Base Camp Trailer Build

[myers]

Are you still having adhesion problems? What exact product did you use? I am not aware of a SW DTM Alkyd Enamel. Is it DTM Acrylic? Also, did you go to a neighborhood retail store or the commercial store in your city? How did you prep the metal before painting?

I ask because I am a painting contractor and have used many of their industrial paints. If you are still having problems let me know and I will see if I can give you some guidance (and definitely recommend a different product)


I agree, sweet garage, and great looking trailer so far.

 

[rwingnut]

The paint has really hardened up in the last several days. I guess that's what they mean by 7 day cure time. I could bang on it with a wrench and it would leave a slight mark but not really a scratch. No bare metal. I looked at the DTM Acrylic, but ended up going with the DTM Alkyd for the rust inhibitor. http://protective.sherwin-williams.com/detail.jsp?A=sku-26031%3Aproduct-6796

I think the store I went to was a retail/commercial. They have a retail looking store front but carry and are knowledgeable about the industrial stuff. I talked to the SW automotive store and they thought this was the right product too.

For prep, after all the sanding/grinding/wire brushing, I washed it down with a degreaser and a pressure sprayer.

I am interested in your recommendation for other projects. I think this will work out (I guess I won't really know for a year ), but the 7 day cure is kind of a pain.

Thanks for the compliments.

 

[piratexpress1369a]

pretty wild build ..what will you be skinning the trailer with ?

 

[rwingnut]

..what will you be skinning the trailer with ?

I've been talking to a local trailer shop about skinning it for me. They plan to use aluminum with a baked on finish (I think).

 

[piratexpress1369a]

cool that will keep the weight down

 

[silvrzuki77]

Great build! Did you make the upper and lower shock mounts or buy them? I might have to switch to a similar shock setup with my airbag setup.

 

[rwingnut]

Did you make the upper and lower shock mounts or buy them? I might have to switch to a similar shock setup with my airbag setup.

I made my own mounts out of square tube that fits the JKS Manufacturing Shock Mount Stud http://jksmfg.com/i-10079986-shock-mount-stud.html. The studs were perfect for this application and were less than $5 each.

How do you like your air bag setup? Do you have pics? Do you have shocks on your setup now? If not, is it pretty bouncy?

 

[rwingnut]

silvrzuki77, just saw your build thread. Pretty cool. I'll have to read through from the beginning.

 

[myers]

Yeah I was in my commercial SW store the day after I posted and ask my sales rep about the DTM Alkyd. He had great things to say about it. I ask him why he never recommended it to me and his immediate response was "7 day cure", (I'm not very patient).

As far as a recommendation for future projects SW BondPlex is a great product. It is water based and a much better product than DTM Acrylic which is what I thought you originally used (I have no experience with the DTM Alkyd so can't comment). Not sure on the cure time but it is waterbased (so fumes won't be nearly as bad as the alkyd) and dries quickly. Another bonus is you won't have to worry about temperature as much with it and based on the pictures that crappy little shop you have probably doesn't have heat. Just kidding, but seriously you mentioned cutting firewood so I would assume you have cold temps arriving which poses two problems with the alkyd 1. Depending on how your shop is heated, if you spray inside you could blow yourself up from the fumes being ignited by a pilot light or something (it does happen) 2. The cold temps will cause your cure time to double, triple, or just make you want to shoot something.

The other option you have (and I wish I would have gone with my gut and used this on my trailer instead of Monstaliner) is SW SherKem. (I ONLY RECOMMEND THIS PRODUCT IF YOU HAVE A RESPIRATOR AND GOOD VENTILATION). Obviously with that warning this is not water based. I have used this many times on many different things (several enclosed trailers, a box truck, industrial applications, etc.) and it is amazing. Extremely durable. Holds color and sheen like crazy. It's what companies like John Deere use on there implement equipment. You can recoat it in 15-20 mins (but before 2 hrs) and full cure in 24 hours. Two warnings: 1. It is a very "hot" product so if you are repainting something do a test spot to make sure the existing paint can handle it, otherwise it will wrinkle or won't properly bond. 2. High gloss is super shiny, like looking in a mirror, it will probably have more shine than your tow vehicle.

On another note, you mentioned having a local shop skin the trailer for you. Based on the work you have done on your trailer I would think you are more than capable.

 

[rwingnut]

Thanks for all the info. Invaluable. SW BondPlex sounds like something I need to look into. That 7 day cure on the low temperature end of the range extends quite a while. I jumped the gun a bit and started to fit the floor. Scuffed up the inside a bit. Nothing that I can't touch-up. But, the long cure is a pain. You're right, my crappy little shop doesn't have heat. I couldn't afford to heat it, it's too big. HaHa.

As far as doing sheet metal work, I often use a project as an excuse to learn a new skill or acquire a new tool (hmm maybe a bending brake), but in this case, I'm ready to go camping.

myers, thanks again for your input.

 

[justbecause]

:lurk:

 

[rwingnut]

More progress

Progress has been slow this winter. Had some plumbing/remodeling projects to do. That's finished now so I can continue my build.

I've decided to skin the trailer myself. My local shop was pretty hesitant about doing this job. They have plenty of work with a known profit and my project is a bit uncertain. I understand. I've got a good idea of how I want to do it. I'll probably be using 3M VHB or something like it to bond the panels which requires warm temperatures. I have a few months to figure out my plan till the weather warms up consistently. In the mean time, I have plenty of other things to work on.

I finished cutting and fitting the floor. I cut some access panels for access to the air springs with some ABS plastic covers.



I had originally planed on using slam catches for the tail gates and some sort of linkage like in a truck topper for the top doors. I was not happy with the designs I had come up with but couldn't come up with anything better. I finally came across rotary latches. These are the types of latches used on pickup truck tailgates. They are popular among the hot rod crowd when rebuilding doors, so I could find them at really reasonable prices at speedwaymotors.com. I bought a pair to try out. They worked great! Easy to align and has some adjustability. They are a really solid closure. I'm sold. I've ordered enough to put them on all my doors.

Here's a tailgate install.


Here's a side door install.


Next task is the gas springs for the side door lifts. I ended up writing a little optimization program to come up with the pivot point locations to ensure that the forces are reasonable. Those new rotary latches can leave a good dent in the top of my head if I don't get the forces right :Wow1: I need to finish up a few details on the brackets, then I should be able to start fabbing them up.

 

[rwingnut]

More Progress

I got the gas spring mounts for the doors fabbed up this weekend. I ended up writing an optimization script to determine the mounting locations to get the force profile I wanted, everything was just too sensitive doing the trial and error method. Once installed, everything worked as designed: light force holding the door closed, transitioning to opening force when lifted about 20 deg. and 6-8 lb force required to close it. It's great when that happens. Here's a few pics.







Mcmaster Carr has an excellent selection of gas springs, different lengths and forces plus all sorts of different fixing options. I ended up using rivnuts to create the threaded holes for these mounts. I've used them before but for more light duty applications. I did a test piece to really crank on and essentially do a pull test. I was really able to distort the 16 gauge tube that I had it mounted it in but the rivnut looked fine. I had always used a half-assed bolt and nut method to install them in the past because even the cheap tools are expensive. I ended up biting the bullet and getting a proper tool. It made installation a breeze.

Next up is to cut and fit the inner wall panels so that stuff bouncing around inside don't ding it up from the inside.

 

[rwingnut]

I got all of the inner wood panels cut now.

Starting to put polyurethane on them but drying time has been a bit slow since we've just gotten a bit of a cold snap; we got a bit of snow this morning.

Last weekend I painted all the brackets and touched up all the areas on the frame that I welded brackets and such to.

sgiandubh turned me on to a local place for getting the sheet metal for the siding, Trade Work Supply. On their website they advertise that they "help DIY'ers with their projects". They really do. Jerry has been very helpful and the prices are very reasonable. I picked up the aluminum sheet metal yesterday. I'll have a bit of fitting and trimming to do but it shouldn't be too bad since everything has come out pretty square.

 

[rwingnut]

Fitting Sheet Metal

I have the sheet metal cut and nearly ready to apply (0.030 AL). A few details to clean up and then I'm ready. I bought a cheap, carbide, aluminum cutting, blade for my circular saw. I have a plywood cutting jig that ended up working really well. It left a nice clean edge. Dragging a de-burring tool down the edge was all it took clean it up. I used a piece of rigid foam insulation to support the material when I cut and a wax cutting lube on the blade.




I used a hand nibbler to clean up the inside corners and cut the slots for the rain gutters.





I've decided to use the 3M VHB commercial vehicle tape to attach the sheet metal. A friend and I have been brainstorming the technique and steps that we'll use. Working time is -0-. It's supposedly permanent at first contact. Got to get it right the first time. We were planning on doing it this weekend, but forecast says a cold front is moving in. We need at least 70 deg. F for proper bond. Next weekend.