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This was a pretty serious consideration but with the idea 4 of us will be attempting to live in Lowly full time we will need the additional room during the day (especially if the weather turns foul). Just means that we won't be able to laze around in bed! My biggest hang-up is if one of us...

A penalty I'm willing to take if it reduces the complexity of the system by eliminating motors, screws, gears, cylinders, electrical supply, etc. Minus the weight of the mattress, the bed frame weight that will need to be counterweighted will likely come in at under 25lbs. We're planning on...

Lowly Update: Design of the interior continues and a large portion of it is contingent on the counterweighted drop-down bed I've been developing for quite some time now. Two of these prototype beds will be built, both going into Globe Trekker habitats (Lowly being one of them). This design...

Lowly Update: With the C-Head toilet now in hand, it was time to design some holsters for a couple of the toilet components. Thinking ahead to how the toilet will be used, I figured both the crank handle and the interior hatch/cover will need a place to hang out while the user is making a...

Lowly Update: Paint prep and paint application continues on the various bolt-on pieces associated with the in-board winch system. Everything steel receives 2 coats of FDC Rust Converter Ultra before the paint goes on. I'm using Rust-Oleum Farm & Implement paint that I can source by the...

Lowly Update: The winch arrived and I nailed the mounting holes - couldn't have lined up better if I had tried twice as hard. However, Murphy's Law (as expected) was not to be denied; despite my best efforts at solid modeling the winch with the subframe the winch's cable run necessitated the...

Lowly Update: The truck came with all of the equipment for operating a front and rear winch hook using the same winch drum/motor/cable mounted underneath the truck just behind the rear axle. In my redesign of the subframe to hold my habitat I opted to retain this ability to have a winch hook...

Lowly Update: With the subframe in a new location due to habitat construction it was time to put the finishing touches on before subjecting it to paint. Thanks to Mog, a fellow local ExPo contributor, I was able to borrow some of his high capacity jacks and jack stands to lift the subframe to...

I considered a Markforged printer but their build envelope wasn't big enough for some of the projects I was planning. The MF Onyx material is the bee's knees but other printers can produce similar results at lower cost as long as you don't need continuous fiber laid down with your nylon. I've...

First impressions: it is adequately built, and once the levers are cinched down it is fairly rigid. I have yet to mount it to a floor or put a table on it so not sure how it will handle loads or abuse. With the levers loose, the top flange can rotate independent of the bottom flange so it...

Lowly Update: More interior kit-out goodies continue to arrive. We decided to go with chest-style refrigeration and pulled the tigger on some Chi-Com manufactured ICECOs. Their temperature readouts aren't all that accurate but the fridges do get the temps down to adequate levels. Build...

Lowly Update: Put the Critters to work doing some child-labor type activities such as hardware assembly for the habitat corner caps. Goodies for Lowly keep arriving from my Black Friday shopping spree. The dining table will be able to lower down to provide additional sleeping real-estate...

Lowly Update: With the floor panel properly prepped I had no more excuses to delay in beginning the habitat assembly process. First task was to dry-fit the front and side edge extrusions on the floor panel. Once these items were in place and squared up I marked their center points with...

Lowly Update: With the subframe sitting on the chassis it was time to finalize its location front to back. This position was contingent on the space needed between the back of the cab and the front of the habitat for the pass-thru's geometry AND the ability to tilt the cab forward with the...

The new subframe overhangs off the back of the chassis 23". The habitat will hang another few inches past that. Add in the goodies hanging off the back of the truck and, yeah, it is a fair amount of overhang. Nothing I can do about that in order to have this size of a habitat. I'll do my...

Lowly Update: With the habitat's floor panel laying on the new subframe, I shifted, nudged and coaxed it into its centered position both side to side and front to back. After measuring numerous times and confirming it was in the correct position with the panel's internal stiffeners above the...

Lowly Update: With the subframe 95% welded up (there are some parts needing to be welded once they are located off of the truck's chassis) it was time to remove the deformation caused by the heat of the weld and subsequent shrinkage of the material. Once again utilizing the original subframe...

Any form of stick or MIG welding I've been involved with results in heat distortion - a nature of the beast. Good design, good weld management/logistics, and/or proper preload can help mitigate warpage. Post weld straightening is common for weldments where distortion cannot be avoided. My...

Lowly Update: Before tack-welding the new subframe together I knew its design would result in significant heat distortion due to the welding process. The process of welding creates highly concentrated areas of high temperatures in the material getting welded. As these locations cool back to...

I'm hoping to drive Lowly down to a set of scales this week to get a final minimum weight before I start putting things back on him. I won't have an interim weight, but I will have a fully original weight compared to what he his now. Stay tuned! - Sheik