I worked on the trailer for about 6 hours today. I started by making a template for the rear frame extensions out of drywall. I thought it would be amusing, and it ended up working pretty well. Now that those are welded on, the back flexes a little bit. I think it'll be rigid enough after I add some supports for tow points a little higher than the deck.
I cut a piece of diamond plate and was sad to realize that each of the three pieces I bought will only cover one piece. I paid $2.50/lb for the diamond plate at a metal recycler. There is lots of waste, but maybe I'll use some of those pieces for trim (drawer fronts, etc.). On that note, I understand that slow-close drawers hold themselves closed pretty well, so I'm thinking of ordering some of those. Anyway, I found an old sheet of diamond plate that I found next to the dumpster at my old office. I thought that it was another diamond pattern, so I had written it off, but it turns out that I'd used that for another project already. The new sheet is oxidized and old looking, but I hit it with WD-40 and it looks good enough that most people won't notice it isn't as shiny as the other stuff.
I also welded on the steel flat bar that will hold up the walls and then drilled holes for hex bolts. (Reminder to self: drill some holes for cabin light wiring too.) I'm still finishing up some welds, cleaning those up, priming, and painting. The bottom, back corner was a little difficult to cobble together, but it worked alright. The other corner will probably be easier now that I've done it.
I'm not 100% sure I want to keep the old subfloor. It's not perfectly flat (having some swelling around the edges), and I don't know if my power planer will make it better or worse. I think it's called particle board, but with giant particles. I can even pull many of the chips off. I do have a sheet of 1/2" plywood of some sort hanging around, but I was hoping to leave the old one alone in the interest of time. Plus I don't know if I could pull the carriage bolts flush like they are now into a better material. The plan is to put a panel of 1.5" insulation, 1.5x1.5" studs/spacers, and 1/2" plywood on top of the subfloor. If you have an opinion about that not laying flat, speak up.
The project will get stuck after another 5 hours or so due to me not having a trailer - the lug nuts still haven't arrived. But I have a long list of materials I need to fetch. It'll be pretty cool to see the shape come together - I erected a 4' level on one corner just to get an idea of the proportions, and it looked huge.
In other news, the three giant skylights that I ordered for the house finally shipped after a couple of months, so I will probably install them before the trailer is done, lest the Seattle rains start and delay that for 8 months. On the other hand, I'm also definitely going to be sort-of losing my job in a week or so, so I should have more time for projects.
39Ratrod, I did manage to build a rat bike, but then I ruined it by going over the matte black tank with a nice, shiny paint job. It was downhill from there, and so I ended up selling it and buying the WR250R, which I don't have to worry about scratching. I did make a good profit though, and the new owner is absolutely in love with the bike.