First time builders - building a "woodie"

[TimC]

Looking very nice. I'm impressed with your process. Makes me want to build another one!

I went a couple years with similar wheels and then saw someone's td with baby moon hubcaps. I just had to have them. Really finished off the look I was after. If interested I can send you the source, but, keep focusing on what you're doing. They can be added almost anytime.

Tim

[nicoleandkyle]

Looking very nice. I'm impressed with your process. Makes me want to build another one!

I went a couple years with similar wheels and then saw someone's td with baby moon hubcaps. I just had to have them. Really finished off the look I was after. If interested I can send you the source, but, keep focusing on what you're doing. They can be added almost anytime.

Tim

Thanks, Tim! We are interested in switching them out, so I'm interested in seeing the ones you are talking about

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[TimC]

Thanks, Tim! We are interested in switching them out, so I'm interested in seeing the ones you are talking about
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So, here is a recent photo of the TD with the baby moons installed. Sorry, not the greatest shot, but, you get the idea. This is on my TD so there will be some differences in appearance I will go into below.



As with all TD builds there are many ways to approach this and my version may not be the best. It's just how I did it. Do a little research before buying.

The baby moons are from etrailer. They are intended for a "conventional" automotive wheel with hubcap mounting nubs on them. With your 12" wheels (and mine which are 13") You will have to buy clips to install them. It's a matter of drilling an 1/8" hole at just the right place on the wheel and then pop-rivet them on. I used four clips per wheel, some folks only use three per wheel. I found the clips from an Amazon vendor. I had trouble with the original batch they sent me (were brittle and snapped in two) but the vendor sent a pack of replacements very quickly. I've traveled around Lake Huron and back home, about 1500 miles, and another trip of 300 miles with no problems.
Baby Moons
https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Americana/AM90086.html
Installation clips
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007X5HLJI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Full disclosure here, the pictured TD is not on a NT trailer, but my custom made trailer from a local welder. However, on my brother's TD which is the same 5x8 NT trailer as yours we did the same upgrade as with my TD swapping the 12" for 13" wheels from etrailer - https://www.etrailer.com/Tires-and-Wheels/Kenda/AM31233.html The upgrade was an expensive one, but, I like the handling and appearance of the 13" wheels and being a commonly sought size for utility trailers I got $80 for the set of 12" unused NT supplied wheels/tires on craigslist to offset the cost.

In addition, we did not use the NT fender, instead buying the 13" version from etrailer (might not be necessary in your case), and we had to buy spacers to bring the tire/wheel out away from the trailer frame as the Kenda tires were wider than the stock 12" tires on the NT trailer and I was concerned that in some rare instance when cornering the 1/4" clearance between the tire sidewall and frame bolt heads wasn't enough. We wanted to avoid the possibility something may happen, so 1/4" aluminum spacers were added on each side. So, it wasn't a simple - buy baby moons and pop them on. Just want you to be clear about that. I'm glad I pursued this a couple years after the build as I had enough to work on during the build.

Good luck. I'm really interested in how your project comes out.

Tim

[nicoleandkyle]

Wow, Tim! Your TD looks amazing I love it! We did already swap out the tires for ones rated for 80mph, but definitely I love those hubcaps and I think we will be swapping out for ones like that at some point thanks so much for all the information and for sharing!

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[nicoleandkyle]

Well we have had a busy weekend! Kyle finished framing and sanding the roof down, have gotten a lot of insulation in. I finally started connecting some wires and installed one of the outlets. I realize now that I went way overboard on the wiring, but it what it is.

We originally planned to build a tongue box, but due to time constraints we decided to buy one instead. Hoping to get the wiring installed to the point where maybe we can turn a light on some time this week.

I started the hatch by cutting out the 2 hatch ends. I also started making the seal ledge on each galley wall. We installed 1/8" spacer pieces on one wall.

Here's to hoping for a productive week ahead! Only a few weeks left until our goal!

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[nicoleandkyle]

Attached and poly'd the inside (bottom seal) wall piece. Also cut the gussets out. We clamped it all together just to see how it's all fitting. Hoping to attach the pieces and possibly start putting the framing in it tomorrow.

Yesterday I cut out the top seal pieces of the hatch and finished putting 1/8" spacers on the other galley wall. Kyle put another layer of spar varnish on the outside walls and doors as well as poly a piece of oak trim we are going to put inside to cover up a mistake I made lol.

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[TimC]

Your approach to building your hatch is very smart. I built the sealing surfaces after the hatch was built and installed. Building the end frames and adding sealing surfaces before building the hatch looks much more efficient!

Tim

[nicoleandkyle]

Your approach to building your hatch is very smart. I built the sealing surfaces after the hatch was built and installed. Building the end frames and adding sealing surfaces before building the hatch looks much more efficient!

Tim

My main concern with our hatch at this point is that I hope the seal I purchased compresses enough and fits right. I see a lot of people use epoxy over the bottom seal, but we're going to use Through the Roof. I think that should work just the same and we have like half a gallon leftover from the floor undercoating.

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[nicoleandkyle]

Just tested out some lights last night to make sure we're doing things right! Ran into a problem where the battery for my drill won't hold a charge anymore, so it kind of put a damper in getting a lot done. Picking up an adapter for it today so we can use one of our new DeWalt batteries instead.

Still, it was kind of cool to see some lights turned on!

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[nicoleandkyle]

We attached the first section of roof last night! That was pretty cool. Then today we decided to change pace and go back to the doors. Installed trim for one of the doors, and hoping to get that door functional by tomorrow.

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[nicoleandkyle]

I've been on a business trip the last couple of days, but we finally got to work again tonight. Attached the gussets on the hatch and installed 1x3 spars 12" apart. It's supposed to rain tomorrow but hoping to get the hatch and the roof completely done this weekend so we can start the PMF.

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[tony.latham]

but hoping to get the hatch and the roof completely done this weekend ...

You're getting there!

Tony

[nicoleandkyle]

Been battling thunderstorms all day, but we got a lot finished! We finished the roof last night, finished the roof of the hatch today, and started the PMF on the roof of the camper. Thinking tomorrow we should be able to put more glue on and possibly start painting. Also hoping to have time tomorrow to get one of the freaking doors in. The doors are my nightmare! I think we can get this thing travel-ready by Labor Day Weekend but only worried about the doors at this point. Not sure if we'll have time to put cabinets and a countertop in the galley by then. Stay tuned, I guess!

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[nicoleandkyle]

Forgot to post that we did test out more of the wiring. I got one light switch installed very jank but it's functional so I'm okay with it at this time. Tested out the inverter with the outlet I installed in the galley, and that worked great!

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[TimC]

It's looking great. Baby steps will keep you moving forward. When I got stressed, or started making mistakes I'd sit down and think about the next few steps. Sometimes I would just move to another simple, unrelated step to have a little accomplishment to celebrate.

I mentioned my brother is right behind you in his build. He wants to be road worthy by 9-12. He'll put off some finishing if he must to take that trip. I'm planning an early Sept trip to help him with his ceiling/roof and wiring. This is about two weeks ago...

I removed photo. I probably shouldn't post pics of people without permission...

Keep your spirits up. Regardless if it's ready for labor day or not you'll have one nice td to be proud of.

Tim