New tug and new trailer....to be ....

[jackdaw]

After weighing the trailers today I was so pleased with the results, I couldn't wait any longer, so decided to put #3 together.
I've used a couple of low trollys, with casters on the bottom, so the trailer can be easily moved around. Its glides from side to side to alow access to either side.
The doors will have to wait until it comes out in the open, as there's not enough room to open them whilst it's in the caravan.

I had a mate call around this evening, and took a photo on his phone .

[dandan]

coley how !
(spoonerism)
correct my spilling if you wish.

Dave,
you have the bug,
maggot in the head,
flea up the a***,
a need to excel in what you enjoy doing.

for the snowbirds who reside in warmer climates this time of year,
all i can say is
its brass monkeys here !

this will be your number 3 which we are privvy to.

cant wait to get the first round in.
got to be a cask ale
best rgds
dan

[jackdaw]

I gotta admit, I'm hooked Looking forward to that beer Dan. Roll on the good weather.....In the meen time...........I have my compact little workshop , and I just love getting on with it......
I've had a bit of time on the build today, and things are moving along nicely.
I bought some hardboard for the ceiling from B&Q, and there was a bloke on their in house panel saw. I thought I'd take advantage, and had the three sheets cut down to 156cm, the internal width of the trailer. They're a great fit, so it was just a matter of getting the joins in the least visible places.
The first join is going to be behind the face frame for the front shelf, and the second is on the line of the roof vent and lights. There's a small visible join beside the lights, but I think I can hide it with the side shelf end pieces.
I fixed a piece of oak along the rear of the ceiling to pick up the hatch hinge.
I've cut in the back box for the front for a double socket, trimmed the roof for the roof vent and added a couple of battens to fix the recessed strip lights to.

Here's the first sheet fitted, and the back box cut in. You can see the extra wood fitted for the roof vent and lights.



Here's the next two sheets fitted, and the lights temporarily fitted ;



Here's the trailer from the back;



Heres a shot to show all the space in the workshop



I might have to start on the galley tomorrow, and get the hob/ sink set up out of the way. That'll make some more room.

Cheers Dave.

[Classic Finn]

I hate to tell ya this Dave but U B HOOKED Doc says there b no cure for this contagious disease

So when ya comin this way Dave? Dern it I cant seem to git ours dunn no matter what

Dave ya need a place to park one of your tears? Ive got an extra place

Sweet lookn tear ya got under production

[Classic Finn]

Where are some freshhhhh updates from our hooked tear builder? Havin withdrawal symptoms here in the Siberian Cold

[jackdaw]

Heikki I'd love to come over and take you up on that parking space , You're just a couple of thousand miles away

I had a day off the build on Sunday as we had to do some Christmas prep stuff.

I did pick up some insulation today, from one of the building sites I've been working on.
I've ordered some JCB bonet gas lifters for the hatch, and sorting out the roof vent as we speak.
I bagged a bargain set of runners for the drawers in the galley that should be with me for the weekend.
I found some sweet slam locks at a bargain price too

I'm also after a porta potti, I was thinking about a Thetford 335, as they are so compact, and it would fit in a cupboard in the galley.Now I'm thinking it may be better to have the loo stored on the tounge, as it's light when its empty, and I could sort out a locker away from the food We could put the water containers up front too.
We store the pop up gazebo on the front of our current trailer, but I'm thinking it's prity heavy , and would be better if it were closer to the axel.

I'll keep you posted on the progress

[grizz]

Still in 2 minds re a porta potty Dave, to me as a man, the closest bust is good enough, and bad toilets are less a problem than for women..... maybe Nicola will like one.

[jackdaw]

Rian I'm totally with you on the loo thing . It's really for Rosie. Most of the time it doesn't get used, especially if there's loos handy on the campsite. We have found it great at festivals though, some of the loos after a couple of days are horrendous.


I've had a few hours on the build over the holiday, but not as much time as I thought I would have. The big freeze is doing nothing for my motovation.
I've cut all the ribs out and assembled the hatch framing. I've changed it a little from the first build, in as much as the hatch is longer. It starts higher up, and covers the back of the floor when its closed. I think it should look cleaner than our first build. I made the floor a little shorter to alow for the hatch covering it. The units will start straight off the back to reduce the chance of hitting your legs whilst creating in the galley. Our current grumman has a small amount of floor in front of the cupboards that I think we would be better without.

I'm still undesided as to how I'm going to keep it down. I'm fitting gas lifters, and could do with something like a boot catch to close it on to. Maybe some kind of simple catch to hold it, and then fit over centre catches for when we're on the move .

We're expecting 10" of snow tonight, so I might have to get the snowboard out tomorrow.

It's all got very tight in the workshop, but I'll try and get some pics tomorrow.

Happy building, Dave

[2fry]

Hi Jack.
I'm still very jelious of your workshop,even if it is on the small side.
My tear is looking more like an igloo at the moment.
I used two door latches and a pair of cheap door handles for my hatch.
Once you close it it locks in place automaticaly.(not proper locked but secure)


I'm sure you will figure something out.You always do.

Stay strong in the struggle,summer is on it's way.

Graeme(aka 2fry)

[jackdaw]

Thanks Graeme, That looks like its a great solution I may well go for some surface mounted classic Mini door catches, but the principal is much more simple than trying to work out how to get a boot or bonnet catch to do the same job. Keep it simple.

I had a great time in the snow both last night and today . Last night we went out after midnight and built a snowman We were all done by 2.15 but still to excited by all the snow to sleep. We had a ball snowboarding on our local slope today even though we didn't get as much snow as had been forcast. I'm not as young as I used to be, and after a couple or three hours I'd had enough.

I've been out tonight and taken a few shot of some of the recent progress.

Heres the Coppertop covered in snow, it looks yellow because of the stree light we have outside the house;



Heres our snowman guarding the trailers.



here's the hatch with just the middle cross braces fitted, I plan on another set above and below the centre pieces to give penty of surface to fix the ply to.



This one show how I've left the floor of the trailer short enough to alow the hach to cover it. I've put a little extra curve at the bottom of the profile so we don't have the little bit of floor in front of the cabinets like we did on the first Grumman. I hope it looks a little cleaner, and illiminates the chances of hitting your legs on the floor when creating in the galley.


Heres a better shot of the how the bottom of the hatch meets the trailer.The 2x1's should meet up nicely.



I'm going to have to have another clean up to get rid of all the sawdust created with the belt sander getting all the ribs the right shape. Then it will be on with the Galley, wireing and plumbing. That may well be when it warms up a tad.

Happy building

Dave

[Miriam C.]

Looking real good! #3 huh! you will need to sell if you keep this up.

[jackdaw]

Hi Miriam, I'm hoping to sell our first teardrop in the spring, when this build is ready to go. We were offer good money for it last year, but we wouldn't entertain selling without having a trailer for us to use. Rosie is only just comming around to the idea of us selling #1.
I get a great buzz when I'm building, and it occupies my mind in a good way.
I'm planning on building #4 for my son next year when he becomes old enough to drive. I just don't know what it will be yet. I imagine something small and light as he will only be able to afford to drive a small car. Insurance is very high for new drivers, and it's often double the cost of girls premiums.
After #4 maybe a cabincar ? Who knows, I just like having something on the go. Now if I could sort out a decent workshop I could build in the winter, and camp in the spring/summer.
I do have some outside storage at a farm a couple of miles away, but I like having the trailers handy on the drive. I'm looking into some inside storage for them, but thats not going to happen this winter.

Cheers Dave

[jackdaw]

After what seems like ages, I've had a day on the trailer.
I started off getting a lick of paint on the ceiling.



Then it was on to assembeling the face frame. All the timbers were halved out last weekend, in a similar maner to the floor frame. We're going to have similar cupboard arangement as our first Grumman, with the addition of three drawers underneath them, instead of a small shelf that number 1 has. It's been glued, and screwed from the back.



The face frame is fixed through from the ceiling, and the through the side walls at the bottom.



With the face frames fixed I moved on to framing in the fridge. The first build has the fridge fixed in through the walls, so its not likely to ever come out easily. This time I've made a frame across the top of the frdge, so it can slide out should the need ever arise. With the 3/4 ply divider in place between the fridge and hob, the frame for the lower galley could be installed. The floor on this build sits lower on the profile than #1, so I've gained a bit more storage, all be it a couple of inches. The plan is to have the grill under the hob, and a deep drawer as #1 under the grill. Then a cupboard for large bottles, and then more drawers on the end.



I've fixed a batton to the shelf , and a second one to the ceiling to divide off the galley from the back of the cupboards . I've left a cutout in the top right hand side to fit the 12 volt zig unit.



Hopefully I can get a bit more time on it at the weekend .

[S. Heisley]

It's amazing, Dave, that you can do so much in that little space and still do it so well.

[mezmo]

Hi jackdaw/Dave,

Just wanted to say I've admired your first two builds
and this third one as well.

Building it within the old caravan/now workshop is an
ingenious solution.

I just wonder though - - - when the third one is far enough
along will the caravan be giving it a "live birth" ? ? ? When
is the "due date" ? ? ?

Wishing you continued progress and success !

Norm