Bear's Lair

[Nobes]

Nose ceiling piece is on. Outside hatch skin is on--I need to add a little piece at the bottom, I needed 52" and curiously my plywood is only 48". Test fit a door today just for fun, and it looks like that part will be easy. That's good news.

I will need trim around the wall-ceiling edges and on the seams between ceiling panels.

Tomorrow I will glue the extra piece on the hatch and get the trailer lights and fan wired, and hopefully begin routing and planing the roof spars and blocking.

[Nobes]

Good night of work tonight.

I got the strip added to the bottom of the hatch. The clamp job left a little to be desired, there is a lip at some points along the joint. The piece was too wide to allow clamps all along its length, so I used pieces of ash to try to get a consistent pressure all along the line and I'm afraid I just didn't make it. It is 5mm plywood, so I can't sand it down--hopefully I can make it look good with the fiberglass. That's a lot to ask of a rookie glasser but it's my best option I'm afraid.

Then I ran the router across the edges of the spars and the blocking between the spars. While I was there I cut out the ceiling panel where the vent fan will go.

Then came the hard part--hand planing the spars. A couple of them were almost 1/2" too high, so I had a decent workout, but I think I did better on this than anything else tonight. Thanks again KC for the tip. That block plane is a great tool.

Tomorrow I start putting In the insulation and getting the wiring run.

[KCStudly]

[Nobes]

Well, a weekend that started so well ended with a huge thud. On Friday I ordered all the trim and weatherstripping from Frank Bear.

Then over Friday & Saturday I got the hatch lock locations set and the holes drilled, and then I set the hatch aside for glassing. I got all the marker lights wired, purchased a battery and tested them (hey I got lights!). I built a "tongue board" instead of a box and bought a plastic box to bolt to it to hold the battery & a few tools, maybe my extension cord, etc. I need to build an internal frame to make sure the battery stays put. I got the jack installed. I put all the insulation in the ceiling--after putting in the first layer of 3/4 insulation and completing the wiring, I realized my 2nd layer of 3/4 wasn't going to fit. So, I bought 1/2 stuff and it fit for the most part. I ended up 'sanding' a lot of it down. That was a huge mess.

Then I bought a bunch more PL premium and got ready to install the roof. I wish I had started out counting the # of tubes of that stuff I have used, but didn't think of it till well after I had used a lot. I sanded the roof panels, which I cut a long time ago, put about 4 tubes of PL on the trailer, and started installing the roof.

And that is when everything fell apart.

We used straps, clamps, blocks, and everything else we could think of. The lovely and gracious Mrs. Nobes was awesome. We both worked our tails off. But in the end, we were scraping PL off the roof panels and the trailer. So, as Sunday started I was ready to put on the roof. As Sunday ended I was out $20 worth of PL, and I am ready to put on the roof.

The plan is to screw it on using fender washers, since we are now putting metal trim all along the edges which will cover up the screw holes. We will also wet the piece at the biggest curve, which cracked today while we were trying to strap it down.

Pictures tomorrow. Just too tired.

[Nobes]

SUCCESS!! The Bears' Lair has a roof. My buddy Brian came over and we got it on. We screwed the edges of the roof down to the TD wall. I punted last Friday and ordered metal edge banding, so the screw holes will be covered.

It looks like a teardrop!

There is one joint right across the front that I wish was better, and I don't know how I'm going to fix it, but I am too tired to think of a solution tonight.

And again I'm too tired for pics. Takes too darn long to post them. I'll get to it, I promise. Tomorrow.

[Nobes]

I took all the screws out of the roof yesterday, and it didn't explode. I put putty in the bad joint on the nose, as well as all the other screw holes, and after sanding it down there are discolorations. The only holes that will not be covered by trim, however, are on the top of the roof, which is up above 6'. Tall guys can complain about my poor craftsmanship, no one else will see it. I'm just going to have to live with that.

Hopefully tonight I will (FINALLY) start glassing the roof and hatch exterior. Before glassing I need to rout the roof edges to flush with the walls then give it a slight roundover, then just make sure it's clean/free of dust and ready for glassing.

I've had a rough time since Sunday, hopefully it starts going better again today.

[Nobes]

Got the glassing started. I am coating the roof, hatch, and my 'tongue board' simultaneously. Right now I have 2 coats on the roof & hatch and 1 on each side of the tongue board. Hoping it looks decent when I'm done. I am really glad I am putting trim on the edges, and will likely add it to a few other spots. Another coat early am then noonish, and then it's on to the next step.

My first trip is two weeks from today.

[Nobes]

I think the glassing is done. I might need a little more on the sides.

I glassed the roof, hatch, and tongue board. The board only got resin, no fiber. It's only $10 worth of wood so I didn't figure it was worth it.

The roof is wider than the glass cloth, so I added trim pieces on each side. I overlapped and was very surprised to see what a huge bump the overlap created. Heavy sanding and 5 coats of resin got it presentable. It's ok now--this morning it looked pitiful--but I wish it was even better. I might add one more coat of resin to the trim tomorrow. Depends on how it looks in the morning.

The only other thing I did today was build a frame to go in the box that goes on the tongue board. The frame will ensure that my battery stays put while traveling.

[KCStudly]

I've experimented a little with West 410 fairing filler and it works good for blending in lap seams. Fills weave in a single pass, a little more sanding then just add some more neat for a barrier coat.

Edit: Oops, I lost track that you are going for a woody. The 410 filler is not clear so would be inappropriate. I'll just crawl back in my hole now.

[plectrudis]

I'm sorry the roof misbehaved so badly! Still, the plus side is that if it's screwed down, you know for sure it's not going anywhere--even when you're flying down the freeway in a wind storm. So that's be a consolation. Can you post some more pix? If you're not too cheesed off at your teardrop at the moment? I'm using your progress--which seems like warp speed to me--as encouragement to myself

[Nobes]

The roof screws were removed, and while I was concerned that I might get springback, it stayed attached. The glass is now on so I am quite confident the roof is not going anywhere. I patched the screw holes and got some discolorations, which seemed quite obvious before glassing but are less apparent now. My big piece of glass fiber didn't quite cover the whole roof side to side, so I applied a 5" edge piece, with part of that 5" piece on the roof and part on the side of the TD. I thought this 5" trim would 'disappear' like the glass cloth did everywhere else but it did not. I read that it is quite common to overlap when there are multiple pieces of glass cloth, and it didn't occur to me that there might be problems with the seam. But, there are definitely problems. It's much better after 5 coats of resin, but the lower edge of the 5" piece is still a clearly visible line on the side of the TD near the roof. I sanded it pretty aggressively, and it improved, but it's still there.

I hate that my first ever attempt at glassing was on something so expensive and so visible. I learned a lot but not enough. I think a person with glassing experience would not have had these issues because they would have known how to avoid them.

So, I have some metal edging from Frank Bear I'm going to put on the wall-roof joint, and it will hide the screw holes and discolorations, but it will not hide the visible glass fiber edge line on the side of the TD. The options are live with it or put something over it, and we are talking about that but right now I don't see how that gets done and looks good given the other design/construction choices we have already made--unless of course we spend some serious money on custom fabrication of a metal piece that would run from the lower front of the TD to the galley/hatch. I guess a third option is to very, very aggressively sand everything down and basically start over. Since I am practically out of resin, and definitely out of glass cloth, that's more $ too. And I have spent way, way too much $ already.

No good choices. Right now, I'm living with it, hoping a solution presents itself.

And one more piece of bad news. My little 'tongue board' is too short. I spent 45+ minutes Sunday evening getting it bolted on, put my cool battery/electrical box on it, and the curve of the nose doesn't allow the box to sit flat. So, I guess for now I will simply move the board forward and leave a 2-3" gap between the board and the edge of the trailer chassis. That means I will have 4 extra holes in the board. And in the chassis. Eventually I'll make another board, this time 18" instead of 15".

The good news is I'm making progress in other areas. I got all but one piece of interior trim done last night, and I have it cut and stained and will put clearcoat on it tonight. I need this last piece of trim to cover a really, really bad seam in the nose. I am also working on a piece of trim that will attach to the top of the bulkhead in the galley, hiding yet another mistake. All the caulking is done. I have a number of little things to accomplish, but I think I can get them all done this week.

Then on Saturday I will install and weatherproof the hatch. The hatch is glassed and ready to go. I have the same 'lines' on the hatch but they are not as bad as those on the sides of the TD. Hatch installation/weatherproofing is the last big challenge.

A quick list of things I would do differently if I was starting out:
1. Get a trailer as wide as I want my build to be--don't mess with building a deck out over the sides of the trailer or up above the tires. The tires go outside the walls--with cool fenders--just a better look I think, and avoids lots of headaches.
2. Exterior width 60" max, maybe even a little less, for ease of glassing or aluminum covering. Still plenty of room inside for a queen size bed.
3. Aluminum not glass.
4. NOT a woodie. Definitely not a woodie. If you MUST build a woodie, get the 4x10 or 5x10 plywood. You'll thank me later.
5. Plywood side frame not a stick frame.
6. If you're building a woodie, hatch height not more than 48". My joint on the hatch plywood was disappointingly not my best work. I will cover it with some trim and you'll never know there was an issue, but I know. If you're covering with aluminum, well the joint line just needs to be flat.
7. Deck: stick frame with 1/4" ply on both sides. Seam in the middle. No OSB. Be sure to put framing under the spot where the bulkhead will be so you can screw that sucker down.
8. No side marker lights. Not needed by law, too much money/trouble/time to install.
9. Go with the super simple elec system. I 'upgraded' just a bit and spent close to $300. I don't need a 30 amp elec system, but I have one.

Sorry about the lack of pictures lately. I am taking pictures, and I need to get them posted.

[Nobes]

Last night I:
--made a pattern and routed cut-outs above the tires on each side so there is now plenty of sidewall clearance, then inflated the tires to 80 lbs and the whole trailer raised up about an inch. I was pleased with how this came out. I will need to do some sanding on the curve tonight, not much just a little.
--finalized clearcoat on the last pieces of trim which will go on tonight. I tried several different things to trim the wall-ceiling inside joint curve, and everything kept breaking. Finally I grabbed a 1/8" cutoff I had laying around and it went right in no problem. So I made a few 1/8 by 3/8 ash strips, sanded and clearcoated them, and they will go in tonight.
--sanded the upper sides of the exterior walls one more time, plus drips/spots here and there, so I can apply yet another coat of resin on the visible glass cloth edges on the walls & on the other trouble spots
--cleaned bugs stuck in the resin off the roof, and gave it an overall very light 400 grit sanding. Roof is done. Of the 3 sides, exterior 1 and 2 and roof, the roof is definitely the best glassing job. I was learning...except for that darn wall-roof joint.
--watched some videos on hatch installation

On Monday I picked up a 30 to 15 amp adapter and tested the 110 electric outlets--all work great. 110 elec is totally done. I still have to wire the tail lights and complete the connection to the plug that will attach to the TV. One more round of soldering...my favorite. Well, not exactly. Last weekend I bought a new $8 soldering tool, the pencil kind, so we'll see if it does better than my 30-year old gun.

Tools purchased during the build: router plus a couple of new bits, double kreg pocket jig, soldering pencil, tool to remove bushings in wheel hub, lots of disposable paint brushes and 1 keeper, two metal-piercing drill bits (bought one, used it, stored it, couldn't find it, bought another, found the 1st one--ha!). Borrowed my son's jig saw and have used it extensively. Dual cartridge air mask for glassing (used it once, just not necessary), expensive blades for circular saw (absolutely worth it), glass application tools. Probably more, I'll keep thinking. I also threw away my broken biscuit joiner.

Hoping to catch up on pictures this afternoon.

[Nobes]

Great progress last night.

--Stained and clearcoated the dowel rods that will serve as temporary hatch supports until I can get gas struts or springs installed. I already have the 'closet rod holders' ready to install. I will drill a hole through them and the dowel and put a pin through the hole to make sure the hatch doesn't fly up in heavy wind. Going back to Lowes today to look for pins & a few other items.
--Finished up all the interior trim: my 1/8 by 3/8 ash pieces that cover the big curve in the nose and a 5+" wide piece of 1/4 ply for a really bad joint in the front of the cabin. That piece of trim goes across the cabin just above the 'head board' cabinet, so I put two hooks in it to make it look a bit more intentional. But, yes, that piece is there because my nose was all out of joint. I know. Sorry. I pulled out the infrequently used nail gun for most of the interior trim, and that's always fun.
--Installed galley cleats and the galley. Hopefully it won't shake apart as we drive. If it does, I was going to rebuild it anyway.
--Cut out the roof opening and installed and tested the fantastic fan, and it works! I had to shorten the inside the cabin trim ring (which is actually a square) by cutting off about 2.5" of the plastic, then I got to use the new solder pencil and it was much, much better than my old gun. The gun took forever to heat up then produced little balls of solder that I had to roll around then melt onto the wires. The pencil just melted the solder onto the wires. Soldering has been a chore, it was good to find out it is not always that hard. I put Frank Bear's putty tape all the way around the exterior edges of the fan housing and screwed it down, and I think it looks great.
--Installed trim pieces in the back of the upper cabinets and the top of the galley that cover up a 'modest shortfall' in the height of my bulkhead. Way back when I cut it wrong, and decided since it missed the height needed by less than 1" I would use it anyway and put some trim on those spots. Saved $50 by not buying another piece of 3/4 ply. I put a thin bead of clear caulk across the top of the trim in the galley to get a good seal.
--Sanded/prepped for another coat of resin on my side wall trouble spots as well as the galley wall top where weatherstrip will be installed under the hatch. I got up early this morning and put the resin on. That was a good decision, as it was 20 degrees cooler and the resin was thicker and less prone to run, which is what caused some of the trouble spots in the first place. I was going to put more on tonight then again tomorrow morning, but I think I will skip it tonight due to the heat and just hit it one more time in the morning and call it good. I will prep it tonight. I think I will still want to find something to cover the edge of the glass fiber. Eventually.
--The lovely and gracious Mrs. Nobes has completed the quilt and curtains, and had enough left for a little pillow. The windows in the doors are more narrow than the smallest tension spring curtain rod we can find so I tried 'adjusting' one to fit and just mangled it. I might try a tight-fitting 1/2" dowel rod, might try to find smaller tension rods online, and I am definitely going to try again to shorten the remaining tension rod. The good news is the pair only cost $3 so if I can figure out how to get it to the right length we can easily/quickly buy another set and we are good to go.

There are only 6 more items on my list, and I have two nights to get them all done. Saturday is door and hatch install, the last things to do except making cabinet doors and building a bumper. And catching up on pictures here.

I know I am testing the fates by saying this--but I think I am going to be ready for that July 4 trip...

[KCStudly]

Going back to Lowes today to look for pins...

Key word search "hitch clip pins". I know they are available at TractorSupply. They are a headed pin with a hinged spring loaded bail clip. Another option would be "ball lock pins".

You are getting so much stuff done in such a short period of time it is understandable that you haven't got much time or energy left to post those pics, but you know what they say, "no pics, didn't happen".

That's okay, we can wait for 'um.

[Nobes]

Thanks KC! I think I have seen what you describe. Kinda 'D' shaped?

I appreciate your encouragement. My tendency is to get 95% done and stop, so the deadline has helped to keep me on task and to get to the finish line. While I am glad I set this deadline, man I am sick of this thing. Hopefully getting it on the road EIGHT DAYS from now will put some wind in my sails to get those last few finishing touches done.