Norm's Trailer

[frank-SUN]

Drawer looks real good, Norm. I've seen exposed plies finished before and it can look sharp. The only thing that "ruins" the look is a void in the one of the plies.

I'm a couple of weeks from drawers and doors myself. Should be interesting, never built either. Looking like we'll be installing the bed tomorrow and with some luck, countertops on Saturday.

- Frank

 

[Honda03842]

Frank,

I startd the kitchen cabinets just before I became drawer sidetracked. It's fun to see the insdie coming together.

 

[JohnGB]

40 draws.... that's a pile of drawers.... you will be a pro by about 20....

As an idea, since you now have a table saw, rip a piece of pine about 1/8" thick and glue/camp all around the edge of the plywood front. This makes square corners but finishes it off very well. You can round or bevel the square corners. Only down side to this is if you do not have a planner you will need a belt sander or some type of sander to take the saw kurf circles out of the seen side of the pine.

Between Frank and you, I’m pre planning my retirement camper rebuild project. Build the cabinets a year in advance….

Keep up the good work.

John

 

[Tweety]

How's it going? We're anxious for more pictures when you get a chance

 

[Honda03842]

I have worked on our trailer virtually every day from 8-5 except for mandatory family days since the beginning of May. I continue to make progress though it seems unlikely that I'll finish before we leave for the winter.

We presently have the trailer enclosed and 6 of 8 windows in, most outlets, lights installed and functioning.

The following set of posts provide a view of what I've built. These posts cover yhe last month or so

The following picture is our nearly completed foam box. Note the curvature of the roof. The flat section that makes up our ceiling is 2 inches thick and the curved section is 1.5 inches thick.

Between the two layers of foam is a curved wooden section. The upper curved piece is glued to the walls and to the curved wooden frame. The pavers on the roof hold the curved foam in place until the polyurethane adhesive cures. Wide thread plastic screws designed to hold screws in wallboard are used to hold the foam at the edges until the adhesive cures.

The floor to ceiling pine pieces are on either side of the door way. They are each designed to support one end of an overhead cabinet. The other end of the front overhead cabinets will be supported by wooden walls in the front – you can see them in a later picture.

The floor to center central beam is temporary. You can also see three roof vents.

The bundle of wires coming down from the ceiling is all AC and DC wiring that runs between the two layers of foam that make up the roof. They drop down to appropriate locations through out the trailer. They come down from the ceiling in the bathroom and run through a small wall that makes up a seperator between the shower and toilet area. From there they run under the shower to the front couch area where the breaker box, converter, fuse panel and inverter are located.

I'm big on AC outlets, three in the bedroom, four in the kitchen, one in the bath and three in the living room as well as two outside.

We were just beginning to prime the inside. Bothe the inside and outside have been primed and painted since this picture, simply to protect the foam until we put on the final surfaces.

There will be about 20 of these posts as I have time. Clicking on the picture will enlarge it.

 

[Honda03842]

Rear of trailer and sleeping area.

Now the box is built and painted white, (the neighbors call it the beer cooler) I've begun building the sleeping area. This 5 foot wide window is over the head of the bed, the 4 foot wide storage compartment is under the bed.

The rear storage compartment door will be trimmed in aluminum to overlap the compartment opening.

This is looking from the front towards the sleeping area. On each side of the bed there is a shirt closet with a four drawer cabinet under the shirt closet. As well there is an over head cabinet over the head of the bed. Under the bed coming out each side of the bed are four drawers and a hamper. Coming out the front of the bed are two pantry drawers.

There is a vent over the bed and a window on each side of the bed in addition to the 5 foot wide rear window.

When the trailer is completed this view will not exist because there is a 4 foot wide pantry over the foot of the bed. Two storage drawers come out from the foot of the bed into the kitchen. Above the foot of the bed is a four foot wide counter on the kitchen side. In addition above the counter are two overhead cabinets. On the back of the pantry on the rear of the overhead cabinets a flat panel TV will be mounted. When we are sleeping our feet are under the counter, nothing of the sleeping length is lost, yet we gain a pantry aand four feet of counter space.

SInce this picture a fair amount of drawers supports have been built under the bedi

 

[Honda03842]

Front of trailer and living area

This is the front of the trailer. I had not planned to close it in until the end however we had an approaching hurricane and an open ended box is relatively week so I decided to close it.

The process consists of building the overhead cabinet at the front to tie the two sides together at the top and the front couch tp tie the sides together at the bottom. These two structures provide tie points for bending ¼ inch plywood creating a curved front and providing a base for two layerss of foam.

The overhead cabinet and bench/couch frame are glued and screwed to the ceiling and floor as well as the pine paneled side walls. The pine paneling on the side walls is glued to the walls.

Note that the window that goes in this section has wall to wall wooden members that tie it all together in the center of the plywood.

Once the cabinets and bench are in place, the plywood is bent
so it extends about a foot beyond the front of the floor frame, similar to a typical Sunline, at least ours.

There are six cross members that the plywood gets screwed and glued to - the floor, top of the bench, bottom of window, top of window cross support, bottom of overhead cabinet and top of overhead cabinet. The plywood has been pre urethaned and each piece is about 2 x 7 feet. The inside surface will be visible in the finished trailer.

My regular crowd of people walking to the beach vote for leaving the wood exposed but I intend to cover it with two layers of 1” foam.

After much thought we have decided on an L shaped couch in the living area. 7 feet across the front and 4 feet up the drivers side. It allows a lot of visitors and provides a secondary place for us to sleep.

Cushion test, Next thumbnail,
After we rigidized the front we installed the cushions from our Sunline for the fun of it. This is the old guy working on the trailer – no time for a haircut

Looking from couch towards kitchen. Next Thumb nail

Looking rear ward from the front towards the kitchen wall This is pretty much finished, outlets are now wired and light fixtures in and stove vent in. This section consists of a stove near the door, a clear counter and a sink area. All three sections have drawers under them, from 1-3 drawers in each.


The floor to ceiling cabinet at the end of the kitchen is a hanging closet. Under the hanging section is a space for a traditional air conditioner. The air conditioner is entirely in this cabinet, only vents can be seen from the outside.

The far end of the overhead will eventually be supported by the wall of the hanging closet. The front end is supported by the pine member that makes up one side of the doorway. The doorway pine members support overhead cabinets on each side and the door itself. Actually between the two door pine supports is a small over head cabinet to tie things to gether and provide storage.


28 years and counting, next thumbnail

We decided to see if the cushions from our Sunline would fit. They pretty much do. Not bad for 28 years and counting. it's hard to believe I was 40 years old when these cushions were made.

Prototype table, next thumbnail
Cushions are in and a foam corner table created for fun. My plan is a corner table for two attached to the floor, adjustable up and down to serve as a coffee table or dinner table, expandable to dinner for four, becoming an L shaped table

 

[Honda03842]

More Trailer front and living area

First thumbnail
The front is fully enclosed. Note the twist lock power outlet on side and rear beroom window.

Second thumbnail
The front window and first piece of foam are in place. The pieces of wood on the foam are there to hold the foam in place until the adhesive cures

You may be able to see that the stove vent and grab handle are in place, just past the screen door. The light grab handle plastic had failed after 28 years but ebay came thru and we got a brand new one for $2. Amazing.

Next thumnail
The rear storage area is divided into three sections. There will be 2-3 drawers on each side of the center section that are 16 inches wide by 24 inches deep. The narrower center section is almost four feet deep and will not contain drawers.

Next Thumbnail
The first layer of foam is mostly on and all the living area windows (and actually sleeping area windows are in. One large window in the kitchen and a small window in the bathroom are left.

The first layer of foam is vertical, the next layer will be horizontal


Next Thumnail
Door side shot down the trailer.

Next Thumbnail. View of L shaped couch.
This is a view towards the front of our L shapped couch, 4 feet on the short side of the L and 7 feet across the front. Under the front are 3 comparments; under the short side of the L are four 24 inch deep drawers.

As well under the short secion there is a compartment for the breaker box and DC fuse panel. We used the original breaker box but have increased the breakers from one to four.

Under the long section there is a fourth dedicated compartment for the 1200 watt inverter and our 35 amp converter, both taken from our Sunline. There are three AC outlets under the front couch.


In this picture you can see the window cross supports. All the cross supports have been shaped to the slope of the plywood. The plywood is glued and screwed to all cross members. Cross members are also screwed to the side members, It should be noted that all overhead cabinets are glued to the wall and ceiling as well as being screwed go these surfaces. Benches and cabinets are glued and screwed to the floor as well. Yes I've used a couple of gallons of glue, Titebond II.

As well for most screws I have used Kreg screws, perfect for cabinet building but also great for anything else due to their square drive, I have them from 1 inch to 2.5 inches.

That's it for tonight. I have more to post and will do it tomorrow. Today I installed the kitchen window and put a horizontal piece of foam on the front as well as beginning the remounting of the axle.

I'm really in the fun part now becaus eit's starting to look line a trailer and not a beer cooler.

 

[Honda03842]

Thumbnail 1 L Shaped couch overhead cabinets
This picture shows the overhead compartments above the short side and the long of the L shaped couch. The compartment doors have not been built yet.

There are five overhead compartments, 2 on the short side, 2 on the long side and one on the wall opposite the short side. This basically provides 13 feet of overhead compartments in the living area. Compartments are about 1 foot deep and 1 foot high. Openings are about 2 feet long. Of course there is limited access to the space in the corners.

In the corner, under the compartment can be seen a double light from our Sunline. Note very little has been trimmed out yet.

Thumbnail 2. Doorside Overhead cabinet
This is a shot of the overhead cabinet opposite the short side of the L shaped couch. You can see it is attached to one side of the door supports as well as the front cabinets and to the pine attached to the wall.

To the right of the floor to ceiling door support you can see a tray like shelf that ties the two door supports together and continues the theme of overhead cabinets/ connecting structure all around the inside of the trailer.

You can also see a single light in the front corner of the trailer. All lights will be LEDs.


Thumbnail 3 Short side of Couch underneath storage.

The short side of the L shaped couch has 4 drawers, 24 inches deep x 16 inches wide x 7 inches high. As well there is a breaker box compartment.

The breaker box was taken from our Sunline and over the years has been expanded via breaker addition from one to four 15 amp breakers. As well the original 15 amp power cord has been increased to a 30 amp cord.

In front of the Breaker Box is a fuse panel for DC distribution.

The power cord seen in an earlier picture, plugs in to the wall behind the breaker box.

The wall to the left is a bathroom wall and supports one end of the couch's overhead compartment. The shower pan is on the other side of this wall. The pan is 24x28 inches. Our second TV will mount to this wall.




Thumbnail 4 Front view.

Until I added the 3 front windows it was as dark as a cave. The curved plywood is the back side of the front curved plywood. It will support the rear of the couch cushions.

I may increase the width of at least one of the window's cross supports to provide a front shelf for those mystical small things that need a "place".


That brings us upto date. Since these pictures I've added the kitchen window and a second layer of horizontal foam pieces to the front. I have reduced the thickness of the layers to 3/4 of an inch on the front from one inch because it's easier to bend.

This week I intend to get the trailer back onto it's axle.

As well I did not show it but under the kitchen counter I have installed the water tank and in the bathroom the black tank is mounted, the toilet in place and the bathroom sink in place. It's getting exciting because it's starting to look like a trailer.

 

[Honda03842]

Front

The front is now closed in and water tight (though you never really know until a hard rain). There's a little foam forming to go and than priming and painting

If you click on the picture to enlarge it you can see that I've added a 6 inch wide aluminum trim along the bottom edge of the trailer. Next week I'll do a similar edging to the top of the trailer. Theses pieces tend to dress things up and tie the whole length together. These panels are attached with urethane adhesive, sealed at the top with caulking and screwed into the bottom of the floor.

When we put the vinyl film over the painted surface, it will overlap the top edge of the aluminum.

That's our Bounder to the right. Notice our RV map with one state in white, that's Colorado, the only place we haven't gone in the Bounder in the USA and Canada. (Our 60 foot wide yard does look like an RV park. Thanks for our gracious neighbors.)

 

[Honda03842]

I neglected to mention that like Frank we intend to 'aluminize' a good portion of the front of the trailer to protect it from stone hits.

 

[frank-SUN]

Norm,

Looks like you've been busy up there!

Seeing the pictures, my first thought was, "Wow! It's a lot longer than I had pictured!" I guess you are right around 23' now?

Cabinetry is coming along nicely. Keep those pictures coming, inquiring minds

- Frank

 

[Honda03842]

It is 23 feet long. I may have to buy a Honda Pilot to tow it though I haven't weighed it yet it seems I buy wood every day.

 

[Honda03842]

This is a picture of our rear storage compartment door. I thought the hinge might be of interest.

In an earlier picture I showed the compartment with a chrome hinge; it rusted, at least the core did and in short order actually has discollored the door.

I replaced it with a plastic hinge designed for a tear drop purchased on ebay. The black material is the hinge at the top with the double rows of stainless screws. The top portion of the hinge is caulked and screwed to the frame of the opening, to keep water out of the compartment. The bottom row of screws are of course screwed to the door.

I have taken the same hinge material and overlapped the sides and bottom of the door. On the backside of the portion of the hinge material that overlaps the body I intend to mount some foam insulating tape I am assuming that the pressure of the hinge will keep the foam against the side.

Today we had a rather heavy rain and without the foam but with the caulk no water entered the storage compartment.

I have a chrome T -handle lock and next to it is a bungee cord (normally I leave the bungee on the window and not the door). I use this to hold the compartment open by connecting the other end to a window screw that's not fully inserted. I do have pistons that I could use to hold the door open but among my freinds I'm known for using a lot of bungee cords.

You will also note that below the storage door I have added aluminum trim around the bottom of the trailer. There is a similar trim that runs all around the top as well. The trim is L shaped and glued to the side and screwed to the bottom and opposite for the top trim, screwed to the roof. Besides the adhesive the top edge of the trim has caulking to keep water out. Eventually this edge will be overlapped with a foot wide band of teal vinyl.

 

[Tweety]

Wow this is really coming along nicely. Thanks for keeping us all up to date.

 

[Honda03842]

I should have mentioned that this compartment is 4 feet wide and 16 inches high. It's drawers are 24 inches deep and the center slot between the two sets of drawers is 4 feet deep.