Off and Running

[cyfan72]

OK. So my wife and I started our build a few weeks ago. We are making pretty good progress so far. We are following the generic Benroy plans (for the most part). We started with a HF 4'x8'.....



Attached the two halves as most have, using the center supports to join the side rails. I ended up cutting about 2" from each side support to help with hole alignment. Used a grinder with a cutoff wheel, the sparks made my wife kinda nervous...she stood ready with a fire extinguisher



A lot of extra holes later, the axle is attached. I positioned it roughly 36" from the rear of the trailer. Found a good use for the cooler!



Put the wheels on, just until build is complete. Thought it would be easier on the poor little cooler I plan on removing them to clean and repack the bearings before the test run.



Built the floor on 1-1/2"x1-1/2" frame, glued and screwed. Applied the standard black messy stuff on the bottom, didn't get a picture of that (hands were a little messy after that).



Got the first wall laid out, very easy to do with the great plans! Sanded with my new belt sander, gotta love a project that gets ya new tools! Here it is temporarily installed so I could run the profile by the wife. She was very pleased with the profile......onward!



Installed 3/4" styrofoam insulation between 3/4" spacers. I only went far back enough to include the living space. I went back and cut out a channel for wiring once I decided where the two light switches that will control overhead lighting and an exterior light were going.



The driver's side wall was built the same way. I cut out the opening for an 18"x30" window and framed around it with spacers. 1-1/2"x1-1/2" spars were glued and screwed into place after ensuring the walls were plumb. The outlet box in the picture was removed later when we decided to have a 120v outlet in the front of the raceway under the storage cabinets. I then insulated the wall with more blue styrofoam.





Cut out the driver's side interior skin from 1/4" birch ply. Glued and fastened to spacers with finish nailer. Marked location of bulkhead with a pencil line on the wall and laid down in the trailer, felt pretty comfy!



That's our progress so far. Next step is the interior skin for the other wall and starting fabrication on the bulkhead and interior/galley cabinets. [/img]

[regis101]

The Benroy profile keeps growing on me. I like the ergonomics for the galley mostly.

Do you have a flat portion of roof? The picture appears to be slightly lowered to the rear just after the front radius.

I'm a double door guy myself. Did you find the side window so as to do the rough opening or what do you have in mind?

[grizz]

Thats both neat and very fast progress.

I do like the Benroy too, more practical use of space.

[greekspeedoman]

Great Progress cyfan. I look forward to watching as your trailer takes shape.

[Rigsby]

Top job there mate


Be sure to keep the pictures coming
steve

[cyfan72]

Back to work on the tear! Decided on FRP for the ceiling. I have worked with this quite a bit and liked the ease of maintenance and light it would offer to the cabin.

Started running the wiring for the ceiling and exterior lights and the fan. Going with a Fantastic vent, already framed the opening for this.


Framed for the galley counter and cabinets as well. The opening on the left will house a cooler, the opening on the right is for two drawers.

Bottom of galley/cabin cabinets installed.

Purchased this light fixture from Camper's World for the cabin. Don't know how bright this is so wasn't sure if I wanted just one or two in the cabin. Any thoughts from anyone who has these lights?

Installed the light to the rear of where the fan will eventually go. Looks good against the white ceiling!

Purchased these light switches from Camper's World too. One will control the overhead light and one will control the exterior light.

That's it so far. Next steps are to install the last spar, finish the ceiling over the cabinets, install insulation in ceiling. Haven't decided on the exterior finish, will likely go with aluminum....at least for the roof. Plenty yet to do!

[Miriam C.]

Wow, that is a lot of running you have done in a short time. Looks great!

[cyfan72]

After a somewhat busy summer, I have started back on our little labor of love. Distractions included moving to a new home, building a rather large shed, tearing down wallpaper, painting, etc......So, back at it!

Before the move, I was able to (mostly) enclose the outside. This is the ritual "bending of the plywood" with clamps and wet towels.


A little persuasion goes a long way.


Backsplash with outlet temporarily attached.


I then got to work building the galley cabinets, decided to go with sliding doors. I chose to make these out of 1/4" birch ply fitted into routed channels. They turned out pretty nice and slide nice and easy. The shelves on the end sections have a little lip to prevent goods from sliding forward too much. I will ensure the doors will not be able to slide back and forth during travel, probably by putting a rubber band around the handles




I then got to work building the shelves and doors for the inside cabinets. I opted to not get too fancy but still remain functional. The center section will house a laptop and speakers for watching movies, listening to music. I like the idea of portability with a laptop. Haven't decided on a finish for the inside, will probably paint it vs. stain and polyurethane.


I picked up a trailer jack at Northern Tool for $19.99. I thought this was a pretty good deal and should work great.


I have also finished some minor details: trim, knobs, drawers for the galley. My wife and I are thinking of using an exterior vinyl for the roof and aluminum for the sidewalls. My father-in-law is a signmaker and has offered to fabricate a vinyl graphic for the aluminum if we want. Movin' on so we can get movin' on!!

[cyfan72]

Slooowly adding to the "project", picked paint colors and continued work on the galley, finished 12v wiring. Originally picked a dark sage green for the interior (OK, so the decision on this color was strictly due to the fact that it was in the Lowe's clearance paint section). The paint was exterior latex enamel. Looked great but remained tacky weeks after applying. (maybe that's why it was in the clearance section .


New and improved paint.


Galley before painting...


Galley after painting and installation of drawer pulls..



The counter is going to be Formica laminate. Backsplash is going to be aluminum.

Built the hatch in place to avoid heartache upon installation
Here it is dry fitted.



I built a platform for the small truck box I am mounting to the hitch. It turned out pretty nice. I didn't take a picture of it but I will attach one next post.

Going to order aluminum for the skin this week. I am going with what I hope is a cool color scheme. Pictures to come! I hope to be pullling it down the road by the end of this month.

[parnold]

Very, very nice looking. I like your second color choice for the interior much better than the first, and the galley looks great!

Hope you make your deadline and get to enjoy it soon!

[absolutsnwbrdr]

Not sure how I missed your build before, but it looks great! I do like the beige interior compared to the green.... its a lot bit brighter inside. Thats a very clean galley too! Nice work!

What drawer slides did you use for your cooler drawer? And also, whats up with the PVC tube in the galley?

[aggie79]

Not sure how I missed your build before, but it looks great! I do like the beige interior compared to the green.... its a lot bit brighter inside. Thats a very clean galley too! Nice work!

What drawer slides did you use for your cooler drawer? And also, whats up with the PVC tube in the galley?

Great job with your teardrop cyfan! I'm with Zach - how did I miss this cool build?

Take care,
Tom

[cyfan72]

The PVC-pipe-looking thing is actually a large wooden clothes rod put in place to prevent the Coleman stove and gas cylinders from sliding forward during travel. The gas cylinders fit in the small space to the right of the wooden rail on the side of the shelf. But now that you mention it, a piece of PVC pipe would have been lighter (duh!) Thanks for the encouragement. Looking back on the first posts from my build, I realize it has been almost a year! I hope the light I see isn't an oncoming train

[absolutsnwbrdr]

The PVC-pipe-looking thing is actually a large wooden clothes rod put in place to prevent the Coleman stove and gas cylinders from sliding forward during travel. The gas cylinders fit in the small space to the right of the wooden rail on the side of the shelf. But now that you mention it, a piece of PVC pipe would have been lighter (duh!) Thanks for the encouragement. Looking back on the first posts from my build, I realize it has been almost a year! I hope the light I see isn't an oncoming train

Oh ok.... that answers the other question I had but did not ask - what was the piece of wood on the shelf behind the wooden rod - I'm now guessing that keeps the propane cylinders from sliding around. Great idea!

[cyfan72]

The aluminum for the sides/roof arrived on Monday. I am pretty happy with the color scheme. The roof will be ivory and the sides red.


Still waiting on the trim, it is supposed to be here by tomorrow. Put the roof panel in place and cut the opening for the fan.


I finished the carpet in the interior and installed a sliding shelf for my laptop. It locks into the non-sliding position for travel.


If the trim arrives tomorrow, I plan on getting the aluminum on this weekend