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
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2. Lay flooring
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3. Finally, paint & waterproof
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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:
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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