The SQUARESTREAM

[Tahoe Neil]

Norcal2,

Nice to know there will be a fellow CT converter on the playa…. we will need some luck finding one another.
Im only using aluminum for my backsplash because I have some extra. Its so soft, Im sure I will end up scratching the heck out of it. Stainless would be better. My aluminum came in 4x10 sheets and cost $125 from airpartsinc.com.

Neil

[Tahoe Neil]

After what seems like a LONG time, Im back to building and making progress.

Just about finished building a dresser. Its got a art deco/50's diner look to it. Like all my cabinets and paneling, it is pine and birch with a "stain" of diluted white enamel covered with varnish. The exposed edges of the 3/4 in birch plywood are covered with Aluminum face T nose driven into a 1/16 inch routed slot. An nice clean look that worked out well.

The dresser will be placed against the righted side wall, just back from the front door and run to the bed. Its about 40 inches wide. Three drawers with soft close hardware are in the middle, with two wings holding 6 small storage boxes. When I camp I seem to collect a lot of small stuff: maps, guides, flashlights, rocks, trinkets, notes etc. That's what the little boxes are for.
I still have to add the hardware.






Air Conditioning:

My brother gave me a small window mounted unit for free. Just the right size and the right price.
I plan on powering it with a Honda or Yamaha e2000.

I did not want to mount the unit in a permanent fashion. I usually don't need air conditioning and would rather not carry around the extra weight.
So the air is being mounted in a small cargo door inside the rear cargo door.
Since the unit will never be in place when the trailer is moving, I do not have to worry about my mounting being "bomber strong" or the big cargo door taking excessive dynamic loads from the mass of the unit. When its time to hit the road, the unit just pulls out and the small cargo door closes.




I found the perfectly sized small cargo door on e bay.
Cut a hole through the rear cargo door.
Added reinforcement to the interior of the door. (Found only 3/4 x 3 inch horizontal wood spars inside the door.)



Slipped the small cargo door in the hole, sealed it up, and skinned the door with the Aluminum from the cut door hole.

Using flanges attached to the unit, the weight of the unit keeps in solidly in place…… (The door and the unit are a perfect fit…..sometimes its better to be lucky than be good)




Fired up the air today…… 90 degrees outside, after an hour it was cool and comfortable inside.

Still to do: bed, upper cabinets, build cabinet doors, electrical outlets, mount solar panel, stove/sink countertop, water pump, mattress, molding, molding and more molding

[Glenlivet]

Excellent air conditioner solution! Only thing I see is the shaker makers usually call for a little bit of down angle on the outside, like 1/4" in 12 or so, for condensation drainage. Maybe that one's made to be straight.
The door install looks perfect. You won't get credit because people are just going to think you ordered it that way.

[Tahoe Neil]

Thanks Glen,

Didn't even know about the slope of the air conditioner issue. Hope it works out for me. Around here, its so dry, condensation may never occur.
FYI, I totally stole the concept of the split folding rear bed from you.

Neil

[Tahoe Neil]

Update,

Well, I only feel like I am 3 months behind schedule. Cant really complain because I am enjoying the process.

The trailer is now "campable", just not completely done. The bed is in. The Sink drains. The range fires up. The lights turn off and on…….. you get the picture.




I still have cabinet doors to make and 3 upper cabinets to make. One cabinet over the bed, one over the range/sink, and another over the dresser.

I had a 8 inch foam mattress made by a local mattress shop. 7 inches of firm foam with 1 inch of soft on top. Im liking it.

THe front mattress/bench I did a fair job of building myself, using fabric, and foam from the local Mill End Fabric shop.




The sink/range is temporarily set in a slab of melamine. Fresh and grey water tanks are 5 gallon "cans" under the sink. I have yet to find formica I like or am willing to spend $$$ on. The sink pump was ordered 2 months ago. Never showed. Cancelled the order this week.





110v and 12 v is in, connected and working. Yeah! 15 amp breaker with 20 feet of 10 gauge wire. Still have to install solar panel for 12v.







12 volt LED lighting panel with dimmer switches.





2 gallons of varnish later, and the wood is looking good. Lots of trim to still make and install.




The print fabric covers the raw rear doors and raw ceiling above the bed. Above the bed will eventually be covered by an upper cabinet. The pedestal supporting the middle of the bed is temporary. Eventually I will build a movable box to take its place and serve as storage.





Bought a 2000 watt Yamaha inverter/generator. Runs absolutely FANTASTIC. Yeah, the Honda's and Yamahas cost a lot, but nothing else touches them. Reliable, quiet, and they LAST. I like the Yamaha because the engine is rated to remain EPA compliant TWICE as long as the Honda, ( the cleaner the machine, the better its running and longer it will last). Unlike the Honda, the Yamaha has a gas gauge.

Today I painted the aluminum roof with a white elastomer paint. The roof is SOOO much cooler now. THis is a big concern of mine since a good part of my camping time is in the desert all 4 seasons.

[roadinspector]

Wow!! Your interior really looks nice. You did an impressive job. You might check on a wrecking yard for a sink pump. Test it before you bring it home. Bleach it out and you should be good to go. In this area we have a couple of yards that end up with wrecked RV's and part them out. At least whats left of them, when they end up on any side other than wheels down they tend to look like they explode!! Thanks for the

Earnest

[norcal2]

Neal great job! You are a great cabinet maker, much better then myself! If i see your rig on the playa somewhere Ill stop by!

[sportxlh]

That looks great!!! I like the a/c setup too!!

[Tahoe Neil]

Norcal2

Sounds good. Come by and I'll host you to a cold adult beverage. Then well hoist another to those of us who believe well enough is never good enough.
Corner of 7:45 and H, Mutant Machine Town.

Neil

[Tahoe Neil]

Earnest,

Your idea of tapping an RV wreaking yard is a good one. The small cargo door i put in for the AC I got off eBay and it was NOT cheap. I've yet to find a yard in the Reno area though. I will keep looking cause It will take at least a year before I tire of adding parts

Neil

[roadinspector]

Neil,
I don't know about Reno but in my area we don't have any yards that are RV specific, our yards are auto yards but they have just about anything there including a couple of RVs. Good luck.

Earnest

[norcal2]

Norcal2

Sounds good. Come by and I'll host you to a cold adult beverage. Then well hoist another to those of us who believe well enough is never good enough.
Corner of 7:45 and H, Mutant Machine Town.

Neil

Ok Ill be over on the other side around 240 and J..our theme camp didnt make it this year! Ill stop by and check out your rig! see ya on the playa...

[Tahoe Neil]

The Devil Is In The Details.

Ive been working on the details.

This is an update on the 12 volt electrical system.
I purposefully designed a 12 volt system that uses very little current. The whole system draws only between 0.2 and 1.5 amps.
THis is because all my lighting is LED. (6 ceiling puck lights and 2 under cabinet lights) The only other 12 volt draws I have are the fresh water, on demand, sink pump, fantastic fan, and any occasional phone/toy charging. (I never use the fan)

I have no inverter. If I need 110 volt, I use a Yamaha2000 inverter wired to a separate 110v system in the trailer.

The 12v battery is charged with a 4 square foot photo voltaic panel on the roof. I mounted the panel using 3M's commercial double back foam tape. The wire penetrates the roof under the panel and is sealed with silicon.



K.I.S.S. , Keep it Simple Stupid.
My battery, fuses, switches, and solar panel inverter are all housed in a stainless/plastic tool box I picked up from H.F.
The box sits in a secure "cubby", under the bed.



My friends say, "Dont try to take that box as carry on when flying"....... I think it looks like a cheezy 1970's TV prop of a bomb. I love it.
There are only 2, DC circuits on the trailer: Lights and Pump/Outlets. The two circuits plug into the BOX with 2 RCA plugs. The Solar Panel plugs in using a microphone plug.





Being a certified nerd, I wired in a monitor that measures Volts, Amps, Watts, Amp-hours, Watt-hours and more
The whole thing fit nicely in the BOX. It also makes a nifty portable 12 volt power source.




More on the way: Kitchen counter top, Upper cabinets, cabinet doors, trim, hardware
(Ill do better at shrinking the pics)

Neil

[OverTheTopCargoTrailer]

Hi Neil

Great build your working on, sorry just noticed it. Hey since we are so close by I was wondering if we can hook up some time, i'm in San Jose Ca and it
may be a fun trip to come up and see you & your build in Tahoe. Also your certainly invited for a BIG FREE lunch if your in San Jose with your trailer
You have given me some inspiration again, as I was thinking to go bigger, but really whats the point ?
I should be happy and make due with what I have. I have some ideas on insulation that may help with your current or future build.




Jerry

[Tahoe Neil]

Thanks for the encouragement Jerry.
Ive admired your work all the while I was building mine.

Ive sent you a PM. Once the snow melts, I'll travel some more.

Neil