Construction

I got back to Tyler near the end of March, and I’ve been working on the trailer ever since.  There’s definite progress, but I feel like it’s going slowly.  A zillion little details, and the logistics of the correct order-of-operations is kind of crazy too.

Got my hands on the 125-gallon fresh water tank, it was nice to take possession of that instead of just having it in the plans.  I also got ’em to knock $80 off the price by showing an online ad by a local competitor.  What I failed to mention is that shipping is about $100, so I would have been better off buying it at full price from them, but they gave it to me anyway.  Thanks Tractor Supply!

Initial framing of the loft.  I’m using 2×6’s mounted to the walls as the primary support structure.

Then I added “french braces” (I think they’re called) to support the 2×4 beams as well.  The little L-shaped pieces sticking out are a continuation of the frame to hold the thermal and sound insulation in next to the wheel well.

Speaking of sound insulation, here the first layer has been installed.  For anyone interested in where I’m getting the soundproofing materials, I’m using soundproofcow.com.

And a shot of the walls underneath.

I got distracted with a side project, and upgraded the Great White Knight’s stereo system.  It needed it, badly.  The unit I put in has Apple Car Play, so I can choose to use that or not.  I also wired it up with the steering wheel control adapter, parking brake override, USB extension cable, remote subwoofer control & RCA cables, and an actual aux cable wired up into the glove compartment.

It looks much better when it’s all installed!

The drivers-side power-seat switch has been intermittently functional since I bought the truck, and it decided to stop going forwards entirely.  So I ripped it apart.

And replaced the switch.  Works perfectly now.

And while I was out on this last trip, the blend door on the truck got stuck in the “cold” position.  That wasn’t too pleasant when I was traveling around in near-freezing conditions.  I was able to temporarily fix it while on the road, and I replaced the part when I got back.  Nice to have fully functional heating and cooling systems!

The shower pan and toilet have come in, but I haven’t had time to mount either yet.  Of course, it’s not just a simple matter of mounting them, I have to figure out where exactly to put them, then custom-build the mounting platform, then I can do the actual work of installing the unit.

This is a shot part-way through putting up one of the ceiling layers in the crypt.  Trying to hold up a 4×8 sheet of plywood (even a light one) while trying to brad-nail it to the ceiling is basically impossible.

So I built a little contraption out of scrap wood shown here.  It’s basically a box, but it’s sized exactly to hold the plywood 1/2″ from the ceiling so I can casually light and nail it up.  (I of course added screws too, the brad-nailer is just so handy!)

It’s these kinds of side-tasks that can take a couple hours by themselves to get something simple done that makes the project take so long.  Or, at least it feels like it’s taking a really long time.  I’m ready to hit the road now!

I also decided to move the shower from the side of the unit to the very front in the v-nose.  This made plumbing it a bit easier, and I have plans to make it virtually disappear and become additional kitchen counter space when it’s not in use.  But there was a definite lack of proper ventilation in that area for a shower, so I cut a hole in the roof…

And added another fan.

I didn’t want to have the electric wires for the fan sticking out, so I’m running them through the ceiling.  Not an easy task when I though I was done poking holes and running wires in the ceiling and had pretty much sealed it all up!

I added the front wall to the crypt and there’s lots of stuff going on in this photo.  On the far left is a cross-section of the side walls of the crypt.  From basically bottom to top: wheel well, thermal insulation, sound insulation, the life-support vent system, the sound insulation next to it, and the triangular “jefferies tube” for routing future electric and plumbing lines.  In the front of the crypt there’s a large rectangular cut-out, that’s where I’ll have some type of door installed and it’s my main entrance and egress point.  Tomorrow I’ll add soundproofing between the frame and then start on the next layer of soundproofing: green glue.

The shop has been looking like a chaotic mess more often than not lately.

Right now the plan is to continue working on the crypt until it gets done.  From there, I’ll move on to the shower, then creating the base for the toilet.  We’ll see what comes after that, it’ll probably take at least another week if not two to get through those items.

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