Dad Rambles
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Post by Dad Rambles on Feb 22, 2017 7:01:20 GMT -8
Short answer. Because I can.
If I'm going to spend the time and money, and time, and time, to build/rebuild a camper. WHY NOT make it comfortable. Most of my camping is in the summer, and it's 105 down here, with a humidity of 80 percent. I'll be honest, sitting in a metal box in that is not fun. Sure the fan helps, but if I can camp more and more often because I have an AC, you bet I will.
And that's just me. Try and convince a wife and 2 kids under the age of 8 to sweat their.... off to "go camping". For me it's about getting them to have fun, and the experience that we have together as a family. Ask anyone I know, I am VERY passionate about my teardrop(ish) camper and the place it has taken us. I think building it is one of the best family activity decisions I have made. Doing it without an AC, in Kansas in July... Why? Just so I can say I did?
Having said all that. I will be the first to comment about those that just "sit in their camper all day".. We (being part of teardrop groups and gatherings) will be the first ones out of the camper in the morning, and the last ones to bed. We enjoy seeing what's going on around us, and talking with those that we meet along the way , and at the campsite. It's a different experience to all of us I guess though, to each his (or her) own...
Just my 2 cents.
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Dad Rambles
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Post by Dad Rambles on Feb 19, 2017 6:16:37 GMT -8
For those of you following this, I made a tutorial yesterday on how I made mine. It turned out as good or better than I had hoped! youtu.be/TSx6hdyZC18<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TSx6hdyZC18" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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Dad Rambles
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Post by Dad Rambles on Feb 13, 2017 4:02:05 GMT -8
The main things I worked on this weekend were: 1. Framing up the cabinet to accept the microwave and the drop in stove. 2. I Finished the flooring under the back bed, so ALL the flooring is now down. WE gave things a good cleanup and got all of the glue off of the floor in the places where I screw up. DSC09282 by gunguy05, on Flickr FB_IMG_1486947323629 by gunguy05, on Flickr DSC09279 by gunguy05, on Flickr Also, the roof is sitting and and I tried to start attaching it... and failed. I think I'm going to need to break out the belt sander to "encourage" things to fit. When I realized this, I decided to quit and we worked on the stuff above. Hoping to get the cabinet worked out this week, and get the countertops figured out so we can order the laminate.
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Dad Rambles
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Post by Dad Rambles on Feb 10, 2017 10:24:14 GMT -8
WHY would anyone want 12 volts in their camper. With the invention of LED lights our lights last a whole month on 2 AA batteries. Don't need 12 volts for water either we take 50 water bottles. Ice chest is good for 3 days, new ice is always available. For the fantastic vent, that alone makes it worth it for us. And the fact that if you don't camp that often, the converter plugged in will keep 1 battery charged rather than having to check batteries in all the lights before we leave. Also, we use the 12V to charge our electronics and such (phones etc), even when not hooked up to shore power.
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Dad Rambles
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Post by Dad Rambles on Feb 10, 2017 6:54:29 GMT -8
Thanks for all the info NC. This is some great stuff to read up on before I paint mine. Although I am going the "cheaper" route, I love seeing what the difference is between the 200 paint job and the $$$ paint job. That shine looks good from GA!
I think if I were replacing most/all of my skin I would venture down this road. For me it just doesn't make sense because I'm using the original skin and patching the not-so-bad stuff. Maybe in the future!
Keep us posted!
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Dad Rambles
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Post by Dad Rambles on Feb 9, 2017 10:02:44 GMT -8
Yep. I like your videos in general, but this one is over the top! Glad to see this. Very well put together Larry.
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Dad Rambles
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Post by Dad Rambles on Feb 1, 2017 11:28:57 GMT -8
I saw this photo and remembered this thread from this morning. Yeah, Facebook.....
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Dad Rambles
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Post by Dad Rambles on Feb 1, 2017 7:23:00 GMT -8
@bearfootonthefarm My only personal experience is on my teardrop, but I CAN say, if you have the in/out air separated, it works very well. We have a 5K in our teardrop, and it gets ice cold (we have to open the top vent to avoid short cycling). BUT, the foam we have separating the in/out air on the back of the unit makes all the difference in the world as far as the efficiency of it. The only "vent" to the outside is what you see at the back, just above the hatch. DSC00812 by gunguy05, on Flickr I don't have any good photos of the foam, but it is divided appropriately so that the air flows in the sides, trough the back of the unit, and out the middle. Here is a photo that shows the unit before i put the back cover on, and the dividers. THe way mobiltec does it (and I'm going to do on my shasta) is a tighter space around the unit. BUT It has a larger vent to the outside world. I made more space around mine because I didn't want to have a huge vent sticking out the back of the trailer. 20150316_115104 by gunguy05, on Flickr This would of course be on a bigger scale for a canned ham, but the idea is the same as long as the air that is coming out of the unit itself is cold (and mine is). I plan on using a 8K btu for the Shasta.
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Dad Rambles
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Post by Dad Rambles on Jan 31, 2017 5:29:03 GMT -8
I have (in hand) a gallon of Majic John Deere Yellow and I believe I'm going to get a gallon of international harvester (either Majic or rust oleum) for the top. I hope that turns out ok. I have seen some that look like a very light off white (desired), but I have seen others that look to be a very light tan.
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Dad Rambles
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Post by Dad Rambles on Jan 23, 2017 5:45:30 GMT -8
I would say, based on my experience, that it REALLY depends on the specific plywood. Most particularly, the core material, and which way the grain is running.
There is a post on here about Columbia Forest product "Radius Bending ply". It is 1/8, and will bend a pretty tight radius, I would say 6" or less. Very "loose" stuff.
The 1/8 ply I used wouldn't do do anything near that, but it does work for my 62 shasta. Conversely, I bent some 3/16 underlayment (while wetting and heating) to a 24" radius on my teardrop and that was about at it's limit. Also some 1/4 oak, to that same curve, and it was near it's limit as well.
End of the day, pay the $$ and use the right wood.. It will be worth it in the end. Believe me, I've gone back and forth on this many times for different projects. I paid 62 bucks a sheet for the stuff I have now, but I couldn't be happier with the results it produces.
Just my 2 cents.
Brian
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Dad Rambles
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Post by Dad Rambles on Jan 19, 2017 7:32:52 GMT -8
My blue option was because we were going to work blue and yellow into everything else (curtains, sheets, etc). I might be making it more difficult to match that way though. We both thought the blue gave things a bit of a "pop", but wondered if others would wonder "what were they thinking"?
Thanks for all the help.
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Dad Rambles
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Post by Dad Rambles on Jan 19, 2017 4:31:10 GMT -8
So me and the wife both have the same opinion about our choice for countertops, but want the opinion of those who have a little more experience with these types of things. Neither one of us are interior decorators... not by a far stretch. Having said that, what fits better, and will look better? What would you choose? Blue or White? IMG_20170117_171009 by gunguy05, on Flickr
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Dad Rambles
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Post by Dad Rambles on Jan 18, 2017 12:30:29 GMT -8
Any opinions out there on whether this process would work to make breaks on skins? Not a expert, but I don't believe this would work on the skin. You're talking about two different types of aluminum, the backsplash metal being much thinner than the skin. Just by gauging my backsplash against my trailer skin, the backsplash is at least half the thickness of the skin. Any experts disagree with me and if so would it be worth all the hard work? Before I found a metal shop that would do the breaks, that is what I had in mind to try (for the siding). I thought about making a track with a roller. THe ideal is that the meal would slide underneath the track, and the roller would slide in a guide on the top. Clamp the guide down, roll across, repeat... Adding a definitive amount of weight to the roller (to keep the brakes or "rolls" even) was what I was going to do. Sort of a carriage with a slot for the meal to slide underneath. Luckily I found a meal shop that would sell me the metal, and do the breaks. I'm still going to do the backsplash idea. They sell 10 ft by 20" rolls of aluminum flashing at my local orange store that I think will work fine.
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Dad Rambles
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Post by Dad Rambles on Jan 18, 2017 11:43:17 GMT -8
I will see if I have one or two. I did a couple areas on mine and they turned out well.
One things I did was scrape the area with pick, or a tip of a blade before I bleached it. I gave it a good "scraping" working from the corner out. It seemed to let me get down in the fibers a bit more and get some of the black out. (both the scraping itself, and the bleach.
Worked better than I expected it would.
Let me see what I can dig up when I get home.
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Dad Rambles
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Post by Dad Rambles on Jan 14, 2017 14:24:26 GMT -8
No point really, just that price vs. value will always be in the eye of the beholder. I agree completely. It's difficult to put these sorts of things in a line of "least value to most value", and have the size/space inside them have any sort of correlation with the price. I had someone yesterday ask me how much I would charge to build a teardrop like the 1st one I built. I told him "well, I've got a little over 6K just in materials, sooooo".. probably at least twice that... His mouth fell open. I said, "yes, I know, it doesn't have a bathroom, you can't stand up in it"... BUT. It's a completely different idea to "camping". Portability, having everything I need behind me, and it weighs under 2K, and it sleeps 2 adults and 2 kids reasonably well. It has COMPLETELY changed the way we, as a family, travel. I have been many, many places in it that would otherwise be really difficult to tent camp in..
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