Unicorn on the Ocean - 1120AF Coming to Canada

[whomisi]

Small update for now, finally bit the bullet and cut some holes in the box. Started with the garage hatches since they're the most similar to the entrance door in profile, and least critical to get spot on. But they actually turned out great. Both in the same spot on each side. Took half the time to do the second one of course, and all the time measuring for the first one.

The Motorcraft hatches have a step in them, so you have to cut a different size hole inside and out. But the way these are profiled, the second flange is able to be glued onto the back side of the interior wall panel skin with the TC 50mm wall panels. Which means that not only the main front flange is bonded, but the inside is bonded too. I feel better about this, it makes the whole thing that little bit more robust.

I cut large reliefs in the corners (32mm) and left the foam a little smaller than the main cut out. Then I just took it back slowly until the hatch fit just snug all the way around. That way I keep as much insulation as possible.



Plenty of glue and in she goes.



You can see from the inside I kept the cut out as snug as possible. I'm happy how it turned out, I will need a small trim around the inside and I'll cut back the hatch flange to suit with a oscillating cutter.

The only downside I now see to these hatches is the uninsulated latch. This will probably get moisture collecting on it in the winter. I'll have to keep the garage area nice and dry, which is a good idea anyway. We'll see.

 

[whomisi]

Allllll righty then. I'll go into a little more detail on my process here because it worked well and perhaps it will help someone.

This is for installing Motorcraft Adventure Development glass windows into a Total Composites 50mm wall.

Firstly, the door went in the same as the hatches. With the exception of the handle side not needing the stepped cut. So 3 out of 4 sides are glued to the outside and inside skins which I am really happy about. I installed this entirely by myself, it took some careful planning.



It looks and feels good. I threw a magnet hold-open latch onto it for now with double sided tape. I'll try to avoid opening the window though as I think I'll forget to close it before slamming it into the side of the truck. It opens nearly 180 degrees.

Ok, so, my process for the windows

Draw on outside of the wall the size I want for the outside, and the inside cuts. Since these windows have a step in them.
Mark the centre spot of the hole saw you're using. I went with 32mm. So offset 16mm up and in. Although I went with 12mm on the outside since the radius on the windows is tighter.
Drill right through with a vertical drill guide thing on the inside holes, not the outside.
Drill all 8 outside marks, and 4 inside marks with the hole saw.
I modified some glass suction cups to hold my tracksaw track. It worked well as long as I kept the dust away.



For the outside lines I cut at 10mm depth, for the inside lines my saw could plunge to 55mm so I cut the inside and outside at the same time. This worked great as it saved lots of marking up on the inside.

Then I peeled off the intermediate bit of skin on the outside, and checked it around the window to make sure it was right.

Next I set the router to the 30mm depth to match the window "step". And made a huge mess cutting out the foam.


By doing this before removing the inner, it made routing much easier.

Then I finished up the cuts on the inside with a multitool, and popped out the panel.

I had to do a little sanding where the window latch backing plate is, but overall this method seemed to be a good way to do a nice job making things nice and square for setting windows into place without having to shim etc.

So now I have a skylight, crawl through and four windows to glue into place. Oh, and a GIANT mess to tidy up.

 

[luthj]

What is the weight like on those motorcraft windows? Quality worth the price and weight over acrylic style units?

 

[whomisi]

What is the weight like on those motorcraft windows? Quality worth the price and weight over acrylic style units?

They're fairly weighty. The biggest window must be getting on 20kg, the smallest one at least 10. Not a big deal for my truck gvw.
I bought these when they were doing 30% off, so for that price I'm happy. It was more about thermal bridging for me, I didn't want aluminum frames or windows that stuck out like some plastic ones do.

They did recently release acrylic instead of glass options I notice.

But I also noticed today they have a new version of window now, V3, with regular hinge, gas strut and a metal frame around the glass....

So time will tell. I'll report back any issues I have down the road.