My Epiphany - Sanding - Sanding - Sanding

[StandUpGuy]

Started the day off by cutting the door opening finally. As KC noticed, the door opening in the wall framework was smaller than my sketchup drawing, and was actually very narrow at about 18 inches. I widened the door opening to 22 inches, which is comfortable for me to get in and out without having to twist sideways.



I continued installation of the spars. I have four more to install, one on the bottom front, and three on the back. It's a good thing I got the door cut open.. it would be hard to get inside otherwise.



I did some more bracing to the bed framing, and finished isolating the area for the slide out kitchen. There will be some storage under the edge of the bed. Tomorrow, hopefully I'll get the plywood for the bed, and hinges for access to storage, finish the last of the spars, and get the wiring in place. Who knows, maybe I'll get to start on the insulation too?

Here's another view of todays progress.

Wow! Your trailer is coming right along. I think it was only an idea when I was last posting here and now it is half done already. I think when they are bigger trailers with lots of stuff in them it is easy to under estimate the time it takes to build them. The wait and work shall be worth it. You will have a roomy trailer more like a home away from home. Nice going.

[Oldragbaggers]

Sorry about your back, Paul. That is not good. Take it easy and let it heal.

[S. Heisley]

Take good care of that back, Paul. You only get one per life!

[KCStudly]

Good progress today... I did actually route the edges and the window, door, and hatch opening, I just forgot to take a picture... I managed to hurt my lower back.

Great progress!

No pics? Didn't happen. Actually, I got all red X's for you other pic's, so not sure what's up with that, but will check your gallery.

Bad back, what Sharon and Becky said. Make sure you take care of that. I know bad backs and they are no fun when they cinch up. Hot shower, good stretch, pain killers; see your doctor if necessary. We are not getting any younger and we need to make sure we can fight another day.

You are doing an awesome job!

[parnold]

You are doing an awesome job!

Thanks KC. Our styles, or methods of building are so different, that I sometimes question whether I am doing things right. You seem to have every board pre-destined with your build, I on the other hand, have a drawing with dimensions of what I want, but don't have all the details figured out. I figure them out as I am going.. a good example is the door opening that was too narrow. I'm sort of a hack. I take each thing, whether it's the bed, bench seat, cabinet, and I figure out all the details during construction. That one inch I added to the interior height didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. I could have added a foot and it wouldn't have hindered my progress since all the details weren't pre-determined. I actually envy people like you, that are detail oriented, and plan things out completely, but at the same time, I appreciate my abilities to adapt and make things up as I go. I am really enjoying myself, and I know that I will be proud of what I end up with. Thank you for the compliments.

[parnold]

For KC, a picture of the right wall completed.



And the left wall.



And this is the pile of scraps I'll use for firewood.



The left wall took most of the day since I had to build it around the furnace exhaust. Before I can finish attaching the interior part, I need to completely seal the outer hole with resin, and carefully caulk the standoff. Only when that is done can I finish the interior cabinet work.

Ended up the day with a small disaster. I had loaded my utility trailer with all the wood scraps, and started to drive around the house to drop them off near the fire pit when I realized the path was blocked. I started to back the trailer up and managed to catch the edge of my daughter-in-laws bumper with the trailer light, scraping the bumper, and putting a tear in it. Of course, it's a brand new car. I could probably fix it myself, I have access to everything I need, but I'm going to let the insurance take care of it. I'm pretty sure she will be happier having it done professionally. My son uses the same insurance company as me, so it will be pretty painless to get it taken care of.

[S. Heisley]

It's looking really good, Paul. Sorry to hear that you had an "Oops ".

[absolutsnwbrdr]

I appreciate my abilities to adapt and make things up as I go

Paul I gotta hand it to you! Your doing a heck of a job. I wouldnt be able to build on the fly, and it really makes me appreciate the way you can make things come together.

Sorry to hear about the bumper. Could have been worse, right?!

[Oldragbaggers]

I am building the exact same way as you Paul, I figure each thing out as I go. It takes longer our way for sure. Sometimes I spend half the day building and the other half thinking. The guys that have everything all figured out can devote all their time to building. But, honestly, I think if my brain had to have every detail figured out before I could begin to build I would be so everwhelmed the building would never start. this way I only have the "next thing" to deal with. I have the general idea and the basic steps in my mind, and I can picture they end result, but I am getting there one thing at a time.

I think for some people, like us, this method works. It probably wouldn't for everyone.

Hope the back is feeling better. I have seen my poor husband suffer with a bad back and I wouldn't wish it on anyone to have that kind of pain. Take care of you!!

And your trailer is looking great!!!

[KCStudly]

Thanks KC. Our styles, or methods of building are so different, that I sometimes question whether I am doing things right. You seem to have every board pre-destined with your build, I on the other hand, have a drawing with dimensions of what I want, but don't have all the details figured out. I figure them out as I am going... I'm sort of a hack.

The hell you say. Your quality is first rate and you will get there in 1/3 the time it takes me. There's an old saying, "eventually you need to shoot the engineers and go into production".

I actually envy people like you, that are detail oriented, and plan things out completely, but at the same time, I appreciate my abilities to adapt and make things up as I go.

Plans and details are a good starting point, but once production begins it is very important to be able to adapt to the reality of the build. Having everything locked in to a specific dimesion can easily backfire when tolerances can't be maintained or when adjusting for "happy accidents". There is a certain benefit to having everything worked out in detail and that is the foresight to understand what effects what when things change. Unfortunately, the plan can fall like a house of cards if something major changes. That's where a build as you go approach can work better. However, once you have a vision in mind, if you don't stick too close to the path, you might not end up with what you want in the end.

That does not appear to be the case with your build.

I am really enjoying myself, and I know that I will be proud of what I end up with. Thank you for the compliments.

Amen.

[parnold]

90 degrees today, 350% humidity, and a very severe thunderstorm in the middle of the afternoon so here's what I got done today.

No matter how hard I tried, I could not get this wood to bend to my profile. Most of the wall will be hidden behind the bench seats and table, I'll dress up the cracks with some molding... no biggy.



Insulation in.



Outer skin on. The luan, or underlayment did not like bending from side to side, however it bends extremely easy from end to end, so the rest will have a seam down the middle.

[Cliffmeister2000]

I wonder if it would have bent better with the bead boarding horizontal instead of vertical? Not that you would have wanted it that way, just pondering...

[Martiangod]

Horizontal would have bent, the structural integrity of the bead board runs with the beading.
You may have been able to steam it to bend, but I doubt the glues would have stood up to that.

Will look great as is when done.
That looks like nice bead board.
Wish I'd gotten better paneling, but I started out building more utility...

Build on

[parnold]

The bead board, or birch paneling is very stiff stuff, and I was worried about the strength of the spars if I tried to force it. It was also rather expensive at 42.00 a sheet. It is almost twice as thick as cheap paneling. Since I have my little trailer to use, and not rushing to finish this one, I did spend the extra money for the better interior.
I've got most everything I need to finish except the FRP for the inside ceiling, but I'm out of money from my budget for it. Now I'm saving up gas money for the trip to Wyoming in August. I'm estimating between 800 and 1000 for gas. I'll be eating a lot of peanut butter and jelly on that trip.

[KCStudly]

Paul,
My wife is an RD (Registered Dietician, basically a nutritian nurse). She says to get the all natural PB, it's better for you!

But seriously, Slow's Wyoming gig is right in the middle of our planned trip to Idaho. Suppose we might see you on the road, depending.

Paneling looks good.

I'd contribute a couple of bucks if you come mow my lawn (I'm too busy building to take the time ).

Thanks for the chuckle on the PB&J.