M116A3 Build

...ask your questions in the appropriate forums BUT document your build here...preferably in a single thread...dates for updates, are appreciated....

Re: M116A3 Build

Postby lfhoward » Thu Nov 01, 2018 6:50 pm

November 1 was a beautiful 70* day! I got the trailer almost completely winterized, and the rear door repaired and sealed!

Getting started:
Image

My weapon of choice:
Image

T-moldings back on and caulked and sealed:
Image

All the way across and around.
Image

Next, add some foam tape. This tape is 7/16" tall, just about the 1/2" in I measured for the gap. Fingers crossed.
Image

Flip and seal the other side:
Image

Now, around back...
Image

Remove threshold screws, squirt in Sikaflex, reinstall.
Image

Getting ready to re-hang the door.
Image

New hinge spacers work great. They are bright white plastic and not a dull yellow as they appear here. I was running out of daylight.
Image

Door back on. I had to wait 2 hours for the caulk to dry, but it seals great with the foam tape!
Image

Between all the steps above, I removed all of the exterior screws (more than 100!), squirted caulk in the holes, and reinstalled. I also caulked places where the aluminum panels came together, and where they met the fenders. The trailer is ready for the big rainstorm that is supposed to move in tomorrow, and for winter in general.

Now ready to go camping again! :D
My off-road camper build on an M116A3 military chassis:
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=62581
Tow vehicle: 2008 Jeep Liberty with a 4 inch lift.
User avatar
lfhoward
1000 Club
1000 Club
 
Posts: 1369
Joined: Wed Jan 22, 2014 6:10 pm
Location: Philadelphia, PA

Re: M116A3 Build

Postby lfhoward » Wed Nov 14, 2018 5:41 pm

A couple of short updates.

1. The leaves on the black gum tree above my trailer have fallen, so solar charging works much better! I angled the solar panel to take advantage of the winter sun. The trailer faces east-southeast so morning sun is the best.

Image

Wow is the roof dirty! Those leaves don’t take long to decompose, do they?
Image

2. The fun thing I got to do today was to install drip caps over the side windows. I think they look good. 8)
Image

I used Sikaflex to waterproof the screw holes and the seams where the caps meet the trailer walls.
Image
My off-road camper build on an M116A3 military chassis:
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=62581
Tow vehicle: 2008 Jeep Liberty with a 4 inch lift.
User avatar
lfhoward
1000 Club
1000 Club
 
Posts: 1369
Joined: Wed Jan 22, 2014 6:10 pm
Location: Philadelphia, PA

Re: M116A3 Build

Postby lfhoward » Mon Nov 19, 2018 1:59 pm

That big back door sometimes catches the wind like a sail and swings open or closed hard. Here is how I aim to control it. I got two of these, one for the top of the door and one for the bottom.

Image

They not only act as protective doorstops, but they’ll hold the door open against the wind.
My off-road camper build on an M116A3 military chassis:
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=62581
Tow vehicle: 2008 Jeep Liberty with a 4 inch lift.
User avatar
lfhoward
1000 Club
1000 Club
 
Posts: 1369
Joined: Wed Jan 22, 2014 6:10 pm
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Top

Re: M116A3 Build

Postby lfhoward » Fri Feb 08, 2019 11:56 pm

Today I made a burst of progress on my trailer's interior thanks to Parker at Moonshot Camper Vans in Philly. I rented Parker's garage space for the day and worked from 9 AM to 8 PM. Here are the photos of today's progress.

Here is an earlier photo showing that the cedar planking on the interior was only in the rear half of the trailer. Styrofoam insulation and exposed plywood is what you see around and behind the bed.
Image

First I made my plan and measured multiple times.
Image

You can see exposed wires in the forward corners from this photo at the beginning of the day.
Image

My first task was to create raceways to hide the wires.
Image

Next I paneled the headboard area with 1/4" tongue and groove cedar planks.
Image

The triangular areas on the sides were challenging to measure and cut.
Image

Before:
Image

After:
Image

What things looked like at the end of the workday:
Image

I'm glad how well it turned out. Little details like how the compartment lid fit snugly around the wire raceway made me happy. I added grab handles for opening those forward compartments.
Image

I have another garage day scheduled for Wednesday, and hope to show you a completed interior ceiling after another day in the shop. The goal is to have a completed interior for winter camping next weekend!
My off-road camper build on an M116A3 military chassis:
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=62581
Tow vehicle: 2008 Jeep Liberty with a 4 inch lift.
User avatar
lfhoward
1000 Club
1000 Club
 
Posts: 1369
Joined: Wed Jan 22, 2014 6:10 pm
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Top

Re: M116A3 Build

Postby featherliteCT1 » Sat Feb 09, 2019 8:57 pm

Beautiful! :applause: :applause:
featherliteCT1
1000 Club
1000 Club
 
Posts: 1120
Joined: Wed Dec 28, 2016 6:54 am
Location: Southern Indiana
Top

Re: M116A3 Build

Postby saywhatthat » Sun Feb 10, 2019 3:20 pm

Great looking build
Il suffit de le faire
fast, cheap, fiberglass/ foam stressed skin panels
viewtopic.php?f=50&t=73945

Build 4.5 by 8' using Trailtop fiberglass Components
http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=70729
User avatar
saywhatthat
The 300 Club
 
Posts: 499
Images: 135
Joined: Sat Jun 11, 2016 3:31 am
Top

Re: M116A3 Build

Postby redbicycle » Mon Feb 11, 2019 6:09 am

That looks great!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
redbicycle
Teardrop Advisor
 
Posts: 92
Images: 0
Joined: Sat Sep 08, 2018 5:38 am
Top

Re: M116A3 Build

Postby lfhoward » Mon Feb 11, 2019 5:38 pm

Thanks everyone!!

The cedar smells as good as it looks!. Plus it’s really light weight wood compared to pine or plywood. I’m very happy I went with it for the interior.

Planning for my next shop day on Wednesday. Here is the to-do list in order of importance:
- finish cedar planks on front wall around windows
- install birch plywood ceiling
- install aluminum vent grilles on electronics cabinet doors
- cut gym mats to fit floor, 2 mats deep for winter insulation
- install white strips in exterior aluminum edge moldings

If I have time, or do later:
- swap out old trailer to vehicle electrical cable for new one (old one still works but is deteriorating)
- check and top off batteries
- install rear door stop/catches
- repair cracked wooden trim ring for right front window

And long term:
- 2 new AGM batteries, move inverter to tongue box & install cutoff switch
- install front utility doors
- rear and right side awnings
- figure out how to mount spare tire underneath
- led exterior light swap all around
My off-road camper build on an M116A3 military chassis:
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=62581
Tow vehicle: 2008 Jeep Liberty with a 4 inch lift.
User avatar
lfhoward
1000 Club
1000 Club
 
Posts: 1369
Joined: Wed Jan 22, 2014 6:10 pm
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Top

Re: M116A3 Build

Postby S. Heisley » Mon Feb 11, 2019 7:54 pm

:thumbsup: Lookin' Good! :thumbsup:
User avatar
S. Heisley
Super Lifetime Member
 
Posts: 8769
Images: 495
Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2007 10:02 am
Location: No. California
Top

Re: M116A3 Build

Postby lfhoward » Wed Feb 13, 2019 11:29 pm

Day 2 shop day:

I got about 12 hours of work in today and made a ton of progress on the interior.

Where it started:
Image

The cedar planks installed above the dashboard:
Image

Beginning to install the ceiling:
Image

Ceiling panels tacked into place.
Image

Fantastic Fan molding installed and ceiling panels screwed into beams.
Image

Finally, I put pine strips over the screws to hide them.
Image

I'm really happy with the way the wood grain pops.
Image

Finally, here are the vent grilles I installed over the electronics cabinets.
Image
My off-road camper build on an M116A3 military chassis:
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=62581
Tow vehicle: 2008 Jeep Liberty with a 4 inch lift.
User avatar
lfhoward
1000 Club
1000 Club
 
Posts: 1369
Joined: Wed Jan 22, 2014 6:10 pm
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Top

Re: M116A3 Build

Postby lfhoward » Wed Feb 13, 2019 11:46 pm

Finally, I'd like to plug Moonshot Camper Vans in the Manayunk neighborhood of Philly. The owner, Parker, rented me his heated garage space today and last Friday for a very reasonable price, which covered 10-12 hours of work each day and access to all kinds of tools. If anyone needs to work on a trailer project here in Philly in the winter and you don't have a garage of your own, contact Parker.

Moonshot Camper Vans is at https://moonshotcampervans.com.
My off-road camper build on an M116A3 military chassis:
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=62581
Tow vehicle: 2008 Jeep Liberty with a 4 inch lift.
User avatar
lfhoward
1000 Club
1000 Club
 
Posts: 1369
Joined: Wed Jan 22, 2014 6:10 pm
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Top

Re: M116A3 Build

Postby lfhoward » Mon Feb 18, 2019 1:44 pm

Winter camping! We went to Ole Bull State Park, which is one of only 4 state parks open for camping (with electricity) in PA at this time of year. It was wonderful! There were only a few other people around and mostly we had it all to ourselves. It's up in the north woods west and north of Williamsport. The weather up on the Allegheny Front was cold and clear, under 10 degrees F at night and probably around 32 during the day. The camper's electric heater kept us toasty warm without the need for electric blankets. Here are some photos from the trip.

Image

Cozy warm inside.
Image

Driving around on Saturday produced some gorgeous views.
Image

This whole area was logged using narrow gauge railroads about 100 years ago. The railroad grades still exist.
Image

We drove about 8 miles of forest roads and took in the scenery. Here the road was unplowed but frozen and snowed over.
Image

Thick woods in the area were called the black forest.
Image

After emerging on the other side of the woods, we found this roadside pavilion made by the CCC in the 1930's.
Image

Image

Someone had left a fire burning, and the warmth was a welcome treat.
Image

Image

We love the area and hope to go back soon! :vroom:
My off-road camper build on an M116A3 military chassis:
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=62581
Tow vehicle: 2008 Jeep Liberty with a 4 inch lift.
User avatar
lfhoward
1000 Club
1000 Club
 
Posts: 1369
Joined: Wed Jan 22, 2014 6:10 pm
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Top

Re: M116A3 Build

Postby S. Heisley » Mon Feb 18, 2019 2:44 pm

:applause: Thanks for the great pictures. It is a beautiful area. I see you still have your Jeep Liberty. Me too. I love mine and don't have any plans to replace it in the near future. Jeeps have been known to last over 25 years. :thumbsup:
User avatar
S. Heisley
Super Lifetime Member
 
Posts: 8769
Images: 495
Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2007 10:02 am
Location: No. California
Top

Re: M116A3 Build

Postby mattiker » Sun Feb 24, 2019 10:23 pm

I recently picked up an old military trailer similar to the one that you used, I'll be using this post as inspiration!
mattiker
Teardrop Builder
 
Posts: 33
Joined: Mon Feb 04, 2019 3:59 pm
Top

Re: M116A3 Build

Postby lfhoward » Fri Mar 08, 2019 6:56 pm

mattiker wrote:I recently picked up an old military trailer similar to the one that you used, I'll be using this post as inspiration!

That’s exciting! What model? I’ll look forward to reading your build thread. :thumbsup:
My off-road camper build on an M116A3 military chassis:
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=62581
Tow vehicle: 2008 Jeep Liberty with a 4 inch lift.
User avatar
lfhoward
1000 Club
1000 Club
 
Posts: 1369
Joined: Wed Jan 22, 2014 6:10 pm
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Top

PreviousNext

Return to Build Journals

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: kd8cgo and 20 guests