://www.wisil.recumbents.com/wisil/bubbles/hpvbubbles.htm
http://www.wizdforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4119
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=6842

Excellent links! Thanks!

[wlivesey]

Here is a curved lexan window on a boat. Very cool. It was done by a company called Maritime Plastics. No doubt it can be done... Can it be done by me? That's the question...

[starleen2]

Here is a curved lexan window on a boat. Very cool. It was done by a company called Maritime Plastics. No doubt it can be done... Can it be done by me? That's the question...

Here's a print from Mechanix Illustrated plans for the trimuter windshield forming

[the pvc bike guy]

I've been making some progress this week but nothing that really makes a great picture so I though I would post a few more pictures of what I'm building. As always, I look forward to your feedback...





I'm thinking of making a dinette instead of another cabinet and potti storage. Something like this... Thoughts? Suggestions?

won't that be heavy to lift to the up position for sitting or is there a helper to lift the back. O were did you get your plans?