Tracing the pattern on the birch plywood
One of the sides, all cut out, awaiting sanding to smooth out the edges.
Look, it fits!
1st coat of stain -- Varathane Red Mahogany.
'nother view of stained side. Now comes the varnishing and varnishing and varnishing......
Look, 1st coat of varnish. We're using Epifanes Marine Varnish. A highly rated dutch varnish.
2nd or third coat. First 3 coats are thinned 50:50 for two coats and then 3:1 for the third coat. After that it's straight varnish.
It's starting to shine....
Did I miss a spot?
After 8 coats of varnish.
Check out the reflection!
Preparing to cut the floor -- marine grade plywood.
Oooh, it's beginning to look like a trailer.
Floor -- braces glued and drying.
Bottom of floor. Next step roofing asphalt to coat the bottom.
Testing it all out.
Brace that will be used to keep things square while the ribs are being installed.
Getting ready to glue -- FINALLY!
Sides & ribs glued in place, clamps holding everything together.
Another view.
And yet another view.
Nice shine, huh?
This will be covered with masonite and treated with CPES. Then the aluminum skin will go over that.
Starting the hatch. The pieces that have blue painter's tape are the doublers that the hatch will close up against. They have not been glued in place yet.
Side view of the hatch in progress.
Completed hatch
Test fitting the aluminum. Looking inside trailer.
Aluminum test fit.
Aluminum test fit -- it actually is beginning to look like a real trailer!
Masonite skin is on - we hope! As you can see by all the shims, we had some difficulty getting it flush with the edges of the trailer. Everything is gooped and nailed and will stay like this overnite to dry.
Another view. Once the straps come off, we will use the router to cut the edges of the masonite flush with the trailer. The the edges can be nailed down and the whole thing will get coated with CPES - Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer.
Edges have been trimmed!
Just a little sawdust after using the router to cut the excess off.
The doubler on the inside that the hatch will rest on.
The Bus that will pull the Teardrop.
The horsepower that will be able to tow the trailer.
The hatch being skinned.
About a bazillion clamps courtesy of our neighbor -- thank you, Gary!
Testing out the backup lights. Yup, I think they're bright enough.
The running lights.
The new fenders -- will be painted black.
Old fender vs. new fender
Why I didn't want the old fenders -- the shape is just WRONG!
Old curtains have been lined with this fabric.
See the yellow bus AND the teardrop?!?
Finally! The hatch is skinned -- only took the better part of 5 hours!
And now the rest is skinned.
Making Sure the seam is secure.
Fun, fun, fun.
Is it done yet?
The hinge.
'Nother view of the hinge. The hinge will be cut slightly longer than the width of the trailer. This is done to keep water from running inside when you open the hatch. There will be a little block of wood under the end of the hinge.
The hatch open. Still need struts or prop or something...
See all that space? The inside will be covered but that doesn't have to be finished before it's inspected.
Our chief inspector.
I think it passes his inspection.
The inspector can be bribed with cookies....
View from the back.
Just had to see what it looks like. Unfortunately we need to get a smaller ball for the hitch.
Yup, I think it will be visible.
Across the back before the lights are installed. The plastic is the covering on the aluminum.
Finally got the trim on the seam and the side edges.
Side trim on the bottom
Installing the lights
Latches, lights & license plate frame. Now just the wiring of this and the bus and it is ready for inspection. The new fenders will be installed after it is licensed.
Finally, the correct size ball.
Yup, this one fits!
The front is still waiting for the arrival of a band of diamond plate. It was ordered over 2 weeks ago and has yet to arrive......
Isn't it cute??!?
Braked lights in the daylight -- nice and visible.
better shot of the bake lights...
Checking out the turning radius with the help of Gary, our wonderful neighbor -- without his help this never would be finished.
color matches the bus in the shade....
can barely see it coming up the road
yet another boring shot of the trailer and bus....ok, we were just a LITTLE excited to have finally completed this project.
checking out the turning radius -- i.e. trying to back it up the drive.
Cute, cute, cute.
He put the license plate frame & light off center just to bug the heck out of me. It WILL be centered tomorrow when we get the plate!
Easier just to push it back up the drive. Frame is 3.5'x4' from Harbor Freight. Weight ?? will be weighed tomorrow.
Why do we have to have an UPhill drive?!?
The long awaited diamond plate...
looks like it was run over with a fork lift or something
nope, can't use this.
Definitely not!
nice, huh?
Yup -- that looks about right....now to drill the holes.
Installing the long awaited diamond plate.
Testing to see if everything will fit....
Diamond plate -- at long last! Only thing left to do now is to line the inside and get those pesky fenders mounted -- after this camping trip.
