jesusgatos
Explorer
Ah, cool to finally see some sketches. Love the bike dolly idea. Seems like it would be pretty easy to recess the casters so the frame doesn't have to sit all the way above them?
C5500 TopKick 4x4 Crew Cab Build
- Thread starter NeverEnough
- Start date
NeverEnough
Adventurer
It would be easy to have them recessed, but I actually need 10" of clearance for the break over angle created by the ramp and the wheel wells. I toyed around with mounting the casters on jacks, but decided leave them fixed and use the space underneath for the windsurfing gear and some other items we tend to bring along (i.e. a big 3-burner CampChef and some pop-up canopies).
We're just about ready to take the trailer over to the paint shop. All of the lay-up has to be finished up and the openings for doors, windows, and hatches routed in. Here's a shot of my brother working on the bathroom/galley area:
The wheel wells turned out great, in addition to adding strength to the box:
From the outside:
Son #3 walking through the newly-cut nose door (78"Hx27"W):
Son #2 finishing clean-up on the outside. The boys have been a big help on the project, pitching in after school a few times a week. You can see some of the freshly-coated trailer deck panels in the foreground.
Looking forward to finally starting on the camper box on Monday. Assembly will move a bit faster now that we've worked out the kinks on the "practice" trailer box.
NeverEnough
Adventurer
Thanks! I'm relieved that everything has actually worked so far. We've been mostly in uncharted waters.....:REExeSwimmingHL:
riveroceanandmountain
Adventurer
Wow.... can't wait to see the mothership build:coffeedrink:
jesusgatos
Explorer
X2. Let's see some sketches or something!
NeverEnough
Adventurer
Just go back to the beginning of the thread.
jesusgatos
Explorer
Ah, that's right. Here's a link for anybody else that missed them, or forgot like me.
NeverEnough
Adventurer
Thanks. No primer, just a mist of adhesion promoter, then the coating, which is about 1/16" in thickness. We tried all types of painting solutions, and they all lift the veil too much. I had almost given up on a spray on solution and thought I'd have to glue a finish skin onto the veil, but we tested Scorpion's product and had great results. It takes a while to cure but really does the trick performance-wise. And it will give the rig the look I'm after.
Oh it didn't click with me you were using a coating like that, I caught you were using a urethane coating but I assumed you meant a paint. Sounds like you are using Scorpion XO2 which is more of a truck liner right?
Did you mean the paints lift OFF the veil or they actually make the veil lift?
NeverEnough
Adventurer
Xo2 all over. I am tired of buffing gelcoat.
The other urethane we tried soaked into the pe veil and would have required 4+ coats to get an even finish.
NeverEnough
Adventurer
A few more photos of the trailer before she gets prettied up. This shows the floor build-up. This was necessary for three reasons: 1) provide a suitable load bearing structure for the Coretrax cargo retention tracks; 2)provide a beefier structure for the motorcycle "dolly"; and 3) bring the cargo decking level with the ramp door opening.
Rigid and spray insulation will fill in the remaining cavities. We've fabbed up a 3/4" plywood floor routed to accommodate the Coretrax. All the wood has been sealed with resin or epoxy paint (plywood). The deck side of the plywood is going to be coated with an epoxy paint-chip floor coating.
1x4x3/4 plywood strips were also bonded to the walls and ceilings for additional Coretrax. The strips were drilled and t-nuts installed before bonding for a solid mechanical connection for the Coretrax. These strips, along with the plywood deck and 2x4 backers are the only wood in the entire build.
Here's the ramp door frame mounted to test the slope and fit. PPE panels will be bonded into the cavities. Even with the chassis being so high off the ground, the ramp is not very steep. I decided to have the fab shop add two more pieces of angle crossmembers after our tests.
The final step before lowering the box onto its trailer was to inspect the bottom of the box for anything that could collect water, etc. We ran a bead of caulk around all the pultrusions just to make sure there were no cavaties that could create a "melt-freeze" problem down the road.
The box was then lowered onto the trailer. It fit perfectly!
We ran four cargo straps around the box, and jumped on the freeway, hoping it wouldn't bounce off en route to the paint shop at D&A!
We arrived safe and sound. The nose door marries up to the back door of the camper, and it also has a side door, two side windows, and a bathroom window. It's very tall behind my Silverado, but incredibly light. It should look just right behind the Topkick.
So after going to so much trouble to save weight, the batteries arrived and offset all of that! 2 220 ah AGMs for the trailer and 4 for the camper. That's 240lbs and 480lbs repectively. Ouch!
It will probably take a week to get the exterior coating finished for the trailer, then the inside will be finished out during the "dead" time while the camper box is assembled.
Rigid and spray insulation will fill in the remaining cavities. We've fabbed up a 3/4" plywood floor routed to accommodate the Coretrax. All the wood has been sealed with resin or epoxy paint (plywood). The deck side of the plywood is going to be coated with an epoxy paint-chip floor coating.
1x4x3/4 plywood strips were also bonded to the walls and ceilings for additional Coretrax. The strips were drilled and t-nuts installed before bonding for a solid mechanical connection for the Coretrax. These strips, along with the plywood deck and 2x4 backers are the only wood in the entire build.
Here's the ramp door frame mounted to test the slope and fit. PPE panels will be bonded into the cavities. Even with the chassis being so high off the ground, the ramp is not very steep. I decided to have the fab shop add two more pieces of angle crossmembers after our tests.
The final step before lowering the box onto its trailer was to inspect the bottom of the box for anything that could collect water, etc. We ran a bead of caulk around all the pultrusions just to make sure there were no cavaties that could create a "melt-freeze" problem down the road.
The box was then lowered onto the trailer. It fit perfectly!
We ran four cargo straps around the box, and jumped on the freeway, hoping it wouldn't bounce off en route to the paint shop at D&A!
We arrived safe and sound. The nose door marries up to the back door of the camper, and it also has a side door, two side windows, and a bathroom window. It's very tall behind my Silverado, but incredibly light. It should look just right behind the Topkick.
So after going to so much trouble to save weight, the batteries arrived and offset all of that! 2 220 ah AGMs for the trailer and 4 for the camper. That's 240lbs and 480lbs repectively. Ouch!
It will probably take a week to get the exterior coating finished for the trailer, then the inside will be finished out during the "dead" time while the camper box is assembled.
NeverEnough
Adventurer
I forgot to mention that the box we built is extremely strong. When we hoisted it up from the roof u-bolts, there wasn't single creak or pop- nothing. Two of us can walk around on the roof with no visible deflection, though I'm sure it's moving .125 or so.
That One Guy
Adventurer
Man, I just can't get over how thorough you are! All the research, all the high quality material, all the time, all the inspections and overall perfection of that trailer. Your truck and trailer should be top notch, high quality stuff. You are like the Snap-On of tools when it comes to this thing.