Project Choose Your Own Adventure

[ScottyB]

Looking incredible man!  Love the lofted bunk for little man, how long do you think you have until he "graduates" (ie gets too big) for that shelf?

Also, did you talk about what the exterior skin is going to be?

thanks! we've probably got a year, maybe 2 until he's too tall to fit up there...at which point it'll become a luggage shelf / dog bed and he'll sleep on the main bed. i'll probably get kicked out to a tent next to the trailer i snore anyway, it'll probably be better for everyone when that happens. definitely part of the drive behind getting this on the road, i only have so long until he's too big/too cool for mom and dad although i hope he always wants to come with us.

exterior skin will be .040 aluminum sheet over top of a baltic birch "outer layer." i considered just having the birch be the main skin but it will require constant upkeep to maintain the deterioration from UV exposure, and much less sturdy both to shrug off rock chips or if a branch falls on it. the aluminum also comes in colors which could be fun.

[WRXtranceformed]

Looking incredible man!  Love the lofted bunk for little man, how long do you think you have until he "graduates" (ie gets too big) for that shelf?

Also, did you talk about what the exterior skin is going to be?

thanks!  we've probably got a year, maybe 2 until he's too tall to fit up there...at which point it'll become a luggage shelf / dog bed and he'll sleep on the main bed.  i'll probably get kicked out to a tent next to the trailer    i snore anyway, it'll probably be better for everyone when that happens.  definitely part of the drive behind getting this on the road, i only have so long until he's too big/too cool for mom and dad although i hope he always wants to come with us.

exterior skin will be .040 aluminum sheet over top of a baltic birch "outer layer."  i considered just having the birch be the main skin but it will require constant upkeep to maintain the deterioration from UV exposure, and much less sturdy both to shrug off rock chips or if a branch falls on it.  the aluminum also comes in colors which could be fun.

Nice!  I figured your long term plans weren't to have all 3 of you in there.  How are you going to waterproof the metal?  Could the metal be cut to overlap in such a way that you wouldn't need to spray or seal it really?  I'm just thinking back to the copper roof we have on the farm cabin and how that just kind of overlaps and does its job (although I'm sure there was some kind of sealant under it)

It would be sweet to just like Rhino Line the entire thing after you lay the metal down

[JPolen01]

Looking incredible man!  Love the lofted bunk for little man, how long do you think you have until he "graduates" (ie gets too big) for that shelf?

Also, did you talk about what the exterior skin is going to be?

thanks!  we've probably got a year, maybe 2 until he's too tall to fit up there...at which point it'll become a luggage shelf / dog bed and he'll sleep on the main bed.  i'll probably get kicked out to a tent next to the trailer    i snore anyway, it'll probably be better for everyone when that happens.  definitely part of the drive behind getting this on the road, i only have so long until he's too big/too cool for mom and dad although i hope he always wants to come with us.

exterior skin will be .040 aluminum sheet over top of a baltic birch "outer layer."  i considered just having the birch be the main skin but it will require constant upkeep to maintain the deterioration from UV exposure, and much less sturdy both to shrug off rock chips or if a branch falls on it.  the aluminum also comes in colors which could be fun.

Nice!  I figured your long term plans weren't to have all 3 of you in there.  How are you going to waterproof the metal?  

If you are referencing the siding, aluminum doesn't rust.

[WRXtranceformed]

Looking incredible man!  Love the lofted bunk for little man, how long do you think you have until he "graduates" (ie gets too big) for that shelf?

Also, did you talk about what the exterior skin is going to be?

thanks!  we've probably got a year, maybe 2 until he's too tall to fit up there...at which point it'll become a luggage shelf / dog bed and he'll sleep on the main bed.  i'll probably get kicked out to a tent next to the trailer    i snore anyway, it'll probably be better for everyone when that happens.  definitely part of the drive behind getting this on the road, i only have so long until he's too big/too cool for mom and dad although i hope he always wants to come with us.

exterior skin will be .040 aluminum sheet over top of a baltic birch "outer layer."  i considered just having the birch be the main skin but it will require constant upkeep to maintain the deterioration from UV exposure, and much less sturdy both to shrug off rock chips or if a branch falls on it.  the aluminum also comes in colors which could be fun.

Nice!  I figured your long term plans weren't to have all 3 of you in there.  How are you going to waterproof the metal?  

If you are referencing the siding, aluminum doesn't rust.

Yeah not so much of the metal rusting but water getting behind the metal and rotting out the wood / messing with the electricals

[Apoc]

It isn't a competition, but if there was one, Scotty would be winning.

[ScottyB]

Yeah not so much of the metal rusting but water getting behind the metal and rotting out the wood / messing with the electricals

yeah waterproofing is a huge deal with these. if even a little water makes its way in, welcome to Mildew Town, might as well burn it down.

the aluminum skin will be 3003 sheet, a standard grade that's great for just about anything. popular with aluminum sign makers and for the trailer skins on big rig trailers and comes in 4x8 and 4x10 sizes. it might show water spots/deposits over time, but won't rust.

the aluminum will be attached on the edges with trim, with sealant underneath the trim contact areas. here's an example:



otherwise no permanent adhesive - the panels will "float" over the birch skin, only being attached on the trim areas. this will allow it to expand/contract in the weather without warping since the metal and wood will expand at different rates and in different humidity. under the aluminum, the birch will have a heavy coat of poly to protect it from any hidden condensation.

side panels will be 1 sheet of 4x10, so no overlapping issues. same with the hatch. roof will most likely be at least 1 overlap because its a 5 foot wide cabin and common sheets are only 4 feet so i'll have to run the sheets sideways to cover the width. a simple overlap + trim strip across the width will take care of that.

you'll be seeing a lot of water intrusion measures coming once the skin goes on. its every builder's biggest headache/challenge/source of anxiety.

It would be sweet to just like Rhino Line the entire thing after you lay the metal down

people do that too! i didn't like the texture so i'm sticking with bare aluminum or a powder coated color. a big part of this is the retro look and feel, so i'm being entirely too emotionally swayed by that and i'm just gonna own it.

[WRXtranceformed]

Spray that whole thing with Flex Seal! If the pitchman who sawed a boat in half made it float with it, it's good enough for the trailer!

[JPolen01]

Spray that whole thing with Flex Seal! If the pitchman who sawed a boat in half made it float with it, it's good enough for the trailer!

I vote for this. It will be ugly but it will be waterproof!

[Apoc]

Yes, do this... but only after you saw it in half.

[ScottyB]

working on the galley "pantry."  i didn't want standard swing-out doors because they'd interfere with our stove/cooking equipment sitting on the counter every time we wanted access.  so the decision was made to do basic sliding panels.  they're dead simple and as a bonus are unlikely to open up in transit because there's enough friction that they don't slide on their own, and obviously can't be popped open by pantry items falling into them from accelerating/braking.

the "tracks" they slide in were made by doing nothing more than passing the wood strips over the table saw blade set to a super shallow 1/4" cut. i was also able to make good use of leftover 1/8" birch paneling that was cut out of the cabin door area, to use for the pantry doors. so no wasted material there.







still rough and in the early stages of finish.  the doors will each get a hole for a finger-grab and the tracks need a good sanding in the grooves to take out any remaining binding.  they'll never be silky smooth and that's OK - but they need to be a little looser.

[GTBrandon]

This is turning out so badass! I’m in love with the main wall and light set up, looks like I’m walking into someone’s home which will make camping in this thing that much more enjoyable. Carry on Captain, you lead the way for the rest of us.

[ScottyB]

rough-fit teaser of part of the galley counter, not properly trimmed or anything yet.  upper "pantry" cabinets are almost done, still need to put a door on the bottom left cabinet and put finger holes in the sliding panels.  mobil1 doing a great job holding glued trim in place to dry.

the poplar wood (green hue to it) came from an old bed rail. the other woods are walnut and hickory. thought it made a nice image of the blue ridge mountains...where i hope to spend a lot of time.


tested the "porch" lights with a quick wiring mockup.  these replaced some rinky-dink lights that i originally, mistakenly had in place that were really only bright enough to light up a licence plate.  these are waaaay better and the photo doesn't show how bright they are.  nice and low profile and canted about 45 degrees down for a good field of light on the ground to see what you're doing at night.

[ScottyB]

project's not dead...just dealing with a lot of "life stuff" between illnesses, puppy, kid is home all day on summer break, etc.  i'm lucky if i get 2 hours to myself anymore on a saturday.

i did finally get the counter done.  it was quite a bit more to deal with than i expected...about 3 inches too wide to run through my DeWalt planer so i had to flatten it out the old fashioned way, just an antique Stanley jack plane, a lot of sweat, and a sore arm followed by a long pass with a high grit belt on a borrowed belt sander.  its not 100% billiard flat, but its smooth and has plenty of made-by-hand charm.  yet another case of me having to remind myself i'm not building a freakin lunar rover, it just has to hold a stove and plates and keep my beer within easy reach.



the whole thing is a minagerie of cast-offs and reclaimed old junk sprinkled with some good stuff.  the "sky" is a poplar bed rail and the "ground" is oak bookshelves taken from furniture that was being junked from Jen's childhood room.  you can see the original veneer color on the counter edge. the "mountains" are hickory/walnut shorts from woodshop projects and i'm still getting mileage out of my stash of grandpa's walnut trim.  

it needs a little cleanup on the leading edge to cover some gaps at the side, and then a nice thick coat of poly and let 'er rip.

[JPolen01]

Dude that looks killer! I helped a friend build a table yesterday out of some oak and it was actually more fun than I anticipated. I can see why you like doing this stuff. Whenever we move on from our townhouse and I have more room to work I would like to start building little things here and there.

[.RJ]

Amazing

[davej]

 but its smooth and has plenty of made-by-hand charm.  yet another case of me having to remind myself i'm not building a freakin lunar rover, it just has to hold a stove and plates and keep my beer within easy reach.

Oh man, this is coming along real nice! I had my first taste of a music festival this weekend (Red Wing Fest maybe?) and there were a ton of dirty hippies camped out all weekend and it made me want to get a pair of birkenstocks and a teardrop like you're building.

please continue with the updates when you can.

[.RJ]

Any updates on this joint?

a hole for a finger-grab

awww yissss

[WRXtranceformed]

Any updates on this joint?

a hole for a finger-grab

awww yissss  

GRAB 'EM BY THE PLYWOOD!!

[ScottyB]

Any updates on this joint?

a hole for a finger-grab

awww yissss  

GRAB 'EM BY THE PLYWOOD!!

lol how did i miss this series of zingers?

been gone for a while.  things are gonna pick back up this year.

2018 was kind of a shitshow.  my poor wife went through multiple health issues out of the blue which left me basically taking care of everything at home for 9 months.  the poor camper sat dusty, forgotten, and filled with boxes in the corner of the garage since April when put that galley counter together.  not to mention all the other projects that need attention around this olde house.  

one of the results of my wife's diagnosis is she now needs an APAP machine to help her breathe at night as a result of sleep apnea.  i had no plans to run A/C power in the camper (for simplicity and efficiency), only D/C, so this meant making some running changes to the electrical system so she can plug the machine in somewhere in the cabin.  had i gone ahead and wired the camper as i intended, and then sealed it all up under the wood skin we would be screwed.  i'd have had to rip the skin off to add that power line back into the walls, so by yet another bout of Pure Dumb Luck™, the slow down gave me time to figure out how to add this wiring.

first order of business was grabbing a little 300w pure sine inverter to run off the battery and convert the DC power to AC, and send it to a little power strip in the cabin.  this little Samlex PST-300-12 fits perfectly in the tongue box, where it'll be hardwired to the battery.  a little more expensive than the other China-verters in its range but such a quality piece.  on our battery, i think it'll run the APAP on a nightly shift with ease along with the LED lights and other USB chargers, possibly even 2 nights in a row without putting much dent in the charge.  that said i'm still glad we are mounting a solar panel to supplement some passive recharging back up during the day if we can't plug in to campground power.

i found a piece of laminate plywood scrap that was just the right size for a mounting plate.


m'lady handling m'wood HAHAHAHA how am i not single


every dad worth his salt has a pile of wood scrap and a random plastic bucket of leftover screws for just such an occasion.  i found 4 mounting screws and 3 bolts to connect the inverter to the plate and the plate to the tongue box.  its tight but there's still plenty of room to route cords and wires especially once i finally get them all trimmed up and bundled with zipties.


next was figuring out the best way to run A/C power to the cabin, and galley.  we know we'll need power access in the cabin for the APAP and maybe a laptop charger, but in the galley we won't run much - both due to the modest capacity of the inverter and the fact that any cooking needs will be taken care of by propane or open campfire.  but, we're running A/C to the back of the cabin already now, so i might as well figure out a way to get an outlet another 2 feet further back to the galley in case we ever need it.  the most efficient way to deliver that power is to just turn an extension cord into an outlet.  the cord just makes a short run from the powerstrip under the bunk to the location up on the galley pantry.  the powerstrip cord will run from the inverter outlet, into the cabin, and will stay hidden 99% of the time under the matress.  you'll only see the cord running up the wall at the back, but its mostly out of sight anyway.  i still have to cinch the yellow wire down to the wall and floor with cable tie downs.

 

and up...


and then into the galley pantry.  


i had to add that walnut trim around the outlet as a mounting aid.  the electrical box is meant to be surface mounted, so there was no way to secure it in the hole i cut out.  as a result the walnut trim is glued to the wall and provides a "collar" between the cover and box, and keeps them both from falling through the hole.


finished outlet.


wiring was simple.  just strip and separate the extension cord wires, then Black to hot, White to neutral, and send Green to ground and then on to the ground point on the weatherproof outlet box.  i chose a weatherproof box because i wanted a metallic ground point and because it had a cover in case we get a little rain blowing in before we can shut the hatch.  or to keep dust out.  

while i was there, i also cut a chamfer on the edge of the counter and added a decorative thin strip of Purple Heart wood to cover a gap i didn't like.  the chamfer is necessity, i didn't calculate my hatch thickness correctly and have to remove that material to make room.


lastly i had a gap between the counter and the galley side walls.  found some walnut scraps and chiseled/sanded some plugs to fill the space.


looking forward to making more sawdust this spring.  i've got a couple other wood projects that are finally in process too, so now that i've got the momentum i'm not planning to hit the brakes any time soon.

[WRXtranceformed]

Man I'm sorry to hear about your wife but it sounds like things are hopefully under control health wise? And as it relates to this build it sounds like the timing was probably best so that you didn't have to go ripping up tons of your wiring