FINALLY...Progress on the Squidget with PICS to prove it!!!

[larryl]

Cracker:

been following your build since it was a dream last year.
One area we decided to go real light was the cabinets.

One , weight was a constant issue because three of our four daughters wil be pulling with small 4 cyclinder autos.

Second, never attempted to build cabinets, and when the stage came around I just got lazy. Went with wire shelving and wire baskets from Ikea.

Have you made an estimate of the weight of your cabinets?

Larry

[cracker39]

I made rough estimates, but I don't think they will be too heavy. I'll must make a face frame of 3/4" x 1 1/2" or 2" spruce, and hang doors. They will also be 1 1/2" or 2" "frames" with a dado on the back to inset a piece of my 1/8" paneling to match the walls. The top may be the heaviest part if I use 3/4" ply or particle board, but I may just make another frame and put 1/2" luan on top and plastic laminate on that. My bed/couch platform will be the same frame material with 1/4" luan on top. So, it is all pretty lightweight material. I'll have a bottom and middle shelf in my galley cabinet, and that will be 1/4" ply too. I'll use plastic bins and boxes for storing everything...no drawers. The shelf over the galley counter and in the rear won't have doors. The storage compartment under the couch will. I thought about making sliding cabinet doors, but, the wood frames won't add that much weight and will look better.

I got one coat of Rustbullet on the chassis today, but got started too late to do two coats. It will be 7PM before I can recoat it. So, I'll do it tomorrow. I like the color. All I have to do is look at my hands to see it. I really did try to use rubber gloves, but after going through 3 or 4 sets of them, I gave up and kept the can of Acetone and a rag handy.

I tried using an air brush since the frame is so narrow, but that didn't work out. It was a cheap one and the siphon tube kept coming off. I fianally broke out my new top feed paint gun from HF and tried it. That worked much better. Rustbullet, sprayed, goes farther than the can says it will. According to my calculations and their coverage figures, It should have taken me over a quart. So, I bought a quart and a half pint, but haven't used half of the quart yet, and I'm half done with the painting. I won't even half to open the half pint.

[cracker39]

I think the chassis is road worthy. I haven't pulled it yet to see, and don't want to take it on the highway without a tag, but may anyway. I can clamp on my light bar that I use with my boat to have lights. Hmmmm...why not put my utility trailer or boat trailer tag on it...that's an idea. This and 8 other new pics are in my Chassis photo album.

[cracker39]

Curiosity got the best of me, so I took hooked it up and wentt for a 5 mile ride and back, illegal tags and all. I had it up to 70 and there was no sway, shimmy, or vibration other than normal road bumps. A 2000 lb axle with only a couple of hundred pounds on it and 34 PSI in the tires is bound to bounce some on bumps. I'd say that so far it is a success. Now, to get the floor on and do some body building. I need tubes of poly sealant for the floor before I can go further, so I guess a trip to HD is on the agenda.