Road Toad back from the road (!)

[R Keller]

Hi all,

I've been gone from the board for the past couple of weeks because I was on the road (and desperately trying to finish the trailer before that). Two weeks in the Eastern Sierra, up and down Highway 395, with the wife, baby, and trailer. Not bad...

Everything went "grate", nothing fell off, and we slept so well inside, it was hard to open the doors before 9:00 a.m.

It was funny to come back and see a photo above of the old woody version of the Road Toad with duct tape on the front storage door. The Road Toad is mostly done now. Will do the final door trim (seals are done) and upper galley cabinets at some point. Everybody who previously gave me advice about skinning it may be pleased to know (except for those who wanted me to leave it as a woody) that I came up with a half-and-half solution: white pre-painted aluminum sheet on the top and hatch, and Dupont Imron auto body base and clear coat in metallic silver on the sides.

Here is a photo of the trailer right before I went to the auto body place. You can see I already put the white aluminum on...


And here is a photo of the finished product...


Here is the Road Toad at about 9,500 feet at Virginia Lakes. Got down to the mid 20s that night....


The beautiful birch is still on the inside...


And a rear view on the upper San Joaquin near Devil's Postpile National Monument. The flat roof is great for storage. And for sitting.


You can see a few more recent pics on my website. I just realized that I don't have a decent shot of my final galley setup. I'll try to post one soon. I'm not going to even try to catch up on all the posts here that I missed though... looks like y'all have been busy!

Any questions/comments welcomed...

Rik

[mikeschn]

Hey Rik,

That looks "grate". BTW, I think Ryan went to school. Haven't seen him since late August.

It sure is "purddy" though. You did a nice job on finishing it. I am looking forward to seeing it with the hatch open.

Mike...

P.S. I'll bet that silver metalic paint looks even better in person!!!

[beverlyt]

Rik,
That looks really great! Very different and unique.

I like the silver paint!

And wow! When you go camping, you pick some beautiful country to do it in! Thanks for the pictures.

Bev

[Steve Frederick]

Rik, That's a beauty! Imron on the sides? How did it get done? Is car finish over wood a tough process?

[Eagle]

Rik,

OUTSTANDING JOB :!: :!: :!: Only thing I can think of that would make it better is if it was at my house in my name.

Do not know if I am turning greener over your Road Toad or the trip you just took. I am sure you guys will have a mountain of super memories when you get to be an old guy like me and your little one is off to college.

The view at Virginia Lakes, WOW, that was worth building the Road Toad just for that!!! Guess I better ask, what was it like camping in a picture postcard :

Keep the pics of your trips a comin'.


Eagle :mrgreen:

[R Keller]

Thanks for the nice comments everyone.

Steve F.: the paint process was pretty simple. I had several coats of System Three epoxy on the wood. I sanded the surface with a 200 grit. Then I took it to the shop and they applied a epoxy-based primer and then the base coat and clear coat. Of course since the surface is so glossy, every little imperfection in the surface is visible. Even those that I couldn't see or feel beforehand! Still happy with the results overall, but I wouldn't call it "show quality" by any means. For that I would have had to spend some extra time, miss the trip, and be a lot more of a perfectionist than I am.

I'll also have to see how the finish holds up over time. Right now I can say that it is very easy to clean. Will put my first coat of wax on it in a month or two.

Eagle: That's the thing about photos. Our two days at Virginia Lakes were filled with very windy conditions. The little one was not at all psyched about the hike we tried to take one day (and quickly abandoned). Well, even though our condensation was frozen on the inside of the sunroof of the trailer in the morning, we still stayed cozy inside, so that was a plus!

We went down to slightly lower altitudes and the weather calmed anyway so the rest of the trip was a bit more agreeable.

Rik