2022 Ford F550 - DIY - Adventure Expedition Vehicle Build Thread

[Vance Vanz]

Resin Infusion - Internal Walls (Continued......)

The Infusion


Cured & Removing Consumables

 

[Vance Vanz]

Resin Infusion - Internal Walls (Continued......)

The Final Product - 4'x8' panel

Peel Ply Side of the Panel

Note: The small ripples on this side of the panel look worse in the picture than they actually are. I will be able to easily fair them out, but I was surprised to see them, as this is the first time any layup of mine has done this. If anybody knows why, please let me know. And of course, there is the spiral feed imprint in the center of the panel that will be faired out, again it looks like a bigger indentation than it actually is.​

Layup Table Side of the Panel

This side looks pretty good. It came out nice and glassy except for the seams from the layup table, which is to be expected. My seams in the layup table are epoxied and sanded, so they don't have the exact texture of the MDF laminate. A light sand and this side is basically ready for paint. The 5.7oz overlapped x 2, on the front/face edge, also came out nice. So glad this smooth finish will save me a lot of time on fairing work/prep for paint.​

Now it's time to put my head down and crank out the remainder of the internal and external panels. I'm hoping it will go quicker ?, but I'm guessing close to a month ? to infuse all of the remaining panels. My next mountain to climb in the CF process.

​

 

[Vance Vanz]

Resin Infusion - Internal Walls - Layup #2

A little more of the same-same related to resin infusion (RI), but I thought I would keep posting to keep the thread alive. We can't have a build thread go dead for a month ☹ ? while I finish all of these panels.

The panels are starting to get larger and more complex.

I was able to layup/RI all of the remaining internal structural walls, in one panel; five needed panels being layed up in one larger (7'-2" H x 12' L) panel. I will jut rip the exact size I need off the larger panel. This took a little strategizing/planning, but allowed me to maximize materials and avoid multiple layups. I had to contend with two seams, 2" overlaps in the CF, on this layup. I again also wrapped the ends with the 5.7oz CF for added structural support and less finish work on the face ends/edges. The layup schedule is the same as the previous panel.

You can see in the photos that I also had to layout some reference painters tape to get everything to sit square on the table and line up for the CF overlaps, following layers and consumables.​

Consumables & Set Up:

On this infusion, the feed hubs down the center are spaced at 2', 4', 4' and 2' from the ends of the panel/apart, therefore the resin does not have to travel more than 2' down the length of the panel. This is the general norm of max spacing for feed hubs if you want to keep infusion times on the 30min to 1.5hour time frame-generally speaking. On the width of my layup however, the resin has to travel about 3'-7". This is generally not a good practice, but I wanted to test how long it would take to infuse at this distance for future layups-in case I want to save on consumables by extending the 2' industry standard, or incase I have a layup that I may need to extend the distance the resin needs to flow. Better to test all of this out on a smaller internal wall, than on a larger/more complex external wall. I also have slow infusion hardener, so my open time is a lot longer, which allows me to play with things a bit ??!​

Continued.....

 

[Alloy]

Resin Infusion - Internal Walls - Layup #2

A little more of the same-same related to resin infusion (RI), but I thought I would keep posting to keep the thread alive. We can't have a build thread go dead for a month ☹ ? while I finish all of these panels.

The panels are starting to get larger and more complex.

I was able to layup/RI all of the remaining internal structural walls, in one panel; five needed panels being layed up in one larger (7'-2" H x 12' L) panel. I will jut rip the exact size I need off the larger panel. This took a little strategizing/planning, but allowed me to maximize materials and avoid multiple layups. I had to contend with two, 2" overlaps in the CF on this layup. I again wrapped the ends with the 5.7oz CF for added structural support and less finish work on the face ends/edges. The layup schedule is the same as the previous panel.

View attachment 744481View attachment 744480View attachment 744482

You can see in the photos that I also had to layout some reference painters tape to get everything to sit square on the table and line up for the CF overlaps, following layers and consumables.​

Consumables & Set Up:
View attachment 744484View attachment 744485View attachment 744486View attachment 744487

On this infusion the feed hubs down the center are spaced at 2', 4', 4' and 2' from the ends of the panel/apart, therefore the resin does not have to travel more than 2' down the length of the panel. This is the general norm of max spacing for feed hubs if you want to keep infusion times on the 30min to an 1.5hour time frame-generally speaking. On the width of my layup however, the resin has to travel about 3'-7". This is generally not a good practice, but I wanted to test how long it would take to infuse at this distance for future layups-in case I want to save on consumables by extending the 2' industry standard. I have slow infusion hardener so my open time is a lot longer, which allows me to play with things a bit ??!​

Continued.....

Excellent!

 

[Vance Vanz]

Resin Infusion - Internal Walls - Layup #2 (Continued......)

Infusion:

FYI: In case it is useful information: Epoxy used (Resin and Hardener) was 808 ounces or 6.31gallons. Note: this was more than what was used in the smaller 4x8' panel when comparing/calculating resin used per the same area. It took about 1 hour and 20 minutes to wet out a majority of the panel, except for the two last corners that were lagging. Total infusion time to wet out the last corner completely was 2 hours and 33 minutes.​

Messy Time ?:


Continued.....

 

[Vance Vanz]

Resin Infusion - Internal Walls - Layup #2 (Continued......)

The Final Product - 7'-2" H x 12' L panel

Peel Ply Side of the Panel:


Layup Table Side of the Panel:

The last two photos are of the seams in the CF, 2" overlaps of the cloth, No Where in Sight. I love it ???!​

​

Now it's time to layup my first side panel, one of the largest on the build. This will require a ton of layout before I can get to infusion. Hopefully ? I don't screw something up in my layout. "Measure 100 times and infuse once" I think is the saying!

​

​

 

[Vance Vanz]

Excellent!

Thanks so much Alloy ?!

 

[rickgibbs]

Resin Infusion - Internal Walls (Continued......)
The Final Product - 4'x8' panel

This build thread has been amazing to follow, I am learning so much. Curious, what was the final weight of the 4x8 panel?

 

[StenchRV]

Vance,

I will follow along. I have read your thread now and then and never put 2 and 2 together when you were commenting on mine. Project brain fry....LOL!

NICE work!

CHEERS!

Craig

 

[rruff]

I'm hoping it will go quicker ?, but I'm guessing close to a month ? to infuse all of the remaining panels. My next mountain to climb in the CF process.

Ha! I think you are making lightning progress! It'll probably take me a month ? just to remove all the 3m super weatherstrip adhesive that I decided I didn't want. What a tedious PITA chore! That stuff is definitely designed to survive Armageddon...

 

[TheRizz]

Humanness Check In:

Hi All,

Sorry that it has been a month since I have posted to the thread. I’m going to start off with a humanness check in as August was a bit of an emotional roller coaster ???. You might say August represented LIFE, aspects of life that happen whether you like it or not and events that are not always within your control.

In early August I lost a family member. It was unexpected and he was much too young to be leaving this world. He had well over half of his life left to live. This obviously hit me and my immediate family pretty hard. I had to travel for the services and I also spent some additional time out of town with family members.

Shortly after this loss there was a wedding for an immediate family member of mine. Although this was a time to celebrate and be joyful, it was a bit of an emotional polarization considering it was shortly after the loss within the family. And for some of us, visiting family is not always a positive thing. I also had to spend several days traveling for the wedding as well.

Lastly, the court proceedings for a lawsuit I am involved in (I’m trying to collect money that someone owes me) began in late August. Luckily, I am the plaintiff in the matter, but going to court is never easy and the other person/defendant is being difficult and has strung this case out for almost a year now. Why can’t people just play nice ??

These events have taken a mental and emotional toll on me, as well as taken quite a bit of time away from the build. I lost about 10 days on the build in August. After coming back from some of these events, it was hard to get motivated on the build, or work long days at the shop,

Some of you might be thinking I’m sharing too much personal information, or why is this information important to the build thread? Let me explain!

Considering: it took two months longer than expected to find a shop to start the build, I originally was not planning on having to design/build the subframe or habitat box, I haven’t had as much active help on the build as I was planning on and LIFE happens, I am way behind in the build schedule. I’ve tried to compensate for this by working harder and longer-seven days a week, 10-12 hours minimum per day and I often work even longer 14-16 hours.

I know projects naturally cost more money and take more time than you expect, but some of the events noted above (within and outside of the build process) have turned weeks into months of being behind in the schedule. It’s just a hard pill to swallow when so many things are unfolding that are, to an extent, out of my control and not what I had planned or would want to happen. Also, working seven days a week has me mentally, emotionally and physically drained at times and sometimes even on edge . It then doesn’t take much, like the loss of a family member and/or a stressful lawsuit, to exhaust me.

Being at the point in the build process that I am currently at probably also doesn’t make matters any easier. I believe fiberglass and carbon fiber may just be the most labor-intensive and time-consuming construction method out there-and I'm not just talking about the overlanding industry. You can’t really rush CF; it just takes the amount of time it takes and it unfortunately takes a lot of time. Slow and Steady. I’m also pretty much working solo on the build and these are big CF layups, so it is a mountain of work. The amount of prep time needed never ceases to amaze me. I'm probably going to try and hire someone part-time or full-time to lend me a hand and get the build somewhat back on schedule.

There were even a few days when some difficult aspect of everything noted above happened on the same day, including multiple vendors screwing something up related to the build. This put me in a bit of a tail spin, an exhausted, depleted and simply beat down state. I even questioned for a moment, "Is this build just too much given where I'm at in my life and what is currently happening in my life?" It all passed pretty quickly, but it was there and it was a hard spot to be in.

Maybe I don't need to say this, but i'm going to. Please know that my humanness check ins are not about complaining or just being negative. I think many people, myself included, go into a build with high hopes and aspirations of how great it will be to have an overlander/expedition vehicle ?. We are primarily thinking about all of the cool trips and beautiful places we can visit, the dreams we can experience while in comfort ???! The amount of money, time, energy and even sacrifice needed can sometimes be lost in the initial excitement of everything. Having someone else build your rig is one thing, but building it yourself is a whole other world. There is the material construction process of the build itself and then there is the behind the scenes mental, emotional, physiological, relational, financial, temporal and even sacrificial process of the build. It is this latter process that I'm calling the humanness side of the build. This is the other part of the build process that is not often explicitly talked about. I'm just shedding light on this other part of the build process and trying to depict it as well as I can along the way.

Hopefully my humanness check ins will normalize and validate what others have/or may experience during their build-when a fun idea and hobby can easily turn into work and even a grind.

Switching gears slightly ?!

I have actually found some sick and twisted comfort ? in watching a YouTube channel by an Aussie who is building a catamaran out of fiberglass https://www.youtube.com/c/LifeOnTheHulls/videos. The sick and twisted comfort is that he is exhausted at times too and this stuff takes consistent and persistent hard work. His detailed and in-depth depiction of the process really shows how long glassing projects can take. This guy has been on this project for years. He’s an animal and my hat goes off to him. When I’m doing a solo 5-7 hour CF layup after already having worked for 6-8 hours the same day prepping everything, I think of his build and how long he has been at it. Watching his build channel after a long solo slog of a week of non stop CF work can also normalizes things for me. Wherever I can find validation and inspiration, I’ll take it. Keep at that damn catamaran Ross, YOU DA MAN!!!!

YES, I cannot agree more about CF manufacturing. I spent six months working in a shop building everything from trike seats and turbine scoops to a 40' power boat and a 50' sailboat. It is an incredibly inefficient process and we had teams of people with enough knowledge to offset my inexperience (as well as much inexperience on the crew). To do this build solo is an incredible undertaking and I appreciate that you are sharing it with us. Its hard and a ton of work when it goes well! (I left the job because I found it to be exhausting and I don't regret it at all.)

 

[Vance Vanz]

This build thread has been amazing to follow, I am learning so much. Curious, what was the final weight of the 4x8 panel?

Hey rickgibbs,

Thanks for your kind words and checking in!

I like how you're thinking. I was meaning to get my first panel, the 4x8' sheet, on a scale, but kept forgetting to grab it from the house. Mind you, this is only a bathroom household scale, so it may be off by a pound or two in either direction , but it is showing 34.6 pounds.

I'll be posting the weights of the build as things progress, so there will also be a total weight of just the CF camper shell at some point.

 

[Vance Vanz]

Vance,

I will follow along. I have read your thread now and then and never put 2 and 2 together when you were commenting on mine. Project brain fry....LOL!

NICE work!

CHEERS!

Craig

Hey Craig,

Nice to meet you and thanks for popping over to the build thread.

You have every excuse to be in "brain fry" mode right now ! I can relate, I was trying to get a simple bathroom scale from the house and take it to the shop to weigh my first CF panel and I forgot it every single day for about a week. I finally had it in my hands, with several other items, but had to set it down to lock the front door. I was half way to the shop and realized I didn't pick it back up, Uggggggh?. I turned around and drove back to the house just to get the damn thing.

For those of you following this thread, that have not seen StenchRV's thread, pop on over to his. He is in the thick of his build right now and things are looking great!

Can't wait to see how everything comes together Craig, I'll be watching.

 

[StenchRV]

Hey Craig,

Nice to meet you and thanks for popping over to the build thread.

You have every excuse to be in "brain fry" mode right now ! I can relate, I was trying to get a simple bathroom scale from the house and take it to the shop to weigh my first CF panel and I forgot it every single day for about a week. I finally had it in my hands, with several other items, but had to set it down to lock the front door. I was half way to the shop and realized I didn't pick it back up, Uggggggh?. I turned around and drove back to the house just to get the damn thing.

For those of you following this thread, that have not seen StenchRV's thread, pop on over to his. He is in the thick of his build right now and things are looking great!

Can't wait to see how everything comes together Craig, I'll be watching.

Vance,

I can TOTALLY relate to the bathroom scale! Glad my shop is only 20 feet away from the build. I have lost track of how many times I go back and fourth. I can get 10,000 steps in and never leave the hanger

AWESOME build! It will be fun to watch your progress! HUGE undertaking making your panels!

Looking good!

Cheers,

Craig

 

[Vance Vanz]

Ha! I think you are making lightning progress! It'll probably take me a month ? just to remove all the 3m super weatherstrip adhesive that I decided I didn't want. What a tedious PITA chore! That stuff is definitely designed to survive Armageddon...

Hey rruff,

Good to hear from you!

I was wondering what you have been up to. Bummer related the weatherstripping. It drives me nuts to have to do something over again/twice, especially when it is messy or finicky.