Trailer Tent for a small car - home build

[Dobloseven]

I admit I thought your idea was a bit mad and why not just buy a small flip over trailer tent. However I'm in the process of buying a Combi camp "Tiny", and it's massive and would dwarf a small sports car. Be like being permanently chased by a big thing. A brilliant project, really looking forward to the next episode.Like the fact that as a big guy, you're making it to fit yourself. 

[Bfg]

Thanks, for your encouragements..  Things came to a halt when the Triumph came home from its chassis swap bringing with it a list of new jobs to get on with.  Right now I'm off physical stretching and lifting work, having had a bit of open surgery last Tuesday, but hope to get back on with finishing and sealing the top lid of the trailer soon.  

Had a flood here last night..  heavy rain washes the crud down from the adjacent apartment block's car park, as well as the windfall from a mighty big oak tree, down to a 4" drain by the cottage's front door.  Naturally the drain soon gets blocked with twigs and bits of tree (even before the autumnal leaves have started to drop), and so the patio was flooded with 3 - 4" of water.   That's not a good place to have things put under cover to keep out of the weather, let alone to park a 50+ year old Triumph sports car. Nor is it somewhere I can continue working outside ..on car or trailer, even under a gazebo.     Naturally, water puddling against the side of the house will only contribute to damp within and subsidence. 

I've just dropped the site Manager a note to suggest that a grated-drain be cut across the driveway's surface to address this, and that should be done as a matter of urgency.   However even as I wrote it I realised that the owner of the property is far too penny pinching and so any such drain is unlikely to happen before the winter ..if at all !   I'll wait for a reply but I suspect ..as of this afternoon, I'll be looking for somewhere else to live, with a garage.    That is a great shame as I was just about coming to terms with living here. 

But I cannot afford to leave such a car parked in a puddle, and my moving here (paying more rent) was because of the patio / outside working space. 

Pete

[Dan_ZTT]

That's a real shame Pete, hope it gets sorted out

[catsinthewelder]

It's a nuisance but I think you might be over reacting.  It will eventually cause damage to the building so it's in the interests of your landlord to sort it out but I imagine the water is gone fairly quickly?  Did it get above tyre level?

I used to have problems at the college I worked at during heavy downpours like that.  Due to some terrible roof design the water would end up inside the wall and pour into the fire alarm system.  I did need to get that sorted out but it made me aware that storms like that only happen around once a year.

[Bfg]

Thanks chaps,

After (Monday night, I think) flood on the patio where my TR is presently up on ramps.  After two days, once that had subsided, there was of course a whole lot of crud to sweep up and wash out . . 

   

^ a week after my op, the day's light exercise was to clean up this S%%t.  Perhaps it doesn't look too bad in the photos but just from this space and under where the Chrysler is parked I swept and shoveled up the best part of a wheelbarrow load of crud.  I'm now aching (both front and back !) more than would have liked ..but at least now the ground under the car has half-a-chance to dry out. 

^ Job done for the most part..

That was done on Thursday and now on Saturday the top of the slabs are sort of dry but the cracks between them are capillaries for the saturated soil underneath to come through.  It'll take a long spell of dry weather for that soil to dry out enough before it absorbs any more rain water. 

Fair do's to the apartment block Manager, Frank.  As an Englishman of Italian descent, who's lived so much in America that he's almost a native of that country.. he really likes my Triumph, and so is very understanding to my concern.  Since moving here I've also been plying him with fresh coffee on a regular basis ..so I reckon he doesn't want to see me leave ! 

He immediately tried cleaning out the drain using a pressure washer with a long flexi-pipe nozzle that jets forward (to loosen) and then at the same time jets water sideways & backwards to draw the debris back out of the drain pipe.  Despite best efforts, the pipe wouldn't clear (I suspect far too much gravel & sand has built up in it) and still we don't know where it is supposed to drain to ..so cannot work upstream from that end.  

Ground-works and drainage over the years hasn't been recorded and the owner isn't really interested.  From next week, he's off to his holiday home in Portugal for three weeks ..where I'm sure he'll contemplate on how much he'll spend on looking after his property ..which he's seriously thinking of selling anyway. 

I did ask Frank to have a hole drilled low-down through the patio's end wall, and that was duly done. So, should the floods happen again - it ought at least not be more than an inch deep. 

Yesterday, I was down on my hands and knees digging out a grated drainage trough further up the (30+ apartment block's) car-park.  That was totally blocked of crud (another barrow load) and was doing nothing to prevent its catchment rainwater washing down onto this patio.  Despite my reaching deep into its drainpipe, up to my shoulder, I couldn't clear the blockage out of the pipe where it disappeared underground.  Again we cannot ascertain it goes, or whether there's a soak-away buried unseen. Frank's said he'll try the jet-wash in that pipe on Monday.

In the meantime  ..this morning the sun has come out.  Even if it does little to dry things out underground ..it does lift one's spirits 

Cheers, Pete.

[808 Estate]

Has there been any progress with this?

[sheffcortinacentre]

He's either trapped inside it or in the 4th dimension!

[Bfg]

Beam me outta here Scotty !

[Wack]

 

I went to look at a folding camper that was really cheap but it was too far gone, the outer cover had leaked and water pooling had eaten it's way through the camper waterproofing so the inside was all damp, pity as it was in good condition prior to him leaving it unused since march 2020

I thought I wonder if it's worth saving with a replacement cover

fuck me, I had no idea they were that expensive, I don't think it's worth saving , the cover is probably 3k

 

[Bfg]

^ That is a heck of a lot of money, which might only offer any sort of 'value'  if it's used very frequently. ie., £16.5k / 10 year life span = £1650 per annum, so if used on average for 3 weeks (21 days) each and every year = £78.60 per day.!    And from the (admittedly limited) trailer-tents I've seen I wouldn't expect any of them to last that long - the quality just isn't there.

It's a no-win sort of situation for those who want to get away on the cheap.  Conversely when I last looked, a few years ago, you could pick up a used but clean and dry caravan very cheaply.  The alternative seems to be a box trailer to carry a decent tent and all the camping gear, including perhaps inflatable beds.   

On 20/05/2022 at 15:57, Wack said:

it was in good condition prior to him leaving it unused since march 2020

  If it cannot stand up to one year's non use - then that's a sad reflection on the quality of materials used.   

Pete

[Bfg]

It's been a looooong time !!

Mostly due to getting the Triumph back from having it's chassis changed and various other things, and then finding that I had a whole lot of working to do to correct what their mechanic had fouled up !   This in turn led to despondency which took a long time to drag myself out from under, and then finally I've spent the last couple of months making a Surrey top roof for that car. 

With that done to such a stage where i can now use the car and get on with other thing, combined with my wanting to attend various events in different parts of the country ..and then seeing how few Bed & breakfast had availability in the summer months nearby event venues, ..and the cost of those !!! not least because as I'm so big a single bed really doesn't give me a decent night's sleep, and it's time again to get on and get this trailer tent fit for use. 

I've asked a local boat cover company to have a look at making the wrap around cover for it ..and from our initial conversation was shocked at the price estimated. Still it's something I want, and if used frequently will pay for itself in short term (compared with even basic hotel room prices). So tomorrow I'm hoping to get the trailer around to that trimmer and to get a cover made. 

Last week I pulled the trailer out from the back garden where it's been sitting neglected for all these past months.  I gave it a scrub over and cleaned out the spiders and earwigs from within.  The shitty fibreglass that I struggled with because it wasn't curing has now cured ...but is still tacky when rubbed down !  I needed to smooth the inside face of the lid's overlap, so as to not snag and tear the fabric cover I hope to have made for it.  And in cleaning that up with a sanding disc, even though used on a slow speed - I spent more time wire brushing the sticky crud off the disc than actually sanding the surface flat.     I hate this resin. never had such issues before.  Someone has suggested that some fibreglass resin has wax in it which floats to the surface as it cures.  That may be useful for fibreglassing a roof but for what I'm using it for it's more trouble than it worth.

Aside from that I've reshaped a bimini cover bow that I picked out of the boatyard skip. I used the smaller of the two parts but still it was far too rounded a  shape and 24" too wide.  It's an anodised aluminium tubem with I'm guessing a steel rod inside it, because it  took a lot of effort to straighten the curvature, My 100kg trying to bend it over the raised edge of a paving slab (with a piece of carpet on that to prevent scratching the metal).  I then had to rebend it to a tighter curve, trying to get things symmetrical and to roughly match the curvature of the trailer's body tub . . .

^ rebending that bow to fit within the trailer took a whole lot of work.  I must be getting old ! 

I would have preferred it tighter into the corners but that would have been pushing my luck ..and my knee caps used for bending.  I have to pretend its rounded shape was deliberate ..to allow for the fabric to fold away under it

 

^ I'm impressed that it's size happened to work out usable  ..And almost corresponding to my drawings !     The string illustrates where the cover will hang and the additional headroom I gain by adding the single bow.  That headroom is not important over the bed but it will be over the doorway. 

Next up., was cut down the jockey wheel's tyre . . .

  

^ don't try this with a pneumatic tyre !     Because the jockey wheel (tyre) was previously too big, and it needing to swivel around under the trailer's chassis, meant that the whole trailer was tilted up at the front and imbalanced.  In turn, this led to the bottom edge of the back of the trailer's body being prone to dig into rough ground.  As you can see I cut quite a chunk of rubber off the tyre with a saw, and then went around again cutting the hard corners off, before using a sanding disc to round the tyre again.   It's amazing how much easier it is to man-handle the trailer now ..chalk and cheese.!   The loop of string is simply a lead to pull it along with ..which is easier than my reaching / bending down to the handle.  It's shape is quite chunky looking but this trailer is all so very small and therefore low. 

Overall : 32" high (812mm) x 45" (1145mm) wide x 65-3/4" (1670mm) from ball hitch to the very rear ..to be lightweight and neatly tuck in behind Katie.

   

^  I've also fitted the rear lamps I'd bought.  They're repro items for a split-screen VW combi, and are not wired in yet so I've borrowed a light board.  Why is it that when I borrow things - I have to fix them before I can use them ?  ..they just see me coming don't they !  Out of the six filaments in the four bulbs - only one illuminated - duh !  A two minute job turned into two hours.

^ and last but not least I added some grease to aid the telescopic action, and some marks, as well as a length of cord - to easily know when the trailer is fully extended. Beforehand., it was inch in and out until I could locate the pin / bolt in the hole to lock it in place.   At the top of this photo you can see an over centre toggle clamp ..also just added, to secure the trailer's-front-half legs, which are also the stays for the hinged lid. 

And so there we have it. Unfinished but ready to go off for the cover to be made.   I've done series of drawings to explain what I'm hoping to achieve . . .

 

That's all for this update, hope to see some progress in a couple more months.  The trimmer has suggested a nine week turn around to make this.  That should get the trailer back to me ready for camping in October ! ??

Bidding you a good evening.

Pete 

   

[Bfg]

It really has been a long time since this topic was active. That is mostly due to my being very upset when I picked the trailer up from the trimmer, who I had make the wrap-around tent.  I said nothing, took the trailer away and parked it in the back garden and didn't look at it again (with a view to finishing the build) until now.  Most people wouldn't understand this attitude but (following the fiasco I had with M&T Classics and the work they did on my Triumph) such was my anger that - had I even spoken to the man, we would have ended up in a furious argument and I would have thumped him. Better for me to walk away and for me to calm down, even if that takes me a year and a half !

I'll not go into all the things wrong with the wrap-around tent, but mostly they are details which don't work half as neatly as they should have. The fact that it cost a fortune, there's no means of tensioning it, the zips and windows are obviously going to leak, I never wanted a rear window and there are no privacy blinds, the zips are not as I designed, and the velcro strips they used were peeling off even on the day I collected it, were just a few of the sparks to my fuse.  I'll not take it back to him to correct it, but in time I will get someone else to modify certain things.

Anyway, I'm now in a much better frame of mind and I want to get it ready to use. This is where I'm at . . .

 

^ As a recap regarding its purpose ...   Once passed retirement age, getting down into a tent to sleep on the floor ..and then getting dressed inside a tent and getting back up again is increasingly difficult.  Much better for the bed to be at seat height  ..and padded   ..and dry storage within, for when the summer weather is 'less than perfect' for camping.  

The design was for a lightweight trailer-tent, for me to make myself, on the (relative) cheap.  It's intended to be towed behind a classic (lightweight) sports-car.  Size wise ; when towing, I much prefer the trailer, its wheels + mudguards to be less than the overall width of the car.  My Triumph TR4 is 48.5" wide, and this trailer tent is 4" narrower (inclusive of wheels). 

I also wanted its towed height (when the lid is down) to be below that of the sports car's rear window line. Accordingly it's not very high.   I'm on my own, so a narrow single bed is fine, but because I'm so tall I required 2m of length for sleeping, and similar standing headroom for getting dressed.  The tall aspect of the design helps to shed rain off the cover, and by using the trailer lid as one side of the tent - it should be reasonably robust against the wind. 

The trailer is telescopic, adding a further 700mm (the doors when opened) to the camper's bed length.

It also had to be small for parking . . .

   

When I moved to this apartment with its side garden, I lifted off a fence panel to bring it in through the polytunnel.  Box trailers may be small, but very few camping  trailers are so compact.  Towing Size, overall :  32" high (812mm) x 45" (1145mm) wide lid x 65-3/4" (1670mm) long, from ball hitch to the very rear.  Thankfully its size doesn't overwhelm a pocket-sized back-garden.

- - -

I had the build far enough along to have the tent made, but the trailer 's box wasn't finished, either cosmetically nor inside. . .

       

^ Unfortunately with my old computer dying, I've lost access to my drawings, so I've spent a few hours trying to recall and otherwise work out the interior layout of berth and storage as previously envisaged.  First thing I next need to do is to create inner wheel arches ..to make the storage space under the bed-boards water tight.   ^2. I've been playing around with pieces of plywood to help define the wheel-arches and covers over the suspension units, and to divide the stowage space into two halves ..one side for bedding (pillows and duvet) and the other side for clothes and anything else. That divider also serves to under support the expanse of bed board.

^ Those who followed this thread before will recall that the materials I used, to make this trailer box from, were up-cycled from the skip or else left over from another job.  So, in places where the dividers are to be bonded in - I've started to sand the varnish and any other crud off the surface. 

 

   

^  The camping box was intended to come off relatively easily ..just in case I ever wanted to use the chassis for a box trailer (skip runs). And so, because I'll need to fibreglass those inner arches and partitions in, it was easy to lift it off, so as to turn it over for working inside.  However it was also convenient to leave the front on the chassis for the moment. If nothing else it's useful shelving for tools.

 

  

^ Supporting my sitting and sleeping bulk on 1/2" or less plywood boards needs some working out.  For the 700mm telescopic gap, I'll use a loose 1/2" thick board, and that will need the support of x2 small section but strong battens. I've cut slots in the face board (easier to do before it's bonded in) to take the ends of those battens.  I'm sure it looks a 2 minute job, but first I had to work out a width of the berth-board for the gap, with allowance besides it to put my size-13 feet down onto the floor, all within the 43" (internal) width.  

In retrospect, perhaps I should have made this trailer another three or four inches wider ..and still been content that it was no wider than the Triumph.  Too late for that now, as I'm not going to change it, nor even make a mk.2 version. 

That's all the progress I made today.  I've maintained a positive mindset and what I've done is useful preparation to getting those inner arches made and bonded in.

I bid you have a great May Bank Holiday weekend, and I hope the weather stays dry for my continuing tomorrow.

Pete

 

[barefoot]

Good to see this thread continuing and if you want me to firebomb the half arsed trimmer, please send pm.

[rusty_vw_man]

Great to see progress! This is why I end up trying to do everything myself, as so many professionals seem only as good as my own cak handed attempts. Trouble is once they’ve done it there never seems to be any point quibbling as let’s face it, they’ve tried their best already and it wasn’t good enough. 

That said, whilst the canvas part of the trailer may not be exactly what you were hoping for, it does at least look the part, and presumably does at least give you something to start altering to perfection. 

Does also give a real sense of what must be the UKs smallest trailer tent will look like complete, I was struggling a bit to imagine the non-fibre glass elements. 

[Bfg]

2 hours ago, barefoot said:

Good to see this thread continuing and if you want me to firebomb the half arsed trimmer, please send pm.

knee capping will do thanks

[Sir Chocolate Teapot]

Maybe look into folks that do custom canal boat rear / front pram covers, they use computer wizardry and good quality materials and seem very resistant, well tensioned , good zips etc.

Great to see this build back on.

[Bfg]

1 hour ago, Sir Chocolate Teapot said:

Maybe look into folks that do custom canal boat rear / front pram covers, they use computer wizardry and good quality materials and seem very resistant, well tensioned , good zips etc.

Great to see this build back on.

This canopy was made by a company that specialises in boat bimini covers and cockpit enclosures.  In retrospect I think I would have been much better off had I gone to someone like Aldridge Trimming who make car hoods. They're used to making things water-tight and tensioned so as to not flap around in the wind. 

Pete

[Bfg]

Bank Hodiday Monday and not so much progress as I'd hoped for . . .

With the body tub dropped back onto the chassis, to ensure what I'm doing is in their correct place . . .

   

^ I cut and positioned 1/4" plywood (up-cycled of course) for the inner wheel-arches. It's a long time since I last used panel pins (..to hold everything in alignment). The cut-out hole in the berth-board is to one side, as the intent was to sleep on the left of the trailer and have a fiddled shelf of odds n' sods on the wider right hand side.  However in the course of ongoing design changes when I made the chassis - the LHS bunk-board cut-out is 1/2" too close to the side.  It doesn't bother me though because that top gap is easily closed off and I needed supports for the infill bunk-board anyway, and this little step will do it.

You may have noted the swinging arms are inside the the trailer box rather than under the wheel-arch. That is in fact deliberate ..as I'm trying to encourage tyre / road splash to be outside the chassis rails and away from the suspension unit.  This position also gives another three inches to the internal width of the storage area.  In due course the suspension units will also be covered over too, so the storage space ought to stay dry.

 

^ I was then getting on with filleting the inside corners, with fibreglass bridging paste (the stuff with glass fibre strands in it).  This not only holds everything securely in place for when I fibreglass over those joints, but it also stops resin from leaking away.  The inside corner fillet also helps the glass-fibre I'll be applying to sit into those corners.  Without it they tend to pull out and leave and air bubble ..which is weaker. 

Both inner wheel-arches have been filleted, both around the base & up the sides and in the top corners beneath the bunk board. It's awkward to reach but a better job when done like this.  And then rain stopped play . . . 

   

^ the spits of rain had been pestering me all morning, but now it was a rain shower..  Time to cover over and get on with another little job . . .

 

   

^ This is the Lockheed brake cylinder from my Daimler's remote servo.  It was lightly rusted so I've power wire brushed it clean, and rather than disturb the control unit, I've just scraped the surface rust out of the corners.  A problem of course is when brake-fluid spills on the paint - most paints just crinkle up and peel off, so yesterday I tried / tested brake fluid on the runs down the jar of paint. The paint is left over from when I painted the Triumph's chassis and then the trailer's chassis.  It's  POR-15 fuel tank sealant, which seems to have good resistant to chemical attack of the brake fluid. The jar's lid was sealed with a off-cut of plastic bag which has helped preserved what was left-over for these past two years. 

Job done n' looking pretty .. and soon ready for the new seals to arrive. 

And now it's time for a cup of tea.

Pete

 

[Bfg]

Today with nice weather again., I got done what I'd hoped to finish yesterday. Just an hour and-a-half of actual work, but in doing so the milestone of getting the box-storage-space watertight is in sight. . .

   

^ I filleting the last two corners and finished cleaning the surrounding timber up,  ready to be fibreglassed.  I decide to just apply one strip over each join for the time being, not least because I'll be doing the same from the underside of the arches as well.  Measured strips of chopped-strand-mat (glass fibre) being cut.

 

   

^ fibreglass laminate applied to each corner, including the awkward to work corners underneath the bunk board and up the back corners, on both sides.  I had cut, screwed & bonded in a protruding block half way down the left side ..as a bunk-board support, and that too was glass-fibred in for strength. 

Similar localised blocks are yet to be positioned around the cut-out to do the same bunk-board support job.  Although they're not as neat as an all around flange - short blocks have the benefit of maximising the opening by an inch ..better for when stuffing bulky stuff under the berth  ..like the duvet and pillows. The box's floor was in two pieces before, only because I used recycled offcuts of plywood (accepting whatever size those were) ..so those are now they're bonded together.

Getting the inner mudguards bonded-in is a significant step forward, at least in my mindset, because they add egg-box-like rigidity to the whole structure, and I can now get on and make water-tight covers for over the suspension units, then make and fit the centreline divider and the box's front panel.

It's our local Triumph club night tonight, so I'll measure up the internal centreline web (divider) and then call it a day ...letting the fibreglass resin cure overnight ..I hope.  I'm only a little anxious because I've used a new supply of resin, as the last lot wouldn't cure hard for weeks, so I ended up scrapping half of it.

Pete

. . .                                   p.s.,                     

^ Even though just 1/4" plywood, the internal partition (seen here just loosely placed) is to serve both as a partition and as a support under the bunk board. In due course it will be fibreglass bonded in ..and then as a centreline web sitting over the chassis rail, it'll add further rigidity to the whole structure with minimal weight penalty.

 

[Bfg]

quick lunchtime update...

^ I'm pleased to report ; the new batch of fibreglass resin had gone off, and this morning I started off by sanding over the laminate. This is to remove any spikes of glass fibre that might be waiting to impale me. 'Impale' might seem a harsh word but fibreglass splinters have next to no colour in them to see and extract, and when cured hard with resin can be extremely sharp (glass splinter sharp in fact !).  better to spend ten minutes with a block and some coarse sandpaper and get rid of them. Taking care of not to inhale the glass fibres.

next up I wanted to correct a mistake. Yes of course I make them .. usually a different one for every task I do !  The issue is not whether you make them but whether you get on and fix 'em. . .

 

^ Behind the suspension units I'd cut a serrated sort of edge, it was so shaped to get a socket onto the bolts from underneath as I assembled things for the first time.  The other day i cut this edge off as a clean line, and then of course had a 1" gap behind the suspension unit which would be a nuisance for when I made a water-tight cover over them. Of course ..thinking about it in retrospect ; I've realised that if n' when I need to remove either unit - I'll just lift the body tub off the chassis. So next job this morning was to fix that mistake with infills of plywood.  Bonded and wedged in place as it cured. 

Otherwise I'd been playing around with how to cover (close over) those suspension units. . .

   

^ modus operandi has been to use plywood, and to fillet the joined edges, and then to fibreglass over them.  This morning I woke to an idea I'd used many times before, many years ago. And that was to use sheet aluminium.   I only had a scrap piece to try..

  

^ two great advantages of working with aluminium are that it's easy to work, and fibreglass doesn't stick too well to it. Being hyper sophisticated like - I used an old tent pole as the bender. That oughta work.  One piece of aluminium and two sides ? ..There's flaw to this idea .  Nah I'm one step ahead . . .

  

^ splat some glassfibre in it..  cut a piece of plywood for the end and bond that in at the same time.  One mound can be used for both sides. Admittedly I ought to have cleaned it first. 

That's in the sun to cure, and an hour later (now that I've finished this update) it's already to be pulled out and the mould reused for the other side.

See you later.

Pete

 

[Bfg]

... soon after . . .

  

^ The moulding released easily, once I'd lifted an edge to get a scraper's blade in which breaks the weak adhesion between grp and aluminium. It came out much cleaner than I expected. The end and flanges need yet to be trimmed but I'm pleased, not least because this one moulding includes four surfaces, the fillets, and two flanges. 

^ it will of course be trimmed around the swinging arm and extended along its length, but I'm sure you get the idea.

..Then straight on with laminating the other side. . .

So, just n' hour later. . .

^ As before I've used just two layers of glass mat, and a 1/4" plywood end.  One side out of the mould and left in the sun to further cure (harden) and the other side, freshly laminated, is still in the mould.

Aside from 10 minutes to tidythings away for the evening - That today's job done..

Time for a cuppa.

 

[Dan302]

Love following this thread, I don't have a practical bone in my body so I enjoy living vicariously through other people's projects!

[Bfg]

On 08/05/2024 at 20:04, Dan302 said:

Love following this thread, I don't have a practical bone in my body so I enjoy living vicariously through other people's projects!

I'm doing nothing that you couldn't follow and do for yourself

Wasn't it one of the famous tennis players who said "I wasn't born with a tennis racket in my hands" ?   Unfortunately though I'm not world class.., I'm of average intelligence, I consciously try to avoid work ..especially if it's anything too physical, and I'm pretty much self-taught.  I reckon that If I can - most others can too.  That is if you feel it worth the effort to learn by making mistakes. 

[Bfg]

What a very warm day today.. such a contrast to the rain showers and stopping for a cup of coffee to warm up.  Not complaining but I'd rather be sitting in the shade of a tree reading a good book ..than cutting and grinding fibreglass.  Hey-ho the trailer's coming on and, as this is not purgatory, there must be an end to it ! 

   

^ the second suspension cover tended to stick in the makeshift aluminium mould. Not too bad, but it'll teach me not to cut corners.  ^^ After trimming the two to length, rounding off their plywood ends, and a first cut around the suspension arm - It's taking shape nicely.   

Now to knock up covers for over the suspension's swing arms. . .

   

^ Using the same aluminium mould, I quickly laminated this fibreglass angle section.  Cutting that down the middle was enough for both left and right hand side. Trimmed to shape (deliberately higher at the front to allow for suspension travel) and again with a piece of plywood for an end - I think that'll work fine.

    

 ^ Having decided these covers need not be removable for access to the suspension units, I bonded the main (inboard) cover down onto the trailer's floor, and the plywood end into the swinging arm cover. That fixed the first in place and stiffened the latter for a final trimming and fitting..  Once happy with that and its clearance over the arm - I fillet-bonded it into place.  The hammer and off-cut of plywood are just wedges to hold it in place as the fibreglass-paste cures.  That's not many minutes at all in this warm weather, so to get it correctly in place I had to work quick (not a natural state of affairs as far as I'm usually concerned )

Then . . . Repeat every step of the sequence on the other side . . .

I'm knackered ..so that's it for today.   Useful progress, but in truth I had expected to get a strip of glass-fibre laminate over each of those joints by this evening.

Never mind, the garden's secure enough ..so pixies won't be stealing-in during the night to have the fun of doing it.  I'll have that pleasure tomorrow.

Of course - had I any sense, I'd had just have made a straight across single cover for the whole lot to go in. I didn't because of the storage space I'd have lost.  Stupid is as stupid does !  ..because if I'd taken the time to think big picture rather than detail I'd have reasoned ; two days to make close-fitting covers, left & right handed, versus saving what..?  6-litres in volume  

Anyhow, I now need a shower to get the dust off of me, and I'm annoyed at myself for being so dumb. 

... so I'll bid you a good evening ...perhaps you'll enjoy a beer and a barbecue in a trailer-free garden.

 

Pete

 

[Bfg]

Just a quick update. . .

   

^ after cleaning up the fillets around the suspension cover, I proceeded to set the central divider in place. Although it's supposed to be marine quality (savaged from the skip, down at the marina where my boat is) it's just 5mm thick and a little distorted, so I needed half a dozen wedges to hold its bottom edge straight. Using the fibreglass bridging filler I filleted between those wedges to hold it in place. Once the resin had cured, the temporary blocks could be removed and the filler applied in their place.  

The second photo.. Each piece of glass fibre is for an edge to laminate over. In terms of area or amount of resin its minimal but still going for tight fitting covers is more work than I hadn't stopped to envisage. 

 

^ Those done ..at least from the top side.  I'll still need to slap some grp on from the underside, if only to protect the wood from road spray.

^  fillet tidied up and a layer of glass fibre laminated over that, including up its front and back corners ..on both sides of the partition.  This reminds me of the sort of partition found in caravans, similarly used to support under seats and beds. But they use a 1/2" x 3/4" batten of wood glued and stapled to the edge of the board, which is then similarly glued and stapled to the caravan's floor.. which once you're geared up for it is much quicker for production. 

This trailer's seat front board has also been filleted and bonded in place. Its outside corners need to be cut next and bonded in. That'll (..finally !) close all around these storage spaces.

It's getting there but progress seems to be dragging along rather than 'happening'

Pete

 

p.s.

         

^ The seat's front board's outside corners now cut next and in place. A little more filleting and they'll be ready for laminate over the joints.  It's now an almost closed box, aside from moisture protection.  ie., waterproof from underneath and all around,  although not from above which will be within the tent, or under the lid when that is closed.

 

[Mally]

Workmanship is impressive.

I can't help thinking  it's too low, and may interact with sleeping policemen and the like.

Or indeed that a large pothole may ground one side.

[Bfg]

Cheers Mally,

You may be right.. the trailer's ground clearance does look low, but perhaps more so because the sides of this box have side skirts to conceal the chassis, whereas most box trailers sit up on their chassis.  Still, I think the bottom edge (either side of the wheel-arch cut-out) of the skirt has only about 4" ground clearance ..although they do curve up for greater ramp clearance at either end.

Of course longer trailers, including caravans need additional ground clearance to allow for pitching (that'll be the nose &/or tail going up n' down, rather than pitching as in setting-up camp). Likewise those built to carry a heavy load or with soft suspension.  Neither is the case with this camping trailer.  

Thanks,

Pete

[Bfg]

Quite a productive afternoon, although nothing of it will later be seen . . .

  

^ The trailer's body tub was lifted off the chassis and flipped over, because I wanted to attend to the underside of the wheel-arches.  As you can see they were only rough cut during the construction and the exposed plywood edges would be vulnerable to moisture ingress.. 

 

    

^  Now with all the edges and rounded cut shapes trimmed off (to avoid those ledges holding road dirt) the outside corners were rounded off with the sanding disk before I filler-glass filleted the inside corners.  ^^ On the one side, I'd cut the bunk board narrower than the inner-wheel-arch which left a gap that needed closing off. In my tub of off-cut wood - I found this short length of quadrant. Where it came from ? ..I have no idea, nor actually why I might have saved it.!  It was too short at just less than 6-1/2" for what I needed (13-1/2") but cut lengthways in half, to make two smaller section quadrants.., ^^^  It served the purpose. Seen here now bonded in either side of the berth's bunk-board support.

 

   

* raised on blocks to help save some bending (ie., my back !) I've now filleted and then fibre-glass either underside wheel-arch and suspension cover.  ^^ detail ..which if nothing else does show the achieved lessening of mud / moisture traps.  

That's it for today, as I said nothing of today's efforts will later be seen, but nevertheless I'm glad to have got it done.

Pete

 

[Bfg]

On Tuesday.. and again yesterday.. wet weather stopped play and so I got on with putting the Daimler's servo back together and refitting it. This afternoon the weather was sunny and hot and so I could get on and do a bit more to the trailer.  Actually, I really wasn't in the mood to do anything, so I pushed myself to do just an hour .. and that was four hours ago.! . .

  

^ First up was to make corner supports for the infill bunk board. Those and the centre-web batten were cut and are dry fitted for the time being.  The infill bunk board is to be made out of this rather pretty* wall-paper covered piece of plywood ..because it's the only piece I have.  Looks can be deceiving though. This plywood is marine grade & made with hardwoods. I know this because it used to be part of a bulkhead in my boat, which dates back to 1972 build.  I'm guessing a single 8ft x 4ft sheet of the same stuff (new) would cost £2 - 300.   That's a good reason to recycle old timber.! 

All I had to do was to make it fit into the cut-out hole. . .

   

^ roughly cut to size plus 4-5mm for trimming.  Next up I needed a compass to mark out the corners.  I wonder if this pot is the same as I'd used originally ? ..because its radius is spot on .

    

^ first cut wasn't too bad, nothing that a bit of disc-sanding wouldn't improve in a few seconds.   ^^ a little while later and each corner done - it was good to go.   Now to get rid of that vinyl wallpaper ..and the 1970's flecked paint (how do they paint like that ?)  . . .

   

^ scraping and sanding .. bit like hard work in the sun, so I moved into the shade under the tree.

 

^ cutting a long story short.. white paint with period fleck is mostly off, with help of the sanding disc.  If I do much more then it'll be cutting into the wood, as the paint is in the grain.  As it's not going to match the other timber anyway - I think it best to compromise.   Rain spots, five o'clock ..and the need for a cuppa tea called it a night.  Bunk board infill #1 made.  Btw the holes were already there in the plywood, previously hidden under the wallpaper. I guess they were originally for my boat's plumbing, which subsequently changed ..so to fill the holes in the wall - they wallpapered over them 

I need finger holes to lift the panel out, for access to the storage space, so all I've done was to try and centralise them as best the panel size allowed.

I bid you a good evening and a comfortable bed

Pete

 

p.s. yes I know.. originally the design was to have a sort of canvas camp-bed which spanned this trailer-tent's telescopic 'gap'.  but tbh using reclaimed plywood is quicker, easier and cheaper.   

 

[Bfg]

Not a lot to see for the past 8 days, but the weather hasn't been conducive to working outdoors with bare wood and fibreglass. Aside from which I've been busy with my old Daimler and discovering how brake-servos should, but sometimes don't, work.  ..Thankfully they're now sorted  

Inbetween times and rain showers, I've finished up the fibreglassing in the inside corner joints of the trailer body's front board and two mitred corners. . .

   

^ The front panels now being in - finally closes the under-bunk-board space off for dry storage (divided into two).  It also finishes off this part of the trailer body structurally ..that front board and its mitres support under what will be the seat, or the middle of the bed when that is made up.  I only need to sand it all down inside there (to get rid of any fibreglass barbs) and protect it from damp. As it's mainly plywood (albeit not matched) I'll see what it looks like varnished.

^  I did get the varnish out (I think the pot of varnish was left over from when I was varnishing the window-sills and door steps when I first moved into Cockfield Hall.. that was 20 years ago now !) and it it still seems fine. Having cleaned off the wallpaper and stipple paint from the former bulkhead / now bunk-board infill panel.. I varnished that, but tbh it looks crap because of the white paint still in the woods grain. Even though it'll be under cushions I'll repaint it, but that's not of high priority.

I've had the body tub upside down again, to finish off the fibreglassing under both wheel arches, and to then run over it with a sander ..again to get rid of any fibreglass barbs.  This afternoon I did a bit more, but because the weather this morning was undecidedly iffy I made do working in the polytunnel / garden shed. . .

    

^ the task was to seal the underside from road spray and/or rising damp from camping on grass.  Firstly though I went around the wheel-arches to fair their curvature. I briefly considered changing their style but decided against it ..no, just get on with it Pete !   Once sanded to a fairer circle I wanted to seal the bottom edges of the body tub and any exposed end-grain.

Having it ready to hand - I used resin.  Although polyester resin is hygroscopic (..when a boat is made out of it, which is then submerged in the water for years upon years) - it's otherwise pretty good for painting into the end-grain edges of plywood. It's like a quick build varnish, but with the advantage that it bonds those end grain fibres together more strongly.  Aside from that.. for rain or road spray - it's as good as being waterproof.  The edges of the wheel-arches were so sealed, as were all the exposed edges, and the inside faces of the wheel-arches.    

Job done, and when cured, I over-painted the whole of the underside with exterior paint.  It's the old fashion stuff, not the water based trollop you buy nowadays.  Again I've had the tin of paint for years, but I cannot remember when or why I might have bought this colour.  All I know was that it was discounted (end-of-line sale).!       

That's it, the main body of the tub is being finished off ..mostly to protect it from damp.  It's cosmetics can wait until I finish the front (short) part of the trailer. Which needs a bunk infill support beam and fiddles for storage on the lower shelf. 

I now have just one month to adapt and fit a towing hitch to the TR, and its wiring, and to get this trailer-tent finished enough to go camping in, and to get it across to Malvern for the Inter-club International Weekend . . .

Time seems to fly, I must be getting slower.   

Bidding you a good evening.

Pete