Weekend #3 – Sawdust… everywhere :)

It’s kinda challenging to have time for family, friends, housework, job, ministries, and a new hobby for me.  I am not a multi-tasker, so taking on this new project has really thrown me for a loop.  I’m very lucky to have a patient and supportive wife!
So this weekend my task was to get the trailer ready for the sidewall installation next weekend.  That has pretty much became my method of building- “What do I want to get started on next weekend?”  And then I have all week to (attempt to) figure out all the details and methods to accomplish the set goal. 
So anyways, this week was flooring.  Easy enough, right?  First of all if you didn’t know, I’m not a carpenter, I’m an electrician.  Working with wood is not my strength!  So my main goals this weekend were:

1.  Make a solid foundation to support the flooring

2.  Lay flooring

3.  Finally, paint & waterproof


So, this all seemed pretty straightforward.  Now for my plan of attack.
For supports I went with 2” x 2” pieces of lumber.  I’ve read other people’s experiences of of using 2x4’s instead and came to the conclusion that although very sturdy, probably way more than necessary.  I think that this is a pretty good tip.  My goal from the beginning has always been for this camper to be as lightweight and inexpensive as possible.  So considering my solid metal frame, 2x2’s are definitely going to work. 
On almost all of the builds I’ve read about online, the builders built their framing for their campers on top of the metal frame of the trailer.  But luckily for me, I didn’t have to do this because my trailer was built with channels I can lay my wood inside of:



This to me was a blessing for several reasons. 

• I really don’t want this trailer to be overly tall for safety and clearance reasons.  By being able to start the flooring within the frame I saved easily 3 or 4 inches.
• I didn’t have to drill extra holes into my frame.  More cuts into the frame mean more possibilities of rust and corrosion.
• I now have a solid way to attach the sidewalls. The method of attachment has been something I’ve spent a lot of time thinking (stressing) about. Sometimes you just gotta start building and those answers will just come to you. So now the walls will start at the lowest part of the frame, screws will be drilled into the wooden edges, and eventually cross beams will be installed overhead from side to side.
• Pay attention to your measurements and lumber standards.  For example, a 2x2 isn’t really 2 inches by 2 inches it is 1 1/2 inches by 1 1/2 inches.  2x4’s are actually 1 1/2 by 3 1/2.
• But perhaps the biggest blessing was the opportunity to get acquainted with my wood working tools.  2'x2’s are WAY cheaper and easier to handle and fit a lot better in my car in case I need to get more compared to a 4ft x 8ft sheet of plywood.  There’s a lot of things to consider when cutting wood and it can get expensive really quick when you start making mistakes.

Using a plywood specific saw blade is very important.  If you use the wrong blade it’ll rip up your cuts and make them all splintered.  Using a skill saw over long lengths of word requires patience and skill.  Cutting straight lines take practice!  Oh, and if your table saw is wonky, it is way better to spend a couple bucks fixing it than risk injuring yourself.  Just a few things I learned this week… so in case you’re wondering, yes, my table saw is fixed and there were no injuries  :)
I now know I should have bought 2x3’s instead of 2x2’s.  But luckily I bought extras and made my own 2x3’s.  I didn’t catch the measurements thing till I started installing the supports and was like ‘why the heck is this not fitting right?  But, problem solved.


So once those were all done, I cut off the old, ugly fenders, took measurements of the frame and cut the 3/4 inch plywood to fit.  Remember when I mentioned a week or two ago about the frame not being exactly square?  Yeah, I forgot.  I mean no one will ever know besides me when its all done that the cuts on the front sheet aren’t perfect.. but these are the kinda things I’ve gotta pay attention to.  So when I cut the 2nd sheet for the back side of the trailer, I made all the cuts a bit long and then traced out the actual measurements later.  Much happier with the fit the second go around.



I completed the front section Saturday.  Then I thought to myself, ‘ya know if I have to paint the bottom side of this, it would be a lot easier to do so before I put the top on it?’  I called my wife over and she agreed (that, duh, I should have thought of that first).  So I only had to crawl under and have paint drip on me when I went back to do the first section.  I did as much of the pre-painting that I could on the back half on Saturday as well.



So with the flooring installed and painted, I double checked for places I missed with the paint and my weekend’s work was complete.  Forgot to mention the paint I am using for my primer/rust/corrosion is latex enamel exterior paint.  Nice and thick and is supposedly ‘green’ (made from recycled paint) that I picked up at a local construction thrift store.



Heck yeah! It’s all coming together.

- J


Total money spent so far:
250   Trailer
60     Hitch and Accessories
15     Magnetic Trailer Light Kit
106   Leaf Springs
28     1500 Lb. Capacity Dual Wheel Swing-Back Boat Trailer Jack
6       1 Can of Rust-Oleum Professional 20 oz. Flat Gray Cold Galvanizing Compound
4       1 Can of Rust-Oleum Stops Rust 12 oz. Protective Enamel Spray Paint
12      Six 8ft lengths of 2x2’s @ $2 each
4       1 Paintbrush
10     1 Gallon of Latex enamel paint
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$495.00

Weekend #2 - A solid foundation and fixin’ stuff

So a couple details and finishing touches wasn’t as little as I was expecting.. turned out to be 5 hrs of work.  What I am quickly learning is there is so many small details that must be figured out before anything is cut or assembled or whatever.  And if you know anything about me, I thrive (borderline obsess) over figuring things out.  Finding solutions and fixing things… I love the challenge!  So here are some of those thingys

1.  Simple is Better

So this camper will have electricity.  Not just for conveniences, but also for safety.  When we’re traveling to our campsite and our car’s lights turn on so do my camper’s.  Turning signals, brake lights, safety lights.  These will be located on the sides and rear of the trailer obviously.  But how do go from my car, across to the trailer, and to the sides and ends?  I can cut holes and grooves through the entire length of the trailer and hide them in the walls.  I can get wire mold and tuck it out of sight... or if you don’t want to go over it, or through it, you just go under it!  Weld/tack on screws, attach tubing to screws, and push the wire into these tubes, underneath, from front to back and around the sides.

 

2.  Support the Pumpkin

So the axle that came with the trailer is an actual axle from a car.  We’re assuming it is from an old 60s or 70s Ford or Chevy car.  Which means at one time an engine made these tires move.  At the center of the axle is a large, round gear assembly that moves when the tires move.  Oh and its heavy and awkward.  As you saw last week, the axle is now suspended below the frame on springs and is held by U-Bolts and brackets.  But the pumpkin has no support anymore.  It is just floating.  It needs to be supported and held as close to vertical as possible so the gear oil doesn’t leak out or be allowed to roll down and make contact with the road.  So keep solid, but flex.  A door hinge! 

3.  Raising and Lowering the front end

This trailer is not that heavy yet, but it will soon be.. and its gonna be difficult to raise it and lower it the front end to connect to the hitch of my car.  Picked up this bad boy on one of those big sidewalk sales at Harbor Freight back in December for like 70% off.  When its not raising or lowering the front end, it easily rotates up and out of the way.

4 Cutting + Welding + Drilling + Steel = Rust

I was surprised how a little bit of snow caused such immediate rust.  Solution.  Well that’s not too hard.  I do this all the time at work.  A can of Cold Galvanized Spray does the trick.  Seals, protects, and looks good.  One coat of that, and a layer of enamel and boom!

So that’s about the extent of the action for week #2.  This weekend my plan is to cut off those round, unattractive fenders and put on new awesome beefy “jeep-style” fenders that I picked up earlier today.  It has been really fun going to all these small, family-owned businesses this week to check out parts and ideas.  Hopefully I’ll have some down time this upcoming week to jot down a little bit for you guys.  It really has been an adventure!

Oh and I also am hoping to get the flooring framed, cut, and installed this weekend as well.  With the help of my neighbor I was able to pick up all the plywood (plus extra for the unforeseen boo boos) today as well.  I’m so excited.. can you tell yet?

Yes.  So here’s some more action shots of Gerald welding and me cutting down the extra long U-Bolts!  Thank you all for your support and comments.  Until next time..



Total money spent so far:
250   Trailer
60     Hitch and Accessories
15     Magnetic Trailer Light Kit
106   Leaf Springs
28     1500 Lb. Capacity Dual Wheel Swing-Back Boat Trailer Jack
6       1 Can of Rust-Oleum Professional 20 oz. Flat Gray Cold Galvanizing Compound
4       1 Can of Rust-Oleum Stops Rust 12 oz. Protective Enamel Spray Paint
--------
$469.00

Weekend # 1 - Smooth Ridin’

First thing you gotta know about my stepdad is that he pretty much rocks.  If I don’t know how to do something or I don’t have the tools… there’s a very good chance not only is he capable of helping with my problem, he’ll get down and dirty with me till its all worked out.  And he’s also not one of those beat around the bush types and I am so okay with that!  When I asked him to help me with adding a leaf spring suspension setup to my trailer his response was, “you lemme know when you’re ready and I’ll be there!”  So yeah, Gerald pretty much rocks.  You’ll be seeing pictures of this guy in action .. prepare to be impressed.

So last summer when I tore down the old shed I learned that hauling a trailer with no suspension whatsoever equals just a little bit bouncy.  Actually yeah definitely bouncy.  As you can see in the picture below the axle and tires are directly attached to the frame, so I felt every bump in the road.
 


So you can only imagine that after a few camping trips my newly built trailer would be falling apart.  So that was just flat out not going to work.  Just way too dangerous.

I called some local places for pricing on a leaf springs kit, but their prices just didn’t fit my budget.  So then Gerald suggested to go check out a Pick-A-Part place, where we could just pull off ones that would work.  This idea would have been fun.. for about 20mins.. and then finding correct size bolts and rubber gaskets would have been a huge pain in the tail.  So, then I used Google.

eTrailer.com  is awesome.  Great prices, tons of information on their site, and a very wide selection of parts and accessories.  After spending several hours trying to figure out exactly what I needed, I ended up calling up customer service.  I definitely recommend a lady named Bridget- she knows her stuff!  So this is the setup that best suited my needs:



With shipping and handling, all the parts and bolts and nuts required to do this job ended up being $106.00 and arrived 4 business days later.  I definitely would use eTrailer again.



And seeing as how we live in Colorado.. and its spring time.. of course I had to wait 2 weeks till I was able to install my new parts.  Because it snows in April.. and May.  So dumb.  But snow outside doesn’t stop me from opening up the box and assembling it all anyways!




So now onto the install and Gerald doing his thing!  Weekend #1 is April 28 & 29, 2013.
Gerald showed up around 10am with his grinder and plenty of cutting discs.  Which is good thing because we had a lot of welds to cut!  Put the trailer on jacks and away we go!

Here is the axle removed and cutting off the old U-Bolt plate.


Cutting off old spring seat from the axle.


A nice clean axle ready to be re-attached.


Making sure the frame surface is clean and without rust


Oh turns out the frame wasn’t perfectly square.  Imagine that.  But we got it worked out.  Now clamp on the rear shackle.


Tack it on to hold it in place.


Once its all tacked and square.. welding time!


Roll axle into place.


Adjust U-Bolts so everything is lined up.
 

And boo-yah.. its done!


There’s no way I could have gotten this done on my own.  A few more adjustments and some paint it’ll be all done.  What a great start to this project!  Thanks Gerald!


 - J



Total money spent so far:
250   Trailer
60     Hitch and Accessories
15     Magnetic Trailer Light Kit
106   Leaf Springs
--------
$431.00

But first, a little backstory….

So we are finally here!  My very first update that has been nearly a year in the making.  For those of you who do not know, Beki and I have really came to LOVE camping since moving to Colorado.  We’ve done tent camping, Mom & Gerald’s RV camping, and now it is finally time for us to do something unique and special that suits our particular needs.  We have no desire for some big RV that will require tons of money and a huge parking space.  We also do not want to have to buy a truck just so we can then buy a trailer to haul… so is there an alternative for a family with only a 4 cylinder car and limited trunk space?  Yep!  And here are some examples: 




Now that we know it is possible, where do we go from here? 
Option 1:  buy one. 
                Looking at anywhere from $2,000 to $6500… yeah not so much!  
Option 2:  build one. 
                Spend as little or as much as you’d like.  I like the price tag of option 2
                and intrigue/romance of the adventure of making one with my bare hands! 
                How awesome… right?!
There are so many styles and colors and shapes and options out there.  Do yourself a favor and google “Teardrop trailer”  or “Benroy teardrop” or “Weekender trailer” or “Little Guy Trailer” .. I promise you that something inside of you will be screaming I WANT ONE TOO JASON!!
So now that we are all on the same page... 
What will mine look like?  To be honest I am not 100 percent sure yet.  I have several different designs, blueprints, material lists, etc already.. but my hope is that it is something that will naturally take shape as I go along.  It will be a fun adventure and I hope you enjoy the story with us.
Regardless of the design, one thing is consistent- you need a trailer to build upon. Again options:


Option 1:  Harbor Freight

1720 Lb. Capacity Super Duty Utility Trailer, 48" x 96" Only: $459.99 Sale: $354.99

Made in China.. assemble yourself.  Seems kinda cheesy to me, especially the wheels.  I don’t want it to fall apart on me, even though it is “super duty.”

Option 2:  Local Trailer Dealer

Used “Big Tex” 60” x 96” Utility Trailer $935.00

American Made. All steel construction.  Removable rails.  All ready to go.  Would make for a great camper.. but definite ouchy on the price tag!

Option 3:  Craigslist!
Guess which I went with?


Beki and I love Craigslist.  June of last year I found a heck of a deal at a local storage facility.  Custom built, rigid all steel frame, brand new full size tires… ready for this?  $250.00!  You betcha I swooped up on that one!



Oh, I forgot to mention that our 2008 Kia Spectra didn’t come from the factory with a hitch and wiring package, but $60.00 later I picked them up at a Ma & Pa trailer shop and $15 at Harbor Freight for some magnetic lights and we were in business!  So yeah, installed hitch, picked up trailer, parked it in the garage.. and realized that garage wasn’t gonna work.  So I demolished the old dilapidated shed in our backyard and built a new and improved one!




And there our dream of building a trailer has sat… collecting dust (and snow)… until this past weekend. 
Construction has started!  It will continue on weekends only.  For that is the rule of building a “Weekender.”  Expect to see the results posted very soon of last weekend’s work!
But now I must sleep.  Working nights stinks.

- J



Total money spent so far:
250   Trailer
60     Hitch and Accessories
15     Magnetic Trailer Light Kit
--------
$325.00