Project Choose Your Own Adventure

[ScottyB]

here she be, awaiting walls.


closeup of the flush mount lid pulls on the floor compartment.  had to chisel out the reliefs for the pulls, which was time consuming, but it came out OK. functionally, we just needed to be able to lift up the mattress and access one side at a time for nicknacks, so a hinge didn't make sense.


how do you make a 9 foot wall?  glue bits of two 4x8 walls together, then use a subaru clutch to get the joint nice and tight while the glue cures (clutch still FS btw!  you buy now!)


the joint is a simple 2-inch lap joint created with a router and a straight-edge fence clamped to the wood.  i took too much material off one side, so i made a filler strip which you can see right in the middle (lighter wood) and it worked great.


then you spend an hour making a huge 2x2 grid all over the wood and map out your shape.  acquire ancient used jigsaw and go to town.


closeup of that sexy 70's fecal brown color, its what contractors ask for!


acquire humans, test fit them.  be sure to account for the 8 inch foam mattress.  kiddo is sleeping width-wise on a loft (shelf) over our shins until he's too long and then i probably get kicked out to a tent so he can sleep lengthwise.  i moved the bulkhead at my wife's feet back about 2 inches for a little more foot room, and the loft up another 2 inches so we can sleep on our sides without cracking our knees on the edge.  on the other side of the bulkhead at the back will live the galley kitchen - yeti on the floor, counter and small cupboard above.  counter is deep enough to sit, and open a Coleman Triton propane stove.


the lower 4-3/4" of the wall is actually going to be partially routed out and will cover the trailer frame like a skirt, which is why everyone's so far up on the space from the real bottom of the piece.  the large center shape is the 36x26 door (each side gets one).  the smaller shapes with the hash marks will be cut out and fitted with 3/4 hard foam insulation, just like the floor got.  this (A) keeps us comfy of course and (B) removes a bunch of unnecessary weight.  "build it like a plane, not a tank" is the motto with these (except ignore the 1/2" oak floor i put on, i do what i want!)

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you only see one wall for a reason. in order to get both walls identical, i'll splice up another 9 footer and clamp it on top of the finished wall shape. then i'll follow that shape with a flush-trim router bit to ensure both are exact copies.

while clamped, i'll also cut out the door/insulation cavities because again we want each side to be an exact replica of the other. once that's done, the walls get separated and then the skirts routed to be mounted to the trailer. another flange will be routed along the front/top to make a small channel for the roof joists to sit on and tie the sides together.

from there, the walls get a dense coating of poly around the edges for waterproofing and then the insulation and skinning process starts...