STEP-BY-STEP Shell-Off Floor Replacement

[utee94]

I really like the slide-out pantry idea. 4" should be wide enough for canned and boxed food, or many other items. Your pasta jars, however, will probably not fit...

Nice work JP. I guess I'm going to just keep on saying that every time you post pictures. Sorry if it gets old hearing it...

I really do need to find a time to get out and see your trailers in person. I've already told Rob Baker and Frank that I'm going to come out to the WDCU Cherry Blossom Rally next April, maybe I'll stop off in Georgia on my way up!

[A-Merry-Can]

well, the sides of the cabinet are already built, and I can't make it slide out without redoing the internal frame (due to the curved front). I could make a hinged section on the countertop that flips up to let you stuff a blanket in there, though, or I could open up the side with a trap door that hinges out (something sneaky and magnetic so you don't notice it right away). I'm leaning to the latter.

The coors were ice cold! Job Done!

JP

[A-Merry-Can]

Well, after test-fitting it, I decided the vintage bargman handle might be a little too much for this fridge. I may end up using it on the outside of the trailer, though, if it looks good there. It would be a shame to not use such a cool handle!

JP

[A-Merry-Can]

I finished roughing together the galley cabinet this past week. Here it is prior to test-fitting...

[A-Merry-Can]

and for the big test-fit. Here it is in the trailer, with the fridge cabinet set back in as well. Everything is fitting in pretty much like I planned. It's definitely a little more cozy now (not as much floor space), but still very livable. Not having any walls in it is going to definitely keep things open and friendly.

I'm still playing a little with the actual location of the toilet. If I shift it a little more forward, that would give me room for a small cabinet on the rear, and possibly a tiny sink for toothbrushes, etc (though how much sense does 2 sinks in a 15 foot shell REALLY make?)

:-)

JP

[A-Merry-Can]

Here's a better pic of the toilet location. You can see the circle on the floor for the original location I was planning. Moving it up, though frees up some space behind it, plus a cabinet on that side would also hide the water line running from the tank over to the toilet and galley.

The cabinet visible beside the toilet will have 3 or 4 shelves, trimmed in aluminum. I was going to put a door on it, but I don't think I'll have the room for that here.

Up top, there will be a thin divider wall that runs up to the ceiling along the break between the end caps and the birch walls. This will give a tad of privacy to the toilet area, and at least keep it out of view when you're cooking!

JP

[A-Merry-Can]

this is going to be a small magazine rack, next to where the couch and the galley come together. No wasted space in this trailer!

I'm kind of in a rush to get these 2 cabinets put in, at least temporarily. With all the overlapping curves, I want to make sure the girl who did our trade wind cushions can get an accurate template to go by on these cushions as well. I'm towing it over to her place next week, wednesday or thursday at the latest!

I ran out of bendable birch, so she'll have to do her measurements with the raw wood frames for now.

JP

[A-Merry-Can]

And now for the coolest part. I have the AC unit mounted under the couch as you walk in. A while back I did some tests with ducting and cooling. The longer the duct, (obviously) the worse the air flow. If I leave it unducted all together, I was afraid all it would be doing is sucking the freshly cooled air right back in, so I came up with the idea of running the intake along the bottom of the galley cabinet. If you look closely at the kick plate on the bottom of the galley, you can see it's made up of 1X2s, with lots of open space. I'm planning on painting it all black on the bottom, and putting perforated aluminum across it to allow the air to be sucked in from further back in the trailer, and then pumped out up front through (a yet to be built) duct/door in front of the fridge, also made from perf-ed aluminum.

I plan on using a lot of perforated aluminum throughout the trailer, so it should blend in quite nicely. That's the plan, at least!

JP

[A-Merry-Can]

Here's sort of a hacked together wide angle shot from the front couch. It's hard to get all the trailer in these shots sometimes!

JP

[toastie]

Originally Posted by A-Merry-Can

PROGRESS!! Until the rain delay, at least. I got all the lumber, sealer and insulation material for the floor this morning, and got an early start on cutting the pieces out for the end caps. The Pickle’s interior is 88.5” wide X 181” long, so 4 pieces of ply should be plenty (got an extra, just in case). First step was laying out the C Channel to get the curves right. As it turns out, the corners are NOT the same, and in fact, aren’t even 22” radiuses (though close).

Next thing i did was paint the underside with outdoor sealer/stain (2 coats). I was told at the paint shop that this stuff is better than urethane, and will last considerably longer since it’s not exposed to UV light. Then, i measured the insulation, with a 3 inch overhang on all sides, cut it, wrapped it around the painted side of the floor panels, and tucked it under the C Channel before bolting that back down with new elevator bolts. I am optimistic that by using this rolled aluminum insulation material, wrapped around the edges, it will help block a MAJOR point of water intrusion into these trailers, the area at the belly pan, body panel seam. Nothing’s 100%, I know, but it certainly is better than what was there!

What kind of outdoor sealer/stain was it?..........thanks toastie

[utee94]

Awesome work JP, you're really moving now.

[FC7039]

Originally Posted by A-Merry-Can

..... If you look closely at the kick plate on the bottom of the galley, you can see it's made up of 1X2s, with lots of open space. I'm planning on painting it all black on the bottom, and putting perforated aluminum across it to allow the air to be sucked in from further back in the trailer, and then pumped out up front through (a yet to be built) duct/door in front of the fridge, also made from perf-ed aluminum.

I plan on using a lot of perforated aluminum throughout the trailer, so it should blend in quite nicely. That's the plan, at least!

JP

It not a lot but may be of some use, some aluminum lattice work on ebay

[uwe]

Originally Posted by FC7039

It not a lot but may be of some use, some aluminum lattice work on ebay

shhhh...I am bidding on those....

[uwe]

Originally Posted by A-Merry-Can

Here's sort of a hacked together wide angle shot from the front couch. It's hard to get all the trailer in these shots sometimes!

JP

Jordan, that is awesome. I haven't had much time to follow your thread, but I am glad I saw it this morning. Nice and nice and nice!

[A-Merry-Can]

Originally Posted by toastie

What kind of outdoor sealer/stain was it?..........thanks toastie

i shot poly on everything so far. I think I'm going to take out the furniture and shoot a few coats of lacquer (sanding sealer, then satin finish). I really like lacquer. It dries about as fast as you can spray it. I need to make sure it will adhere on top of poly first.

I feel like i can get a much smoother finish with lacquer, though its not as water-tight. The trailer doesn't leak, though (knock on wood!) so lacquer for the furniture probably won't be that bad of a deal.

JP

[A-Merry-Can]

Originally Posted by FC7039

It not a lot but may be of some use,

You can get something similar at home depot. I went with really modern on this one. onlinemetals.com got $250 of my money last week! haha!

JP

[A-Merry-Can]

Originally Posted by uwe

Jordan, that is awesome. I haven't had much time to follow your thread, but I am glad I saw it this morning. Nice and nice and nice!

Thanks man! There's nothing like a visit from the inlaws to motivate me to finish this thing! hehe! I heard you have your own shop now? very cool!

JP

[A-Merry-Can]

Here she is almost done laminating the strips of plywood to the frame. I also built out the drawer slide frame and the kick plate/ AC intake area. The aluminum came in yesterday for that. I'm hoping to put a piece or 2 of that on this weekend to see how it looks. Should be cool!

JP

[A-Merry-Can]

I went ahead and put it back in the trailer to make sure the drawers are going to fit (wouldn't that be terrible if they didn't???) It still needs a few pieces of plywood laminated on before it's ready to start finishing. I also need to trim the back edge of the plywood where it sits on top of the front couch. I'll use the piece for the back as a template this weekend and get things buttoned up.

JP

[A-Merry-Can]

Here's a better view of how far I need to trim the curved edge of the cabinet to snug things up.