WAKE UP!  Who has to go to the lavatory? 

(Dick Vernon - Breakfast Club - circa 1985)

I'm back...Since November 27, 2013...I've just been looking at this damn thing in my driveway.  It has given me ample time to contemplate the future of this bird...I'm still not even sure WTF I'm doing with it.  If you're a weirdo like myself and just make projects up because you think they're rad...then actually try and build it (them) in a day or over the weekend, you are reminded of this wonderful experience called patience.  

Not the GNR version with the whistling, but the project rendition...a masterpiece always takes longer than expected.

Which brings me to...be patient...I'll get there.

Over the weekend I was planning on moving the trailer down the hill for the winter to avoid further damage by snow.  It has been pretty beat up just sitting there, letting old man winter take his toll.  With no interior bracing, it was a noodle.  I have since braced it for highway travel, installed temp wheel wells, and...this is the best part...it has new electrical.  I guess I can thank patience.

Long story longer...I needed a new harness for my car to the trailer, one with a circuit protected converter...OK.  New to me, never heard of it, seems simple enough. It's only electrical.  I've installed stereos, made lamps, positive, negative, ground, piece of cake...FKN electrical.

I simply cut the harness at the tow hitch and hook existing into the new.  Only new one to the party is the RED wire.  For the brakes.  Simple right.  Splice the RED wire on harness to RED taillight wiring in car.  RED to RED.  Done!  Not the case.

After two days of frustration with my brake lights not working, I rewired the entire trailer front to back, purchasing all new light fixtures, who knows how many trips to the hardware / auto part stores only to have the brake light still fail me.  Blinkers worked, hazard lights worked, running lights worked, but no brakes...After enough Budweiser, I traced it back to the beginning... 

I spliced the wrong wire at the wiring harness at the car.  With a tester light and my lovely lady's hand on the blinker and foot on the brake, all was said and done.  As simple re-splice on the correct wire gave me brake lights.  For as much frustration that came out of not knowing what the problem was, I have patience to thank for slowing down the process a bit and making sure I really understand WTF I'm getting myself into.  Plus I got brand new wiring and new lights out of the deal!

I've got a feeling I'm fighting a great white with a bamboo pole.

Patience...

I'll be back.

Home for the Holidays

Not as high as an eagle, but big bird flies once again.  A HUGE thank you to Lorien for letting me nest this thing for "a couple weeks" which actually amounts to 6 months apparently.  It was a minor logistical error.  Not to worry, all is well.  We're all home for the holidays.

Before

After

I'd like to compare it to a 6 mo. long magic trick.  Not bad huh?

Home

Happy Thanksgiving...

Be back soon.










Fits Like a Glove!

I do not like daylight savings time.  Working in the dark is not as cool as it sounds or looks because you cannot see anything                                                                                     

See what I mean...

Any who, today was floor install day. 

The day began circa 8:00 am with jamming a car full of tools.  From there... 

First order of the day, frame got a good grinding.

Then a bath of Rustoleum primer, finished with Rustoleum black.

Front corner frames installed and fastened to existing 'C' channel frame with 1/4" x 4" SDS screws.

1-1/2" SQ. steel tubing (red) was bolted inside the existing 'C' channel frame to catch the back portion of the floor frame.

'L' brackets were used to keep everything in order at the rear of the trailer.  Once everything was in place, the frame was BOMBER.



As the darkness fell, It fit.  Whew!



Back of trailer will house bench seating | with storage below | a beer drinking table | that will transform into the bed | with lighting & storage above.  Design TBD.



Front of trailer will house the kitchen area and whatever other cool stuff I can think of to include...like a custom built-in cooler for a lot of cold beers.  The door will be completely rebuilt...contemplating a dutch door design.



Next on the list...wheel wells.  Stay tuned...

Finish circa 7:00 pm

 

With old man winter on his way, things might slow down a bit here, but please check in soon for updates.

 

Cheers!

Floored - Part II

Finished the floor assembly this past weekend (WOOHOO!) and relocated it to Truckee.  It sits for now awaiting final installation.

Ice and H2O shield applied to rear panel of floor.

Final staples driven home to secure Tyvek to interior of floor assembly.

Installed sleepers over Tyvek which will provide a nailing surface for the finish floor.



Cut rigid insulation between sleepers so we can keep it HOT!

 

Sheet metal strikes again!

 

 

Fully loaded and ready to roll.

 

Already looks good in the trailer - final installation happens in a couple weeks.

Check back soon for more updates.

 

Cheers!



Floored!

Started the floor construction this past weekend...Part 1
 


1/2" pressure treated ply will make up the floor - built in (2) sections so they'll fit through the door, they will slide into each other once finished to the complete the assembly.



On the bottom side, we plugged the holes with bondo, then sanded flush with ply to ensure a smooth surface to which I applied VYCOR Ice & H2O shield.

This is a picture of the (2) pieces together - the 2x PT will be lapped, glued and screwed to the remaining pieces to create the corner supports upon which the floor assembly will sit.

We milled trim pieces that wrap the entire perimeter on the floor - which provides a larger nailing surface for finish materials.

This is actually the bottom side of the floor.  3X3 'L' flashing was cut and bent around the perimeter of the floor - then the Ice & H2O shield was applied to the entire underside of each piece. 



This is the top of the flooring assembly - you can see the perimeter trim just inside the 'L' flashing.  It sits 3/4" above the plywood to allow for rigid insulation.



This is the rear frame support prior to glue and screw.

After glue and screw.  This will be screwed into the existing metal frame to create a solid structural base for the floor to rest upon.



A layer of 1/2" PT ply was then screwed to the top of each corner frame in order to obtain a 2" overall dimension to match the existing metal frame of the trailer.



In this picture you see the corner frames sitting inside the floor assembly.  Once we install the floor in the trailer they will be underneath the floor and secured to the existing metal frame.  Also note the top side of the floor will be covered with house wrap.  On top of the housewrap are sleepers to fasten the finish floor to.  In between the sleepers sits the rigid insulation.

A very HUGE thank you to Uncle Mike!  Stay tuned for Part 2 and the final installation of the floor...then this thing will be mobile once again and out of Lorien's front yard.

Cheers!

Waterproof Floor Detail

If water infiltrates this I will be very surprised...kind of a bomber assembly, but I'd prefer to restore this thing once.

Floor Fabrication starts soon.

Stay tuned.

"I'm looking through a hole in the sky" - Black Sabbath

Great album.  Please do take a minute to listen to Black Sabbath.  It does wonders for the soul.

So there was a hole in the sky...



Before
 

 

"With a little help from my friends" - The Beatles

Interior patch work | Flattened it out | Vycor to Vycor as the base to seal it tight
 



Over the Vycor on top went a piece of aluminum flashing soaked in silicone, then a bigger bandaid over that | Look closely for the lines of the metal flashing below | Eventually the metal skin will be replaced...but for now, it's a "Bridge Over Troubled Water (Intrusion)" - Simon & Garfunkel

In other news, Uncle Mike and I figured out an awesome floor system.  Fabrication coming soon.

Stay tuned.