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Another trailer mishap.

16K views 129 replies 27 participants last post by  barry2952 
#1 · (Edited)
Some people have friends, and then there are friends. About 15 years ago my wife had quit being a college professor and went back to school, again, for another degree. This time it was in American Sign Language. We actually started off together in an Adult Ed. course and I quickly fell by the wayside. My wife was looking for a refresher course after getting a degree when she met Dot and Gary. Gary learned sigh language so he can communicate with Dot, but she doesn't sign back. Makes my wife and Gary crazy, Dot turned out to be a Besty when my wife was stricken with cancer 10 years ago. Dot was there for us when we needed her. Gary was always willing to help. We've had a long-lasting relationship.

They set me pictures last week. In a recent storm they got a call that everyone in their summer campground heard the crack and then ran to see this tree firmly planted on their trailer. I've been a trailer go-to guy for a while so they sent me pictures. They thought that the trailer wasn't very badly damaged, but the insurance company totaled it and gave them less than $20,000 as it couldn't be fixed for that. They really wanted to have it fixed, so I advised them to get bids from local repair facilities. I told them it could be salvaged if they got enough money. I advised Dot and Gary they they had the potential of buying the trailer back from the insurance company at salvage cost making our friends responsible for any additional expense. They found a value in keeping the 8 years old trailer.

I really was totally surprised when they suggested that I do it. I must have secretly wanted them to ask, but I did try and steer them away. They were at my shop and followed Tom's Spartan trailer build on my FB page.

Fortunately for them, the tree was a hollowed out hulk that did little damage compared to what a live tree or a light pole can do. if this was a live tree it would have cleaved off that side of the trailer and I wouldn't be writing this. We have a meeting of the minds and they are making arrangements to have it brought to me. Gary has agreed to be my socially-distant helper. We're both very careful. I normally work alone, but it will be nice to work with a friend.





 
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#47 ·
Today was the big reveal. I needed to remove the smashed material to see the actual structural damage. This looks pretty bad.





I couldn't guarantee that new ladder would go back in the same place so I removed the top curved section below that mounting point. I attached a steel stud to the back wall to act as a guide to cut the FRP, fiberglass reinforced panel. It's about 1/8" thick. I had Gary buy a new Dremel saw and taught him how to use it. It's a great tool for controlled cuts.







It didn't get any better looking as I peeled back the layers.





The vibrating saw worked incredibly well on removing globs of sealant that sealed remarkably well. This is a very nicely built trailer.

I can tell how this trailer was built by this reveal. The doubled rectangular aluminum tubing is pretty substantial. There is extensive use of styrofoam. The walls use it for insulation and sound deadening while the roof uses it as a structural member. The laminated roof panels are a 1/4" high-quality plywood bonded to about 3" of higher density Styrofoam bonded to some type of alloy sheet metal. I've seen this kind of construction before and it's very strong and energy efficient. The ends of the panels sit on and attach to the aluminum grid work of the sides. I probably shouldn't jump up and down on it, but it didn't move much with me on it.

The tree dented the rafter and drove it down about 3".



The welds held up fine.



Here's the structural damage.



The side FRP is a thinner glass panel with a thin plywood substrate. It it were aluminum I could straighten it out. I think I'll have to remove some to straighten this beam. I'm thinking about using the hydraulics of my hilo working against the weight of the trailer.

 
#48 · (Edited)
On closer examination there was already a crack in one of the folds.



I needed to expose the other side of the kink.



Using my come-along attached to the building rafter I applied upward tension and massaged the metal and re-formed a rectangular tube of that mess.



I got it to 1° of being straight and the crack expanded, but that allowed me to bend it straight. I drilled a few holes which allowed me to use a drift punch to punch out the indented metal on the other side.



I really don't want to TIG on this. Too flammable and too risky for this repair. I'm having an .035 sleeve bent to cap the broken plate. I'll probably epoxy and carriage bolt it in place. Opening up the side revealed that I will be able to slip in a one piece bendable plywood panel to replace the two sections destroyed in the crunch. I'll have Gary check to see if we can get a sheet of the prefinished material. Everything is nailed, screwed or stapled into the aluminum. I will say that the staples and nails were difficult to remove, making them a decent fastener. The screws are all standard square drive screws used in the industry. They are far less susceptible to stripping, over Phillips.



My next step is to cut away the plywood on the rest of the ceiling of the closet.
 
#49 · (Edited)
I spent a couple of hours pondering and planning. I've devised a way to get the closet ceiling panels in place. When I removed the chunk of damaged side panel it revealed a space between the wall top and the roof structure that the ceiling material was ripped out of.

Note the ceiling panel The other end was shattered. I will be able to vacate that space snd slide a new panel in through the same gap now exposed on the other end. The lower curved pane will slip into place and bent over and butted up to the existing paneling. I would just have to fashion and new side panel to replace the crushed one.



With key elements back in there proper alignment I can proceed with removing a section of the structural roof paneling.



This picture might be a little hard to decipher. The stressed engineered roof panel is made of a high grade plywood glued to 2 1/2" thick sheet of styrofoam insulation. Glued to that are sheets of thin galvanized strips of steel in a latticework that allows walls and cabinets to be screwed to the ceiling firmly. Attached to that is a full sheet of thin vinyl wrap over a luan base. Line up (8) 4 x 8 sections and you have a finished 32' roof and ceiling as an assembly They used the same vinyl material to make the strips that covered the gaps.

In the lower right you can see the wall of the closet below. I need to cut the paneling above that wall about 3/4" back from that wall to all the new panel to slip into that gap.



I need to peel the roof on the other side back far enough to cut away the roof panel in a straight line. I'll have to cut it into 6" squares to minimize the grip that the wood has on the styrofoam. The styrofoam will be removed giving me access to cut the metal and remove the paneling.

Note the curve on the far end.



Once the paneling, foam and metal are out pf the way I've devised a way to get the new panel on place.

This is the same gap I pointed out earlier. The new panel will slide through to the other side.

Once the paneling is in place the new brace will be installed.



I cut what I thought was just a J-channel as a gutter. It turns out that it is a gutter but it's also the fitting for capturing the awning. It was discharging water right over a hatch. I cut the channel off where it will just drip on the ground.



I cannot restore the strength of the section of stressed panel I have to remove. I will attempt to duplicate the panel with sheet metal. adhesives, and strong plywood, but in no way would I be able to duplicate the strength. Knowing that the original FRP curved skin would be the weak link I came up with the idea of capping the "repaired" panel with diamond plate perfectly bent to match the original curve. Bending the panel in that manner adds a huge amount of strength to the curve. The new panel covers the roof with an impenetrable structural member that would attach to an original section of roof and on both sides of the trailer and then weatherproofed in traditional manner. I will use stainless step flashing like you would use between sections of wood paneling to keep water out of a the transition from aluminum to FRP.



The owners like the idea. I assured them that it wouldn't stay shiny, likely turning nearly he same color as the paneling, but I could speed that process with a chemical patina.



I'll have the shop foreman from Lyndon Fabricating stop by and make a bending template from the other side. They make delicate curves, not with rollers, but with mapped out bending points that are close enough together to appear to be a rolled curve in a 4' x 8' sheet of aluminum. I believe they use hydraulic press brakes that are older than I am. I will install the new LED running lights using the old fiberglass section as a guide.

 
#50 ·
The new diamond plate will end 3" forward of the line I marked. It was instantly apparent that there was a significant slope built into the roof. Tell the truth. How many of you own an 8-foot level?



I found another puncture. We're going to have to closely examine this roof. It looks like an attached limb hit the roof before the trunk and pierced the rubber. Gary is going to swab the whole roof clean so we can look for hole. They typically trap dirt and stand out on a clean roof.



The marked line is where I'm going to cut to remove the rest of the panel so I can have access to the ceiling panel of the trailer. The new diamond plate cap will slide under the rubber and will be sealed using standard trailer technology.



Gary is an excellent helper. Never a squawk about cleaning up my messes.



This was time consuming and necessary. I still had to use a flat bar to remove the paneling in 6 x 6 inch pieces. It had to break the styrofoam as the glue held tight.



It was quite a task to remove the styrofoam, but now you can see what I was trying to get to. The paneling will be trimmed back further.



I never was very good at cleaning up after myself. After a year of military school I rejected tidiness.



This part was crushed on the other side. I'll use this a template. This is the shape of the inner ceiling and outer sheathing. I'll duplicate it's thickness by glueing some plywood together.

 
#51 ·
Stainless steel brace, or no brace, I couldn't leave this like this. I was telling Gary that I write about my projects, partially for the entertainment of others, but mostly because it is a big part of my thought process. With no inner voice and no mind's eye I use the photos I take to help me understand the subtleties of what I need to do next. I use feedback to catch glaring mistakes, and I do take every suggestion into consideration, but I let the work take me where I need to go.

This told me I didn't want my name associated with trying to save this due to being scared to death to bring a TIG welder anywhere all this styrofoam. I started thinking about the cars I've built or restored and got to thinking about aircraft construction. It's all about the bracing and proper fasteners.



It had to go. I checked how far back I had to cut to get to square stock. I used the new Dremel saw to make some incredibly fast and straight cuts.



There was nothing I could do about this. The bent rafter transferred some of the energy to the rectangular stock side railand turned it into a trapezoid. I didn't see it before, by the weld was broken, too. Glad I took it out.



They used the same material for the rafter as the side rail. It's lightweight 1" x 3" aluminum with a 1/16" wall. What seems to be available is 1/8" wall. I've made a request of the manufacturer for an exact replacement. I can use the heavier stock, If I need to. I found the replacement ladder, too.

I used my 100-tooth carbide blade to make a new section of the side rail out of a straight section salvaged from the bent rafter.



I made two internal sleeve supports cut out of one piece of tubing precisely cutting them so that they would jamb each other in place as they were inserted into the trailer side rail. One didn't go in as far as the other, but there's a good 6" of overlapping sleeve on either side of the joint.







I repaired the curved section in a similar fashion.



Demolition is now complete. I believe commercial grade pop rivets through the stainless cap and two layers of aluminum will be a substantial splice without any welding.



I duplicated the good rear curve spacer. The inner radius clamps down the inner closet ceiling curve and the outer curved material screws down to the larger radius.

 
#52 · (Edited)
Getting proper material out of the manufacturer has been like pulling teeth. However, their record-keeping has proven invaluable in getting matching paneling. It has a layer of vinyl that allows it to bend without cracking. It was $28 a sheet, so I got 2 because the transportation to Elkhart and back is $250.00 for me to send someone to get it. Not worthe the risk of having to need a second. The manufacturer usually ships direct to its dealers freight-allowed, but my order for aluminum trim that's 16-feet long and very hard to find 2.5" x 1" x .055 wall, is unavailable through normal supply channels. Apparently, they use so much of it it's milled to their specs.

I did get $111.00 worth of high quality aluminum rivets in various lengths. Unlike big-range pull-type pop rivets these rivets are to be used within a very narrow range. Many of the joined brackets have interior and exterior bracing that I will have to gauge. I sent Gary after some clear white pine to use in reassembling the trailer and I schooled him on the grade I was looking for. He was astounded at what passes for lumber in the lower grades. I had him pick up some foam board so I can rebuild the smashed wall. It will be part of recreating the original construction method. The foam board gets bonded to the outer skin and to the inner paneling with contact cement.



One of the things they wanted me to do was to critter-proof the underside of the trailer. They use a pretty sturdy extruded PVC underbelly skin, but they missed many spots a mouse could easily get into. The way their rib cages collapse they can get through any gap they can get their head through. The also build nests in the hollow exposed tubing of the part of the frame that carries the torque-flex suspension. Many a car has been destroyed by mice setting up their home in a boxed car frame. They constantly add to they nest because they urinate on it and that acid and moisture eats the metal from the inside. The grey water discharge pipe had been duct-taped, but that was just flaking off. Pretty useless stuff.



I use strips of DynaMat I cut on a paper cutter into large bandaid-size pieces that easily bridge the gap, making to impossible for a mouse to chew through the metal and tar-based pad.



Just after Gary left one day I guess I became dehydrated and stumbled and fell. My arm took the brunt of the blow and got pretty ugly before it got better. I was supposed to get a Botox shot to control the PD shake, but the doc said, "Nope!" I believe I've astounded Gary several times that I can go from shaking like a leaf to surgeon-steady the moment I touch any tool.



The splice Lyndon made me is a perfect fit. It will unify the wall/roof connection. This will be held in place with rivets.



Now you can see the gentle curve of the roof. I gouged out enough space in the styrofoam to slide in a 1x3 to splice the roof skin. Another will be installed across the splice between the closet wall and the new ceiling panel, doubling as an anchor point for the sliding closet doors. Once the inner panels are in place and the aluminum rafter is in place my intent is to install expanding foam as insulation and fill the void to structurally stabilize the roof section.



This gives me the opportunity to tell my expanding foam story. When I was young and foolish I wanted to build a wood hydroplane. Every day I passed a boat supply place on my ride to school on the bus. They had a skeletal build of a kit in their front window. When I got kicked out of the house for beating my brother for stealing my coin collection to buy "candy". I moved in with a HS class-mate that was a year older. He had a 1,200 square foot apartment in a nice part of Detroit in 1970. I took the smaller bedroom. His girlfriend moved in, all hell broke loose and I came home to a mostly empty apartment with a bunch of broken dishes and a plaster "Love" statue of an intertwined couple, smashed to bits. I never heard from either one again, so I inherited his apartment and his cat. I moved into the master bedroom and decided that the 10 x 12 bedroom on the second floor would be the perfect place to build a 9-foot by 5-foot hydroplane. It wasn't a bad place to work, but the deep green shag carpet took a beating.

The boat was built. I did a pretty nice job for an 18 year-old and I didn't want it to sink so I decided to fill every cavity with expanding foam. I bought a one gallon kit. I bought a half gallon Pyrex measuring cup. It weighed a ton. My plan was to mix a half-gallon of foam and evenly distribute it. I had no idea what I was about to do. I measured out a quart of the resin and cleared a path so I could walk around the boat. I never got the second quart into the mixing cup and it started growing exponentially. I literally ran around the boat distributing the growing foam as best I could, but it spilled over the sides forming stalactites that firmly attached the boat to the deep green shag. My vision clouded and my breathing became strained as it started raining in the spare bedroom. It was the middle of the winter and the poorly insulated attic made the ceiling cold and all that moisture released by the foam condensed on the cold ceiling and fell in a regular light rain pattern. Gasping for air I rushed to window and cranked the casement window open and the negative air pressure of the building caused frigid air to rush into the room that turned the air to fog. I couldn't find the door. I fell to he floor, like in a fire, but that didn't help. I crawled to the door and stumbled into the living room, exhausted. It took me hours to cut off what attached to the floor and to carve the rest until the outer skin would fit. I mostly fished it, but bought a 190SL that had Fred Flintstone floorpans and an "O" shift pattern. My attention went elsewhere and the boat got flipped over in the yard. A family of possum carved out a condo in the foam and made our dogs crazy, for years. When I moved here 25 years ago I went to move the boat and the only thing holding it together was the fiberglass matting. Mother Nature recycled the rest. She probably did me a favor.

One of the tasks they asked me to do was install a larger flat screen, a much larger tv. While most people would draw up plans, I just do. In the doing the refinement of a cardboard template to a working wood adapter took little time. I'm able to create a 3D object without seeing it it my head. I will turn this over to the metal fab guy and have him make it in 3/32" stainless.





I tested the wood template and it held the weight just fine, but the adapter should be steel or aluminum.

The entertainment center wasn't working properly. A harness connector had come loose, but I did find some aftermarket hackwork splice using wireuts instead of crimp compactors. Gobs of tape doesn't help.



Dot had complained that draining the water heater for winer storage let water into the trailer. I discovered a poor sealant installation that let water run into the trailer. I'm thinking the Dynamat would do a great job making it water-tight. I showed Gary how to clean and lubricate the bump-outs gear and rack system. They are the sort of thing that should be operated every once in a while to keep things moving. The new switches he bought work great. No more self-operating lifts. That was spooky to be working under it and hearing the lift try and work. I think what was happening is the switch would stick and the unit circuit breaker, rated at 6 amps, would open when it overloaded and started again when the bi-metal breaker reset itself. I figured out why water was getting into a storage area, wiping the Honey Do list pretty clean. Everything works!
 
#55 ·
This gives me the opportunity to tell my expanding foam story... I had no idea what I was about to do...
:laugh: That's a great story. Mine isn't nearly as funny, but here goes. At some point in college, we thought it was hilarious to do "destructive testing" aka just smashing crap (i.e. discarded bowling ball, broken CRT monitor, etc.) to see what would happen - I went to a college that was half engineers, and our unofficial slogan was "where the men are men...and so are the women" so we had little else to do. Someone had the bright idea that a can of Great Stuff would be hilarious to smash open. You know, expanding foam, propellant, metal can, sounded like a decent idea at first. Cut to me dropping a rock on it from a 6' high balcony...let's say we underestimated the volume contained in one can, and the effectiveness with which the propellant would have scattering it. Everywhere. I was picking bits of foam off of every surrounding surface for weeks. :banghead:

Back on topic, your work looks awesome so far!
 
#53 ·
Looking good.
Curious how you do the expanding foam, my experiences using the expanding foam in a can, haven't always turned out as planned. Tried fixing an interior door that got a hole in it, figured the expanding foam would give it a bit more rigidity and hold the patch in place. End result was a door with a nice bulge, not too bad but definitely noticeable. So I'm' looking forward to seeing your technique, anticipating I'll be learning something new.
 
#54 ·
I had my driveway slab lifted with foam a few years ago. It's difficult to control. The company that did the work no longer does it. Highly profitable, but I'm betting they "bulged" more than a few driveways.

No, I learned from my mistakes. I put very little material down at a time. The force seems to exponentially increase with volume. I'm going to use a commercial 12 board foot kit to start with. For you youngsters that never took shop class a board foot is a 12-inch wide, 12-inch long and 1-inch volume of anything, but is started as a lumber term to describe the yield of a tree. I will avoid gettin the material anywhere onward pressure is a problem. I'll lay down a 4" grid and let it fully harden before laying down a grid between the first pass. I'll build volume for better control. Once the thin wood skin is covered than an even coating over the rest should minimize any interior bulging.

If I were to use foam for a hollow door I would shoot very little material, and add to it after it cured.
 
#58 ·
Great work, Barry...as always, thanks for the education.

That fall looks nasty. I once had a spell of sleepless nights, long work days and travel...and probably dehydration...
I was visiting my brother, got to the top of his stairs, blacked out and fell backwards.
Ass over apple cart, but nothing broken....except my brothers drywall.

Can’t believe I didn’t hurt myself.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
#59 ·
Can’t believe I didn’t hurt myself.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Lucky, you were. I can't believe I didn't break anything. The bigger they are the harder they fall. I've had worse. I leaned a ladder against a brace in a factory and it was poorly secured. I came down with the ladder on my knees and elbows. I'm surprised, at 68, that anything works.


Lyndon can make the most utilitarian corner braces look like works of art. Seems a shame to bury them in foam, but I couldn't a better way to attach the new rafter. I shudder at bringing a welder anywhere near this trailer. I'm thinking about epoxying these in place in addition to the rivets. Overkill?



 
#60 ·
I concur, those braces do look good. In the woodworking realm, its is common to glue and screw, so I'd be inclined to glue and pop-rivet if I was doing the repair. Only reason I'd not glue is if I ever though there would be a need to drill the pop-rivets to remove the braces. In this application I think that is extremely unlikely.

Given the amount of foam in the trailer, I concur with the hesitancy to attempt any welding. But I'm curious to know if the foam has any flame retardant properties. Given how much you've removed it would be an interesting experiment to take some outside where it is safe to do so and see how or if it ignites/burns.
 
#66 ·
Just got caught up on this thread.

I'm pleasantly surprised at the quality of the trailer build, and the ability to use somewhat standard repair methods to get it back into shape. I'm always concerned about the potential for leaks on a trailer but it looks like you'll have that covered.

And the expanding foam story..... :laugh:
 
#69 ·
I ordered 4 tubes of 3M windshield adhesive to bed everything. Tough stuff.

When I bought my Clecos to build my car hauler in 2006 I taught myself to rivet. Having very long arms I could be the bucker and the buckee. There's a sound and a feeling you hear and get when the operation is complete. It's quite possible to rivet without denting the metal, but you have to over-rivet to match the factory production look.



These are called "Plier Operated" Cleco Fasteners used is auto body and airframe applications where multiple layers of metal need to be drawn tightly together before riveting. It's crucial for strength that there be no gaps between the layers cause by burrs or shavings. You must de-burr both sides of drilled holes to insure that there can be no movement. Clecos are temporary fasteners. They are available in 4 standard sizes. I'm using the black 5/32" Clecos. The copper ones are 1/8". I bought about a dozen black ones for oversized holes. The rivets I bought are a perfect fit.

The outer parts are spring loaded. It it relaxed state the center divider forces the center tongue to spread out the tanged side pieces. When the plier pressure is applied the center tongue darts forward putting a much thinner section between the tangs shrinking their size so that they can be inserted into a proper size hole. Now that the tangs are on the other sod of the metal releasing the spring retracts the tongue and spreads the tangs to grip the back side of the hole and draw that metal to together, temporarily.

Once everything is fitted and de-burred it can be glued and riveted for a strong, yet flexible bond. These are extra long versions for thicker material. The thinner the assembly the smaller the range.

http://clecofasteners.info/img/clecos/extra-long-pl-slide.jpg/IMG]

Using the original spacer from the other side I was able to determine that I had returned the damaged metal to its correct position which allowed me to use silicone to attach the body skin back to the framework so I can adhere a new insulation pad that the inner skin attaches to. They used silicone, so I followed suit.

This was quite a pivotal moment for this repair

[IMG]https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/gg18/barry2952/IMG_0492.jpeg

This is a common tool for riveting. By expanding and contacting the assembly you can easily match the original pattern. My next task was to reinforce the roof panel I removed to get to the damage.



I marked every location but circled every other location for screws that will hold the splice support made of clear 1x3 white pine.



The support serves as a ledge to attach the outer skin to. I counter-sunk the stainless square drive flathead screws as I didn't want round head scews to add to the assembly's thickness as the new aluminum skin stretches beyond this joint and attached into an aluminum roof truss. I'm being careful to use fasteners standard to that industry.



You can see the 1x3 ledge and the 1x3 cap that will give the sliding glass doors something very substantial to mount the track to and tie into the tops of the walls on either side. It re-unifies the structure that had been screwed into sheetmetal that was part of the ceiling panel. Likely as strong as the original, if not stronger.

 
#71 ·
Now I get to tell my nightmare story everyone in the restoration or repair business has had. An encounter with a hapless and unqualified "new person" that hasn't a clue. Gary has sourced a replacement ladder from the trailer manufacturer but was dissuaded from buying the ladder direct, but none of dealers had a clue as to who to ask what, so no-one called him back. I took the reins and worked my way in as a dealer and spoke to the same idiot he did. She told me that the freight for the $400 40-pound ladder would be as much as the ladder itself. I started with her on October 15th and finally placed an order after giving her supervisor an earful 10 days later. To avoid the high freight and crating charge I decided to send someone to Indiana to get the ladder and other original color paneling and the odd 2.5" x 1"x .055 wall lightweight tubing to make a new truss bar.

She quoted me prices and then doubled them on the final invoice. instead of 2 8' pieces of aluminum she wrote up the order for one 2-foot piece. I was told the ladder was in stock, but it wasn't. 4-6-weeks out. The person that called me to finalize the credit card transaction caught the brunt of my frustration. She understood once she read the mile-long e-mail chain. She turned me over to their supervisor after I got the excuse, "Well, she's new." The manager asked if she could have time to read the chain of communication and said, "You clearly begged her to finalize the transaction 5 days ago. I can't believe it was this badly botched."

I was told by the first person that it would take two weeks to cut the aluminum in half so that we could transport it in a mini-van. That's when I lost it. The manager stepped up, got everything gathered and it's waiting for pick-up tomorrow. The ladder will be shipped without shipping charges right from the manufacturer.

BTW, the onerous shipping charge was only $130.00, not $400. She apparently never inquired, betting she told everyone that. BTW, the ladder, as a dealer, was only $186.00.

 
#76 · (Edited)
Laid down some foam grid and let it set for 2 hours and then filled in the blanks.



When I left for the day I had a nice overfill thing going.



I made the "Don't get any on you!" mistake.



I had warmed up the shop to use the foam as recommended. I turned the heat down and went home. We had a real cold snap come on and the radiant heat above the trailer came on and activated the foam to a point where it looked like it was baking bread.



Either I foamed too quickly, or too thick, but voids were filled with unexpanded resin. I scraped out what I could and used the 13th can to fill the voids. Once I scape that to match the curve I can apply the top piece of plywood in preparation for the metal top skin.

Once I have that I will drill the panel for the running lights and install them and their harness. That is all I have to do is slide it into place and secure it. Everything about this trailer is about using full 4x8 sheets of material, whether it be walls, ceilings or floors. The trailer is designed around optimization of material and a minimization of alteration of stock goods. And lightness, lots of lightness.

People have asked about the build quality, but I think it's more about design quality. This trailer was meant to spend its life on the road. It appears to be built for it. It's cleverly built with vinyl corner moldings that allow for movement without the need for caulk. Is it as strong as a stick-built house. No, but properly secured to the ground it could survive a wind event. Where it's being used it can't go too far but I wouldn't want to be in one of these in an open field. I think the structure of the roof is incredibly rigid and, as you see, took a pretty bad hit, but set this tumbling and all bets are off.

 
#77 ·
You just gave me PTSD. When I was attaching the foam insulation boards to my basement wall at the beginning of my current remodel, I used the DuPont Pro Adhesive foam to glue the XPS boards to the foundation before fastening them...and I learned very quickly that I needed to use gloves while using it. I had some spots on my fingers that did not wash off for months.

I also glued a couple nitrile gloves to my hand at one point as well.

Still enjoying this work!
 
#78 ·
The repair is coming along nicely.

Had a similar experience filling a cavity with the foam in the can. Too much and the interior areas don't expand, and you just get a gooey splotchy spot. In a way in makes sense, too much and the pressure in the center is too high to allow the interior portions to expand correctly. So you have to go slow and build up in coats, kinda like painting. I have no patience for that, thus my painting is usually not the best, I yield to a professional for painting tasks.
 
#81 · (Edited)
The top skin on the roof stressed panel is 5mm thick plywood. You'd think that living so close to Canada that metric lumber would be available, but no, that doesn't seem to be the case. Our equivalent would be 3/16", but only 1/4" is available and that's .050 thicker. I asked a carpenter friend, Bill Adams, an unusual guy for Michigan as he never wears long pants, even in winter. Very talented, but, I never recommend him as he operates in his own time zone. This time he came through. He found a piece of 3-ply Birch with outer panel panels thick enough to sand .025 off each side to produce a 5mm thick piece of plywood.



I was surprised to find the back cavity over the rounded panel to be mostly uninsulated. There was some Styrofoam on the inside of the panel that got smashed, but it was sparse. My building usually produces what I need. I found a 2 x 4 panel of foam board and cut it into 1" strips and used contact cement to build up blocks to fill the cavity.







Aside from the big Craftsman tap and die set my wife bought me for my 25th birthday this is probably the most-used tool I have. The Shopsmith is an extremely versatile rig that changes from a table saw to a lathe to a drill press in seconds. When I watch the first demo at a woodworking show I was hooked. I used it to drill 12 holes in the aluminum rafter to attach it with screws instead of welding it.



Almost done. Waiting on the new roof panel.



It's always something. One of the tires has a rapid leak. I took it off for repair and found that the drum is really loose on the axle bearings. It had never been lubricated since new in 2012 and they used nowhere near the grease they should have with the result of the outer bearing discolored from heat. I was able to turn the adjusting nut 1.5 turns before the bearings made contact. Had we not discovered that it might have seized on its way back to the park, an hour and a half away. Bearings are cheap, another insurance claim wouldn't have been. The shoes barely look worn and are not grease contaminated, is it'll be a quick fix.

I'll do a close-up, but electric brakes are really weird. They rely on an electromagnet to drag on the iron drum moving a lever that applies pressure to move the drums outward. It appears that any amount of grease would completely defeat the operation.

 
#82 ·
I'll do a close-up, but electric brakes are really weird. They rely on an electromagnet to drag on the iron drum moving a lever that applies pressure to move the drums outward. It appears that any amount of grease would completely defeat the operation.

Almost looks like that's a pretty standard drum brake setup that simply replaces the hydraulic wheel cylinder with an electronic actuator to push against the shoes? Or am I completely misunderstanding (which seems likely)?
 
#85 · (Edited)
I sent Gary and my wife this video. No need for the sound. The only thing my wife didn't really understand was nearly the last step, hooking up the grease gun when the bearings had already been greased. What isn't explained in many drawings is that there's a shaft from the zerc fitting at the end of the axle to the base of the inner bearing. Grease is supposed to exit a cross-drilled hole just in front of the grease seal. Since liquids follow the path of least resistance the seal resists grease exiting at that end so it fills the chamber around the axle between the bearings and is pushed out around the outer bearing. When I learned to do a grease job at my uncles Standard station the norm was to hook up the grease gun and pump until the darkened grease was replaced with the red wheel bearing grease in the drum. The color change told you when you were done. We always took the car for a test drive after to see if we still had front brakes as a failed seal gets grease all over the brake shoes.



If you watch the video it shows the tried and true way of removing bearing races. I showed Gary on one drum and he did the other. He asked how I knew when to stop ponding it back into place. I told him he would know by the sound and how it feels. There is a step in the video that is none and not well-explained. They show tightening the bearings until the hub will barely turn. That had a purpose for a final adjustment, but it has a second purpose of drawing the tapered bearings against their races so hard that any travel remaining from the race installation is drawn tight by that action. The bearings are loosened slightly to allow for expansion, but little room is needed as properly greased and adjusted bearings produce little heat.

I couldn't find a picture that shows that grease shaft.



We took a short break after I did the first one. I heard Gary tapping away and by the time I got to him and put my mask on he had knocked the first race out. I had him switch to single hits in each direction and he got the drift, so to speak. I started the bearing races, but had him drive them home. Feeling the movement with each hit and the last hit that tells you you are done, are most satisfying. I explained how satisfying mechanical work is as you solve problems and finish many little projects every day.



I just notices the hole at the base of the spindle in this picture just before the shoulder the seal rides on. The only place for new grease to go is through the inner bearing.



This is what I call a "10-footer". I don't think anyone will know that this trailer had had substantial repairs unless you're looking for them.



I used my skill level to splice in a section of siding in a way that I think makes it look factory. Since you can't possibly see both sides of the trailer at the same time the casual observer will not even notice. However, my joinery will stand up to close scrutiny. Gary's first impression is that it could have been built that way. That was very satisfying to hear.



Back to trailer quality. The trailer design is quite clever and remarkable, sometimes ruined by the human interaction. These structural modular walls are built on a giant CNC table with appropriate framework glued to a continuous skin. In the frame work is the insulating structural panels reinforced with sheet metal for strength. The windows, doors and hatch are all cut out by CNC, so everything is perfect, except the installation of the finish parts. They were not installed properly and let water into the storage compartment under the bed in the bump out. The gaps in the sealant let water in every time it rained. It had gaps because someone rushed the installation. For the sake of using a half-dozen temporary clamps and a decent sealant the design would have worked.

Oh, I have to give kudos to my wife for a great gift. The Worx screw gun is the best assembly tool I have. When the bought it I was thrilled she thought enough to get me something I could use, but I thought it but a toy. It's not. It's serious business. Whether you're drilling for anchors and screws or using a counter sink and driver the switchable head is a huge timesaver to have at your fingertips. The switcheover is easily completed with one hand and is a powerful driver. The intense LED aimed at the screw head is a huge plus. It's my most-used tool for just about everything. No joke.



Imagine the sound when the CNC machine hit these fasteners that, I assure you, were not supposed to be anywhere near a high speed cutter head.



No human could have the strength to do this and do a second one without brain emulsification from the vibration. These are the heavy duty screws that hold the trailer wall to the deck through the aluminum framework They are installed by worker-bees.. I would have thought the installer would have corrected this before installing the hatch. They just needed to be folded over the other way to break off.

The human seems to be the weak link.

 
#87 · (Edited)
Today Gary learned how to hand-pack bearings. He didn't seem to get the same satisfaction out of it as I do, so I did the rest. I did the last one into my bare palm and it felt better than a gloved hand. I put everything back together in anticipation of the new roof panel delivery.



The furnace compartment looked like the Temple of Doom. The spiderwebs were thick.



Dot showed me an aftermarket product that looks like it would prevent flying insects from building a nest inside, but the mesh was nowhere near small enough to keep out spiders. I recall the gas tank vent line problems where spiders find tubes great places to build their homes. My recent problem with my stationary generator was traced to a small spider web in the vent cap of the gas regulator. This is leftover material from the gutter guard project on my house. It's a very fine stainless steel mesh.



I hot-glued all of the possible entry points. The cabinet should remain web-free.



Elation os not a word I would normally use to describe me, but, it sure felt good to see this come in the door.



I felt my face break into a wide, wide, grin as this is the literal crowning touch.



This is the proof that everything is where it needs to be.



It will take some work to be ready for a final installation, but this is a huge step forward.

 
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