M116A3 off-road camper build

lfhoward · **Posted:** Sun Feb 21, 2016 9:04 pm

dieselenthusiast wrote:

I can't wait to start seeing pics!

I'll snap some new pics of the trailer tomorrow. It's been a while since I've posted updated images, so a few things have probably changed.

lfhoward · **Posted:** Mon Feb 22, 2016 10:41 pm

It's been a long time since I posted pictures, so here is what the trailer looks like today.

First, this is the pile of wood that makes my workshop smell amazing. From left to right: oak bed slats, pine boards for the convertible bed/benches, knotty cedar planks (1/4 inch thick with tongue and groove edges), pine for interior trim. Behind is pine plywood which is hiding birch plywood and 10 sheets of white 0.04 aluminum.

I've been working on building window frames for the interior that need to be in place before I can put the cedar planks up on the walls. Parts being prepped:

And assembled:

Here is the new battery box sitting on the trailer tongue:

It's nice and deep and should have no problem holding three batteries. A fourth battery could fit, but I am not planning on getting another one.

Here is the gap between the trailer and the box that will need to be spanned by some sort of flexible conduit. The gap is about 8 inches wide. I'm open to suggestions, but am looking at the conduit used on outdoor air conditioners and household generators.

Here are some interior shots. This one shows the batteries temporarily housed indoors.

Here is a closeup of the port side shoe cubby. The outlet hidden in there is to run a space heater in cold weather (connected to shore power or a generator).

The rear door without the interior paneling. You can see my DIY trim ring for the window. One of the rectangular frames in an earlier photo will secure the trim ring and the window firmly to the door.

The solar panel is a good size for the width of the roof. The cables will go through the roof using waterproof glands, but for now the open door works well!

The solar panel brought the batteries to near full, so the charge amperage at the time of this photo is suitably constrained to a trickle even though it is very sunny out.

Finally, here is a photo of the trailer taken last fall so you can see the overall shape of the build. Today the trailer was covered by a blue tarp.

Not too far off my original sketch!

profdlp · **Posted:** Tue Feb 23, 2016 1:02 am

^ Looking real good there.

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Tue Feb 23, 2016 12:07 pm

The pics look fantastic! Are you planning to put insulation over the floor.

lfhoward · **Posted:** Tue Feb 23, 2016 1:58 pm

Yes, the steel floor would be a bit chilly! :shock:

I have some interlocking gym mats that I will be putting down on the floor, enough for two layers on top of each other. It should feel good on the feet but be removable for when I want to use the trailer to haul cargo. The mats are made of squishy foam so should have a decent insulating effect.

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Tue Feb 23, 2016 6:52 pm

lfhoward wrote:

Yes, the steel floor would be a bit chilly! :shock:

I have some interlocking gym mats that I will be putting down on the floor, enough for two layers on top of each other. It should feel good on the feet but be removable for when I want to use the trailer to haul cargo. The mats are made of squishy foam so should have a decent insulating effect.

Good idea. We've been living in our trailer since September. Thankfully we have an insulated underbelly and heated floor. Otherwise, a lot of cold air comes up through the floor.

lfhoward · **Posted:** Tue Feb 23, 2016 8:29 pm

A heated floor sounds amazing.

Is it electric or hot water heat?

Since you guys are living in your trailer year round while you are waiting to build the house, how does it do on the coldest nights? It must be beautiful to live up there on the mountain, regardless. (For everyone just joining the conversation, check out Dieselenthusiast's awesome Going off the Grid thread: http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=72&t=74479)

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Wed Feb 24, 2016 3:09 pm

lfhoward wrote:

A heated floor sounds amazing.

Is it electric or hot water heat?

The furnace is propane. The air is ducted, but it's also directed around the enclosed tanks so that nothing freezes. The middle of the floor stays warm.

lfhoward wrote:

Since you guys are living in your trailer year round while you are waiting to build the house, how does it do on the coldest nights? It must be beautiful to live up there on the mountain, regardless. (For everyone just joining the conversation, check out Dieselenthusiast's awesome Going off the Grid thread: http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=72&t=74479)

The trailer has done very well. And to be fair, is it designed for 4 season camping (thermal pane windows, heated tanks, 5" inches of roof insulation, heated underbelly, etc.). We have an electric heated water hose that runs from the hydrant to the trailer. I believe the hose is rated for -25*F. We haven't had any issues with freezing pipes. My only concern was the possibility of water freezing in the sewer hose. I've known people who had their sewer hose plug up on them due to ice buildup. We leave the black water tank shut and dump it approximately once every two weeks. The gray water tank stayed open the entire winter. There appears to be some heat coming from the underbelly into the sewer hose which I believe is why we haven't had any freezing.

The key is to keep condensation at bay. I will be buying a small dehumidifier to help with this. When cooking with propane, a lot of moisture is admitted into the air. Showers, cooking, and breathing put a lot of moisture in the air. When temps are 10*F or colder, I noticed that there is more of a chance of a door being frozen shut due to condensation. The colder the temps, the worse it gets. If there's too much moisture, you will see frost on your interior walls. :mrgreen:

Otherwise, the camper is extremely comfortable. Not once did the trailer have a problem with regulating temperature. We have a small electric heater in the bathroom and one small electric heater in the main room just to keep the furnace from overworking. But obviously, we need the furnace to do it's job and keep the underbelly from freezing.

WolverineFW · **Posted:** Thu Feb 25, 2016 12:12 am

Get some Liquidtite and connectors to protect the wiring from the battery box to the trailer.

Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk

lfhoward · **Posted:** Sun Feb 28, 2016 12:29 am

WolverineFW wrote:

Get some Liquidtite and connectors to protect the wiring from the battery box to the trailer.

Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk

Got some at HD on Friday. I need to tidy up the electrical wires and reposition some components before I go drilling to install the tubing. Also got to install the tongue box...

lfhoward · **Posted:** Sun Feb 28, 2016 12:31 am

Well, lessons learned from the comedy of errors today. 4 trips to the hardware store ensued.

Trip one: get self tapping bolts to bolt the tongue box to the tongue.

Drilled holes in the top of the tongue. Broke those self tapping bolts off in the holes, all four of them. Tough army steel.

Trip two: get grade 5 bolts and a hole tapper/threader.

Drilled new holes. Tapped three of the holes. Last hole, shattered the tapper. Tough army steel.

Trip three: get a new hole tapper.

Drilled and tapped the last (new) hole of 4. Drilled the tongue box, got it almost right, enlarged two of the holes in the box but eventually got it to set right. Grade 5 bolts plus fender washers to hold the tongue box down... Then stripped two of the holes with the bolts! Tough army steel... Really???

Trip four: (By now Rick who runs the hardware store is quite amused, but still helpful.) Decided to change the way I'm going to mount the box on the tongue. Got four 1/4 inch by 3-1/2 inch long grade 8 bolts plus lock nuts. Will drill all the way down through the tongue (top and bottom), and bolt it all the way through. No more messing around with threading army steel.

I also learned from my attempt to drill the holes in the tongue box and the tongue separately. Even measuring very carefully and checking many times, it was not spot on and I had to make the holes in the aluminum box larger than I planned to get it to work. This lesson will change how I approach mounting the solar panel on the roof. Instead of measuring and drilling holes from underneath, I will set the panel in place and drill from above so I know the holes are going to line up. I don't want to be enlarging any holes in the roof to make sure the solar panel support rails fit the bolts.

A frustrating day to be sure. For a while there it felt like I was fighting the trailer and the trailer won. But at least I was out enjoying the sunshine. It was a good Saturday to be working on a project.

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Sun Feb 28, 2016 1:08 am

Projects take on many challenges. It's easy to get discouraged.

lfhoward · **Posted:** Tue Mar 08, 2016 3:04 pm

It's a beautiful day in the 70's today, and I am on spring break! Prime trailer building time.

I'm putting on the last coat of spar urethane today! Next task after this dries is putting on aluminum skin.

lfhoward · **Posted:** Thu Mar 10, 2016 7:08 pm

Trailer skinning is a slow process! But challenging in a good way, and I can't think of a better way to spend a spring break that is 80 degrees and sunny. Here are some pics of my progress. Thanks again to my friend Tim for his help! I couldn't do it without him, or at least I would still be on my first panel.

Here's the first one we put on. We picked this one because it is a simple rectangle. Low hanging fruit, and now we feel encouraged after making a noob mistake yesterday that smoked whole the rear door panel (made it backwards, lol).

We are now working on the back wall, and have half of it up.

The striker for the latch is in.

As you can see, I am currently in a love/hate relationship with SikaFlex. (Door sill is not bad, but the lower bead = ugly!) The stuff is crazy waterproof but a real bear to work with. Anyone used it before? It's the gold standard in RV waterproofing.

lfhoward · **Posted:** Fri Mar 11, 2016 7:19 pm

Another good day for trailer skinning!

Finished up the rear of the trailer, including the door frame. The plastic coating is partially removed at the top.

Am getting a little better with the SikaFlex. Not as much schmear all over everything. The bottom sill was installed yesterday and the side was installed today.

I am going to replace the sill screws you see on the door jamb with flat headed ones that will be flush with the surface. Looks like I will need to grind the holes out of the aluminum with a countersink bit first.

One final speed bump I encountered today is that 0.04 sheet aluminum is too thick to bend with the roofing brake I borrowed from my roofer neighbor. I will need to bring my roof panels to a machine shop for bending on a beefier machine. I will call a few local places on Monday to see if anyone would be able to bend them for me. I only need three bends (45, 45, and 90 degrees) for the three roof angles.

Nice to be making progress! Tomorrow looks like nice weather again, so I plan to start making the sides.

profdlp · **Posted:** Sat Mar 12, 2016 8:50 pm

Looks like it's really coming together!

Bmxer524 · **Posted:** Sun Mar 27, 2016 4:17 am

Lots of progress since I last checked this topic. I'm excited to see how it comes out! When are you hoping to have it done? I'm assuming around summer time?

I know the feeling of the sikaflex. Helping out my grandpa with roofing (my dad doesn't want me to learn the industry lol) we've used similar materials. Sometimes it can be hard to work with, and god forbid you get it on you. Then it just gets everywhere...

lfhoward · **Posted:** Tue Apr 12, 2016 4:38 pm

I need to bend three sheets of 0.040 aluminum to make the roof for my camping trailer. The roofing brake I borrowed from a neighbor was not beefy enough to bend the sheets I have, because they are thicker than aluminum roofing material. So I called around to machine shops in the area to get an estimate for how much it would cost to make these three bends. Anyone want to guess how much I was quoted?

$50 a bend, for $150 total, plus tax. Does this sound crazy to anyone else? It's only 2 minutes in the bending machine for each bend. What is a reasonable price for this work? I am going to continue to call metal shops, in hope of getting a lower price quote.

In the meantime, does anyone have any suggestions for bending these sheets myself? I tried a rubber mallet on a piece of scrap and it doesn't look good at all. Thanks for your suggestions!

PALiftedKK · **Posted:** Tue Apr 12, 2016 10:47 pm

lfhoward wrote:

I need to bend three sheets of 0.040 aluminum to make the roof for my camping trailer. The roofing brake I borrowed from a neighbor was not beefy enough to bend the sheets I have, because they are thicker than aluminum roofing material. So I called around to machine shops in the area to get an estimate for how much it would cost to make these three bends. Anyone want to guess how much I was quoted?

$50 a bend, for $150 total, plus tax. Does this sound crazy to anyone else? It's only 2 minutes in the bending machine for each bend. What is a reasonable price for this work? I am going to continue to call metal shops, in hope of getting a lower price quote.

In the meantime, does anyone have any suggestions for bending these sheets myself? I tried a rubber mallet on a piece of scrap and it doesn't look good at all. Thanks for your suggestions!

there's a shop by me. i could catch their number if you want it. though a 3 hr drive isn't worth it at all. chech with body shops if they have any connections. heck, maybe marlin would know a few people.

lfhoward · **Posted:** Wed Apr 13, 2016 7:46 pm

Thanks for the idea. I emailed Marlin to see if he has a bender large enough. I'll also check out a metal fabrication shop across the river in Trenton.

M116A3 off-road camper build

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