EarthRoamer XV-JP "Northwest Edition"

[PaulJensen]

Nine...

Nine…

(above) Six days later…

(above) Opened the Jeep rear door to check the playing conditions…

(above) Not good…Since I last checked, a heap of rain has fallen…The back door obviously leaks…

(above) Depth gauge in back…

(above) Deal with that later…Now is dry, skylight type things fix better in dry…

(above) Pre-existing…

(above) A peek inside to see if anything leaked in the days since before rain…Oh yeah…

(above) Light relay thinggys submerged…

(above) What came out…Five gallon bucket…

(above) After the sponge out, I set up a heater…

(above) Look humid to you…???…Thankfully the upper fabric on the lift-up is Gore-Tex…

(above) To the back door…The door here fits factory flush…

(above) Up high, it opens up close to 1/2”…

(above) Same on the curb-side…

(above) Solutions…???…

(above) Light pressure…Time to think…

(above) While thinking, I move up here…

(above) Funky…

(above) I went back in to check out how dry and warm things were getting…While in there I move the once submerged “light things” out front and spread ‘em out…This wiring is pretty well done…Still crimped but done right…I’ll board mount them before they get buried…

(above) After thinking a while, I returned to a big leak due to a less than great design…See up high on the right…No hinge…There are two hinges low and the lack of another hinge (or two) and the fiberglass E.R. custom door falls away at the top…Gasketing won’t help…L-Beam bracing might…Too much work, Brah…

(above) Mo’ bettah to use U-Channel…I had this piece in the garage from…???… Up here it will be installed as a gutter / deflector for the significant water that comes off the back with the roof up…

(above) Aluminum 3/4” channel from Lowes…

My theory back here is this: The door is warped and no gasket will be reliable, so I accepted that the door is leak prone…And without throwing serious money into a door redesign the next best thing is to gutter over the top……A compromise solution…But one I’m happy with…Puttiing the gutter 1/4” from the door keeps a huge percentage of water off the door gasketing…Next…

(above) With that resolved, time to double up on heaters inside…

(above) While the cab-over roof warms, inside the shop, the U-channel is wet sanded…

....continued....>

 

[PaulJensen]

...continued.....>

(above) While waiting for the aluminum to dry was a good time to see into the inverter…I pulled the monitor out in 30 seconds…

(above) Next, it was off with the cover…

(above) …then the faceplate…

(above) This is moving too…

(above) Pull those to reconnect the 120V…

(above) Perfect, the refreshed ideas about the battery compartment are coming together…

(above) Back to the aluminum channel…Drill out for mounting over the door…

(above) It feels like a lot is getting resolved today…Next, it was time to put the solar panel in like it is a skylight, not a refrigerator trim panel…

(above) The dual heater were cranking, the fiberglass was warm, time to reinstall…Towel dry everything…

(above) The weather was as good as it gets these days up here…

(above) Dabs of bedding silicone are laid down…

(above) Next a thick perimeter bead of silicone was laid out, then the solar panel was repositioned…

(above) All around, caulking was generously applied…

(above) Smoothed out and cleaned…

(above) Let it rain…

(above) As it looked at closing time…

(above) Just noticed a missing bolt…

(above) Finally, UPS brought this...

More later...

 

[mhiscox]

Sigh . . .

Good to have him back, though, and it's a very good thing that he's found these EarthRoamer leaks prior to starting the finish cabnetry.

 

[Overland Hadley]

Sigh . . .

Shesh Mike, go with the 'flow' here. Just think, at the moment you have an integrated shower, or jacuzzi tub with those ballasts sitting in the water. Sure, the cabover is a little small for two people to enjoy the hot water, but this is a one person camper right.

:elkgrin:

 

[Ford Prefect]

I'm off for about a week…More later…

This is unacceptable!

This is like my son! If he can not have it now he does not want it at all! Northern you should have deleted the more later bit, it sounds like you do not want it at all now.

For me I would love to get as much of this as I can, and can wait for a happy Christmas season to pass prior to the reading. Besides this way the rest will be like a late Christmas present!


By the by Paul,

Why did you not select a wider U channel? It seems to me that much water all at once would end up just flooding over that thing and potentially you still have the same problem. I was thinking the same thing as you, but I was thinking about one that was an inch wider and an inch taller. Can I please get your opinions on why you did it the way you did?

Regards,
Brian

 

[PaulJensen]

Why...

Just how much of a deluge should be planned for...???...
An additional 1/4" in width might make a difference, or not...So might 1/2"...3/4"...???...

It was in my shop, already cut to the perfect length...
Planetary alignments sometimes must be recognized...

 

[JRhetts]

"Planetary alignments sometimes must be recognized..."

Mike

Well, I guess it proves out: you simply cannot ultimately control everything, even if you think you specified it!

Would you believe, I even found this to be true when I was designing "against' myself?

I want to see this rig when you get it in your hands. I may have a proposition for you.

John

 

[PaulJensen]

9.5

(above) Another dry day, time to install the water diverter over the rear door…The channel was drilled out for the screws, then positioned over the door with three screws, then masking taped around to ease the clean up of the silicone caulking..

(above) Installed and cleaned up…I arched the channel slightly to ensure water flow outward…The attachment is with nine - 8/32 stainless screws, through bolted with fender washers on the inside…Silicone caulking between body and channel…

(above) It looks like a factory install…Later, I ran the driveway hose on the roof at full volume and the channel handled the volume of water just fine…

The channel can also be used for attaching a small, simple shade/awning…More options is a good thing…

With the leaks resolved, it is ready for the finish cabinetry…

More later…

 

[mhiscox]

With the leaks resolved, it is ready for the finish cabinetry…

Pretty special to be starting the year with this camper not leaking any more. Many thanks for your efforts, Paul, James and John.

 

[mhiscox]

I want to see this rig when you get it in your hands.

Figure that it'll be all ready for show-and-tells by about mid-February. Paul will likely finish up about the end of the month, and then I have some work to do with getting the cockpit electronics and accessories all set up (though I may see if Paul wants to do that, too; he seems to be on a roll). Then a shakedown trip, which could be to Bend as well as anywhere, I suspect.

 

[kjp1969]

(above) Funky…

May I suggest a drain line in that little sump under the solar panel to some external point. It would back up the silicon in case of a future seal failure.

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

May I suggest a drain line in that little sump under the solar panel to some external point. It would back up the silicon in case of a future seal failure.

I agree, or at least to get rid of condensation that will form. I'd think after a few weeks of camping, we're talking some serious mold

 

[PaulJensen]

Skanky...

The well is now confidently siliconed tight...

There is ample sealant under and to the side to prevent water intrusion...There is decent roof pitch that the only way water could get in is through the top or side...The top is sealed bombproof, the side is going to be fine...There is as I said above, ample, and it is done right...

I thought of a drain line as well and am cool without one...I seriously doubt that it will, given the real exposure it will get...If need be, one can be put in if needed later...

 

[PaulJensen]

Ten...

Ten

(above) Monday morning, new year…

(above) After sorting out the shop, I unpacked the sealed cardboard that was delivered last week…Here are some of the bed making supplies…

(above) Pull-out hardware for porta-potti, fridge, desk drawers and a big brass bed hinge…

(above) Sensor and monitor for LPG leaks…

(above) Cooktop…

(above) I also unrolled the veneers…I’ll get to using them soon, so getting them to flatten out is a must…

(above) Insane grain…

(above) Peeled trees never looked so good…

(above) Again, I water tested the rear door channel…

(above) As it’s supposed to be…

(above) Cabinet making time…

(above) Driver side casework roughed out…Baltic birch plywood…

(above) Put inside…

(above) The curb side cabinets are next…I used the temporary patterns as a router guide to cut out the finished plywood…No measuring or marking, just an accurate cut from a fitted and proven part…It really can be this easy…

(above) Used the rail guide saw to cut the wheelwell access hole…I’ll finish this cabinet case tomorrow…

(above) The rain returned and I noticed another leak coming down the walls…the source (this time) is from the water that comes off here, drops onto the top of the cabin wall and runs along until it feels a dip, then drops onto a wall…

Out of the factory they made no provision for a curb on top of the wall to prevent this…

You’ll see my solution tomorrow…What would be yours…???…

(above) As you can see, it can be more than a trickle…

Today, my plan has changed significantly…I realize now that whatever goes in the Jeep will likely, at some point get wet to very wet…I have to design for that…Not quite boating wet, but wet enough to ruin woodwork fine and rough…

What I will do is seal every piece of wood, plywood and veneer, every edge, inside and out, with at least two coats of epoxy…Good enough for surfboards, good enough for a Jeep…

More later…

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

Good enough for surfboards, good enough for a Jeep…

I like that. I'll be interested to see how you fix this next leak