the "geaux away"

[eatatjoz]

...just might not build what i started out to ...

I know that feeling. I guess that's why these folks start with plans and measurements. Mine has grown by 18" since the time I started it.

I love the name BTW! There's no mistaking that it's from La.

[laoutdoorsman]

ok...couldnt sleep last night....i broke out every roll of tape in the house i could find...

been thinkibg on what to do to simplify my build....i need a camper for this winter...(next month!!)

anyway..ive decided to go just the width of my trailer rails...elimnates the extra bracing i needed to fab up....

back to the tape...----

well, i was worried just how tight or crowded, or confined it would be inside with only a 5'4" width... so, i taped the outline down onto the floor...found all my dimensions for the "stuff" im putting inside...(i have a folder that i keep all my doodling, and notes---anything that has anythng to do with my build goes in the folder....)

i tightened up a few things here and there...but...being that i was "overbuilding" already, i t wont be too bad...i wont have the "dance-floor" effect, that it seemed i would, but well..itll be ok....i lost 2 feet straight down the middle...

the most noticable difference will be in my bathroom....its gonna be crowded in there, but doable...but, hey---you go in, do your business, and get out...lol

i think i just had to get a braincheck....i got myself so worked up, trying to get too ahead of myself....idk....

[robertaw]

so, i taped the outline down onto the floor.....

I did that before I rented a U-haul one time

[laoutdoorsman]

ha..so im not crazy...im glad i live by myself...lol

my only main problem will be---my bed will only be 5 foot long...

4 foot by 5 foot, ill be fine..can lay diagonally....with my girlfriend, it will be tight....not sure yet...

i have 10 feet to work with lengthwise---but i like the bed crossways much more....ill figure it out once i get walls up...

[laoutdoorsman]

ok..i just went out and built my bottom....threw it together in about 2 hours...its just a 2x frame, with the bottom ply on it...its upside down, so i can prime it and coat it tomorrow...hopefully it wont rain like it has everyday for the last week and a half...

once i flip it, i gotta add some cross bracing....

so...right now, im 5'-4" wide x 14'-4" long....

im making my storage in the back 19 inches....all the ice chests i own, and most all of the ones on my wish list are 18 inches or less....my seafood pot is 17 inches, my burner is 15 inches---so ill my stuff will fit in that area fine...i eyed some throw to gether plastic sheving(made by plano, i think) for like 12 bucks at walmart...thos will fit nicely in there...

im looking at 24 - 33 inches for my bathroom...that is only depending on my shower pan selection...the way my floor joists work out, i have support for a wall at 24, 30, or 33 inches....so....i need a shower pan to determine that wall....i found something today at lowes that im giving thought to....trying to decide if 24x24 is big enough to shower in....il post more on that later...

anyway...pics?? its too dark, but ill try...

[laoutdoorsman]

well..i tried to go snap some pics...its dark...

but, anyway..





this is a pic that was on my camera..this is the new latch i installed..the old one was bent up, and i wasnt about to try to straighten it out....for 19 bucks..it was worth it...that was a brand new (heavy-duty)coupler when the trailer went to just sit around for a couple years...i had welded it on when i restored the trailer, so would have been a pain to change out...

[robertaw]

-my bed will only be 5 foot long...
.

As tempting as it is to have the bed sideways I think you might live to regret this decision...unless you are under 5' tall.

[laoutdoorsman]

im still trying to figure it out...got a couple options in my mind...im 5'8...im not committed to it yet...

my main goal will be to get it "campable" with no fixed bed and camp in it a while, while i figure it out...im hoping to find a cheap/freeby futon sofa to slip in there to use at first...

i primed my bottom today....sky got dark, so i slid my tent back over my creation...5 minutes later the bottom fell out of the sky....hard rain, hail...it was terrible...glad i got it covered...ten miutes later, rain was gone, sun back out...

anyway...all i got right now is a primered bottom...

[laoutdoorsman]

ok..got some stuff done today...finally no rain...

went to bed last night with a primer coat on my bottom...cant find the pics...

slapped a coat of paint on first thing this morning..





another coat..



now i gotta get some "goo"...but, i got ansty..i HATE waiting on paint to dry...i put a new coat of matte white paint on the rebuilt hitch coupler..



then i got to thinking...i have a lil more work to do on the trailer, but im blocking myself...and i cant flip the platform while its on the trailer....im doing all of this by myself...so...i jacked everything up, blocked...yada yada....anyway...i got the trailer out...(the platform is not heavy at all...im by myself..)

so..got the trailer out--axle is back on in the right location now..toungue weight is almost nothing, so once everything said and done, i ought to balanced well..



heres the platform....blocked...waiting to be coated, then flipped for a build!!





now again..me being antsy...still waiting paint to dry...wanting to see something....i grab a couple 2x's, my square and a pencil....






and...

my profile...the slant in the front will actually give me an extra foot in the front (inside)...it wont be floor space, but will give extra room...(bed)






and thats my stopping point for today...gonna sleep on the profile and make sure i like it....and im out of lumber...gotta go to town tomorrow to dig throught the stacks of funky wood...i have found, that if i get longer than what i need, the selection is better....for some reason the lil 8 footers just suck...the 1x's are horrible...i had bought some and they just split...(junk)...

[robertaw]

while you're in town tomorrow you better pick up some more PVC to make that tent taller. It looks like your build is already starting to outgrow it!!

I ordered that one from walmart. I'll let you know how I like it. I saw on Sam's Club site I can order the side walls kit for $85. I may do that...cheaper than tarps.

I'm going to see about making a build thread here even though I'm not building a TD. I'm rebuilding a not so tiny vintage trailer.

[laoutdoorsman]

i have plenty more...i had "designed" some "trusses" that i havent built yet....i just threw that one together (in the rain) for the timebeing...while the "goo" is setting up (from what i understand, itll be sticky/tacky/messy for a couple days) ---- ill build a better/taller/stronger tent....

[laoutdoorsman]

oh, and by the way...on the topic of tents...in my quest for trying to figure out a decent "home-made" awning....i found a site, ill have to look for the link...but you can get the fittings that the walmart tent is made out of, very cheap....you get the fittings (like 4-6 dollars per) , and then you add emt conduit from homedepot or lowes or whereever, a tarp or plastic sheeting(visqueen)....you can build that tent for like 40 or 50 bucks if you already have a tarp to cover it...


http://tarps.com/chrome2.htm

[robertaw]

It's the tarps that are expensive! Even at Wal-mart the one I have now was around $30. I don't remember the exact dimensions but it is just enough to cover our trailer roof.

I figured at that price it would cost me more to buy the tarps to cover the tent frame than I would spend ordering it all together. Same with the wall kits...In tarps for all four sides I would have way more than $85. Plus the side walls each have three windows to let in the light and the end has zippers.

The wall kits will fit on any structure of the the sizes they come in since they just hook to the poles. Even if I built it myself I think I would go with them.

I haven't ordered a wall kit yet. Broke til next payday and will end up paying $1,000 for it if I put it on a credit card.

[laoutdoorsman]

not much done today...made the frame for the other wall...(i have 2 walls now....)

flipped her over...wanted to get both walls up...got one...it was work, by myself...not heavy, just to awkward...i so needed a nother set hands...heck one more hand on a ten foot arm wouldve been great, but , well....ok..

so, i needed to put more bracing in my bottom, but that wall laying on the ground was just bugging me...so, now i think im gonna go ahead and get the walls up and braced, and then go from there...i like the visual appeal, of a shape...i think it will motivate me... and my parents will be around this weekend(they work long term in texas--come home to whatever about once a month...)itll be cool to have a better "picture" of what im building...everybody i know, says " youre building a what??????"

anyway...half of my day got shot before i even got started...went to town, one errand turned into several...got a little bit of wood...rained by the time i got home, had to wait for everything to dry up a bit....

oh well...its flipped, i got one wall standing, the other is leaning against it, ready to be stood up...gotta sqaure it all up...then start bracing everything up...

im thinking about building "inside out"....at least get the interior campable, and then roll to the outside...i still am not decided on how i want to do the outside...i simply cant afford to do the rv siding, like i wanted...im thinking about the "frp" panels...but im not sure i want "white" and look like a baby "fema trailer"...youd have to be around new orleans to find the humor in that...

***i dont have any pics today...i just kinda did my thing...didnt think about snapping pics..ill catch some up tom...

[laoutdoorsman]

it rains every dang day...personal problems to boot....so, only little done since last post...

spent another 50 or so at lowes...grand total so far is only around 350 on material...thats icluding prep work on the trailer(and 2 sticks of channel iron to add to trailer, welding rods)


heres the latest pic...its dark, but you can tell what i got so far...





alot of that 2x lumber is just temporary, so.....dont freak thinking how heavy...