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.

My Own Personal Miyagi

With winter looming and time no where to be found, I have decided to bypass the steel frame.  A steel frame would be extra weight.  There's just too much time involved to design and fabricate it before winter hits.  The weight wasn't there before, so why add it.  I'll figure something else out.

With a crazy busy schedule, I have to get this bird wrapped up before the snow flies...at least movable.

Luckily, wisdom flies, in the form of Uncle Mike.

He visits this weekend to lend a genius mind, woodworking skills that are beyond superior, share some thoughts and discuss ideas, tell me how it is supposed to go together, and possibly share a cold one (or two) in preparation for the re-build.  YES!

I'm definitely looking forward to putting the feathers on rather than plucking them off.

Stay tuned

Cheers!

Details, Details, Details

Potential waterproofing detail...It's all in the details.  Time, weather, and cash permitting will tell.  I need to get this big bird wrapped up before the snow flies and at least road worhty to move from 'A' to 'B'.  The plan now is to get the floor in, get some additional structure into the walls and roof, patch the hole in the roof, then breathe easy.  I don't think time will permit itself to finish the cabinets, bed, table, shower, movie theater, amusement park, night club, office space, restaurant, and all the other BS I can think of to fit in here.

That said.  Big Bird now sits unable to move...not to mention my promise to Lorien upon initial purchase to have it at her house for "only" two weeks while repairs were done (oops, mis calc), which has turned into almost three months.  Bless this beautiful woman.  Buy her jewelry (click on the link to your right).  It's AWESOME!  Her laugh says it all.  I cannot thank you enough Lorien.  Almost there.  Just need to work out the details.

Any questions as to WTF you're looking at.  Let me know, and I will clarify. My best explanation would be, if you were to cut your finger off, then look at it head on, it's a section view...Only I cut a piece of the trailer off.  Not my finger.

Expect much progress in the upcoming month or so...I hope.

 

Cheers Nerds!

Floor Frame Update - July 22, 2013

I met with my welder friend (THANK YOU Nikki Riley!) over the weekend and we discussed some great ideas re: the floor frame.  The new frame will add much needed structural rigidity to the floor.  I'm currently in the process of designing and detailing it.  All demolition on hold at this point until I can get the frame designed.  Then it's in with the frame and I can start putting this sucker back together.   

Stay tuned...

Demolition Day Five - July 13,2013

All that supports the rear end of the trailer are 2"x2" wood pieces that are bolted to the metal frame | All of which are rotted and will be removed

Again you can see the wooden floor support in the upper right corner | Will be replaced with a brand new metal frame





Only three supports under entire floor | All held together with horizontal 'L' metal | You can see the floor jacks just behind each tire | Custom floor frame here we come!
 

No more demolition for now | Interior gets a high pressure bath

Demolition Day Four - June 29, 2013



Side paneling removal opposite the entry | Boards here are completely rotted out from hole in roof

Side paneling completely removed | Electrical box connection hanging |  I am having custom electrical run once I get a floor plan layout together

Paneling @ door completely removed | Propane hose connection removed | The daylight shining through the metal are holes and a rotted connection at the floor, all of which will be plugged

Kitchen wall paneling completely removed

View from where the future kitchen cabinets will be located

Now that the paneling is all ripped out, onto the floor

Demolition Day Three - June 16, 2013

Continuation of paneling | insulation removal @ roof working towards kitchen

Kitchen paneling completely removed

Ceiling removal | Working my way to the back

Found source of moldy paneling @ ceiling | Note the hole in the roof @ about the 11:00 position

Ceiling | Rear paneling completely removed

Start of side panel removal

Side paneling completely removed @ entry side