Construction Updates

Now that I’m finally in a place where it’s warm enough to do construction work, and I have the room, I’ve been working on a few projects.  The loft has been completed, batteries have been caged, solar has been installed, and a lot of tidying up has been done.

I’m very impressed with the cordless power tool set I recently purchased.  I’ve done a lot more work than I thought possible and the batteries still aren’t dead yet.  They’re not the most powerful tools, but they get the job done and last a long time.  I’m quite happy with that purchase.

Let me preface the following construction updates with this: everything I’m doing with the trailer right now is temporary, intended only to last me until I get to Texas and have the opportunity and resources to build it out with everything a proper RV should have, and make it feel like a home.  For now, if it’s functional, it’s good enough.

I’ve added the loft.  The original plan was to build something of a bed frame with storage underneath, then I switched to a raised platform built out of 2×4’s mounted to the walls, and I ended up with a loft.  The reason for the loft was because the raised platform wouldn’t have worked with where the lower window currently is, so I had to go above that.  Doing so, it turned into a loft.  Once I cut out the plywood to fit and added the carpet, it’s actually quite comfortable up there.  There’s something very cozy about a space that is too short to stand up.

The batteries have been caged and wired up.  Next time the trailer moves, they should stay right where they are.  I’ve also installed the solar, which was a minor challenge, but it was fun.  I now have a single 30-watt panel on the roof, and that’s been enough to charge my mostly-depleted Macbook and I’m charging my iPad and JetPack right now while there’s still some sun left.  The solar panel is working really well even though it isn’t even pointed directly at the sun.  I’m quite happy with the solar panel.

The batteries I bought off of craigslist though are another matter entirely.  It turns out they’re basically shot.  Charging my laptop took them from 100% full (14.1 volts) to 35% capacity (12.6 volts), and that’s while the solar panel was adding some juice.  Essentially, they are operating at a very small percentage of their original capacity.  Some new batteries are definitely on the wish list at this point.

The trailer is starting to come together into something livable.  I still need to work on some kind of shower concept, but that’ll happen in the next few days.  It’s feeling much nicer now that there’s more open square footage up front, things are getting put away, and the loft adds a nice touch.

I’ve met a few people, and had some help with heaving things around and some assistance with the solar install.  I’ll work my way into more socializing later, once my “home base” is in good enough shape that I can start using it instead of being in a “build it” mode.

Yesterday while I was working on moving the mattress into the loft, I twisted my left knee.  I was limping yesterday and had to be careful and shift my weight around in odd ways, which added one layer of difficulty to the project.  I’m quite pleased though that today the pain is lessened and I can use my left leg more.  I’m betting that within a couple days I won’t feel it at all.

I still need to fix the gas strut on the port window, and I might get to that today, or I might not.  I’m definitely going to start slowing down on construction and start wandering around and meeting more people.  The seminars start tomorrow, so that’s a semi-structured event where there will be a ton of people gathered.