Pikes Peak Woody Build

[Mushin]

Beautiful woodwork!

[badschnauzer]

Beautiful woodwork!

Thanks, Mushin!

Help! I'm having a heluva time finding a rod latch for my galley hatch. I can find the T handles and getting rods are easy but where do I find the rotating mechanism? A complete kit would work for me also. Thoughts? Thank you!

[badschnauzer]

I should add that I've decided not to use draw latches and thus my late to need with the rod latch. Thanks again.

[badschnauzer]

More forward progress. I completed the hatch structure with 4 ribs and crossmembers. Built it in place with shims all around to account for 1/8" ply skin, canvas, and paint. Left 3/8" gap between hatch and walls for play. Put blocking in for lights at hatch rod lock. Felt good to lift it when it was done. Wobbly without the skin, but sturdy enough. I skinned it with 1/8" luan soon thereafter. I was more prepared for this skin job than my last attempt. I used straps and cauls even though the radius was larger and staples might have held it in place. I was taking any chances. Unfortunately, the hatch required 2 pieces to complete so I took it out side for the second strip of luan.



While the hatch glue dries, I'm moving forward on the doors. I've cut the window holes and am gluing in the blocking. Made the appropriate cut-outs for the lock/handle.



While the door blocking was drying, I decided to start the PMF and glue on some canvas. I chose a small rear section so I would get a sense of how the canvas would apply. Easy-peasy. Smoothed right on and grabbed solid after 10 minutes. Then I got ambitious and decided to cover the rest of the TD (sans hatch). Holy crap does that use a lot of glue. Mid-glueup, I had to run into the house to get another gallon of TB II. Used a detail paint roller to smooth out the glue after pouring it right onto the luan - the paint tray wasn't applying nearly enough glue. Worked out OK in the end and all is well. Long day in the garage but feeling good about my progress.



Always a good day when you can make wood shavings...

[badschnauzer]

Primed and painted the TD a few days ago. Came out great. I decided on Antique White for the skin. Applied 2 coats of primer, sanded smooth, and then applied 4 coats of exterior glossy latex paint. I left a slight pebble sheen. I finally dropped the fantastic vent in once the paint dried.



Progress on the hatch over the last few days. Installed the rod lock on some inner bracing. Had to cut down the pins which hold the rods, the square rod on the T handle and the actual rods. Easily done with a rotary cutoff wheel. Skinning the inner side of the hatch went OK. I was lucky in that the radius was almost exactly 4' which meant I wouldn't have to butt join 2 pieces of luan. The glue-up was still asses and elbows but I think that's the norm for these events. I had forgotten to mark where my spars and crossmembers were on the luan so I could staple easily. By the time I remembered, the glue was down and the ply had settled onto the framework. I made some guesses and missed a few. The staples shot right through the luan and into the cavity. Now I have a few staples rattling around whenever I move the hatch. I debated spraying expanding foam into the cavity but decided not to cut more holes into the hatch. I'm fine with it.



Mocking up the hatch strut locations was easier than expected. I cut pieces of wood the length of the strut at full extension and full compression. Starting with the full extension, I figured about where both ends needed to be for a right angle support as far from the hinge as possible without touching the galley cabinets. Once I had the locations marked on the hinge and galley walls, I attached the full compression piece of wood to the hatch location with carpet tape and lowered the hatch. It took a few tries, but once I found the angle that the strut would take when the hatch was down, I knew both attachment points. Unfortunately, I did not buy strong enough struts. I purchased 45 lbs struts thinking 90 lbs of holding force would be plenty. My hatch is not very heavy (maybe 30 lbs) but with the strut attached close to the hinge, it wasn't enough. I need about 10 - 15 lbs more force to hold it up. Luckily, they make a 60 lbs version with the same extended/compressed dimensions. Whew. I'll know for sure in a couple days when I'm ready to attach the completed hatch.



Skinned the hatch today with canvas. Of the 9 total yards of canvas I ordered, I ended up with about 2 inches of leftover. I was sweating it in the end but lady luck was with me.



In between, I started wiring my '73 Land Cruiser for a 7-pin trailer plug. The wiring on this 45 year old truck was a mess. Lots of butt splices, abandoned wiring, and crumbly electric tape. I replaced what I could with properly color coded wires and am ready to connect the 7-pin plug once I run a +12V and ground from the battery.



Tomorrow I prime and paint the hatch. Should be a good day!

[badschnauzer]

Primed the hatch yesterday and painted today. 2 coats of primer all around, 4 coats of paint on the exterior hatch, and 3 coats interior hatch (I ran out of paint). Cut the hurricane hinge to it's final length and predrilled holes in hatch and mating part on TD. I have a really good, consistent 3/8" gap all around the hatch. The bad news? My new, stronger hatch struts (#60) are still not strong enough. Hatch will start downward on it's own accord. I borrowed my neighbor's scale and my hatch weighs 49.5 lbs. The strut attaches 6.5 inches from the hinge with a 90 degree angle at full extension. Now I can actually calculate the necessary holding power. Ugh.



I also finished my bumper. Solid piece of cherry I already had. Routed inserts for the tail/stop lights and license plate. Created templates with hardboard and routed them out. Hod to build a router jig for the license plate cuts since the router baseplate did not span the cut. Finished it off with cherry stain and 3 coats of oil based poly. There were some bubbles in the poly when it dried (I used a HVLP spray gun to apply) so I used a scrub pad to knock them down. Overall, I like the way it came out. I also connected the TD to my TV to test the lights. Everything worked right out of the gate except the rear marker lights. For some reason, this set of lights had the white/black, 12V/ground wires opposite from every other wire. Once swapped, worked fine.



Tomorrow I'll turn 2 more spacers for the LED hatch lights and get started on the doors. My punch list is getting shorter; I've started looking at mattresses and bedding.

[KCStudly]

That's some really nice work you are doing!

May be a little late, but here's a suggestion. How about doing a reverse inlay on the bumper from the pattern you used for the drop storage covers/cutting boards? In lay some light contrasting strips on either side of the license plate and carry the them on thru.

[badschnauzer]

May be a little late, but here's a suggestion. How about doing a revers inlay on the bumper from the pattern you used for the drop storage covers/cutting boards? In lay some light contrasting strips on either side of the license plate and carry the them on thru.

I like that idea! It would not be too difficult to pull it off (it's held in by 5 bolts and some caulk) and lay in some contrasting wood strips. Hmmm. I have to tow it to the State police station on Tuesday for a VIN verification so it will stay for now. I'll add it to my future upgrade list.

[badschnauzer]

Lots happened over the last week. Some good, some bad(ish).

First the good news - I'm street legal! Got the TD ready for the drive to the State Police for VIN verification. Hatch is done and locked down; hurricane hinge screwed and caulked; and lights are working. Doors attached but not finished. I had to rig a way to keep them closed and prevent them from swinging out while driving. Pulled them tight with a ratchet strap while bracing the inside with a wood stick. Worked fine. Passed trailer inspection in quick order (even without the license plate light in place). On the drive down, I noticed the tongue weight was too light - lots of hitch bounce and chatter from the hitch ball. The battery was not on the tongue at the time and I'm sure that 50 lbs will solve that problem.



Then the bad news. I royally screwed up the doors. My intention was to have the exterior canvased and the interior stained knotty pine plywood. After notching for the hinges using a router jig, I had some great weather so I jumped on the staining/polyurethane of the interior, and glue/canvas/primer/paint of the exterior. My neighbor came over to watch the PMF go on and as I started, remarked "How do you know which side to PMF?" I stated "The side that's not stained or coated with polyurethane. Duh!" About two hours later when I tried to fit the exterior latch to the door, I realized I had stained the wrong side of each door. Argh! After a few choice words, I decided both the interior and exterior of the doors would be PMF. Sand the poly, apply the PMF and then paint the inside...red. I like it! I like it better than the knotty pine. In the end it worked out for the better but the road to get there was no fun.



I'm not very good at welding. I had trouble with the 2 different metal thicknesses on the trailer tongue and platform. I would burn holes through the thin metal of the platform before getting a good weld with the trailer. I also had trouble seeing the joint between the two, causing me to walk the weld off the joint. In the end I was able to get some reasonable welds by grinding off the mistakes and filling in the missed spots. It's plenty strong and looks OK after touching it up with black paint. If anyone knows what the secret to welding dissimilar metal thicknesses is, I'd be curious to know.



Tomorrow I have more work on the doors, battery box needs to be attached to the platform, figure out a way to mount the spare tire, and the exterior trim work needs to start. Good fun.

[ELM]

When welding different gauges of metal you need to weld more on the thicker metal so most of your heat is on the thicker metal than the thinner metal. Also make sure your steel is clean of rust and paint. It's tricky and just takes practice and it helps to have a good helmet with good lenses so you can see good. Hope this helps. That's a nice teardrop you're building there.

[KCStudly]

Most of the welding that I do is TIG welding, so you can control the heat and filler rod separately as you go, but the techniques I use should also work with stick and MIG welding.

For a joint between same thickness material you would weave back and forth from one side of the joint or the other, in a zig-zag or semicircular arc. For dissimilar thickness material, use a weave pattern but lead forward progress into the thicker metal and hold before weaving in a backtracking fashion to the thinner metal, and don't hold. By directing the arc forward you are preheating the thicker metal as you go and only tying the puddle back to the thinner metal as needed to keep the puddle forming across the seam.

Great progress on the build. It is looking very nice!

[badschnauzer]

Lots of detail work over the last few weeks and today, I call it done...until I make some changes. I very pleased with the way it turned out. Not exactly the way I envisioned it when I started the planning process, but happy with all the deviations.

The trim went on easier than I expected. I purchased 2.5" X 1/4" oak lattice boards for the straight pieces. The curved segments were cut from a 10" wide X 1/2" board I planed down to 1/4". I was worried that the curved and straight segments would look vastly different after staining but ended up getting consistent tonality. Used the super-sticky PL Premium and a few brads to attach.



I decked out the interior when I completed all the construction. I like the color contrasts between the various wood stains, quilt, and inside door. TV and stereo sound great and there's good airflow with the vent on and windows open. Plenty of lighting from the overhead LEDs, foot lighting or reading lamps. Storage is perfect for 1 or 2 light packers. I believe I achieved the level of Gemütlichkeit I was looking for. Cozy.



After sitting in the completed TD for awhile, I realized there was no good spot to place a drink or food. I built 2 folding tables, one for each door. They have 6 lb rare magnets on the back to hold them closed when the TD is in motion.



Today I took it for a test ride behind the Land Cruiser. It towed great with about 100 lbs on the tongue. No wobble, shimmy or bouncing over a few tough potholes. I also seemed like a light weight behind the '73 cruiser. It'll pull fine but it's gonna be a slow ride up and over the passes. I drove it to Garden of the Gods for a few snapshots. While I was parked, 2 couples already came up to me to discuss the trailer. I don't mind showing it off. One of the pictures has Pikes Peak in the background.



My first camping adventure will be to Moab, UT in a few weeks. I'll test the TD and probably come back with a bunch of modifications. Can't wait! Thanks to everyone who followed along on my build blog and a special thank you to those who responded with answers to my questions. See you on the road!

[KCStudly]

I love the glued up boards with contrasting woods. The interior looks very cozy. You have done a great job!

[PKCSPT]

I enjoyed watching the build, turned out really nice.

[Wolfgang92025]

Nice job on the folding tables...