Piper's Cub House

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Piper's Cub House

Postby FLFLYIN » Thu Oct 18, 2018 12:50 pm

I've been ruminating for the past several years on my build of a hard side, A-Frame Pop-Up Offroad Trailer. I would like to thank those who commented on my previous posthttp://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=63529&start=15&hilit=piper+cub that helped me narrow down my design.

Well, the build has finally begun. I acquired a modified Off-Road Flatbedhttp://adventuretrailers.com/trailers/flatbed/ trailer from A/T Overland that incorporates an independent trailing arm suspension with airbags instead of springs to minimize the vibration to the trailer contents. The front nose box is deleted in favor of an expanded metal grate to act as both a “entrance porch” but also a place to strap down firewood or other dirty items enroute. Unfortunately, I wasn’t ready to start my build before the Summer Desert Heat set in and made my Garage a literal oven. Now that the heat has broken, the build has finally begun.

The Design, as I mentioned, is an A-Frame design with a door at the front. Construction is poplar fingerjoint framing with 1/8” Baltic Birch over a XPS foam core for both strength and insulation. It is designed with a Queen size mattress at the back with plenty of storage underneath for camping gear. The bed is designed so that it could be modified into a dinette, although I do not plan on using it that way, instead a real mattress will be installed. The galley will include a Dometic CRX110 12vdc fridge and a small sink with hot water provided by an Attwood 6gal water heater. I plan on incorporating MtnDon’shttp://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=54&t=62327 concept for heating the trailer with the water heater. Each roof panel will incorporate 2 awning style windowshttps://www.ternoverland.com/arctic-tern-window. Power will be provided by 1-2x100ah LiFePO4 Lithium Battery(s) using 2 hinged Zamp Solar Panels placed over the windows on the outer roof panel to provide protection while traveling and shade when setup.
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J3_Haus-002.JPG
Piper can be seen in the rear window Supervising the delivery of the Chassis of her new Cub House
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J3_Haus-001.jpg
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Last edited by FLFLYIN on Sun Nov 11, 2018 2:18 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Piper's Cub House

Postby FLFLYIN » Thu Oct 18, 2018 1:01 pm

The top rail of the main cabin box is glued up, I started with the top rail so the roof has a square flat surface to seal against when closed. Next, building the sides down to the floor structure so it all ties together. Note the flatbed trailer (the chassis) that will be used in the background.
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Re: Piper's Cub House

Postby aggie79 » Thu Oct 18, 2018 1:57 pm

:thumbsup: :applause: :thumbsup:
Tom (& Linda)
For build info on our former Silver Beatle teardrop:
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Re: Piper's Cub House

Postby FLFLYIN » Sun Nov 11, 2018 1:47 am

Well after a week out of town, back to work! The upper section of the Cabin frame is coming together.
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Re: Piper's Cub House

Postby FLFLYIN » Sun Nov 11, 2018 1:51 am

Now adding some support between the top and bottom rails of the Cabin box section... Ran out of longer clamps, had to resort to using Harbor Freight Ratchet Straps.
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CubHaus-11.JPG
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CubHaus-12.JPG
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Re: Piper's Cub House

Postby FLFLYIN » Sun Nov 11, 2018 2:00 am

Yesterday we laid out the bottom layer of 1/8 ply then determined the basic layout for the Framing of the floor and how to attach it to the Flatbed Trailer. Unfortunately no Pictures. Today, we Glued it up, and used my Jeep Hardtop Lift in the garage to suspend the Cabin upper box frame in roughly the right position over the trailer.
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CubHaus-18.JPG
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CubHaus-20.JPG
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Re: Piper's Cub House

Postby FLFLYIN » Sun Nov 11, 2018 2:11 am

Finely today we used a couple pieces of scrap wood and clamps to secure the upper box frame to the floor framing. Now we begin building the angled supports that tie the two together. We got the braces for the rear section cut, but only one installed before we lost the light. (Damn Standard time/ Early Winter Sunsets).

Now that we're making progress, I hate to go back to work! Why do vacations go so fast... Anyway, back to work tomorrow, the trailer will have to wait until next week for some more time off.

BTW when I say we, I have to thank Dad for all his help building this trailer.
Attachments
CubHaus-24.JPG
Should be close to height of the Jeep when the folding top is built, and yet allow it to be a Standee at the same time.
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CubHaus-26.JPG
The One installed rear support showing the departure angle...
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CubHaus-27.JPG
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Re: Piper's Cub House

Postby iggy3860 » Mon Nov 12, 2018 5:31 pm

Looks an interesting design. :thumbsup:

A couple of questions:

1. What floor plan / layout are you using?

2. It appears from the trailer design that the cabin could be removable. Is that the case?

I will continue to follow your build with interest.

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Re: Piper's Cub House

Postby iggy3860 » Mon Nov 12, 2018 9:13 pm

Ooops.

Note to self: Look at ALL the posted images :oops:

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Re: Piper's Cub House

Postby TinyCamperPro » Tue Nov 13, 2018 8:06 am

This looks like quite a neat project, I've been thinking of doing something similar and will be watching your post! Quite an interesting design of the trailer that appeals to me more than the teardrops do. Looks like your using 1x3's for the structure over the wheels?

Best of luck!
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Re: Piper's Cub House

Postby FLFLYIN » Thu Dec 13, 2018 10:17 pm

Sorry I haven't posted anything new in a few weeks, work has the unfortunate ability to interrupt my days off. Then again without the Job, I couldn't afford my toys.

Iggy, I hope this answers your couple of questions:

1. What floor plan / layout are you using?
Its a unique design of my own delusions! Basically its a queen mattress at the rear with storage underneath, a very small galley that has a Dometic 1110CRX Fridge and a sink. I had the tounge of the trailer made with an expanded metal grate that will serve as an Entrance "Porch" so hopefully less dirt makes it inside, plus its a good place to strap down firewood on the way out and Trash on the way home. That's it! After all Camping is an outdoor activity unless the weather turns really Ugly.

2. It appears from the trailer design that the cabin could be removable. Is that the case?
Originally that was the plan, but I scratched the idea. The trailer came with L-Track tiedowns, so I am using the track to hold the frame to the trailer. I am leaving access to the screws to make sure they stay tight, but I think a flatbed trailer rental at UHaul would make more sense than taking the cabin off.

This week, I hope to make some more progress. Due to the Dust we experience Off Road out here in the Desert Southwest, I've decided to have a cargo hatch enclose the Water Heater when not in use. Trying to figure out how to build a cargo door is more challenging than I realized. Every time I think I've solved the design issue, I stumble onto something else, such as door thickness for the Locking hardware. Oh well the evening is young and I need to order door hardware. Updates to come....
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Re: Piper's Cub House

Postby FLFLYIN » Thu Dec 13, 2018 10:24 pm

TinyCamperPro wrote:Quite an interesting design of the trailer that appeals to me more than the teardrops do. Looks like your using 1x3's for the structure over the wheels?



I found that teardrops were just a little small for my taste. Plus there is no where to kick the dog off the bed! The framing is being done with 3/4 x 2.5" Finger Joint Poplar. Most places I ripped it down to 1.5" or 2" depending on what was needed. Trying to balance strength and rigidity vs weight, after all I need to drag is up and over some rough obstacles.
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Re: Piper's Cub House

Postby FLFLYIN » Tue Jan 01, 2019 9:23 pm

Fortunately I am better at spending time building than taking pictures of my work. The good news is the work does continue. I've been putting in backing panels for items like City Water and Gravity Water Fill ports, the Water Heater is in place to "visualize" the plumbing that will be in place. We also got the fender humps fully framed and the outer skins in place.
Attachments
CubHaus--30.JPG
From the nose
CubHaus--30.JPG (91.12 KiB) Viewed 3631 times
CubHaus--29.JPG
Shows the door framing for the door that will cover the water heater. Note the water fill ports above the water heater.
CubHaus--29.JPG (82.27 KiB) Viewed 3631 times
CubHaus--28.JPG
Showing water heater placement
CubHaus--28.JPG (91.9 KiB) Viewed 3631 times
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Re: Piper's Cub House

Postby FLFLYIN » Tue Jan 01, 2019 9:31 pm

Now on to Skinning the beast. We started with the back lower angled section, then moving to the upper section
Attachments
CubHaus--32.JPG
from the inside.
CubHaus--32.JPG (88.11 KiB) Viewed 3630 times
CubHaus--31.JPG
Clamping action at work
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Re: Piper's Cub House

Postby FLFLYIN » Tue Jan 01, 2019 9:45 pm

Moving on to the side walls. Clamping became more of a challenge as the places to attach clamps started to disappear quickly. Again I wish I had better pictures of the process. As you may recall, the lower section of the walls are at an angle since the cabin is several inches wider than the trailer it's sitting on, therefore requiring a bend in the sidewalls.
Attachments
CubHaus--33.JPG
Bottom part of the side panel is clamped and glued first. Once its set, we were able to bend the skin to match the vertical of the upper section.
CubHaus--33.JPG (90.6 KiB) Viewed 3624 times
CubHaus--34.JPG
Here the top of the Panel is being clamped and glued.
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Last edited by FLFLYIN on Tue Jan 01, 2019 10:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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