Scot's Track Shack - finishing touches - updated 4/26/12

[Facemeltingly Epic]

Aside from having a slightly bluish cast, the light from my LED fixtures is pretty good. It would definitely work as a reading light.

The one in the galley is bright enough that one of my friends has set up his tent in the light from it!

[aggie79]

Whoa Scot!

I thought I was keeping up with your build, but it looks like you're almost finished. Everything looks great! I love the checkered flag race theme. You mentioned your Senna poster. Is that Ayrton Senna? If so, you must be an F1 fan like me. Keep moving along!

Take care,
Tom

[Facemeltingly Epic]

Whoa Scot!

I thought I was keeping up with your build, but it looks like you're almost finished. Everything looks great! I love the checkered flag race theme. You mentioned your Senna poster. Is that Ayrton Senna? If so, you must be an F1 fan like me. Keep moving along!

Take care,
Tom

Yes, it's Ayrton Senna; it's actually a small promo poster for Senna, which, sadly, I have not seen yet. It is at the top of my must-rent list, though.

[Facemeltingly Epic]

The taillight relocation project has been completed!



Those are just the standard oval taillights you can find almost anywhere; I picked them up at Lowe's. I even have enough room to mount ANOTHER pair of them, just in case I decide I want to.

The license plate light doesn't actually work, though the flash on my camera hides that pretty well. I'll have to sort that out later.

If nothing else, the reflective background of a CA plate does make it easy to read even without lighting from the trailer!

[Facemeltingly Epic]

I have a question for the collective wisdom of the forum...

Should I add side marker lights at the rear corners of the trailer? I had them with the original taillights on my HF frame, but needless to say I don't anymore.

[Facemeltingly Epic]

I finally got around to trimming the roof edges of the Track Shack:



Among other things, it covers up the rather ugly joint between the roof skin and the sides. Plus I was able to cover the gap between the edge of the hatch notch and the hatch trim.

Before:



After:



It could use some polishing. And that can probably wait until another day...

Next, I will FINALLY get around to weatherstripping under the hatch (I didn't get very much water in there during the rain, but this should stop the last little bit) and surfacing the countertop in the galley. I just might finish this trailer yet.

Needless to say, the fact that this one isn't finished hasn't stopped me from planning Track Shack Mk.II!

[Facemeltingly Epic]

I don't have any pictures to go with this update, but I started browsing the forum again last week and it inspired me to get back to work!

The big "improvement" to the trailer that I got done was adding a battery charger. My dad had a small trickle charger sitting around his garage that he gave to me a few months ago. Lo and behold, it fits in the space in my battery box that isnt occupied by the battery! I wired it into the 110v circuit by cutting the male end off an 8-foot extension cord and wiring it into the back of the GFCI outlet in the galley countertop.

I also figured out finally why the coupler was "sticky": apparently the end that bolts onto the trailer frame is slightly wider than the tube it bolts onto! The "fix" was to loosen the front bolt slightly.

And finally, I retired the old wicker basket I'd been using to carry dishes, utensils, and other miscellaneous items for the galley. I replaced it with a plastic storage tub. I bought a rather large tub, to make sure I'd have enough room, and once I got it all loaded up found out the hatch wouldn't close over it unless I turned it onto its side with the lid facing the front of the trailer. Hopefully it won't come open in transit! Perhaps wrapping it with a strap of some sort might be a good idea...

[absolutsnwbrdr]

That trim looks really good Scot. Looks like it was a lot of work to get around the curves.

[aggie79]

Scot -

Good to see you're back at it. I have the same situation. After my teardrop was 95% complete, I haven't done anything to since September of last year. You've given me motivation to get back to the last 5%.

BTW, have you seen Senna yet? I finally watched it this past Tuesday. It's worth viewing.

Take care,
Tom

[Facemeltingly Epic]

Last night I finally surfaced the galley countertop.



I went with adhesive-backed vinyl tiles from Lowe's, and to make sure they stick I gave them a good smear of Liquid Nails before setting them into place. It took eight 12"x12" tiles, and I wound up with only a little waste (basically about an inch off the width and depth). To clean up the appearance of the edge somewhat, I glued on a 1/4" x 3" strip of poplar; there's already a length of 1"x2" pine along the edge of the counter to strengthen it slightly.

The total cost for the materials for this, including the Liquid Nails, was about $12. If it doesn't work, at least I'm not invested too heavily in it!

[KCStudly]

That'll work fine. Good call on the extra glue. I used those adhesive tiles on a work bench in my uninsulated garage and I think the heat and cold cycles popped some of them free a bit. So when I had to do a flooring repair under the stool in my bathroom, rather than rip up all of the vinyl, I just patched in a section using the adhesive backed tiles, but I also glued them down with glue intended for the non-adhesive backed flooring. Ran a bead of seam sealer along each seam and have had no problems for many years.

[Facemeltingly Epic]

As some of you might recall, I originally built this trailer to tow behind my 1991 Miata. Sadly, this happened to it on my way home from work on June 24:



Thankfully, I did not have the trailer in tow (OTOH, if I had, maybe the driver of the pickup truck that hit me might have seen me); other than some buckling in the trunk floor the tub is still straight. A friend of mine who pulled a Little Guy behind his '06 MX-5 was not so lucky; he got hit while he was towing.

Because she's an old car, needless to say she's totaled. Before the hit, my '91 Miata was probably worth about $1200; repairs would cost at least $4K. But all is not lost, because yesterday I picked this up from a longtime friend:



She's a 1990 Miata, which my friend originally bought from a fellow who bought her new and kept her at his winter home in Arizona. During the 22 years the original owner had her, she racked up all of 22,000 miles. My friend bought her to tow behind his RV (which he has since sold) and I picked her up with about 42,800 miles on the odometer - he reckons about 15K of the miles he put on the car were while she was in tow. Among the handful of modifications he's made are a trailer hitch and the appropriate wiring for trailer lights.

I've had my '91 for a little over seventeen years and it makes me sad to have to replace her, but I think I've found a great replacement for her.

[KCStudly]

Too bad on the rear ender. You're okay, right?

Sounds like a cherry deal on the replacement!