69 Roltite Rebuild

[Steeze]

I picked this 1969 Roltite up yesterday for $150... it's one of those pop-ups where the sides fold up. Anyways there was no saving it so I started the demo yesterday and got it down to the frame in about 5 hours.





Today it's 2 trips to the dump. I pulled the stove and heater for recycle, other big metal and copper heating lines. The rest is trash.

 

[Steeze]

This is my Xterra that will be towing the pig... I will be building my trailer to match the X.

 

[Steeze]

The plan is to shorten the frame up a bit.. modify and add some some things. Clean it up and bedline it. The trailer has electric brakes but I have no idea how they work so I have some researching to do on that. I would like to get them working.

The trailer came with all sorts of goodies... I kept some of the windows that were still intact. I kept the sink and a sweet aluminum water tank. It also had a battery charger I would like to use. I have a lot of wiring/electrical things I need to research. Any help with that would be appreciated.

The plan is to frame it with steel. Plywood, insulation, and for the outside I haven't decided whether I want to use steel or fiberglass. I'm still looking into all the options and doing my homework.

Feel free to throw any idea my way. I love recommendations...

 

[Mark Harley]

Nice score!
Lots of great extras to start with.
Looking forward to the build.
Any sketch up yet?

 

[Steeze]

I drew a picture of what the end goal will look like.. I'm not an artist though. I visualize it and build it.

 

[Funrover]

This will be fun to watch!

 

[Steeze]

Well it doesn't look like I got much done today but I did... The dump took a while and was way more expensive than I thought. I'm pretty sure it's cause I live on an island. Either way after the dump I need to recollect funds.

Today was a lot of rust busting. I shortened it and cut some pieces. I also pulled the passenger hub and got it all cleaned up and greased. I'll tackle driver side tomorrow. I spent a good portion of the day getting organized and busting rust. I'm worn out...





The plans are not entirely established... I'm now thinking of building it out of wood. I want it to be as light weight as possible and I think steel will be too much. Nothing is concrete yet but here's a sketch of what I'm planning. This is obviously lacking detail but you get the idea...

 

[Steeze]

Got some work done that last couple days... I finally finished busting rust and welded in the new rear cross-member. I also welded in some square tubing and added some steel mesh in some places in the front. I also disassembled and cleaned up the hubs, wheels and electric brakes. Once everything was cleaned I gave the frame a light coat of rust inhibitor and then bedlined everything. I put 3 coats on it, almost a gallon.

By the way I'm using all Rustoleum products on this build...







The bedliner cured for 3 days and then I began working on the floor. I notched some 4x4's to fit in the frame channel.





Then I used 3/4" tongue and groove plywood for the floor. The seams line up directly over the 4x4's. I will be using Rustoleum Restore for the undercoating. It's the new product for refinishing decks. It's 10X thicker than paint and super durable against weather, temperature fluctuations, it's flexible and very thick. I will be coating the bottom of the plywood floor, the edges and about 3" onto the top. Then I will use liquid nails and roughly 20 carriage bolts to secure the floor to the frame. The 4x4's will also be coated and the floor will be glued and screwed to the 4x4's at the seam. I will also run a bead of titebond3 in the groove. This is it laid out...

 

[Steeze]

Ok so I scored a 2 gallon case of Rustoleum Restore in Adobe for $20. It was marked 50% off at the oops shelf and I have no idea why... I was going to do black but this color is pretty neat so I'm stoked with how it came out. This was my first time using Restore and it is amazing! I definitely recommend coating your plywood with it. It goes on thick and it feels very durable. I love this stuff and will definitely be using more of it. It kind of has a heavy knockdown texture to it.





Once the Restore was dry I laid down a nice bead of liquid nails and bolted the floor to the frame. I also screwed the floor to the 4x4 crossmembers and used lag bolts through the frame to secure the 4x4's It's Very sold. I also applied liquid nails to all the seams and did a light coat of bedliner over the seems and knots and edges. Then I rolled a coat of regular rustoleum black enamel to seal up the plywood floor.



Late lat night I finally got around to flipping the axle. I gained about 4" in height. It's so much better and gives me a substantial amount of ground clearance. I'll get pictures up some time today.

I've got the day off so i'll be heading to home depot to get some plywood and 2x2's for the walls. I'm excited to see this thing start to take shape today.

 

[Mark Harley]

I like it!
Looking very good.

 

[Steeze]

Thanks Mark

It's starting to take shape... it's been a lot of hard work to get this far. It's really nice to see the shape.

Started with a 2x4 foundation that has been liquid nail'd and screwed to the deck...





Then it was time to cut out the shape of the trailer... this is it attached for mock-up



This is it with the front and back on... I have to wait for the roof until I get my interior plywood and insulation put in. Then I can start buttoning it all up.



I did salvage these nice aluminum access doors from the old trailer... just need to change out the locks and of course seal them in. Behind these doors will be my batteries, water tank, propane etc... Oh and the cheap lights are not staying there. I will be relocating them and upgrading to LED.

 

[Steeze]

In the picture above the rear bumper is just sitting in the frame... I'm notching and bending it to wrap the corners. I got one side done tonight... cold bending that thick steel was difficult but I got it done thanks to a couple ratchet straps.

The access doors will have the locks replaced, sealed like I'm keeping out poisonous gas and painted black with some reflective tape stripes... more to come with those. I will also fab up a step so that I can easily access the roof rack I'll be building eventually.

The slanted panel above the access doors will have two solar panels, one on each side. I'm all about the free energy so I'll be harnessing the power of the sun to keep my batteries healthy. The panel beyond that will hold the roof rack.

As for windows and doors I'll be utilizing tinted glass on all the windows and door. The door is a teardrop door, I'll be using 2 maybe 3 round porthole windows, a long sliding window on the port side and on the forward roof I'll be utilizing a skylight of some sorts. I will most likely run a solar panel or two with the skylight.

The spare tire will go underneath the trailer... I have so much ground clearance I don't like the look of spares anyway. On the port side I will mount an awning, I have a fairly long wall so I should be able to get a decent size awning on there. I will also have an axe and shovel mounted on this wall.

As for the inside I will install cabinets to hide the utility space and provide storage. I will also include a small sink, microwave, outlets for the coffee maker and a cooler/fridge. The trailer will be insulated and finished out nicely. I've decided to go with laminate wood flooring, i'll be doing baseboard and interior trim as well. The mattress situation is still in the works but I'll come up with something good.

Anyways... That's the plan

 

[Steeze]

Ok so I got quite a bit done today... I started by filling all major seams with BondoGlass (amazing stuff). I also bondo'd some of the bigger knots and whatnot... I still have more to do but you get the idea...



After a quick sand I sprayed some of the Rustoleum flexible leak stop paint. It's $10 a can so kind of expensive but one more ought to do it.





I also got a start on the roof. This is the front of the trailer... I did a bit of an overhang, this is not finished by the way. It will look nicer when Im done.



This leads me to my next project which was getting the large interior board in before the roof goes on. It's not fully installed yet I still have some more framing, caulking and insulation. Gives you a good idea though.

I also caulked every seam in the framing.. excessive? I don't think it's absolutely necessary but it's good insurance and keeps any wind or moisture out.





And the insulation.. I got the good stuff. Energy efficient, moisture barrier, lightweight, eco-friendly, and chemically safe. I kinda splurged on the insulation.



I also got the rear bumper cleaned up, ends bent and welded, and a first coat of paint. It's bolted on with Grade 8 bolts and it's thick and heavy.

 

[Mark Harley]

I like everything so far except the front roof overhang.
I think it will act like a parachute going down the road and catch air and water forcing it into the seem.

I had a Visor on my 1993 F150 PU that looked great but was a big air catcher.

 

[Steeze]

Oh don't worry the roof overhang isn't finished... I have more work to do with it. When I'm done it'll look much cleaner and be much more aerodynamic.