Small Photo Essay of the Escape Hatch/Winter Warrior

[mikeschn]

I'll keep this short, and the photos small...

So if you are driving down the road and you see something like this, do you wonder what's inside?




Then you happen to notice the solar panel and the LED lights. Hmmmm...


So you follow this tiny travel trailer to the campground and when you find it again, the hatch is popped up!




Dang that's a tall as some of the trailers in the campground... Really intrigued, you wonder what's inside... so you knock...

AWK!!! It's a boy and his dog! Run!!!


Okay, just kidding... But still you get the tour...

Here's the shot from the rear door...

You'll notice the grill stove and fan on the right, and the te fridge on the left. (That an AC fridge, not a DC one.) You might also notice the Rayovac lanterns sitting on the top of the wall... They have been rewired, to add a cig. lighter plug so we can plug them into the main DC circuit.


It's really a deceptively simple design. There's not a whole lot of detail to show...

I can show you the view from the side door...


To be continued in next post... (to keep from overwhelming your browser)

[mikeschn]

Okay, lets climb inside and see what's going on...



You manage to make it past the guard dog who is watching your every move... whew! So you lay down on one of the pillows, and check out the view from there...

Here's the view to the right...


And here's the view to the left...


And here's a shot of the bed... (Yes, I know, it's a rather interesting collection of lanterns. And I forgot to dig out the LED one.)


In the next post I'll show you a few details...

[doug hodder]

Michael....you have been a busy boy!!!....Looks really good and it appears that your son and the dog like it...Good Job... Doug

[Micro469]

Hey Mike... show us a shot of what it looks like folded down from the inside... and Can you use it folded down as well? I.E. you just drove for 10 hrs and just want to crash......

[mikeschn]

Okay, for a few details...

Here's where we hide the battery.


And here's what it looks like hidden. Notice also, the AC inlet on the left, and the solar panel controller on the upper right.


And here's the view of the vent hole from the outside... Do you recall the vent holes in the floor? (two pictures up!)


Oh yea, I picked up a battery monitor this morning at Harbor Freight... It's not as fancy as the one I used to have, but it works!


So that's the end of my short photo essay... Did I miss anything important?

Mike...

P.S. Here's a shot of the rear seal, just before it's fully closed...

[mikeschn]

Hey Mike... show us a shot of what it looks like folded down from the inside... and Can you use it folded down as well? I.E. you just drove for 10 hrs and just want to crash......

Hey John,

That's a very real situation, and yes, the WW/EH handles that gracefully. You can even brew a pot of coffee the morning after. But I don't think I'd want to try to cook in there... BTW, We are going to modify the curtains in there, so that they don't hang there like that.




Mike...

[mikeschn]

Michael....you have been a busy boy!!!....Looks really good and it appears that your son and the dog like it...Good Job... Doug

Thanks Doug! My grandson really does like it. And pepper still woofs every now and then, but he's getting used to it.

Mike...

[Micro469]

Another question... Can you open it up from the inside or do you have to open it from outside?

[mikeschn]

Another question... Can you open it up from the inside or do you have to open it from outside?

It definitely has to be opened from the outside. The sequence is...

1) Open hatch and put 5/16" bolts into the sides.

2) Flip up top half of back wall, open door, walk inside and put prop sticks in place.

Once the door is open the back wall can no longer fall down.

The only way to open it from the inside would be to rig up a series of pullys, or hydraulic lifts, or threaded rods to do it automatically.

But it's not hard to open the top hatch and put in the side bolts. Originally I used to do the lifting, and Chell would put in the bolts. But now either one of use can lift the hatch and put the bolts in without assistance from the other.

Mike...

[doug hodder]

Sorry Mike on the son thing...you just don't look that old to have a grandson...you still got hair Doug

[mikeschn]

Sorry Mike on the son thing...you just don't look that old to have a grandson...you still got hair Doug

Just enough hair to fool you... but not enough to protect me from the sun...

Mike...

[Mary K]

Mike that Rocks!!! I'm impressed!!

Soooooo, how many TD's have you built?

Mk

[mikeschn]

Mike that Rocks!!! I'm impressed!!

Soooooo, how many TD's have you built?

Mk

Thanks Mary...

Lets see... the little black one... the big white one... the one Frank finished... the one Steve started... do you want me to count the ones I bought too, like the popup and the T@B? How about mockups? How about in process builds like the Ultralight and the Widget/Midget/Tidget? Do computer models count? I don't know, I lost count...

Mike...

[peggyearlchris]

That is just too cool. I really like your trailer.Awesome. Peg

[KA]

Mike, it looks great, and I'm really impressed that you can take ideas and make them all come together like that. The planning process must be something else. Wonderful trailer.
Kris