AND YET AGAIN: Paul and Mike Try to Build a Hard-Sided Do-It-All ADV Trailer
- Thread starter mhiscox
- Start date
mhiscox
Expedition Leader
Paul's been working on other projects, including finishing up Jeaninne's Sprinter conversion. He came down to Portland today to deliver a surfboard he's also been working on, so he used the opportunity to pick up the pile of components for the build that I'd gathered together and take it back to Lacey.
I believe that he'll be back on the project again this week and that we can expect some renewed progress.
mk216v
Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
mhiscox
Expedition Leader
Just gotta wait patiently, my friend. I'm sure he'll have my ttrailer done in the proverbial two shakes of a . . . whatever it was.
GR8ADV
Explorer
What is this strange language you speak.Just gotta wait patiently,
.
PaulJensen
Custom Builder
04
(above) With a couple of other projects done, it's time to focus solely on the trailer... As mentioned above, I picked up from Mike the bulk of the remaining components for the build...In the bed, roughly in place, are the fridge and toilet...I'll be getting to those next week...
(above) On top of the steel boxes are the 'pods' that will go on top, and be accessed from the inside... The featured item on this side will be the microwave...
(above) Curbside will have the stove and pull-out sink...
(above) Eventually these will get fiberglassed with epoxy resin and white marine grade paint... The inside will also be built to get wet, with epoxy and glass inside as needed...
(above) I made a little mock-up of the door/drawer system... See if you can figure it out...
(above) The doors/drawers will have a reasonable amount of weather protection with overlaps and gaskets...
It's good to be back...!!!...
(above) With a couple of other projects done, it's time to focus solely on the trailer... As mentioned above, I picked up from Mike the bulk of the remaining components for the build...In the bed, roughly in place, are the fridge and toilet...I'll be getting to those next week...
(above) On top of the steel boxes are the 'pods' that will go on top, and be accessed from the inside... The featured item on this side will be the microwave...
(above) Curbside will have the stove and pull-out sink...
(above) Eventually these will get fiberglassed with epoxy resin and white marine grade paint... The inside will also be built to get wet, with epoxy and glass inside as needed...
(above) I made a little mock-up of the door/drawer system... See if you can figure it out...
(above) The doors/drawers will have a reasonable amount of weather protection with overlaps and gaskets...
It's good to be back...!!!...
mk216v
Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
(above) I made a little mock-up of the door/drawer system... See if you can figure it out...
Well duh, that door/drawer is for the puppet shows! :elkgrin:
mhiscox
Expedition Leader
I told you, Paul, that he was too smart for us.
PaulJensen
Custom Builder
05
That puppet show comment was funny...!!!...
(above) The 'Pod' cases are built, sanded, edge routered and sanded again... After dusting things off, a layer of 4 oz. fiberglass 'e-cloth' is draped awaiting epoxy...
(above) The fiberglass over wood method has me thinking of the work of Anderson Boats in California...Friends have custom work done there, I see lots of pictures of their work and try to follow how they do it... One difference is I use epoxy resin, they use polyester... Epoxy is stronger and more flexible... Less toxic too...
(above) The cloth has been saturated with Resin Research Quick-Kick epoxy resin, squeegeed flat and after a few minutes, the case is rotated to do the other flat side...
(above) The end panels were covered over, then the top flat surface had a coat of epoxy rolled on to fill the weave of the glass cloth...Later it will get sanded smooth before painting...
Next, the inside and face of the cases get sanded further, then glassed and epoxied...Things are progressing nicely...
That puppet show comment was funny...!!!...
(above) The 'Pod' cases are built, sanded, edge routered and sanded again... After dusting things off, a layer of 4 oz. fiberglass 'e-cloth' is draped awaiting epoxy...
(above) The fiberglass over wood method has me thinking of the work of Anderson Boats in California...Friends have custom work done there, I see lots of pictures of their work and try to follow how they do it... One difference is I use epoxy resin, they use polyester... Epoxy is stronger and more flexible... Less toxic too...
(above) The cloth has been saturated with Resin Research Quick-Kick epoxy resin, squeegeed flat and after a few minutes, the case is rotated to do the other flat side...
(above) The end panels were covered over, then the top flat surface had a coat of epoxy rolled on to fill the weave of the glass cloth...Later it will get sanded smooth before painting...
Next, the inside and face of the cases get sanded further, then glassed and epoxied...Things are progressing nicely...
westyss
Explorer
Mike, I couldn't figure out what you were talking about with the service body when we were out and about on the WABDR, but now it makes sense, looking forward to the build for sure. Did you ever consider having the roof structure have permanent walls that would extend down the outside of the service body like a shoe box? that would eliminate much of the technical problems that will arise with keeping the elements out while raising/lowering the roof and putting the walls in place?
Also having it that way can make for a pretty stable roof set up when a person is up there as the roof sides will not be allowed to yaw about by the trailer sides, otherwise how will you keep the roof top and tent from yawing or moving forward/back etc?
I know it might be too late to change things but I only just saw this thread now.
I really like how a scale model was made, when I was designing my rig I built a full scale model from wood to get all the geometry right, this seems more efficient. As for the puppet show set up, well obviously there is already one puppet made ready to go, so seems feasible, I do find the little guy to have an eerie similarity to Paul though, probably by design.
What will be the lift system used?
Also having it that way can make for a pretty stable roof set up when a person is up there as the roof sides will not be allowed to yaw about by the trailer sides, otherwise how will you keep the roof top and tent from yawing or moving forward/back etc?
I know it might be too late to change things but I only just saw this thread now.
I really like how a scale model was made, when I was designing my rig I built a full scale model from wood to get all the geometry right, this seems more efficient. As for the puppet show set up, well obviously there is already one puppet made ready to go, so seems feasible, I do find the little guy to have an eerie similarity to Paul though, probably by design.
What will be the lift system used?
mhiscox
Expedition Leader
Thanks for taking an interest in this thread. Nothing better than having someone of your experience helping with the plans.
We started out with the idea of a lifting roof, but this is a pretty modest, somewhat speculative, project and having the roof stationary really reduced the degree of difficulty and will help keep the cost down. There would have been a lot of advantages to having the roof lower down onto the cabin pods, but while we're probably clever enough to make that work, a moving roof just wasn't in line with the low-key approach we have to this build.
SO . . . as things stand at the moment, the tent and the plywood base it sits on don't move. They'll be mounted rigidly to a support structure (yet to be designed and fabbed) mounted to the trailer. There'll be nominally two feet between the top of the pods and the bottom of the base, and the two sidewalls will fold up from the pod tops to mate to the roof platform. Then, when they are not vertical, they can either fold outboard to make an open-air cabin, or fold in to make the cabin secure when traveling. By being hinged right at the inboard edge of the pods, their two-foot width will join up to cover the four-foot width of the bed.
With the tent up high, we're going to need good stabilizers, but that should be doable. And if not, we'll think of some other plan . . . we're sort of making it up as we go.
westyss
Explorer
Ah! I see, well that is too bad about a lifting roof, when I looked at this image
if the sides came down lower and the roof was wider it would be fairly easy to mount some actuators on the outside of the box for the lift, with the sides of the roof meeting the sides of the service body it would give the lateral and longitudinal support for the whole roof structure. maybe in version 2.0?
What will you use to keep water from entering the hinge area of the side walls? As a trailer it will be wallowing in the spray from the vehicle towing and I imagine the whole trailer will need to be well waterproofed?
Are you kidding me! I have followed all the Paul/Mike productions with keen interest, just gotta love the way Paul works and his pictures and posting methods! Was happy to see another one started:wings:
if the sides came down lower and the roof was wider it would be fairly easy to mount some actuators on the outside of the box for the lift, with the sides of the roof meeting the sides of the service body it would give the lateral and longitudinal support for the whole roof structure. maybe in version 2.0?
What will you use to keep water from entering the hinge area of the side walls? As a trailer it will be wallowing in the spray from the vehicle towing and I imagine the whole trailer will need to be well waterproofed?
Are you kidding me! I have followed all the Paul/Mike productions with keen interest, just gotta love the way Paul works and his pictures and posting methods! Was happy to see another one started:wings: