"The X-II" 5-Wide Convertible Teardrop

[absolutsnwbrdr]

Added some more LED's this evening

Nothing too crazy though. These actually have purpose.

I should have put LED's in the lower galley to begin with, but it just never happened. So I put 3 pods down there. And they're hooked in with the rest of the galley lights, which are controlled by my remote control.



Speaking of remote controlled galley lighting....

There have been a few occasions that I get something out of the galley at night, turn out off the lights, close it up, and go to sleep. Well I open up the hatch the next morning and notice that my lights are on. Must have hit the button on the remote in my pocket. Not a big deal because they hardly draw any power, but what if I accidentally hit the button and they are on for a week or two... or more?

So I wired in two more indicator LED's and placed them in the back window of the trolley top, so that I can see them when I'm inside or out. No more worries.



Damn these things never are finished.

[Junkboy999]

What about a simple micro switch on the hatch. I know when I get up in the middle of the night and get something out
of the frig the light comes on and goes off again when I close it. Ha Ha just kidding, I know the light in the frig really
stays on all the time. It just blinks when you open the door to make you think it just came back on.

Terry
Junkboy999

[absolutsnwbrdr]

What about a simple....

Simple?! What the hell is that?!

A little momentary push switch would be perfect for that though! I sense a winter project





On another note.... I did a little decorating in preparation for the Tearjerker's 2012 Ross Hill Gathering in Connecticut last weekend. The first item was a cast aluminum TJ's plaque that I got months ago. Finally got around to painting it, and then mounted it inside on the back wall with 1/4" spacers and "fancy" pan head screws.

before paint...



ready to go....



installed...




And also, since it was going to be a bit hot and humid, I installed a 5000 btu a/c unit in one of my bulkead openings. This was before I got it fully situated and the opening trimmed with pipe insulation, I've never slept so well in such humidity



The dogs didnt mine the a/c either!



Here's a pic of my loaded galley - two 50qt coolers, a big blue Rubbermaid container, and yes the A/C is behind the Rubbermaid container. Definitely plenty of room back there!



And the X-II was voted....






Here are some other pics of a GREAT weekend!! By the way, the theme was "the Wild West"

























Thats all for now

[KCStudly]

Wow. Congrats on the award.

[High Desert]

Well done Zack, you're now an official "award winning" builder! Congrats on the recognition, that is Very Cool.

btw, I think there might be a square foot or two left that still don't have LEDs on the XII

[Robbie]

Zach you're trailer looks awesome man! Congrats on the award also! I would have to agree that is probably the best home built trailer I've seen yet! Very modern and edgy. I'm hoping one day I can make a road trip to a tear jerker's meeting in our benroy!

[TRP]

Hey Zach,

Nice job on the 'major award'. You should be proud. I read through the thread this past weekend, and couldn't find mention of what battery you went with? I'm rebuilding a 1955 Benroy and am about at the stage where I need to start wiring things up. In order to do that, I'm going to need a battery.

I'm at a complete loss as to what to buy. I don't plan on running anything more that a few lights in the interior, the Fantastic Fan, the galley lights, and a few chargers for phones, tablets, etc.. I purchased the 12v lights from Vintage Trailer Supply. Traditional bulbs, non LED (Sorry ) Our longest trip usually consists of no more than 4 to 5 days at a shot. At this time, I will not be running shore power (110v).

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Nice build,
Ted

[WhitneyK]

Congratulations on the award!!! and well deserved I might add!!!

Sorry to see they already give you THE BOOT though

Great job

[Forrest747]

Amazing. Congratulations on the award. Your builds should be required reading for all newbies

[Robbie]

^^^^AGREED!!!!

[CHUNKYMONKEY]

Congratulations! You deserved it for sure!!
I loved the pictures you posted from the event!
My build is coming along. Thanks for all your inspiration!
gallery/album.php?album_id=2396

[absolutsnwbrdr]

Thanks everyone! If it weren't for reading this entire site I wouldn't have even considered building a TD!

btw, I think there might be a square foot or two left that still don't have LEDs on the XII

Its still a work in progress...

I'm hoping one day I can make a road trip to a tear jerker's meeting in our benroy!

There are TJ chapters all over the place... probably a few gatherings not too far from you too. I'd love to come out west for a gathering sometime!

I read through the thread this past weekend, and couldn't find mention of what battery you went with? I'm rebuilding a 1955 Benroy and am about at the stage where I need to start wiring things up. In order to do that, I'm going to need a battery.

I'm at a complete loss as to what to buy. I don't plan on running anything more that a few lights in the interior, the Fantastic Fan, the galley lights, and a few chargers for phones, tablets, etc.. I purchased the 12v lights from Vintage Trailer Supply. Traditional bulbs, non LED (Sorry ) Our longest trip usually consists of no more than 4 to 5 days at a shot. At this time, I will not be running shore power (110v)

The battery that I'm using is a cheap (~$90) AutoCraft group 27 marine/RV deep-cylce battery from Advance Auto Parts. The usage from lights and fans is pretty easy to calculate, but the amount of power needed to charge your electronics could be a very large variable to account for. Once you know your power requirements in terms of Amps, then you can shop for an appropriate sized battery. The fantastic fan will draw about 3 amps on high. Your 12v incandescent light bulbs are probably about 10-15 watts each which would draw about 1 amp each.

FWIW... the occasions that my battery sees the most use is when I'm boondocking with my friends in the middle of state forest. Since there's nobody near our campsite for miles, we're usually up until the wee hours of the morning with the X-II stereo blasting. The stereo is rated at 17 watts RMS x 4 channels - so 17 x 4 = 68 watts. 68 watts / 12VDC = 5.67 amps. Even with the prolonged stereo usage I can get an entire weekend out of the battery, but it definitely needs charged as soon as I get home. I have a cheap 800 watt Harbor Freight generator that I take along for those trips just in case I do need a recharge.

[derekja]

Hi Zach,

Love the trailer. I'm just getting started on a build with some similarities and would love to draw off your experience. What's the latest on your construction guide and plans?

Thanks!

--Derek

[absolutsnwbrdr]

Thanks Derek! Still not sure when I'm going to be finishing the plans for this one. Its a lot of work, and I'm so busy in the summer that its hard to get much done. If you have any questions about anything I've done just ask and I'll answer the best I can.

[absolutsnwbrdr]

I finally got around to researching some gas struts. Talk about a PITA trying to come up with just the right size and mounting points! Thankfully I have AutoCAD, which probably saved me many many hours of scratching my head. It still took a while though.

The mounting points are all based off of the compressed and extended length of the struts. So I got on McMaster-Carr and looked at what they had and just started laying out my options. After about 15 combinations of mounting points, I found the best ones and then had to decide on strength. Took a wild guess and got the 120lb struts.

Yup. 120lbs. Two of them. And 4 mounting plates, and 4 ball sockets for the struts.



Because of my hatch and seal design, I had to fashion some wooden spacers so the mounting plates were in the same plane. Each wooden spacer was 2 layers of 3/4" oak plywood, and were cut to the shape of the metal mounting brackets. Then everything was screwed into the plywood sidewalls.





I thought the turned out really well!

Well after one night, one of the mounts had actually twisted and tore from the sidewall due to the force. So back to the drawing board. No messing around this time.

There are 2 layers of 3/4" oak boards. The first piece was attached to the sidewall. 5 screws this time (instead of 3), and they're spread out to distribute the force over a broader area.



Then the second 3/4" board was attached to (and thru) the first piece with (7) 2" screws.



So in total, there are 12 screws that grip the side wall. Overkill? HAHA yeah! Might not be as "cutesy-pretty" as the first mounts, but I'll be damned if these things rip out.

Comparing the first mounts to the second version... "form follows function"



They'll get painted, but thats for another night.