Today was a good day. The The pied-Ã -tear 11/24/09

[caffeine]

The first day of realy nice weather since I started building. I only left my carport for snack breaks and to run to harbour freight for a trailer jack. The bucket was getting too dangerous.


$25. This jack is made to mount on a straight tounge, but I put it on the inside so the rod is centered and the crank is free of the hitch and box.

[caffeine]

The walls are up!


I bought a little "Band File" belt sander. It's 1/2 inch of sawdust making exacerbation. I can compound my mistakes at a faster rate than ever before!


Gwendolyn is trying out our new pillows.

[caffeine]

Haven't posted in a little while. I've had plenty to do, but I'm getting close to the roofing stage and my 1/8" luan hasn't come in yet. I've got a backup plan, but it sucks.


The baby's bunk is installed and the ceiling is in.


The bunk from the inside. It will have a brace and rail on the front so it shouldn't need that diagonal brace there, but I'm leaving it for now.

[caffeine]

My 1/8" luan finally came in so I've been trying to get caught up so it doesn't have to sit around for too long. Finished my wiring runs and sanded it all up. Tomorrow I'll try my hand at the bendy plywood.



Finished the insulation!



All sanded, pink and smooth like a baby's bottom.



Rear view as I shut down for the evening. The mosquitos are insane lately.

[planovet]

Looking good!

No galley?

[caffeine]

Nope, no galley. It's got a baby bunk in that area. I went for the simplest build I could make myself attempt. It's light, cheap, and I hope to be camping in a couple more weeks. The one concession I made was the sandwich construction, insulating all but the floor.



I bent my first sheet of ply. It started well but I ended up with a nasty ripple along the edges, especially on the right side. Strapping, clamping and weighting just didn't cut it. So I solved the problem with about 200 tiny nails.

Question: What type of filler or bondo should I use? I'll be using several coats of penetrating epoxy.

[caffeine]

Well, that took longer than I expected. I had to special order my luan, so I didn't complain that it was pretty shabby by the time I got my hands on it. The broken corners determined the orientation for me, so I was stuck with huge football voids and the veneer was wrinkled and even folded over in several places. The amount of filling and sanding was probably double what it would have been with nicer peices. This was the longest day yet on the trailer, but I got my seams patched and my corners smooth. I put on my first coat of epoxy before it got dark.



Ahh, nice and smooth.

[grizz]

Great progress.

I hope all my bits come together as easy as that.

[caffeine]

Another tough day, but all in all things went pretty well. If I can get a few more things done, we are taking down near Houston for the Renaisance festival next weekend. It means I'll have to undo and redo a little work (like the door, window, and fan) but I'm going to let the epoxy age for a month or so anyway before painting it up. I'm considering fiberglassing it, but I'm not quite there yet.



Here it is with most of a coat of epoxy.

[CPnthrfan]

really looks good

[caffeine]

pied-à-terre [pee-ey-duh-tair] a residence for part-time or temporary use.

So my wife has named our trailer the pied-à-TEAR!



Shimmed the door...



taped the hinge with 1" tape. On one half I drilled throught the tape, on the other I drilled through the spaces.



windows, door, and vent are installed for our weekend trip.

[caffeine]

Start date: 08/29/09 - First camp: 11/20/09

The pied-à-tear still needs a TON of work, but my goal is to not let the work interfere with our camping schedule. I hope to be meeting some of you soon at some gatherings!



Here we are about to start the maiden voyage.



This is the last morning before we left.

[teardrop_focus]

Eric the Caffiene

The pied-à-tear still needs a TON of work, but my goal is to not let the work interfere with our camping schedule.

That's the spirit, dewd!

You will refine/develop your teardrop as your little girl grows over the next couple of years... and those first teardrop camping years she will never forget for the rest of her life.

Looking forward to viewing the continued evolution of your rig.

[S. Heisley]

Teardrop Focus wrote:

That's the spirit, dewd!

You will refine/develop your teardrop as your little girl grows over the next couple of years... and those first teardrop camping years she will never forget for the rest of her life.

Looking forward to viewing the continued evolution of your rig.

+1

[Chris D]

She is beautiful and you da man taking the rig out for dat trip

I cant wait to take my little Scarlett camping

Chris D