EarthRoamer XV-JP "Northwest Edition"

[PaulJensen]

Twenty-One...

Twenty-One...

(above) Overnight , it snowed...Eleven inches...The most I've seen here in twenty plus years living here...

I opened up the Jeep and was pleasantly surprised how cozy it was...I ran the space heater overnight and thought the escaping heat would lead to trickles or seepage of water and found none from the roof side-wall fabric, or the areas I already fixed...There is still that trickle on the cab-over sidewall...But from where exactly...Hmmmm...???...

(above) Back in the shop, the carbon fiber / foam panels had hardened overnight in the 80 degree temperature...Love a heated shop...

(above) I sanded the bed 'foundation'...

(above) Next I flipped the CF panels over and prepped, then epoxied the panels just as I did yesterday...The plywood foundation also got another coat of epoxy...

(above) Between checking out the ongoing snow and making sure that some outside sheds had enough support for the heavy snow load, I settled into the warm shop to start the teak floor...

The teak stock I bought was a full 1" thick...I had it bandsawed in half...The surfacing planer came out and the teak was planed to just under 7/16"...

(above) I needed to work on the big work table , so the CF panels were put over the heater to cure overnight...

(above) With the work table cleared off, I first cut a straight edge on the teak with the Festool rail saw, next I ran the boards through the tablesaw to fine tune straight, parallel edges...

Prepping teak before gluing is vital...First the edges were hand sanded with 100 grit on a hard wood block...Machine sanding or machine planing can heat the teak which can raise the oils to the surface that can prevent the epoxy from penetrating the wood cells...You need penetration to get the epoxy to bond...

To further reduce an oily glue-face, the teak edges were wiped with lacquer thinner...Next I got the table set-up for clamping... Plastic sheeting cover on the table, clamps made ready, plywood strips for edge clamping, screws to put the plywood hard to the table, epoxy measured and mixed...

Next the teak edges were wiped with denatured alcohol, then brushed with epoxy on all the glued edges...The boards then were placed edge to edge, the plywood clamp strips were screwed at the ends to the table and then clamped on the ends...Just a pair...Then I screwed additional screws through the plywood to keep the assembly from moving or lifting...The clamps were set between where the screws were placed so the plywood would flex under the pressure of the clamps and draw tight the teak...With a big dead-blow hammer the boards were beat on to make sure they laid flat to each other...

Finally the excess glue squeeze-out was wiped off with alcohol...

(above) Good enough for now...

(above) The epoxy for the bed 'foundation' had dried so I disassembled the OSB mock-up and set the drawer guides with T-nuts...

Tomorrow with the CF panel cured enough to work with, I'll get the bulk of the bed work done as well as making the underside of the teak floor more secure...

See y'all later...

 

[1leglance]

Crap I am learning so much I feel I should be ready for a final exam or mid term or something.
Really great thread and I can't say enough how grateful I am that you are taking the time to take the pics and write the commentary.

 

[AFSOC]

Crap I am learning so much I feel I should be ready for a final exam or mid term or something.
Really great thread and I can't say enough how grateful I am that you are taking the time to take the pics and write the commentary.

Couldn't agree more. This thread/build is epic. Thanks for taking the time to keep this updated, it is obvious you're busy.

 

[mhiscox]

It's unlikely that we'll have any pictures, accounts or descriptions from our master craftsman today. Paul called a few minutes ago and he is covered in downed trees and tree parts and is one of the 180,000 in the area without power. The eleven inches of snow was followed yesterday and last night by a lot of freezing rain that coated everything with ice and made quite a mess. Seattle's got hit hard, too.

Paul's only about 100 miles north of me at the same near-sea-level elevation, but somewhat amazingly, it was fully 20 degrees warmer at my place yesterday and we had no weather worse than a ton of rain.

 

[/dev/ram]

I started reading this thread about 8:30am EST, thinking it was some old thread I had missed and - honestly, wasn't all that interested in given it's a vehicle I could never afford. As I read tho, I became fascinated by the intelligent and well-thought out mods and the craftsmanship (or lack thereof by others) involved. By the time I got half-way thru and Paul was on the job, I was hooked! I just finished about :30 minutes ago and realized I'd missed work!!! What a captiving story, and I had no idea it would "end" in a real-time, blow-by-blow account with Paul buried in snow! What a crazy morning.
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Mike, some might envy the ability to afford such a vehicle. I envy most that you have access to somebody like Paul and would love to be able to exchange ideas, see those techniques first-hand, and eventually enjoy the final product. Paul - thank you for sharing! Others have already said they feel like they've been to school, and so do I! The absolute thing I envy the most is your ability to do what you love and derive a lifestyle from it. Very nice work!
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Dig out, stay warm, and know we're all waiting with baited breath for the grand finale!
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-ralph

 

[pods8]

It's warmed up by us and it's turning to slush and dropping off the trees, hopefully the same down by him and the crews can get the lines back up quickly/safely. We had some flickering power but never lost anything.

Between the poor drivers and trees that aren't used to bearing heavy snow loads storms like this sure take a toll on western WA!

 

[Repo503]

Down here in Corvallis Ive been stuck at home all day because they have the road to my house closed due the landslides. One of my neighbors already lost their home. Several of my employees that live in the Albany area couldnt make it out of their houses due to flooding. Been some really crazy weather.

 

[Overland Hadley]

It's unlikely that we'll have any pictures, accounts or descriptions from our master craftsman today.

Do we have a homework assignment?

 

[mhiscox]

Do we have a homework assignment?

From the selection of foam board, balsa, glass fiber cloth and resins provided, construct a new 285 horsepower 3.6 liter V6 and install in place of the existing motor. Bonus points given if fuel economy improves. :sombrero:

 

[Victorian]

Surprised nobody commended on the Festool's yet Coolest and best woodworking powertools available I have almost the whole line but the Plungesaw is the best!

Nice build by the way ;-)

 

[SirCampalot]

I think it's one of the best components on the rig. Light, adaptable, a nice size . . . it's all good and I was lucky to be able to pick it up from a fellow inmate a few years back. I wish there were more of them to be had.

Good to hear. I noticed that you have several spacers under the rack to disperse the load. What type of material are the spacers? Delrin or aluminum?

 

[mhiscox]

Good to hear. I noticed that you have several spacers under the rack to disperse the load. What type of material are the spacers? Delrin or aluminum?

They're the same type of threaded isolation bushings that were used to hold on the rear case, which someone asked about in a different thread. I couldn't figure out exactly where I got those mounts, but you can turn up a whole bunch of them with a search for "rubber isolation mount."

I found this place as an example supplier:

http://www.sdp-si.com/estore/CoverPg/Vibration.htm

You're looking for something that looks like the part on the right:

This plan works well because the roof of the XV-JP is thick enough to be structural. The result was that the mounting is very secure. It's probably a less-good solution if the roof is thinner.

 

[mhiscox]

For all those interested . . . Paul called a few minutes ago to let me know that he's back at work on the Jeep today after going through three days without electricity. No internet service yet, though.

Quite a mess to deal with. Enough downed trees from the storm that he's been working on a new landscape plan.

 

[ersatzknarf]

Glad to hear Paul is back to having power.
Three days without in this weather is no fun
Thanks for the update, Mike. Please let Paul know we are hoping he is okay and looking forward to his next installment...
Sorry to hear about all the *shtuff* going on out there with the weather.

 

[MLPress #65]

OK – shall we start a collection to send Paul some ** internet ** quickly? The withdrawal pains are more than I can bear. Actually took the time to hunt down my user info so I could post.

How can I get my work done wondering whether the last leak was fixed? Or waiting for the zebrawood to show up! Isn’t it flat yet?

The first thing I check every morning is Paul’s clock. (and at lunch and at bedtime…) Even if it’s now stopped.

There’s a book in this. And Paul sure knows how to work the suspense!