Whitney's Weakender - Hatch / Galley Lid Redesign - Pg 11

[Ratkity]

"gnome, sweet, gnome" (oldie)

"gnome away from home" (meh)

"Wherever I roam, I'm never far from gnome" (meh)

"Sweet cheeks of gnome, er home"

"Watch out for rogue blue angels!" (something done by trolls in elevators)

"Insert coin in slot to leave message"


Bah, I'm totally off my gnome game this afternoon! Clearly, I need some coffee.

Hugs,
Ratkity

[WhitneyK]

OK Folks, here goes, this post may get a little long winded, so bare with me...

The material I'm using to skin the outside is .042 aluminum, mill finish (soft as all get out and easy to scratch ) that came off a roll 103" wide. It was purchased from Apex trailer repair in Clarksville IN. It sells for around $13 a running foot, I purchased 22', only needed 20', but have extra 'cause I'm going to make my own trim, or that's the plan anyway.
With that said, on with the show.

I sanded (used the da) the outside surfaces to make sure there was nothing sticking up to cause a bump in the al. Mental note to self; make sure porch light wires are tucked in far enough so you don't sand the insulation off of them, OOPS! And that is why I try to allow a little extra


As a rule, I normally have to work by myself, therefore I have to make provisions to accomidate for that. To start with, I "slabbed down" the large roll of aluminum to the appropriate sized needed for each side of the camper. Now, how ya gonna hold that thing up there by yourself and get it marked? I screwed a 2x4 to the back of the camper and a couple scrap pieces to 2x to the front. Sanded my 10' 2x's and fastened them to the previously mentioned 2x's. Stick with me, I'll try to explain as I go. Any ways, it looked like this. I made sure to leave enough gap to get the al slipped in behind the 2x's


Clamped some small boards along the bottom to rest the sheet on

Once the al was slipped behind the 2x, resting on the bottom stops, and slid into position front to back, I tightened the screws down so that they would "pinch", "clamp", "hold", or whatever you'de like to call it, the al


Next I marked all the outlines where I needed to cut out the profile. Like I said, I'm used to working alone and holding these big sheets of metal is difficult at times, an extra hand sure is nice at times. So, when someone "drops" in on me, I'll take all the help I can get, no matter who (or what) it is...


After trying different methods to cut the sheets, my big snips worked best, took some time & effort, but I got there (eventually). The best way to cut out the door opening for me was to use the sabre saw. Used carboard underneath for support, cut through al & cb at the same time. Taped to keep from scratching (even though it was the back side) & used a shop vac to keep the al chips away (worked pretty slick)


Now that all the cuts have been made, de-burred (I'll have to get a pic of that, works nice, you machine shop guys know what I'm talkin' about), checked for fit, it's time to silicone and staple the sheet to the side of the camper. With the al clamped in place, I rolled the top half out a bit, placed a 1x scrap in there to hold it out until I got the silicone around the outer edge, removed the 1x's and started stapling away. I used 1/2" staples, ran out, then used 3/4", no problem, ran out, 1" should work fine ... wrong! Wadded 'em up pretty good. Went to HF and bought the 5000 pack of 1/2" this time.


How much silicone to you apply? Yep, that's probably enough


After I got the first side cut & stapled up, my neighbor stopped by to borrow my 16' step ladder. He stated;"I've got a new set of air shears & a air nibbler at the house if you'd like to use 'em" Well, DUH! I'm here to tell ya, the air shears are the berries. Didn't really care for the nibblers much. Got the other side up, marked, cut (with the air shears of course), & stapled in about 1 1/2 hrs. I like them there air shears!

I left the roof metal a little wide (about a 1/2" on each side) so I could "trim to fit" once it was installed. Looks alot better after the fat is trimmed.


There goes another one of my 'dew's I can't complain about my neighbor / friend, he donated the windows for the camper & brought over a 800 watt 12V to 110 converter for me today along with other numerous items. He also helps out with the "mental" support.


So, you may be asking yourself, "how'd he trim the excess off?" If not, I'm gonna show you anyway. First I scored the al with a utility knife (ya, sometimes they let me play with sharp objects), made about 3 or 4 passes to get a good "groove". Grabbed it with my wide tin bending thingy pliers and worked it back and forth about 3 times, then it just breaks loose. It's as easy as 1, 2, 3... and you don't have all the metal shavin's everywhere.


Anysomeway, after driving 40 miles to do a festival inspection (for 1 booth) and stopping by a yard sale, at the end of Saturday evening, this is what I ended up with


The "mental" part of the neighbors visit was, he came up with a saying for a back of the camper


Oh, and by the way, here's my $50 (cut into my camper money) yard sale find. An industrial treadle Singer sewing machine. It will sew leather, canvas, apolstery, etc. Goin' on eBay for $300-500. Always wanted one, not sure how much I'll use it, but I've got one anyway.


Since Monday's a Holiday (remember, I work for the government, I'm here to help) I'm going to try to get the trim bent and ready to install. Maybe I'll try to stay away from the build long enough to mow my yard, gosh it's only been 2 or 3 weeks. (Maybe the neighbor will come do it for me?) That's all for now folks, I'll leave you with the sign I had to post in my garage

[LDK]

Hey Whitney

Your Camper is looking great. Your doing an excellent job with the aluminum siding. It's nice to have any help no matter who or what it is.

[WhitneyK]

Went out last night for a few minutes after getting the yard mowed and thought I'd post a small update. Had a busy work schedule over the weekend (8a - 10p, makes Jack a dull boy)

Took time to clean out / up the garage on the Tuesday following the Holiday (vacation day). Gained much needed room, I sent the pump organ to the auction.

I mounted the top half of my "living" hinge, I really debated back and forth whether to order the aluminum Hh at the last minute even though I already had the plastic hinge. But, decided to go for it, everybody else seems to be OK with it, it's just that my hatch ended up sooooo heavy and how I have my supports mounted, puts pressure on the hinge. Should probably go back and re-think the hatch supports.?. Anyway, heeeerrrreee's the hinge


On my last Holiday OFF (Columbus Day), I went out to my friends house and spent about 5 hrs (man I'm slow) bending up all the trim (hopefully) that I will need for "finishing" the outside. Took a while last night to get it all sorted since all the different positions where "custom" sizes. I used the same material as I did for the sides/top, pretty stiff once you get some bends in it. I have to be carefull as to not scratch it all up or bend it where it shouldn't be bent, I don't want to end up with a "rumpled skin trim"


I have to watch what I'm doing. This is all the aluminum I have left to work with after bending the trim


Put the hatch on, take it off, put it on, take it off, put it on, take it off, put it on, take it off, put it on, take it off,.................


When I was on my way to download the pics from the camera, I just had to take a "shoot from the hip" shot of momma's baaaabbbbyyyy. HE'S SO FLUFFY!!!!


Tha' b'b'b'b, tha'b'b'b', that's all folks! (for now)

[aggie79]

Whitney,

You are making incredible progress on your trailer!

Nice job with the aluminum sheeting by the way. I wish that I had seen your build pictures before I installed the aluminum on my trailer. I did it by myself too and it was quite a circus act.

Take care,
Tom

[Deryk the Pirate]

Looks Great! All Shiney now!

[WhitneyK]

Starting to get some of the trim installed on the outside. I got the top & roof seam installed and started on one door frame. Time consuming stuff, at least it is for me... Also included a close up shot for detail.


Here's a shot of the galley hatch area. Going to have to re-work it a bit, don't have the clearance I would like and I don't like how it lines up. Sure does take a lot of tools to do the little trim work.


The stuff I used to seal it up with was "Sealer Mate". It sticks to just about anything under most any contitions - including wet or oiley, dry's to a very firm, yet flexible consistantcy. Is metalic gray in color and is paintable. Can be trimmed off when dry with a sharp utility knife and pulled off. Clean up is done with laquer thinner when it's still "wet", I found carb cleaner works too. If you're leaving your outside aluminum "all nat-ur-al", it don't look too bad up against it. It's some pretty sturdy stuff. It's designed for sealing gutters / down spouts, but I've used it to seal metal "J" channel to concrete for use as a "diverter" to control a leaking basement. (note the skull & cross bones, it's some goooood stuff)


Let me tell you about my experience with GE Silicone II.....
First tube I bought from HD worked fine, second tube however didn't. After running out of tube 1, I changed over and kept on going. I installed some trim on the galley lid with tube #2 on Monday. Went out on Thursday to trim off the excess and it was still gooey. The stuff would not dry. Label said rain resistant in 3 hrs, fully cured in 24 hrs. This was a "green" product and supposed to be "safe for the environment". I wanted it because it was silicone. Anyway, I removed the trim, scraped off the still uncured silicone (what a mess), cleaned everything off with mineral spirits and let it dry. That's when I switched to the toxic, not easy to clean up, environmentally un-friendly stuff mentioned above. Cost is about the same, maybe $.75 higher?

Oh yea, the GE Silly cone label said "uncured silicone can be an irritant", boy oh boy was that an understatment!!!

It appears that the silicone was out of date (expired 03/11). Growing up, if silicone was "expired" it hardened in the tube. Anyway, I thought what are the chances of this happening? 1 IN a million? Nope, Googled it, I'm just 1 OF 1.4 million.

Not here to rant (too much), just a word of warning / advice to others. Check your expiration dates and as one "customer" stated, if your silicone don't smell like vinegar when you open it, don't use it.

Would someone mind stopping by to help me down off my soap box now so I don't get hurt?

Noticed "momma's baby" when I came in from the garage,... I think that's all he does is eat, eat, eat, with the exception of sleep. I think he eats out of boredom.


Good Night All.

[S. Heisley]

Nice job on the skinning.
I'm surprised that the cat didn't eat the spider.

[WhitneyK]

Larry, Tom, Deryk, Mike, & Sharon,

Thanks for the comments!

I'm at the part of the "final" trim work, getting the doors to fit "just right", and the hatch doin' what it's supposed to do. I know I'm slow, but MAN!, this stuff takes a lot of time! Had a four day weekend off, seems like "other" things keep cutting into my finishing time. Had to spend part of one day rebuilding a wall in the garage at my aunt & uncles house. My aunt drove through the wall back in the spring and I replaced splintered studs, fastened down a new seal plate and got it all back in place. Sunday I got a call from my uncle, yep, you guessed it, he drove through the wall this time. The good 'ol Buick takes a lickin' & keeps on tickin', not hardly a scratch on it. It was a lot easier to repair this time, everything just seemed to "hinge" back into place. I didn't bother making it as solid this time, figure it won't do much damage and be able to, once again, swing back into place, ........... next time.

Friday was a fairly? productive day though, got the hatch re-trimmed after I didn't like the way it fit, hinge attached / installed, doors re-hung, and figured out my inside frame spacing for the door seals. I know, I know, I'll try to post pics tonight.

Thought we'd check out the black friday ads to find a cheap, cheap microwave. Also, had another thought today Figure after they busted up the "occupy wall street" protest last night, there should be some good deals on used camping equipment hittin' ebay this weekend. Keep an eye out folks!


Where you at Bob???

[WhitneyK]

Well, for the rest of the year I have 4 day weekends, (except for one and it's a 3 day) so hopefully will be able to get this thing wrapped up and weather proof so I can park it outside. Need to get the wife's Blazer inside before the snow starts flyin'. (and she keeps buyin' more stuff to "accessorize" it)

To start with, I had to repair my FF. When I bought it, I got a good deal, but one corner was broke off. (I think it's brand new though, just an oops at the shop)


Found a piece of scrape plastic (see PRA reference several posts back) to use to fill in the corner, but now it doesn't look very good. So I used some al that was left over from the skin to make a cover to hide the booger. Last but not least here it is all mounted and sealed.
........

Did the trim on and around the doors a couple of weeks ago. One door hung and had to finish the trim by the hinge on the inside and outside. Inside door trim and filler strip in the jam area before & after (actually it's the other side I haven't done yet) The plywood frame gets a gasket stuck to it after I get all the trim, caulking, and sealing done.
........

The outside hinge area need to be finished as well. Here's the before and after. I'll have to go back and remove the pan head screws, counter sink (taper) the holes and install flat head screws 'cause they hit the trim when you open the door all the way. Oh well, story of my life...
.....

Anyway, at the end of the day, here's the rest of what I got done (I'm slower than a 7 year itch). FF installed including inside trim. One door trimmed and ready for caulk and gasket, and a porch light installed. That way I can see who or what's out there. Probably don't need the light though since there ain't no winder in it.

Oh ya, if you notice above the crank on the FF, it actually has a motorized open and close thingy.


One last "interesting item" for you.
My brother passed on to me a Waterbury clock that came from the funeral home my family had owned for 104+ years. It's has a 30 hr movement so it has to be wound every day. Instead of spring driven, it is weight drivin. There is a string on each side that goes over a pulley on the top and is connected to the weights. Even though I'm a clock nut, I'm going give this to my aunt, she's the last living sibling of my dad who passed away several years ago. She has told me stories of how that was one of her "jobs". She would walk to the FH after school to wait on her grampa, and right before they left for the day, she would get to wind the clock. (She's in her upper 80's) I hope it means alot to her. (she's the one that drove through the end of their garage first, but then again, her dad did the same thing years ago) Since their son lives in GA, I go over and do odd jobs and house maintenance for them.


YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME??? Here I am, previewing my post at 10:30 at night, in the house, almost December, 40 degrees outside, and I just killed a mosquito!!! Gotta love Indiana!!!

[LDK]

Hey Whitney

Lookin great man. won't be long now and you'll be done!

[Oldragbaggers]

I have really enjoyed reading this build thread. Great looking trailer and I love the way you did it on a limited budget. You'd never know to look at it. It's a quality job. By appearance you would think it was a "no expense spared" build.

[kinto]

haven't checked your build in a while... it's looking super slick man!




kent

[WhitneyK]

Larry & Becky, Becky, and Kent,

Thanks all for your kind words.

Haven't had much time to work on it lately and can't get to the computer if I wanted to (momma get's mad if you make the "baby" get down)


A friend of ours owns a graphics / sign shop the next town over, so we went over on my day off. Went to Craig Printing Company (CPC), owned by Steve & Tammi Weaver in Brownstown, IN. Mark, his #1 graphics man made us the graphic so it would fit perfectly into the dimensions needed (I know, that was a shameless plug for my buddy's shop). Anysomeway, wife's happy with how it turned out. The tree's are made out of metal and are 3 dimensional, they just did the letters.

Oh, and by the way, Steve & Tammi is converting a '77 Dodge van into a camper (he's a Mopar NUT) The van's in great shape.

Decided to re-seal the screws on the outside trim, I just wasn't satified that it was going to keep the water out. I tapered (champfered) the hole a bit so it would hold some sealer when the screw was tightened. Oh well, here's the series of pics showing what I did. Extra work, but I feel it's "insurance".




Finally got the last piece of trim bent for the hatch lid and got it installed. Went ahead and wrapped it good. I'll trim the extra caulk after it dries good.


Caulked / sealed the door jambs, hatch opening, and any other gaps in the trim where water could get into, freeze, push apart and eventually leak. I really like that gutter sealer, the longer it dries, the tougher it gets, but remains flexible. It comes silver metallic and is paintable when cured!


After the sealer all dries, I'll install the weather strip / gasket so I can shove it outside to check for leaks. Once I'm convinced it doesn't leak, it'll probably spend the rest of the winter outside.

Bummed a piece of gutter coil stock from another friend to finish out the tail light area, ran out of my aluminum that I used for the sides, but white will work.


Now, to figure out how, exactly, I'm going to organize and set up the hatch area Again, we're not really wanting a kitchen, just storage and a place to do "quick" meals.

Got the MW for $40 after Thanksgiving at HD

Man, I gotta get my fenders ready!

[WhitneyK]

I had an unexpected guest appearance on Saturday the 7th by none other than the famous BOB HENRY. He happened to be in my area and came down with his wife Vicky for a visit and to check out my build in person. Thanks for stoppin' in Bob & Vickie, enjoyed your company.

After they left, I decided that it was time to check for leaks in my little camper and time to clean out the garage. It's been parked outside for over a week now and so far mostly good. First night was just a drizzle of rain, after that frost, snow, and this morning, "monsoon time"! Man did it poor this morning! ... and just when you're ready to leave for work.



I really need to get some gutters / rain diverters above my doors. No leaks on the side doors. No leaks around the hinge or gasket of the hatch. But when I raised the hatch to look for leaks I noticed a slight wet spot above the gasket under the hinge. My guess is it's coming in through a screw that's not sealed. When the water puddles up above the hinge, it was running across where the screw had it dimpled down. That's probably my culprit. Will seal them like I did the trim.

Good part is, the hatch hinge works like a gutter (sorry for the bad outlines) Yellow indicates where the water pools and runs off the edge, blue is supposed to look like the water. So I'm not a graphic design artist, shoot me!



I think I will flip my axle to the top of my springs so it will drop it down about 3"?

I really need to work on my fenders.....