My brother and his girlfriend went out to Las Vegas for a week so we had a little bit of a break from the build. We were able to sneak in a few hours before they left so we used the opportunity to tackle a couple of small jobs and finish up a few other things.
June 18:
First we finished securing the black and gray water tanks under the floor. We had previously only had them held up with a couple of screws to get things lined up. We now have screws all the way around the mounting flanges and the tanks are tight to the underside of the floor. I still need to make up some supporting straps for the tanks, hopefully get to that soon.
Once those tanks were secure, we cut a couple of holes in the ceiling for a pair of speakers:
Then cut some supports for the speakers out of 1/2" ply:
And finally mounted up the speakers with the backings:
Then we finally drilled the last hole for the black tank vent pipe. This one had to land in the bathroom wall and line up perfectly with the one in the floor. It was a bit nerve-racking.. off by 1/4" and the wall and ceiling would have been damaged. Thankfully we got it in the right place.
With that out of the way, we moved onto some rough wiring. Broke out the diagrams, marked the locations of some of the light fixtures, punched some holes and started pulling copper:
In the bath, a double fixture will go over the sink and a single fixture will be over the shower:
There will be wall mounted switches for the sink light and the fan-tastic fan. These wires run down the wall for the switches:
Up front, there's a single bulb fixture right over the entry door, and a double in the middle of the "living area":
Back in the galley, a double fixture centered over the standing space:
Next the switches next to the entry door. These will do the outside "porch" light, the inside fixture over the entry door, and also a small amber light under the trailer to illuminate the step. Also seen is a loop of wire destined to feed the range hood and the under cabinet lights:
Up front outside we have a provision for a single bulb fixture over the hitch & LP tanks:
Here's a couple of shots to give an idea of how the wiring is being run through the roof. Keeping everything tied off to the sides to allow for easier placement of insulation later:
That about sums it up for that day.
When my brother got back from his trip we were able to get two days in before he had to head home and back to work.
July 1-2:
We have all the cabinet fronts back at my place and stained/polyurethaned. Time to start installing the cabinets. First we start with the wardrobe, the bare face frame finished:
I had made up the side for the wardrobe the day before but the camera was dead so I couldn't get any in progress pictures.
Anyway, here's us mating up the side to the face frame. Each piece had a little bit of a twist in it making this installation a real bear.
After a lot of wrestling, in place and secured (something like 4 hours later)!
The inside of the wardrobe area is lined with paneling as well:
With the cabinet in place, we mounted up the power converter:
Then built a support shelf and mounted the furnace:
Cut out and framed the opening for the furnace air intake/exhuast vent:
Next we moved on to the galley cabinets. Start with the overhead so we don't have to try to reach over the base cabinet to work on it. First order of business is to mount the face frame to the ceiling in the appropriate position:
Now we start framing the floor of the cabinet. Whenever possible, I like to frame this stuff in place because it takes out a lot of variables and results in a perfect fit.
Next we brace the framing, and pull it out of the trailer to skin the bottom. Hard to see in the pictures but we use the plastic trim against the face frame and on the edges. The edge against the wall gets a length of the bead trim. Skinned and ready for installation:
Time to get it in place and secured. The floor is attached to the face frame with the Kreg jig and to the wall from the outside with screws, through the studs. A couple of screws are then added from outside, through the paneling into the framing to keep everything tight.
Done!
Moving onto the base cabinet, same deal. Get it in place and secured to the floor, then frame up the end panel:
Then skin it and mount it in place:
The whole works:
With the cabinets in place I mocked up the range hood so I can cut a hole for the vent and get it framed out:
Then I started running wires through the cabinet floor for the range hood and the two under cabinet lights:
Finally pulled the switch wiring through the wall. We will mount the light switches on the side of the lower galley cabinet:
Meanwhile, my brother was outside making up an end cap for the upper galley cabinet:
To finish off the edge of the end cap, we will use rubber T-molding:
Installation is simple, you use the router to cut a 1/16" groove in the edge with a slot cutting bit:
Then put the stuff in with a rubber mallet:
The little piece is just for illustration. After he finsihes the endcap we will do the whole edge in one piece and mount the panel with the Kreg jig.
And that's it for this week's update. Starting to look like something though! Hoping for cooler days later this week so we can get more work done. Not really wanting to work when it's 98 degrees out.
- Frank
