First TTT Build- The Mobile Mango

[MadMango]

Just sell her on the idea that she will get to pick out the curtain rod style, blackout shades and curtains and she will be sold.

My wife is not that type of person. In prior phases of her life she was a Navy Corpsman, tile layer, and commercial fisher. She always goes for functionality over form. As an example, nothing grows in our yard that isn't edible (except for the grass).

I was planning on fixed windows in the doors, since we have 12x18 sliding windows in the wall for the loft bed for our son. Having a peek outside while laying down IS a selling point, and one that I hadn't thought of, so thanks for that approach.

[KCStudly]

Door windows won't normally be at the same place as pillows, especially when invoking the sit and spin design standard for door placement, but having some sort of ventilation down low to promote good cross circulation (rather than short circuiting between high wall vents and roof fan) just makes sense to me.

[noseoil]

What KC said is very true. It's a good idea to allow some air moving in from bed height when sleeping. A roof vent is 100% necessary, as well as some type of ventilation opening in the sides. This is really important in the summer when it's warm outside & trying to sleep. It can get stuffy without some air moving across you in a small space. With the airflow it's good. Just sayin'.

[MadMango]

Sunday October 30th- Milestone

This weekend was pretty productive. I managed to repack my bearings with real bearing grease and got the dust covers on. I tried out my 15" wheels, but it looks like I'll need a 1" spacer due to the 205 width tires. Those should arrive tomorrow according to Amazon. A small set-back but nothing serious.

My wife and I managed to move the trailer from under the tiki hut to the front driveway. We had to move it on it's side, and used a rolling dolly under the tire. I guided and she steered from the rear. Worked out pretty good, and no one got hurt. Then we we able to get the front wall and sides up. I used deck screws from under neath and generous beads of PL400. It was getting dark, so later this week I'll cross-screw the seams (from the sides only now) between the screws that are present.


Then, we noticed a big mistake when we decided to add both roof panels. There's a huge gap, about 1-1/4" between the top and front wall. I decided to push the wall up the get the top seam closed, figuring it will be easier to repair the gap when it is lower. I think a ripped strip of plywood will fill the gap nicely. I'm planning on fiber glassing all my seams, so strength shouldn't be an issue. We talked briefly about leaving the gap there and adding screen, but we quickly talked ourselves out of it.


You'll notice my doors have an added piece of plywood under the hinges. My thinking is I wanted the leading edges to have guaranteed seal while driving down the highway. I added a 1/4" spacer there to ensure seal contact. I'm hoping it won't too terrible on the finished product. It is the same reason that I have the front wall's edge flush with the bottom of the trailer frame.


Now its on to working on the simple galley wall and closing out the wheel wells. After that, I can work on the counters for the rear, wiring, and my son's "murphy bed". I still think I am on schedule to have this "camp-able" for New Year's Eve weekend.

[MadMango]

I figured out why I had such troubles with my design files that has caused me grief with my doors and that huge gap above. For whatever reason, my files were not syncing between work and home. I'm glad I figured that out.

My wife and son spent the night in the trailer after giving out all the Halloween candy. No windows, no bed, no nothing, just a fluffy blanket and pillows. She said I need to hurry it up and finish it.

[Iain Hall]

There is nothing that beats spending time inside the space you have enclosed to get a good feel for how a trailer will work for you

[MadMango]

The weather has not been cooperating with my plans this weekend. We've had a bit of high winds and spots of rain yesterday and today. I did manage to get a few things accomplished.

I installed my 1" spacers on my hubs and mounted the 15" tires. They fill-out my wheel openings much better, and look as desired. If I ever go with off-road tires I'll probably have to go to thicker spacers. I had some nice center caps as well, but they were too large in diameter and would not fit the wheel opening, so back to the drawing board for those.


I also ran to West Marine to buy resin and fiberglass cloth for the corners. I decided on the polyester resin due to budget constraints. I'm hoping that won't turn into a negative later down the line. I know how much everyone prefers the epoxy resins. I managed to get the two top most corners done, but stopped since the drizzle persisted today, and I was concerned about the humidity levels being too high. It went better than expected since this is my first foray into using fiberglass (Bondo is old hat for me). I used my router to apply a 1/4" radius to the corners for the fiberglass tape. I also agree with the consensus of these forums, vertical surfaces are not desired for this type of stuff. It should be easy work with a deck sander and orbital sander to smooth things out.


I doubt with the time change that I'll have much evening light during the week to get anything done. I'm hoping that next weekend I can finish taping the other corner/joints, and resin the surfaces. I also need to start working on the ceiling foam, but think that can wait. I really want to get the exterior completed so I can install my windows and fan. Once I'm sure the exterior is sealed and protected from the elements, I'll concentrate on the interior. I'm not looking forward to the cabinetry, more new territory for me.

[MadMango]

i double-checked my resin job on the top seams just now, everything is nice and hard. I'm glade the humidity/drizzle didn't affect things, I would have hated to try to take the poly resin off.

I have a question for everyone. Ever since I have moved my trailer to the front driveway I've had three requests from neighbors (and the UPS man) to build on for them. Is that pretty common? I've told all the neighbors that this is my first build, and maybe they should wait to see the final results before wanting something I've built.

[Philip]

I have a question for everyone. Ever since I have moved my trailer to the front driveway I've had three requests from neighbors (and the UPS man) to build on for them. Is that pretty common? I've told all the neighbors that this is my first build, and maybe they should wait to see the final results before wanting something I've built.

I have had those types of request many times on items I have made. All I do is decide if I want to do it and how much to charge if I did. There are many people that do not have the skills, time, or ambition to do a build of something this size.

[KCStudly]

There are many people that do not have the skills, time, or ambition to do a build of something this size.

... and therefore, the ones who are innocent enough to ask, most likely have no idea how much effort and cost goes into it. They see you doing it and figure it must be easy for you because that certainly causes no effort for them.

4 yrs of my life and well over $6k, "Can you build one of those for me?" I wish it was that easy, but no. Hell, I can barely build the one for myself!

[MadMango]

Hell, I can barely build the one for myself!

That's how I'm feeling! Let me get through this build first.

[MadMango]

No pictures this weekend.

I managed to get my hatch fitted today with the McMaster plastic hinge. Not as nice looking as I would have preferred but I am confident that it will get the job done. When I installed the rear hatch I noticed that my side walls are about 1/8" (3mm) out of true (slight lean to the right). I don't think anyone will notice it except for me... every single time I look at it! At this stage, i don't think there is any repair in the future to fix this, but hoping when I get my galley wall installed it will help.

I also managed to sand down my first coat of resin, applied a second coat, and fg-taped the joint on my hatch. I think I'll be happy with 3 coats in total. I have learned that it is best to make small batches of resin. 6oz batches worked well for me, even though I am going through a lot of 2" chip brushes. It is a pain to take the doors and hatch off to work on the resin, then reapply them at the end of the day to keep the riff-raff (small animals) out during the week.

I also received my Noco Genius 10a, 1-bank charger. That was bigger than expected. Looks like I will have to build a tongue box to house my battery and associated solar charging guts. I will have to think on that for a bit. I was leaning towards building one, but now it looks like a necessity.

Thanks for following along.

[Dan242]

Thanks for the update, Helps encourage us slower builders, After several months, I've started working on my floor, at this rate , I will be camping in 2020

[Philip]

Get a small container that you can seal up. Put acetone in it and seal your brush up when done. Just clean the brush out for the next use.

The container I am use has a 1/2" 1.5" brushes in it and a epoxy roller. I just clean the one I need for the next batch.

So far on my build I would have used about 50 brushes if I went one use on them.

With a cleaned used brush you don't have the shedding problem a new brush has.

[Iain Hall]

When it comes to build requests I think its important to point out just how much work is involved and that the cost would not be small, The consensus on this forum is that each Tear contains at least 100 hours of labor and if you only change minimum wage for your time that adds up to a fair bit even before you consider the cost of the materials.
What it boils down to is that until you see the color of their money you should consider inquiries about you building for them to be anything but serious.