New Design ... and a New Name

It's been since November since I've last posted on the blog, but with the holidays being what they are, a bit of a slowdown in activity was to be expected. After Christmas I decided to re-engage Chris at Wrap Works on the teardrop decal design.

We played around with the Compass Rose logo in a proof or two, but as it turned out the graphic wasn't going to suit the 'canvas' it was going on. So I went down to Chris's shop on a Saturday evening and we played around with Illustrator for an hour and came up with a better design - one that would compliment the profile of the trailer and provide some visual balance.

This past next weekend I brought the trailer in and by Sunday he had it all done ...

Given the new design I've decided to change the name to SunBreak - which is when the clouds open up and the sun's rays shine down. Yeah, a bit 'campy' (no pun intended) - just need some Care Bears dancing around a firepit holding hands, right? At any rate, 'Compass Rose' just no longer fits as well as I hoped, so I had to come up with something else. I think he did a bang up job and I'm sure it will turn a head or two in the campground.

Now, on to the next to-do. There is ample storage space under the main bed, but with the smooth hardwood floors I have found that anything stowed under there manages to slide out from under while traveling. I'm going to make a couple cargo nets (one for the front and one for the back) that will keep all my stuff secured under the bed. They will be installed vertically between the floor and the bottom edges of the bed. I looked around for a 6 foot by 1 foot net, but none were to be found (no surprise given the odd dimensions). So I am going to fabricate some myself, using some paracord and mini caribiners. 

Our next camping trip is going to be to Disney's Fort Wilderness at the end of Februrary. I've been told this place has been known to spoil campers, but I'm willing to take the risk! I'm sure we'll have a good time down there.

First Trip was a Success

The Compass Rose's maiden outing was to Falls Lake, NC for Thanksgiving. The views were beautiful, and it was great having the family all together - my parents, my sister's family, and mine - in separate campers, of course :)

Here is the view of our site on Thanksgiving morning ...

As you can see I've found a good spot for my large Coleman cooler. I just lashed it to the tongue with a ratchet strap and plan on carrying it that way for future trips.

Here the two kiddies are enjoying the front bunk. You can see the Sunbeam ceramic heater in the foreground. It was very, very cold (around 24 degrees at night), and while we could definitely feel the chill from the floor, this little heater was more than enough to keep us warm. I pulled the table out and set it there, essentially putting it in the middle of the trailer. 

There is definitely a pronounced thermocline within the trailer. The bunk - being up the highest and closest to the insulated roof - was much warmer than the futon. I think I will bring my small fan next time to help circulate the air better.

We also found 'Mr. Stinky' incredibly valuable to have onboard, especially in the morning :) Odd to say, but I was very pleased - nothing 'malodorous' about it.

I also made good use of the external power plugs next to the door. I set up my little camp table and plugged in my single cup coffee maker for a proper breakfast each morning.

It also turned out to be a good location for prepping other meals ... 

... and cooking them on my Camp Chef Explorer Stove, also in close reach of the cooler on the tongue.

Lessons learned from the trip ...

• Need to come up with better exterior lighting at night. I'm thinking of putting together some more LED fixtures, but have to figure out where these would go and what would they look like.
• Didn't really need to put the futon in 'couch mode', and I want to use the quilted mattress topper next time - the futon is much more firm than my regular bed.
• Cabinetry for the unused space in the rear will be a welcome addition. In the new year I'll look to fabricate and install something, but at present I'm still getting my ideas together. I did find the space between the futon and the back wall handy for just dumping stuff, but storage for little things that need to stay in the trailer is needed.

The next thing done will be the Compass Rose decals. I was able to re-engage the decal designer and show him the trailer. He has provided some proofs, and I'm thinking that perhaps in the next week or two we will have the Compass Rose sporting her custom livery.

Curtains and Valences

Just a few finishing touches on the teardrop tonight. My colleague finished the curtains ...

I also had enough fabric left to upholster the valences. Each included two sheets of 1" batting glued to the valence face. I stapled and glued the fabric to the back, then attached them to the angle brackets on the wall. I'm really happy with how the valences turned out.

Just About Ready for the First Outing

It's been two weeks since the last post and I've made some great progress on the Compass Rose:

I finished putting the stain and poly on the bunk board, fabbed the bunk ladder (also treated with poly - no stain since it's oak), installed tie downs for the under-bunk storage bin and AC, and strapped them in. Installed the TV and mount, and fabbed a little shelf for the media player - it's made out of a sheet of aluminum, some angle brackets and a few zip ties. It's suspended below the TV and uses the same mount. I ended up modifying the ladder a bit because it wasn't holding well to the railing. The second picture above shows the angle brackets holding it in place.

Also shown installed is the bike fork mount, attached to the floor on the far side of the trailer. Not only is on the far wall out of traffic, it should keep us from stubbing our toes on the carriage bolt located behind it. Fortunately, all the other carriage bolts are fairly well out of the way. 

I had looked at different ways of bringing bikes along - various hitches and such - but the simplest, most secure way of transporting my bike was inside the camper, plain and simple. I just need to bungee the front wheel and Nate's bike to my own and I'm ready to travel.

I also installed the curtain tracks under the bunk. The curtains should arrive Monday.They are of different heights and are staggered a bit, due to needing clearance for the pull out table.

I installed two Levolor roller shades above the windows. My apologies for the blurry picture. The shade are behind two valence boxes that I made. These will be padded and covered with the same material the curtains are made of. The boxes are made of 1/4" Oak Luan, a couple 1/2" by 1/2" wooden stiffeners. They're very lightweight and somewhat delicate - I hope they will hold up.

Mounting them was a challenge. I had to come up with a way to align and level the boxes without having direct access to the angle brackets. After mounting them to the stiffeners on the inside of the boxes, I drilled holes in the front box face. You can see them along the vertical outer edge of the box face in the picture above. These holes are directly across from those in the angle bracket sections that mount to the wall. I positioned the box on the wall, then passed a pencil through each hole; passing it through the bracket and marking the drill point on the wall. I then removed the brackets from the valences and mounted them on the wall. The holes will be covered up when the valence is upholstered, but then all I'll need to do is position the boxes on top of the brackets already on the walls, and reattach the boxes to the brackets from below.

And at last, here's a first look at 'Mr. Stinky' - the camp toilet. Not all that much to it - it's a frame constructed from 1/2" treated plywood, a 3 1/2 gallon bucket, and a cheap toilet seat. You can also just make out the black trash bag 'dispenser' on the left side. The basics of operation are that the trash bag goes into the bucket and around the top of the frame, and the seat goes down. As to the other 'basics of operation,' there's no need to elaborate - except that the other 'ingredient' is in the box to the right. In reality, this may not live up to its name. I chose to build a camp toilet over a porta-potty not only due to cost (you're looking at less than $20 in materials compared to a $100 portapotty), it is far more sanitary: No tank dump or maintain - just a bag to toss.

There's just a little more work to be done. I need to add a couple cross-braces in the back, then treat the wood with poly. I'm putting some felt discs on the bottom to protect the floor from scratches, and I'd like to mount a small plastic container behind the seat to store the kitty litter, but we'll see if I get to that point. It will be stowed under the bunk next to the door and the fire extinguisher.

Obviously there's been a few smirks about Mr. Stinky, but I'm sure we will like having him close by when the need arises in the middle of the night and it's a long walk to the bathouse!

It's been just over two months since I had her out of the garage. In getting ready for the upcoming trip I gave her a good washdown and she sure does shine in the sun! Thinking back on all the work to get her ready, I am really happy how things came together, and I'm looking forward to getting her in her element and see how she does!

Work Done on the Bunk

So as of Friday I had all kinds of ideas floating around in my head on how I was going to build out the forward bunk. After Googling 'bunk design' and looking through dozens of pictures of all kinds of bunk beds, I came across one used in a yacht. As I was waiting for a meeting to get started, a flipped over a sheet of paper and sketched out my idea ...

The design called for a single solid board that rose up just above the height of the mattress. At one end of the bunk the edge drops down low, allowing for the occupant to climb in and out. Here I've set the access on the left side. I've sketched a short, two step ladder leading up to the bunk. It's located in front of the A/C. This seemed like the best place to put the ladder. In the center at the bottom, the board has a lower section - the two small boxes next to the ladder are the power receptacles, and the long slot is for a small pull-out table. The idea for the table is that it will stick out just a bit when 'retracted' - creating a small shelf to put drinks or a cell phone, but can be pulled out to serve as a small dining table. This left the entire space below the bunk open for storage.

Saturday it was back to Lowes for materials. I finished the 'lifting strap' and attached it to the futon seat back. It works well, although there is a bit of technique to raising the seat back that requires some muscle. I also installed a couple D-Rings in the floor as anchor points for the A/C. I had purchased a bungee that was rated for the length needed to wrap around the A/C, but despite using every bit of my strength to stretch it around the top of the unit, it was about an inch short. I settled on using an old cam buckle tie down, and as a measure intended to cushion the air conditioner, I fashioned some foam suspension out of two lengths of hardwood dowel shrouded in 1" foam pipe insulation, and positioned these under the A/C. With the tie down snug, there is a little give and spring to help with bumps while traveling. I figure that while it was a portable A/C unit, it probably wasn't designed with this purpose in mind.

While at Lowes I picked up the wood and hardware needed to build out the bunk. I first installed some blocking underneath for the table slide rails. I also cut the table from a 2 x 2 section of 5/8" birch plywood - not unlike what is used in the walls. I put a few coats of poly on it in between other tasks. I finished up Saturday with the rails installed, and the power receptacle moved a few inches to the left.

Sunday morning I started back on the table - I wanted to get the extension part right and confirm the dimensions for the slot in the bunk board. I attached the table rails and slid it in - works beautifully and the shelf extension is perfect. Fully extended, one can sit on the futon and use the table without having to lean forward. 

After cutting the bunk board to the correct width, I installed some blocking on the inside edges at the ends. The blocking allowed the board to sit at the correct height when dry fitted to the bunk frame. This made it easier to clamp it in and set my register marks for the slot, receptacles, and lower edges. Then came the jigsaw work, which was tricky given that mine isn't very precise. But I hedged my cuts a bit and was able to clean up the edges with the power sander. I dry fitted the board again and confirmed my cutouts were aligned properly. The last cut was for the bunk access 'drop down'. The blocking on this end was just screwed in (no glue) to provide temporary support. I removed it, made my cut and then sanded down the edges on both sides. One last dry fit check, then I applied the glue, leveled and clamped in the board, then drilled and screwed it to the frame.

Have a look at the results ...

I installed buttons in the screw holes to clean it up a bit. I'll use a light stain on the bunk board to match the color of the walls, followed by several coats of poly.

You can see the cut out for the receptacles and the slot for the table. I'm going to try to trim a plastic cover down so that it fits cleanly in the cutout. Also the table is shown in the 'shelf' position.

Table fully extended. The rails are rated at 75 pounds - plenty of strength for a couple place settings, a coffee pot or laptop.

Judging by that face I believe we have the coveted 'kid's seal of approval'. Snug as a bug in a rug!

Over next week - staining and finishing the bunk board. Next weekend - building the ladder, installing the TV, possibly fabbing the 'bike cleat', and maybe getting around to building 'Mr. Stinky', the camp toilet. I'll save that task for last!

Functioning Futon!

Whew! Turned another big corner with installing the futon this weekend, Here are a few pictures. There are some odds and ends left to do on it, but as you can see it's ready to use.

 

The linkage works well, however the hope that sliding the seat section would be enough to lift the seat back didn't pan out. The seat is just too heavy to go up unassisted. I had thought of deploying a couple heavy duty springs, but for simplicity's sake I'm going to try connecting a lifting strap to the top edge of the seatback. Think ski tow rope, but much shorter and with two attachment points. This should allow me to pull seat back up while facing the futon.

Here is the futon with a new cover, a couple throw pillows, and a happy little camper! It is very comfortable, and the seat height is just perfect. And look at all that room underneath for storage. I'm betting I'll be able to stow an 'easy-up' canopy under there without issue. I also need to cut and install a couple 'tracks' in the gaps between the walls and the futon frame - to keep it sliding straight. There's about 3/4"of space on either side.

While you can't really see it with the futon in the up position, there is a good-sized gap between the back edge of the futon and the back of the camper. At some point I will add a small cabinet back there - a shelf with sliding doors and a ledge above it. I'm also thinking of wiring up a couple built=in speakers for a radio or maybe a tie-in to the TV. But for now I need to finish up a few more critical tasks, like Nate's bunk and installing the TV. I also need to put together the 'camp toilet' - that ought to be interesting!

Futon Frame Finalized

For the past few weeks I've been narrowing in on my design for the futon frame using Google Sketchup. I know I'm starting to sound like a fanboy for this program, but it's hard not to be impressed with how simple it makes 3D modeling. That's good because I'm no engineer :)

I've wanted to go the direction of sliding the seat section to cause the seat back section to rise, but I needed to figure out the right linkage, and it came down to creating 5 'scenes' in the model, where the seat back would pivot 14 degrees between each scene (for a total of 70 degrees, the ideal angle for a seat back measured from the rear). If the seat section were not to slide backward, then the pivot point on the seat back would have to be a groove with a slight arc to it. But, in having the seat slide, the model shows that the seat back pivot point can indeed be a fixed point. So a carriage bolt could serve to connect the seat back section to the riser arms. Drilling holes is much easier than machining grooves!

Here are the 'up' and 'down' pictures showing the top/front of the frame:

Notice I've updated the model to show the 1 X 6's previously added. As the seat back section is lowered, the seat section slides to the edge of the support rails.

Below are shots from the underside, showing off the linkage:

I've added the 1 X 4 runner stiffeners to both sections, the seat back cross-braces that the riser arms connect to, bolt positions, and the rear connection points for the riser arms. My thought is a 1 inch steel pipe, maybe EMT, that passes through the riser arms on both sides. Construction adhesives and a couple screws should hold each in place. The outboard sections of the pipe would be held to the underside of the support rails with some pipe brackets, and allowed to pivot freely inside the brackets. I'm thinking of first mounting the pipe brackets to a pair of L-brackets, making it easier to attach them to the rails - from the sides instead of from underneath. 

As you can see, having the pivot point underneath provides some tilt to the riser arms. What I don't know is how much force will be needed to push the seat section to get the seat back to rise, but it will definitely need the pivot point to be below the plane of movement to 'kick up' the seat back.

If all goes well this weekend, the next post should have more than just illustrations to show!

Floor Is Done

This weekend was all about finishing the floor. Nothing too fancy. Just a good sanding and cleaning, followed by four coats of polyurethane, with a light sanding of 320 grit paper after coats 3 and 4.The poly really popped the colors and grains out of the wood. I am glad I didn't stain it. It's now a proper floor ...

Fabbing a Futon Frame

Given I needed to take Friday morning off to meet with Nate's teacher, I decided to take a vacation day and put some effort towards the futon frame. I had worked up some plans prior to the trailer being built, as I had to have a general idea of how I wanted it laid out. Here's a picture of what I originally had in mind (designed in Google Sketchup) ...

The original idea called for two sections of equal size, supported by 2 X 4's attached to either side of the trailer. Each side would have two each. Those are the white sections underneath the frame. They were installed by the builder and will bear the load of the futon and its occupants. I also had a plan to include a couple of gas lifts - the black cylinders shown above - but I'm moving away from that idea due to the cost and complexity of trying to figure out how big they need to be, and where to mount them. Instead, I'm thinking of using a set of support bars with pivot points both on what will be the 'seatback' section, and on the 2 X 4 supports. When the 'seat' section is slid back towards the rear on the support rails, the support bars will pivot the seatback upward. I just have to figure out the mechanics of it, and hopefully it will be as simple as I'm imaging it to be.

Originally I had planned on using hardwoods, like red or white oak. These are preferred in furniture making due to their strength, and given the floors are oak I thought it would compliment well. But the cost for the materials is high (about $2.50 a linear foot). I decided that Southern Yellow Pine would be okay. Given the frame is going to be covered by a futon, appearances weren't as important as price. SYP is strong enough to work, and about one fifth the cost.

I picked up some 1 X 4s and started to work. Most of Friday afternoon was spent cutting up the lumber. I planned to use dowels and glue to attach the slats to the runners, but it was probably a good thing that the doweling jig wasn't working out. I picked one up at Harbor Freight for about 10 bucks with the intent on using it for the frame. The reviews said that once you aligned it, it would position the drill bit exactly in the middle. I tried many times to get it to center, but it just ended up setting both holes equally off center. When I dry fit the pieces, the slats had a twist to them. It took an hour or so to make all those holes, so I was pretty disappointed with the result. I figured I'd sleep on in and hopefully come up with another idea in the morning.

Which I did. Saturday morning as I was lying there in bed, I thought that if I attached a couple 1 X 6's underneath, it would provide a 'shelf' to which I could glue and screw the slats to. Not only would that be a stronger connection, it would make for a much stronger overall frame. The runners are transferring all the load to the sides, and if I stuck with 1 X 4s I doubt the structure would have been strong enough.

Here's a shot of the first section clamped and glued. 1 X 4's only, runners and end pieces ...

I continued working Saturday and Sunday (amongst my usual weekend chores, errands and a birthday party), and completed assembly of the two sections. I slid them into the trailer to test their fit. My measurements appeared to be correct - when I lift the 'seatback' section, it has enough clearance to get by the side windows without bumping the window frames. There aren't any hinges on them yet, but you can picture where they will go ...

I sat down in the center on the front section, and noticed a slight spring and give under load, but they appear to be very stout. Each section weighs just under 40 pounds. The futon should help to distribute the weight a little - just need to be careful not to center too much weight in the middle.

Next weekend I'll switch my attention to finishing the floor and adding some molding to the sides.

UPDATE 10/22: I played around with Sketchup some more, and modified the model so that it includes the seatback lift mechanism. The animation is a bit rough, given it works from the first and last position only, so forgive the in-between movements not being well aligned. But it's enough to evaluate the mechanics of it ...

I'm also going to go with some advice from my Dad and add a single, vertical 1 X 4 as a stiffener to each of the sections. As sturdy as it is, there still needs to be a member to help carry the load tangential to the grain. He suggested a placement under the slats, so I may end up with something like this ...

This will work for the seat section, but the seatback may need something a little different. I won't be able to go all the way across, due to needing clearance for the riser arms. I'm thinking a shorter span with a couple short, vertical pieces perpendicular to the span on either end. Kind of like an 'I' shape with the short lengths parallel to the slats just inboard of the ends. These could also serve as joints for the riser arms.

Floor Is In!

Notwithstanding low light and lack of a decent still camera, I am still happy to share with you a few photos of the Compass Rose's new red oak floor (even if it's a bit blurry).

Next up ... sanding, staining and finishing with poly.

Here comes the floor!

So thanks to Nate my day started at about 5:30am, and as I was to find out later in the day, it might have been better for the both of us if the little guy had slept in some more. But as we were up with the crack of dawn, we ran and got some coffee and doughnuts (chocolate milk for Nate), then came back to the house were I jumped right into the task of laying hardwood floors in the teardrop.

As I mentioned in the last post, I decided to go with 'utility' hardwood flooring. It's solid red oak, but with 'utility' grade you get a mixed bag of cuts - everything from broken pieces, cross grain cuts, knots, odd coloring and just about everything you could think of that would cause a board to get kicked out by those quality inspectors. The up side is that it's dirt cheap - about 80 cents a square foot - and for this project I could live with some of the lesser issues. First up was the sorting of the wood.

I built 3 piles - good, okay and, well ... firewood. As the teardrop floorplan would have over half of the flooring covered by either the bunk frame/cabinet or the futon, I'd probably make out okay with the 'okay' wood installed in these areas.

Above is the 'good' pile. I couldn't see much wrong with these. They were mostly short pieces of about 12 inches long, but there were some really nice long pieces in there too.

Here is the 'okay' pile. I found some off color pieces, cross grain cuts, a few small knots and tiny bug holes, and some nice pieces that had rounded cuts at the very ends (figured I could clip off the bad ends).

And last is the firewood pile. Mostly splits and knots and missing tongues/grooves. As expected it was about 20 to 25 percent of the batch. Sorting took some time as I had to sit down and inspect each piece.

Next task was putting in the underlayment. This is a thin foam sheet that's coated on one side with a moisture barrier. The hope is that not only will it smooth out the subfloor, it will also keep any moisture from working its way into the bottom of the hardwoods - unlikely though given the thorough coating of asphalt emulsion on the underside of the subfloor, but better safe than sorry.

As the sun came up, so did the heat and humidity. By the time the underlayment was in - about 9 am in the morning, the temps were already above 80 degrees. With poor air circulation in the garage I was really feeling it, and sweating bullets too.

Now to nail in the hardwood. Given the mishmash of lengths, the picking and mixing of pieces was fairly easy. I ended up only having to trim the final piece of each run, and in most cases the cutoffs were just a few inches. I'm using 1.25" brads in my air nailer. This is probably a little shorter than normal but I didn't want the brads to go all the way through the bottom. And aside from just a few misfires, they appear to be holding well. I'm nailing perpendicular to the top faces along the walls, and at roughly a 45 degree angle back into the tongue edges. It took a couple rows to get a good feel for how high up on the tongue I should fire in the brad - and had to go back and use a nail set on a bunch of them. I found that nailing a little lower on the tongue worked better, as the brad would end up setting with a nice countersink, and I could get a better bite on the subfloor. I don't know if this is the best way but as it's working I'm going with it.

Only thing is it's a slow process. By noon I was feeling the onset of heat exhaustion - mostly due to how out of shape I appear to be! I had only gotten about 10 square feet done. My folks were coming down for a visit, so I decided to take a break, get another shower and wait until the evening to resume. After lunch both Nate and I took a nap for a few hours. That helped. By 5pm I was ready to get back into it.

The evening progress seemed quicker. Temps and humidity were less, but I also set a fan in the doorway to help with the circulation. I was also keeping to a better routine with less wasted movement. At 8:30pm I hit my midway mark on the floor and called it a night ...

The pieces slid in along the walls are to give it the proper spacing for expansion. Walking on it feels solid and level, and I'm no longer hearing the creaking when walking on the subfloor. I think it's going to go in well and so far I'm pleased with the flooring choice.

Tomorrow I hope to finish laying in the other half - we'll see as I really haven't gotten any of the weekend chores done (groan)!

Starting the interior

Had a really busy Saturday, with the morning spent taking care of all kinds of errands, but I did manage to get the ball rolling on the interior. Took a trip to Lumber Liquidators and picked up a little over 80 square feet of utility oak hardwood flooring. That gives me about 30% more than I need, so I'm hoping of that amount I'll be able to sort out some usable pieces - at about 80 cents a square foot. I should be okay.

Above are the four bundles, along with some underlayment. Below is a couple sample boards ...

As with any flooring, you need to let it sit a few days to acclimate to the temperature and humidity of where it's being installed, so I won't get started putting it in until next weekend. With only 60 square feet to cover, using an air nailer, it should go in quickly.

This afternoon I took the air conditioner out and sanded the walls. The builder had put some poly on them, but they were a bit rough. With my power sander and some 320 grit paper I was able to get the sidewalls nice and smooth in about an hour.

A little 'selfie' from inside the trailer. Brought in some tunes to go along with the work! The shelf behind me is the bunk frame for Nate. Later on I'll trim that up with some cabinetry and a couple guard rails to keep him from rolling out of the bunk.

She's finally home ...

Aside from myself and Nate having a wonderful weekend with Sherrie, Brett and the boys, I also went up to Mt. Airy to pick up the trailer. She handles beautifully, and she did turn a few heads. We took a leisurely drive home, but even at 65 MPH on smooth blacktop, you wouldn't know she was back there - even when riding alongside tractor trailers. I also calculated that pulling her only expends about 5 MPG more on my truck than regular driving ... I think that's really good!

The REAL moment of truth was when we arrived home. I had carefully measured the clearance of my garage to be 82 inches. The builder told me that she's 79" from the ground - not much margin. And I seemed to entertain my neighbors with my effort to back her in. But only after a half dozen tries I did get her in on the right side of the garage. SHE FITS!!! I put the caster on the tongue jack and finessed her in the rest of the way by hand. I then cracked open a cold one and just sat back and gave her a good look-over, like any new, proud papa would.

Next weekend I'll start up with the interior. First thing to tackle will be the flooring. Sherrie's neighbor had some extra hardwood, but unfortunately it wasn't the right color. So I'll have to take a trip out to Lumber Liquidators and see what they have there.

Daytime pics ...

As promised, here are a couple photos from today ...

I'm not sure, but it looks like he added an external outlet on the front edge of the passenger side.

That full wrap mill finish aluminum really looks pretty!