Author Topic: OverLanding Camper Build (Read 75062 times)

Flyin6 · « **Reply #250 on:** October 25, 2019, 06:42:22 PM »

It all finished out quite well, and later on sanded to a perfect shape

Flyin6 · « **Reply #251 on:** October 25, 2019, 06:44:23 PM »

After marking out where the pieces of the box meets up with the front of the cabin, I drilled and installed a bunch of screws. Next I used copious amounts of glue prior to attaching the two big pieces

Flyin6 · « **Reply #252 on:** October 25, 2019, 06:46:55 PM »

Then the two parts were mated and screwed together. Glue came out everywhere and continued to expand for some time. Afterward these two pieces became one and at + 24 hours were super strong!

Flyin6 · « **Reply #253 on:** October 25, 2019, 06:49:09 PM »

I finished the attachment with that large 45 degree piece to strengthen up the attachment and carry the slope lines I was creating for a finished look.

Flyin6 · « **Reply #254 on:** October 25, 2019, 06:50:44 PM »

You can see how well the glue has expanded into every crevice and really bonded the whole thing up

JR · « **Reply #255 on:** October 25, 2019, 06:51:38 PM »

Will the frame support both the main cabin and new front box?

I have the same atlas square, great item and its machined for a 90* angle to lock in.

I hade a few of those squeeze clamps, loved em until they all broke.

Flyin6 · « **Reply #256 on:** October 25, 2019, 06:51:52 PM »

And here I have marked out for the cutting out of the door for the battery compartment

Flyin6 · « **Reply #257 on:** October 25, 2019, 06:52:55 PM »

Quote from: JR on October 25, 2019, 06:51:38 PM

Will the frame support both the main cabin and new front box?

I have the same atlas square, great item and its machined for a 90* angle to lock in.

I hade a few of those squeeze clamps, loved em until they all broke.

Yes, the whole thing you see here will rest on a 3 X 3 box steel frame

Flyin6 · « **Reply #258 on:** October 25, 2019, 06:53:41 PM »

I have been pulling out screws that are absolutely not needed

Flyin6 · « **Reply #259 on:** October 25, 2019, 06:57:54 PM »

I may pull out every other screw on all but critical joints because the gluing and spline joints already exceed the strength of the raw materials.

Oh, and I have not forgotten out little test to test glued joint integrity. I have several pieces glued together in various configurations to see if we can find a weakness.

I tried this one test joint where I glued a section of board on end to a flat plate. Next I butt joined another piece to the north end of the first vertical piece. It would stay put but after 10 minutes it would crash to the floor. The expanding nature of the glue was pushing up on the wood causing it to teeter, then fall apart. I finally gave up trying to get that to stick together.

JR · « **Reply #260 on:** October 25, 2019, 07:51:45 PM »

Neck, they are in and only can add to strength, why mess with em. jmho

That frame should hold up. Like to see a scetch and the axle.

Flyin6 · « **Reply #261 on:** October 26, 2019, 10:21:09 AM »

Quote from: JR on October 25, 2019, 07:51:45 PM

Neck, they are in and only can add to strength, why mess with em. jmho

That frame should hold up. Like to see a sketch and the axle.

I have the basic design on the sketchup but that is far from finalized. I find it easier to build in everything I need then "Fit" the frame to that configuration. Just my technique. One of the bigger factors is that I didn't know the dimensions of the timbren axles which will in part dictate the location of a crossmember at least. That and I have not fully researched information on the relationship with the location of the rear axle/CG/turning radius/desired tongue weight/and other factors I may not know about. Bob seems smart about such things and I can read, so the frame final design is liable to come together scarce minutes before it actually becomes steel.

And as for the screws, I don't think they add any strength as the glue already exceeds the strength of the wood itself. I see them as problematic as the wood expands and contracts over time with temp changes. Much like nail pops in drywall, they could cause a compromise in the waterproofing layers in the years to come, so like removing the appendix which does nothing to aid the modern body, with it being gone, the root of future problems arising from an infection of it are also eliminated

(Man, that was a prudy gud analogy, eh?)

(^^^Canadian influence right there...Tex, my master Corporal Armee friend from squatch would be proud!)

Flyin6 · « **Reply #262 on:** October 26, 2019, 07:24:55 PM »

I took a #80 grit flap wheel and ran it over the seams and around the screw holes and screw heads wher4e they remained. The plan is to treat this like an auto body panel and spend some time finishing it.

Flyin6 · « **Reply #263 on:** October 26, 2019, 07:26:09 PM »

Good old bondo was next. I wanted to treat it as a single panel before cutting out the battery compartment hatch

Flyin6 · « **Reply #264 on:** October 26, 2019, 07:27:32 PM »

I had a bunch left over, so I smeared it into the holes where the screws used to be holding the cabinets perimeter frame in place

Flyin6 · « **Reply #265 on:** October 26, 2019, 07:29:15 PM »

So the plan is to simply cut out the hatch, reusing the piece I harvested from the box. After making the cuts on the top side I screwed a piano hinge into place, then continued cutting

Flyin6 · « **Reply #266 on:** October 26, 2019, 07:30:54 PM »

Finishing out the corners with my handy Jap hand saw. I cut the bottom edge on a 45 slanting upward and inward to cause moisture to travel downhill with gravity and away from the box innards

Flyin6 · « **Reply #267 on:** October 26, 2019, 07:32:12 PM »

And just like that, I had a hatch!

Flyin6 · « **Reply #268 on:** October 26, 2019, 07:33:28 PM »

But wait, there's more!

That lid would not stay that way without some reinforcing so I created two ribs from 3/4" Plywood

Flyin6 · « **Reply #269 on:** October 26, 2019, 07:34:51 PM »

Everything is turning out to be really strong. These glued joints are very robust. You can't budge anything. This thing is becoming very rigid indeed!

Flyin6 · « **Reply #270 on:** October 26, 2019, 07:37:38 PM »

And speaking of glue strength, Salt Lake Dave asked for a glue strength test.

This is what I came up with. A section of 90 degree connection, a butt joint, a section's end glued to a board, and two sections joined butt end to butt end, then one free end glued to the base panel

Flyin6 · « **Reply #271 on:** October 26, 2019, 07:42:20 PM »

That test will only be partially complete as you will soon see. The expanding glue kept toppling the two piece vertical and thus it did not live to become cured while still attached to the base.

This is a standard RV water filler door assembly. The large port is to pour water directly into the tank, and the other is called a "City water" port that you would attach to a garden hose (Food grade) to provide pressurized water. I will have both hooked up

It will reside in the right rear above the water tank inlet

Flyin6 · « **Reply #272 on:** October 26, 2019, 07:43:42 PM »

I carefully cut it into the panel

Flyin6 · « **Reply #273 on:** October 26, 2019, 07:44:38 PM »

You can see from the inside view how simple the hookup actually is

oklawall · « **Reply #274 on:** October 27, 2019, 09:46:34 AM »

Don, you do very good work. I can only guess but if you can fly as well as you wood work I would say you could exceed the limits of the aircraft. Job well done

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-P907A using Tapatalk

Flyin6 · « **Reply #275 on:** October 27, 2019, 05:39:01 PM »

Quote from: oklawall on October 27, 2019, 09:46:34 AM

Don, you do very good work. I can only guess but if you can fly as well as you wood work I would say you could exceed the limits of the aircraft. Job well done

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-P907A using Tapatalk

Thank you, but,
I'm just average. Almost everyone on this forum is far better than me. The important thing is 1. Did it bring some joy to someone? 2. Did it make someone happy or interested? 3. Does this contribute the building of community which, most importantly:
4. Does it show someone that people of God, trying to do it right, can have fun doing cool things?

Flyin6 · « **Reply #276 on:** October 27, 2019, 05:58:56 PM »

So preliminary results from the glue up test

The one double stacker would not stay put, tilted by the ever expanding glue and fell onto the saw-dust covered floor, so it's a no go. You may noticed the miniature leaning tower of pisa, that did not topple and is as hard as a rock at its precarious angle.

I'll get to breaking all this in a day or so

Flyin6 · « **Reply #277 on:** October 27, 2019, 06:00:04 PM »

Next, I made up a guard of sorts for the H2O door which is plastic. Nothing should be able to rub over and crack it with this frame fixed around its perimeter

Flyin6 · « **Reply #278 on:** October 27, 2019, 06:04:45 PM »

Here is the inside of the battery compartment door which got a lip on which I'll affix a weather seal

Flyin6 · « **Reply #279 on:** October 27, 2019, 06:06:19 PM »

And here is the first of several doors which will overlap the opening and share the same bevel, a 45 degree angle, hopefully to allow branches to just slide over and not hooking onto anything

Flyin6 · « **Reply #280 on:** October 27, 2019, 06:07:22 PM »

Fits like this:

Flyin6 · « **Reply #281 on:** October 27, 2019, 06:08:21 PM »

And the larger fold down stove/sink door:

Flyin6 · « **Reply #282 on:** October 27, 2019, 06:09:56 PM »

Then came the front storage side doors. The frig door opens forward to allow the cooler/frig to be pulled out for ease of access, relative to the door/pantry areas

Flyin6 · « **Reply #283 on:** October 27, 2019, 06:11:09 PM »

Contrarily, the generator door will open aft, providing somewhat of a noise deflector for the gen when it is out and running

Flyin6 · « **Reply #284 on:** October 27, 2019, 06:12:09 PM »

The water fill port door surround:

Flyin6 · « **Reply #285 on:** October 27, 2019, 06:15:31 PM »

After cutting a 45 bevel on all sides of the pantry door, I decided I actually needed the bottom side to be square to more easily mount the hinge. So I had to glue the bevel pieces once removed, back onto the panel

Flyin6 · « **Reply #286 on:** October 27, 2019, 06:16:13 PM »

And here it is so far:

Flyin6 · « **Reply #287 on:** October 28, 2019, 09:58:45 PM »

Well, I was messing around with hinge ideas today, experimenting with this and that

I finally settled on a multi finger design made of multiple layers of plywood connected to another set of "Fingers" with a steel axle pin about 1" in diameter.

I'll get some pics of it tomorrow.

Right now I am thinking I'll just hinge the top on the back and tilt it up a good amount toward the front since that is about the only place you could stand up considering the location of the bed/sofa.

Flyin6 · « **Reply #288 on:** October 30, 2019, 05:40:04 PM »

Here are the components of the hinge, of which there will be two

Flyin6 · « **Reply #289 on:** October 30, 2019, 05:40:50 PM »

Utilizing a 1" solid steel axle

Flyin6 · « **Reply #290 on:** October 30, 2019, 05:41:28 PM »

Assembled for test fitting with a section of CPVC

Flyin6 · « **Reply #291 on:** October 30, 2019, 05:58:48 PM »

One half of the hinge will be affixed to the back wall and the other half will attach to the roof frame

Flyin6 · « **Reply #292 on:** October 30, 2019, 06:00:45 PM »

I cut down the steel bar and ground off the rust, then gave the axles a light coating of grease

Flyin6 · « **Reply #293 on:** October 30, 2019, 06:01:40 PM »

I smeared a light coat of grease into the holes bored into the hinge parts

Flyin6 · « **Reply #294 on:** October 30, 2019, 06:03:37 PM »

With that done, I slipped the axle into the bores, and separated each segment with a rubber O-Ring. That really made the thing work well. THe hinge action is really good, solid, with a little drag and almost a machined feel to it.

Flyin6 · « **Reply #295 on:** October 30, 2019, 06:05:16 PM »

Next, I mixed up a batch of that Sherwin-Williams epoxy and coated the hinge "Fingers" and set them aside to dry.

I also gave the battery compartment a coating to seal it against the elements

Flyin6 · « **Reply #296 on:** October 30, 2019, 06:06:16 PM »

I followed that with sealing the pantry and stove/sink compartments

Flyin6 · « **Reply #297 on:** October 30, 2019, 06:09:22 PM »

And exhausted my supply of the stuff on the frig compartment.

I total, I still have nearly a gallon of the epoxy remaining, that I will use as a sealer for parts that will likely be exposed to moisture.

For places like an exterior facing compartment, I feel like a single coat of this epoxy is all that is needed to make for a weatherproof surface

JR · « **Reply #298 on:** October 30, 2019, 06:47:41 PM »

Looking good, lots done.

Do you really need a solid pin or would tube work, even PVC? No real weight on it and plenty of support.

Flyin6 · « **Reply #299 on:** October 30, 2019, 07:59:52 PM »

Quote from: JR on October 30, 2019, 06:47:41 PM

Looking good, lots done.

Do you really need a solid pin or would tube work, even PVC? No real weight on it and plenty of support.

It's just what I had sitting around. I think a piece of Copper pipe may work in the end if I can get one to fit properly