The Squidget Pop Top build is on.

[cracker39]

Yesterday, I installed the first "raised panel" that will support the pop top. Today I expect to get the other three installed and the top on by the end of the weekend.

If anyone is interested in the cost of building this trailer, I keep a spreadsheet with all purchases. Sometimes I’ll list something like a box or bag of screws or a 10-pack of paint tray liners, but may not use every item. I’m also keeping costs for the basic trailer and luxury or extra items separate. The reason for this is to have a low-ball cost for a basic trailer with no frills, and another for the fully equipped trailer.

I’ve purchased most of the materials and items for the basic trailer except for some additional lumber for cabinetry, seat/bed cushions plus fabric to cover them, spray paint for the side stripes, and some cabinet hardware. Currently, my basic trailer cost is at $2829. The materials and items yet to be purchased could run the basic trailer cost up to between $3300 and $3400.

What I call luxury items or extras is another matter. These include the 2-burner cooktop unit, cabinet mounted ice box, porta potty, spare tire and wheel, propane tank, AC unit, leveling jacks, TV and accessories (wall mount, connectors, coax cable, etc.), AM/FM/MP3 receiver and accessories (speakers, antenna, mount), portable gray water tank, and the Fantastic Fan. The cost so far for the luxury item/extra category is up to $753 and I haven’t bought the 19â€

[GPW]

Er, Cracker , what about Labor ??? What's the cost of that??? .... If we charged ourselves like an RV dealer the TD would end up worth 10 times as much ...

[cracker39]

One can't consider labor when talking about the cost of building a trailer, or we couldn't afford ourselves. We'd have to go out and buy something. I didn't get anything for my labor when I sold the Squidget, but if I sell the PT, I will surely try to get something above the cost put into it, but most folks just don't want to pay the same for a home built as they would for one from a dealer.

From 9AM until 12:30PM I worked on installing the other three wall panels for the pop top. I finished adding the weather stripping, caulking of the panes and completed the installation and caulking of the vinyl molding on the outside of the panels. With the panels mounted, I attached the four barrel bolts that keep the side panels locked to the end panels and support the side panels when they are lowered flat to drop the top.

It was trial and error as usual and I found that I had to reverse the two outside hinges on the end panels as when I tried to lower the side panel, the end hit the center pin of the outside hinge. I had to cut shallow notches in the bottom of the end panel and top of the raised edge so the center pin part of the hinge would fit into the cavity I made. With the hinge now flat on the outside the side panel lowered with no problem.

In the afternoon, I installed the Fantastic fan in the top except for stainless screws. I’ll have to buy some to replace the zinc screws I used to secure the fan with caulk to seal it. I hooked up the wiring for the fan and overhead light in the top and made a temp hookup to a small battery to make sure the fan and light has power when the cord for the top plugs into the power socket in the cabinet on the left side.

I also put in the ceiling paneling. The molding will wait until after the top is on and in the up position so it will fit up against the panels. I installed strips of 3/4â€

[cracker39]

Today my neighbor helped me get the pop top on top of the cabin. But, it won’t sit all the way down. Something is binding and I’m not sure what. I have an idea, but with the panels in place I can’t see very much. I suspect I’ll have to remove all four panels so I can get to the bottom of thecproblem. I think it has to do with the spacer strips I put in the top corners of the top, but it could be something else. I’ll get on it in the morning before it gets too hot to work inside the trailer. I may have to put the AC in the box and plug it in to work.

I worked some more on my rear stereo cabinet. It isn’t fancy cabinet work, but should look decent. I made the speaker boxes for two speakers, then found that one pair was deteriorating around the edges. I bought a new set of Sony Xplod 5â€

[bdosborn]

Dale,

Cool!

The pop top can really fight you but it looks like you're almost there.


Bruce

[cracker39]

At 7 PM, with the temp outside still at 89 degrees, it felt a little cooler, so I investigated my problem with the top. I found it. The aluminum angle I put on the end panels for the side panels to seal against is hitting the strips in the upper corners of the top. I just have to grind off an inch square from the lower end of the aluminum for clearance. That won’t affect the effectiveness of the aluminum as a seal against water getting in between the panels and should be a 10-15 minute job to set things right.

But, I’m not sure when I’ll get to the fix and I’ll tell you why. If you’re squeamish, you might want to skip the rest of this post.

My injured thumb isn’t healing properly. The cut was from beneath upward and back to one edge of the nail at it’s base. The upper part of the thumb has nearly no blood vessels left to feed it oxygen, so the tip at the top is mummifying as my Dr. put it. Tomorrow I go see a hand surgeon and I’m pretty sure the upper part of the tip of my thumb will be removed, perhaps with the nail and I have to start over with pain and healing. So, I’m not sure how long that might keep me from working. I guess I’ll have a stubby thumb from now on…well, that’s less to get in the saw blade if there’s a next time…lol.

[cracker39]

I went to the hand surgeon today and it was all good news. NO SURGERY required. He said that the upper tip of my thumb isn’t dead flesh, but is covered with a shell of hardened, dead skin that should come off in a week or two. The tip of the bone is separated and may not grow back to the thumb bone, but there shouldn’t be any complications from that. So, my work on the PT will remain uninterrupted except for temps too hot to work under the tarp of the portable garage. More progress later.

[S. Heisley]

That's good news on your thumb, Dale.

You're making good progress on the pop-top, too!

[cracker39]

I have good news and bad news regarding the pop top. Good news is that I figured out the problem with the tight clearances, getting the top to sit flat on the roof when down and how to make the seal between panels at the corners when it’s up without binding with the top.

The bad news is that unless the top and stand up area in the galley is made smaller, the top is too heavy for one person (my age and condition anyway) to lift it up, hold it up with one arm, and raise the panels. I managed to lift the front and swing the front end panel up into place, but lifting the back with the front up in the air adds to the weight being lifted and I didn’t count on that. It takes two arms for me to get the top up and I don’t seem to be strong enough to hold the top up with one hand to use the other to raise the rear panel.

Some time back, I dreamed up a manual lift mechanism to use one foot and leg to push down while pushing up with hands and arms and unless I can make my redneck engineered lift device work, then it will take two people to raise the top and swing the end panels up into place. Tomorrow I may work on that lift idea to see if it will really work Meanwhile, I’ll have to get someone to help me get the top and rear panel up into place so I can work on the clearance and seal problems.

[StandUpGuy]

I have a pop top in the works and I have been debating this very point about the weight and the complication. I am going to do the one hinge tilt up, but I think I am going to switch to fabric. I think it will be so much lighter and easier as well as I think it will be better at keeping the rain out.

You have to like the privacy and isulative qualities of the hard panels however. Also my original intention was to work an air condition opening into one of the fold down walls.

I hope you work it out.

[bdosborn]

Dale,

I don't know if this helps but:

I have the same problem with my top, it's freakin' heavy. I can lift it right now but I wonder about it as I get older. Can you use a pole and lift the back from the outside? Push it up with the pole and stick it on the bumper to hold it while you go in and raise the side? Maybe even use two poles, one for each back corner so its not so tippy?

Another thing I do is use my head. By standing on my tippy toes I can hold the top up while my arms work the sides. Maybe stand on a step so you can use your head?

Bruce

[fromeo]

Dale,

First off, good news on the thumb!

On the pop top, not exactly sure how things look, but a couple of thoughts..

Can you counter some of the weight with some gas struts? Could even be done on the outside..

Perhaps a linear actuator like Mike is using to lift the ends?

Or maybe even re-purpose a small scissor jack at each end to "crank up" the roof? That should be doable with a pivot point installed on top of each jack.

- Frank

[cracker39]

Frank, I've thought of gas struts and even queried one company about the lift in pounds of different struts. I'm just not sure how effective they'd be. I'm afraid that they might tend to pull the top too far one way or another when lifting one end. As to the linear actuator, I haven't seen that and should check it out. I've even looked into the home-built ram lift, but haven't found all of the parts to make one, specifically the rubber cup that goes inside that the compressed air pushes against to lift the top part.

What a day. I got my stereo cabinet installed in the rear of the cabin, but need a longer 10-32 bolt than came with the antenna to mount it in the wall, so that will wait until another trip to Home Depot. I still have to get fabric to put on the speaker cover frame. The wiring for the plug to the radio is all finished. As soon as I can get the antenna installed and connected, I'll test the system before permanently mounting the speakers and radio.

Then, I lowered the front of the top after removing the four pieces of aluminum angle that was keeping the top from sitting down on the roof. It’s flat now and I need to install the latches.



I couldn’t find my drawing of my redneck pop top lifting device, so I had to redesign it taking lots of measurements inside the cabin. It’s nearly finished,using scrap lumber and some 1" steel conduit for pivot points. I should be trying it out in the morning to see how it works. I’m almost, just about, maybe, fairly confident that it will perform as expected. But, then, I’ve been proven wrong before. Now, I'm wishing I had made the top a little smaller so it would be a little lighter.

[S. Heisley]

Dale:

I'm really surprised that your pop top is a problem. Isn’t it half the size of mine or is it bigger than that? What are its dimensions and how much does it weigh? I wouldn't think it would weigh more than 35 pounds, does it?

If your lifting device doesn't work, the easy way to lift it might be to change things so that one of the sides (or possibly the front) lifts first. That way, you could easily add a boat pad eye on one side of the roof and a push-pull pole to lift. You would just lift one side of the roof, steady the pole so it will sit by itself; go inside and put the lifting side in place and then do the same with the other side. If the roof area is small enough, you may be able to lift the second side without the pole. Once two sides are up, the remaining two sides should be easy.

I’m letting the cat out of the bag a little early with this; but, if it helps, it's worth it. Below is a picture taken when I was just playing with my roof and pole:



I'm a 5'3" mini Sherman tank but, still, I would think that if I can do the above, you could too.

[cracker39]

Sharon, my top is 57 1/2" long, 60" wide and 6" high. The sides are solid pine ripped form 1x8s. It also has the front and back parts that the panels rest against, which are also solid pine. Then there are the cross member framing and the plywood top and front fairing. I believe that it weighs about 70 lbs, part of which is the Fantastic fan mounted in the top. I didn't actually weigh it and I should have, but did estimate the weight based on the materials used.

I haven't put anything on the roof behind the top to keep it from sliding backward if lifted from the outside at the front of the trailer. The lift device I'm working on lets me push down on a "lever" with my foot, using my weight to push the top up. Wednesday, I'll find out if it works as planned.