The Squidget Pop Top build is on.

[cracker39]

Well, tomorrow (Tuesday) is the day it the PT rolls out for exterior photos. Today I finished installing the propane tank cover (it hides most of the tank and adds to the appearance of the front). I also added the drip caps for the door and windows and installed the door knob lock set. I made my redneck lift device before I put a light in the top and had to alter it to fit around the light and found out that it’s too long when I lowered the top a few minutes ago. In the morning I have to shorten it by a few inches so it will work properly.

Today I also put on the tires and wheels and got it off the blocks for the fist time. I also added the other side stripe. In the morning I’ll also add the top hold-down latches. Then, it should be ready to pull out, wash off the accumulated grime and drive a quarter mile to a little park for the photos. I’m shooting for noon to minimize shadows.

[cracker39]

As promised, the Pop Top was taken out of the portable garage and cleaned up for a photo session. Below is one shot of the PT behind my ’06 Frontier so you can see the size of the camper with the truck as a reference. The other photos are on the Build WEB Site. http://www.thesquidget.com/ptbuild/exterior.html



I did some checking while it was out on pavement. Even with a 12" ground clearance, the overall height is even lower than I'd planned. My goal was to make a trailer that will fit inside a garage with a 7' (84") door sill. The overall height at the top of the fan dome is only 81 1/2", so I was under my goal height ty 2 12". The tongue weight without a deep cycle battery in the box is heavier than I'd planned, at 229 lbs. I think I have underestimated the total weight. I plan to get it weighed tomorrow and then I'll see if my tongue weight is more than 15% of the total weight.

[S. Heisley]

Beautiful! :applause:

[bdosborn]

Looks great Dale! Just like your rendering...

Bruce

[cracker39]

Thanks all.

I took the PT up to a truck stop to get a certified weight slip. The trip was about 20-25 miles, 1/3 of it on the interstate where I drove mostly at 65, but did a mile or two at 70. Except for a little slower acceleration in 6th gear (manual trans) and slightly longer stopping distance, most of the time I could hardly tell I was towing a trailer. On the secondary roads, with dips and irregularities, I could feel the load on the rear bumper when the trailer rocked forward or backward. Overall, it tows beautifully, even better than the Squidget if that’s possible.

The weight is more than I expected. But, with more materials in the top, a foot longer chassis adding to the weight of the steel used, and the extras that the Squidget didn’t have (propane tank, stove, sink and plumbing, icebox and more cabinets) I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised.

The weight on the axle is slightly more than the Squidget’s overall weight if they didn’t weigh it before I got it unhitched from the truck (and I’m still not certain they didn’t). I just left the PT connected and got only the axle weight of 1440 lbs. Yesterday I weighed the tongue at 229 lbs at the hitch with the nearly full propane tank and lawn mower battery in the box. That brings the subtotal weight up to 1669 lbs. Add the weights of the AC, Microwave, deep cycle battery and cushions, the overall weight will be between 1770 and 1780 lbs.

I used a 2200 lb capacity axle, so even with some supplies inside it will still be well under axle capacity. My tires are only load range B (1100 lbs each) so they match the axle capacity. Most of the heavy stuff will be carried inside the truck bed anyway, protected by the cap. I’ll only have some kitchen utensils, clothes and small equipment items inside the trailer while traveling. I find that I have much more storage space than I’ll need.

I just computed the tongue weight percentage based on my total weight estimate of 1780 and tongue weight of 265 when the larger battery is added. It calculated to be at 14.8%, right in the ballpark of where it should be. I lucked out again with my design calculations for weight distribution.

And, as for that rendering in my avatar, it's gone now.

[cracker39]

It seems that I'm not done yet with the PT. Besides having to order foam and make cushion covers for the couch/bed, I have a new project planned. As the pop top is so heavy, I did some checking on materials and contacted some experts and decided to make a foam top that should weigh half of the one I made using wood and plywood.

I located and bought two 3/4" x 4' x 10' sheets of Dow blue foam. The 6" high sices and ends will be one layer thick. The top will be two layers, the pieces crossing each other with two pieces of 1x2 running front to back in the top layer with two shorter cross pieces for rigidity and to mount the fan. There will also be a spacer strip of wood 3/4" x 1" in each upper inside corners where the sides and top join for the panels to rest against. That will also help bond the sides and ends to the top.

I've built up layers of blue foam with wood glue before to make RC airboat hulls and airplane floats. I made another test with some scrap foam and titebond II and the bond is really strong. One of my experts said to cover the foam with elastomeric roof coating. It makes a tough rubberized coating and is easy to apply with brush, roller or airless sprayer. And, it comes in ultra white.

This project is on hold until I finish my plans, then I'll put it together. I'm really positive that it will work and make lifting the top much easier.

[cracker39]

And we thought I was finished with the PT. Early last week I finally got started on my light-weight foam pop top. I mangaged to get the original top lifted up enough to slide it back on the roof of the cabin so I could work around the opening to measure and fit the par

So far, I have the frame of the sides, front and rear attached to one layer of foam for the top. Tomorrow I’ll get the 2nd layer glued inside the first layer, the pieces crossing those of the top layer. In addition the wood you see glued into the top (stiffening stringers and fan attach points) there will only be four strips 1/2â€

[cracker39]

My foam top is almost fully assembled. I still have sanding and patching to do and to insert the four small pieces of wood into the sides for the latch catches to attach to and install the fan, light and wiring. I decided to use foam instead of wood for my panel spacers in the upper corners of the top where it joins the sides, front and back.

I couldn’t wait to see what it weighs. I gathered up an extra piece of foam and the wood pieces to add to the top’s current weight. With all of these plus the top, without the fan and light, it didn’t quite weigh 10 lbs. I think it was 9.8 or 9.9 lbs difference between my weight on the scale with and without me holding the top and parts. The vent/fan weighs 11 lbs according to their WEB site. Finished, the entire top should weigh only 22 lbs. That’s 10 lbs. below my original estimate and very little more than a quarter of the wood top's weight.

Why, why, why didn't I think of using foam in the beginning and save my back a lot of pain lifting that heavy one on and off the roof?

Lifting it won’t be the problem anymore. Keeping it from blowing off the roof when it’s unlatched may be…lol. I certainly won’t have any problems getting this top onto the roof by myself. I just hope I don’t run into any hail storms. That’s the only worry I’d have with the foam top as I didn't put any epoxy on it.

I may consider the cloth and epoxy treatment before I finish it. Adding another 10 lbs is not a problem now that I know how light it is. I have just enough 2 oz. fiberglass cloth to cover it and two full quart bottles of 2-part bar epoxy that I've used to cover wood objects with, such as my step for the Squidget. It is slow setting up, taking several hours to harden, so I think it would work fine for this job. I'll make a small test with it before I put it on the top. With the high heat and low humidity we are having, the epoxy should cure faster.