"The X-II" 5-Wide Convertible Teardrop

[absolutsnwbrdr]

Ohhhhh, that's purty Zach.

Thanks!


Today, I filled out as much of the Maine title and registration paperwork as I could, and dropped it in the mail. Hopefully its correct, or at least all the information is there for them to fill in correctly.

I also filled out the form for a vanity plate....



Fingers crossed!

[toypusher]

Ohhhhh, that's purty Zach.

Thanks!


Today, I filled out as much of the Maine title and registration paperwork as I could, and dropped it in the mail. Hopefully its correct, or at least all the information is there for them to fill in correctly.

I also filled out the form for a vanity plate....



Fingers crossed!

Makes it sound like you have been divorced twice!!!

[absolutsnwbrdr]

Makes it sound like you have been divorced twice!!!

Maybe I have been!

[Deryk the Pirate]

hmmmm I never thought to paint the frame like that! Brilliant Idea!

[Robbie]

^^^Agreed! That paint looks awesome! Is that the Rustoleum Stop-Rust hammered?

[absolutsnwbrdr]

Is that the Rustoleum Stop-Rust hammered?

You got it!


My WFCO came in the mail yesterday so I went to Lowe's to pick up some breakers for it. After stumbling over this thread, I decided that I would get a single 30A breaker, and a tandem 20A/20A circuit breaker. The 30A is the Main breaker, and regulates the power to the tandem breaker. One of the 20A breakers feeds the power converter, and the other 20A will feed the 110 outlets for the trailer. Guess I'll have to update my wiring diagram to reflect this.

[absolutsnwbrdr]

There's been a lot going on lately, so I haven't got much done on the X-II. The parts are really piling up though! The coupler base finally arrived, and also the Southco latches. The latches were expensive and hard to find, but I'm definitely glad I spent the extra money on them. I also received the wireless control unit and (2) 4-button remote key fobs, and more LED lights and switches from SuperbrightLEDs.com. My doors arrived, from Frank at Vintage Technologies, and the hurricane hinge and weatherstrip got here all the way from Grant at Lil' Bear Tag-Along's.

The latches:



The RF controller and fobs:



I did get the coupler base painted last night, and cleaned the grease out of the wheel bearings so I can pack them with good grease. If I don't go insane and run away by this weekend, I hope to have some actual build progress to post.

If the gf does drive me insane, the first person to find my build location can have all the parts.

Last but not least, heres the updated "final" wiring diagram.

[absolutsnwbrdr]

It was a pretty productive weekend! Spent about 6 hours yesterday and another 6 today getting work done!

First my friend and I pulled the trailer pieces out of the basement and bolted them together in my backyard.



After everything was solid, we started the floor framing. Its heavy duty because it will support the side walls.



Now that the trailer was together, I could go make an actual wood run!



Spent the remainder of the day framing the rest of the floor, and galley deck.



Galley deck with storage covers off...



... with storage covers in place....

[absolutsnwbrdr]

Got a little more done on the X-II tonight. Worked on the main deck and also on getting some lights on the trailer so that its somewhat legal to tow. Amazingly enough, there were zero grounding issues with the lights. Lit right up!





Should get some more done this weekend.

[Deryk the Pirate]

is that a garage? I envy ya big time lol

[absolutsnwbrdr]

LOL yup, thats a garage. Unfortunately its not mine though. Its my buddies house and he has been kind enough to offer it up as a place to work on the teardrop, so I took him up on the offer. The trailer isn't kept there, but its a nice place to work.

Helping me out also gets him away from his fiance for a few hours at a time.

[Deryk the Pirate]

Helping me out also gets him away from his fiance for a few hours at a time.

geez if its so rough he should stay single lol

Yeah haveing a place to work inside is awesome... working outside has delayed me alot with this build from the constant rain.

[StandUpGuy]

Is that sandwiched 2x4s? Are you making the first post and beam construction teardrop?

....After everything was solid, we started the floor framing. Its heavy duty because it will support the side walls.

[absolutsnwbrdr]

Yeah haveing a place to work inside is awesome... working outside has delayed me alot with this build from the constant rain.

The daylight savings time change is really messing with me. I get off work at 5 and its already dark.

Is that sandwiched 2x4s? Are you making the first post and beam construction teardrop?

Heavy timber construction just seemed like the way to go!

I'm not exactly gentle on my teardrop. Those "beams" will be the only front supports for the solid 3/4" oak sidewalls, so I wanted overkill. Now that I'm building, my entire new design seems like its going to be overkill, but I think building a little heavier (than my last teardrop) on the 1720lb HF frame will actually be better. I did cut some weight by using 1/2" plywood for the floors, instead of 3/4" plywood like last time.

My target unloaded weight is probably around 900-1000lbs. Even if I go over that (which i really really doubt), towing won't be a problem with my little Subaru, as it's rated at 3,000/300.

[Robbie]

Dang Zach your movin right along! It looks like it will definitely be stout enough!

And are you sure your Outback is rated for 300 #s? Or is that just the rating on the hitch itself? I've seen a few posts about hitches over on subaruoutback.org about the hitch being rated higher but the Outbacks themselves are actually only 200 #s.

Do you have a cross section drawn of how its going to look inside? I'm just trying to figure out what its going to become with all those steps in the floor. Lol.

And this one is a 5x10 right? That extra space is going to be nice! I already wish I built mine at 10' just for the extra storage space!