the curb side didn't butt up as nicely. after i cut the door out, and stretched the wood to reach the frame, it caused a gap of about 1/8". the strips will cover all teh madness, though!
I think once all the wood's in there, i'm going to put a final coat of poly on the interior, in place. I've manged to get fingerprints all over everything.
You know what the worst part is about posting a project on teh forums? you know exactly how LONG its been since you've worked on it! Well, I got a full day today to tackle the wooden interior again. Everything's going in pretty smooth. It's wishful thinking to assume the wooden panels will butt up perfectly. I'd say maybe half of my joints do. It's no matter, though. The farthest off joint still only has a gap of 1/8", and the wooden interior ribs will cover that up nicely!
Anyway, on to the progress... I have now worked the entire street-side, front (under the cap), and gotten the panels cut for the curb-side. The wood looks REALLY nice next to the polished end caps. The interior is really light and airy feeling, especially next to the darker cabinets in our trade wind.
Next on the agenda is to attach the lower curb-side, and start on the rear. I have a feeling the rear will be a little trickier, since the panel slopes out on the back (meaning there won't be a 90 degree corner on the piece anywhere!) I have also come to the conclusion that I will need an external hatch for cables, water lines, etc. I foolishly thought i could store all of that in a plastic box for the trips, but the convenience of opening a door and having it right there really can't be beat.
I know, I know.. scroll back a dozen or so pages when i was replacing all of the skins, and I said i wanted it clean and hatch-free! I've learned my lesson on teh trade wind! I think I'm going to not only make a hatch there, but also have a slide-out drawer just inside that's really long and deep, with compartments for the different necessities (jacks, hoses, chocks, wires). I've already kinda started mentally planning it... Thicker guage, all aluminum, made on a brake and shear, so it won't matter if it gets wet! (and it will be lighter as well). More on that later...
In the IMMEDIATE future, once the interior skins are all in, I'm going to do the wooden cover-up ribs, then clean everything really well, and shoot one more coat of sealer, before putting the floor down (engineered oak... thin, light, REAL WOOD, and beautiful to boot!) and FINALLY starting on some cabinets! I am DETERMINED to have this little guy ready for the October rally in Hiawassee, Ga!
I had a productive weekend on the trailer, and managed to get all but 1 of the interior wooden skins in place. Everything is looking really good, with each new piece. The remaining piece is the tail panel, which i can't do until i gut in the trunk access panel, which i can't cut in until i fabricate a door to replace the battered one (this is a familiar story, no?)...
So in the meantime, I'm moving on ahead with the interior skins. Next up is the cover strips that will mask all the seams where the panels butt up together. The strips are 1 1/2" wide by 3/16 thick. My plan is to secure them about every 12 inches, so the number of rivets is kept to a minimum. The first coat is on the strips. If the weather's nice, I'll shoot the next 2 coats tomorrow, then try to Cleco them in place.
As for fabricating the trunk, I think that might have to be a job for next weekend. I know how I tend to underestimate time when it comes to fabricating panels!
After a nice, long, and COOL vacation to Alaska, I'm back at it! Most of the wooden trim strips are in now. It REALLY buttons things up nicely. I've also stripped the roof of eons of thich white, but peeling paint, and installed my new fantastic fan. Since I wanted a more or less custom/modern look to this trailer, I opted for the blue tinted one, rather than white. I couldn't be happier. Looks great! I'm still a little ways from having actual power run to things, but it's nice to have the whole top buttoned up.
I've also been working on the rear hatch panel (sorry, no pics of that). I decided to keep the original outter piece, and just fabricate the inside panel, and install a new lock. I still need to fine tune a few things with it, before installing it, HOPEFULLY this week. Then it will be safe to install the LAST piece of birch skin, and call the interior skin DONE! I'm looking forward to that!
Lessons learned when stripping the roof:
• Stripper EATS THROUGH your plastic lenses! I forgot to take them off, now I'll be replacing them all... including the elusive blue porch lite!
• Stripper ALSO eats through Alcoa Gutter Seal! MUCH to my dismay, the floor was wet after a good rain. A few minutes up top with a fresh tube of Alcoa, and I'm happy to report.. NO LEAKS! through several bad storms, in fact.
• there's no fun way to get on top of these things. they're fragile, hot, cumbersome... I was suspended over mine in a chery picker, and it was STILL a maor PITA. Needless to say, I won't be polishing it! ha!
I have been following this thread over the years and want to congratulate on your "labor of love"! You have done an outstanding job on the restoration. I look forward to each new post.
P.S.
Do you have a photo of you working on the trailer roof from the cherry picker!
Thanks for the kind words. I'll try to get a pic of me on that thing next time I'm on it. Very cool toy! 4WD, and you drive it with a joystick from the bucket!
Thanks for the kind words. I'll try to get a pic of me on that thing next time I'm on it. Very cool toy! 4WD, and you drive it with a joystick from the bucket!
Do you own it, borrow it or rent it? I can think of a thousand and one uses for a bucket truck for all my projects!
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