Many of the upgrades and updates I did on the truck camper were actually performed before my last trip. Because of that, I was basically climbing the walls with boredom waiting for my next trip since I didn’t have the budget to continue buying tools and supplies for the trailer build. So, I disregarded the budget (for now), and I’ve continued with the trailer build!
One thing I really wanted to do was to finish off the remaining details on the ceiling. I wanted the ceiling to be “done”, or at least reasonably close to it so I didn’t have panel edges hanging around anymore. To accomplish this was a two-part project, the first part being the structural support and then later, the custom trim. It took a while to figure out this two-part structure, and so far (midway-through), I’m happy with the results.
The structural component is a 1×2 that’s been screwed into the trailer frame and is very solid. If it were large enough for me to actually hang on to, I’d bet each one of these could support my weight.
Next up is going to be some custom trim work which will be stained and poly’d which will be attached onto these 1×2’s to make it really pretty. Or, at least that’s what I’m aiming for.
To create custom trim work and to create the framing needed for the holding tanks, and for a bunch of other projects that are coming up on the trailer, I needed a table saw. There was just no getting around it. So, I spend a lot of time researching, reading reviews, and settled in on the DeWALT DWE7491RS. Certainly more expensive than some other table saws, but also has a lot of safety features and will likely last me a very long time.
The saw’s stand required a little assembly, like most things do, and the instructions were terrible. I was really surprised that in this day and age, they could write something so bad. The saw itself has enough tools and features that it could use a “getting started” guide as well, and that was pretty much equally as bad. YouTube really is one’s best friend these days.
After I got it all set up, and read the entire manual, plus a brush-up on safety procedures and basic operation from YouTube, I was able to make some test cuts and see what it could really do. Thus far, I’m impressed. The saw is amazingly accurate and easy to use, once one gets over the initial learning curve. Within a few minutes of practicing, I was able to create a test trim piece out of some scrap. Tomorrow I’ll continue testing on scrap pieces before I move on to cutting the real stuff. In the shot above we can see the saw sitting at a 30° angle and I have the plastic guards in the “up” position to remove the cut pieces of wood.
It feels fantastic to be able to continue working on the trailer. As it turns out, I’m absolutely terrible at waiting for more than a day or two with nothing to do. I’ll spend the next four weeks getting the ceiling trim in, creating mounts for the holding tanks, running the vents and drains for the tanks, and possibly even moving on to more projects from there. In late December when I hit the road, all construction work will be put on hold and instead I’ll be back to exploring the world and meeting new people at RTR. That’s the plan for now.