The LT... Thomas' Luxury Tent

[S. Heisley]

Hi, Thomas:

Sorry to hear about your delamination problem. Yes, that nasty storm that you went camping in probably was the culprit. But, the potential problem had to have already been there. It's a good thing that you are still working on your teardrop because that may have enabled you to find the delamination sooner, thus keeping the damage minimal.

I'm fairly certain that you know 'Fill-it' stays white when it cures; but, just in case you don't, you know now. If you can save the area with CPES followed by the same fiberglass method that you used on your visible seams, it might not show as bad...don't know.

Water can be insidious and delamination is something that all of us must fight, regardless of how experienced at building we might be. Therefore, delamination is one of the most alarming words in a td/ttt builder's vocabulary. With your attitude, you will win against it. You've done a good job on your teardrop and continue to do so. I'm cheering for you.

[2bits]

Yeah, Tom, I remember seeing that before, I didn't think I needed it since my hatch never leaks. I see a new reason for it now!

Sharon, You can see in my pic the white stuff is the "Fill it" I was just thinking of sealing the end grain with the fill it stuff after I dump 6 million gallons of CPES on top of the end grain. That seemed to have worked for the door and door jamb. That might not get deep down enough in this instance since it has already started to separate but that may actually allow it to penetrate further since there is open space in there now.

Wes, Wow I would love to do the whole thing in Fiberglass but since the walls are standing up now, I am afraid of how it will work, I would hate to ruin the finish! I would definitely be practicing first, but that may be what it comes to!

Thanks for all the kind posts. I am gonna order the CPES tomorrow and finish my galley drawer in the meantime.

[S. Heisley]

Thomas:

CPES does drip and run a lot and might make its way down to the bottom of the damage. However, if you can get to a feed store, you might be able to get a horse's injection syringe. That way, you can possibly inject the CPES into the damaged area and be certain. The Rot Doc also sells a special injection system but it would cost a bit.

[Laredo]

push comes to shove and you can't get to Gebo's for a cattle-sized syringe,
you can try a cake-deco place for the "writing icing" syringes ... they're about half the size of a turkey injector....

[planovet]

I have cattle sized syringes

[Prem]

Wooden boat building technique for end grain (including plywood end grain):

a) Mix epoxy, then add a little acetone to achieve the viscosity of cooking oil. Apply with foam roller or foam brush to end grain.

b) Repeat when the first batch starts to set up. (This gives a chemical bond with the previous coat of epoxy.)

c) When the second batch starts to set up, apply a third coat without the acetone and mix in micro balloons (glass beads). Apply by hand with thick rubber glove forcing the putty down into the pores of the end grain. Trowel with a putty knife to make it even.

d) When hardened, sand lightly with medium grit sand paper. The end grain is now water proof.

In the alternative, you can use Bondo (polyester resin based). But it doesn't bond to the wood nearly as well as epoxy.

For what it's worth,

Prem

[doug hodder]

So sorry to see that damage Thomas....what a drag. If it were to have delaminated only and not the dark staining on the rest of the ply it wouldn't be so bad. A regular epoxy might seal it faster and build thicker more quickly than the CPES. I always dread major rain/wet snows, as it brings out any potential problems. Doug

[Miriam C.]

Awe that is rough! I am beginning to question CPES on new wood. I used marine epoxy on mine and think I would do it again. I have an issue on the door bottom and am not real sure how it sucked it up. Water just does as it pleases. I do hope you get it fixed.......

[2bits]

I remember that I had an extra 1/2" notch when I was doing my hatch, and I be I didn't didn't seal that one place. I am going to use the CPES to sink into the end grain, and then us their "filli-it" to completely seal the end grain edge. This has worked pretty well on the rest of the trailer, I had some water soak in on a previous camping trip (A real soaker) and CD and I sealed the end grain around the doors and I haven't seen any issues there since, so I feel ok that this will fix it up. at least I was already planning on extending the side trim down into the hatch area so that will cover up most of the discoloration.

Mark, I have a syringe that I got for giving my cat medicine in his mouth that I could never get hin to take, so I think I will try that one for the CPES, but are you talking about an actual syringe with a needle point that I could inject into the wood??? That is a good idea, and I might take you up on it if so!

Thanks for all the concern and ideas too.

[2bits]

On a lighter note, since I couldn't go camping this weekend, I was able to finish my Galley Cabinets. I really like the drawer. I didn't get the 100# drawer slides, I just thought that was over kill and the $5 ones will work fine for me, they aren't full extension, but I can get to everything just fine, and it looks pretty cool to me. The one on the far left is so skinny, I just left it a cabinet door, so I can fit my wheel chocks, propane canisters, trash bags and paper towels and whatever I can cram in there,





I thought about putting the hinges for the center piece on top so it would extend the countertop, but I didn't like the way it looked with the hinges on top and I also have plenty of counter top space, and I don't want to damage the face of the cabinet door with hot stuff or whatever, putting the hinges on the bottom will be perfect for setting tall stuff on it, and I don't have to sorry about messing up the finish as much, but I probably won't even use it anyway since I have so much counter top space anyway, but I figured why I didn't use it as a countertop extension would be a common question.

Now onto the slider tray for the cooler. I'll be putting the better sliders on this one...

[WesGrimes]

Looking good Thomas
That Galley is a head turner

[S. Heisley]

Good job, Thomas. Your galley has a nice neat and clean look about it.

How deep is that top cabinet with the sliding doors on it? Does it have a shelf in it or is it a cubby hole style or?

[2bits]

Thanks guys! Sharon, I haven't done much with that area but there is about 7 inches between the sliding doors and the back of the TV and the back of the skinny books cases that are on both sides of the TV. On the two sides it is a full open pass through space. I plan on putting a small 3" rail to kind of separate the sections, but I wanted it accessible from the inside as well as the outside because that it the Pantry where I will keep all the food and snacks. Here's a couple of old pics that might help since the TV and stuff isn't on there, it is all pretty open. I had also thought about putting another set of sliding doors in, but they would be screen doors so I could have an additional breeze but I still haven't decided what I am going to do with that area yet! Right now, I just shove stuff in there

A shelf eh?? hmmm




I got a real find at an estate sale today for $3! It is an old timey hand held mirror:

and check out the back!


And even better, it folds to where it is self standing! When it is flat I can store it between two books in my bookshelf so it is safe for travel! Awesome!

[aggie79]

Thomas,

I'm glad to see that one of us is getting something done.

Your galley cabinets, and particularly the pull-out drawer, are really cool...and functional. Nice find on that mirror!

[planovet]

I don't know Thomas, something about that mirror creeps me out