Interior Construction

The paneling has been completed and the interior construction has begun! Give us a few more days and we might actually be able to sleep in the trailer instead of in the increasingly cramped makeshift bedroom in the back of my pick-up.

We had to get creative to make sure the warpy paneling actually stuck to the frame with the liquid nails we used to apply it - as you can see, we spun a web of craaaazy-ness! (yes, I'm giddy...deal with it!)



With the windows cut out, the paneling up and the beginnings of a frame for the benches/bed, the trailer is beginning to take on an actual form, and look less like an exercise in L-bracket installation.

For the record, if I have to buy one more package of L-brackets, I may blow up in the middle of Lowes:

"Clean-up in the hardware isle."

Alternatively, I may lose my mind all together and start dressing dogs in funny clothing, completely humiliating them and making me laugh maniacally; a non-sequitor, yes, but I had to figure out a way to include this picture in this post:



p.s. - it should also be noted that "non-sequitor" isn't in my computer's spell check. I find that shameful.

We are approaching our deadline, however now that the trailer is closed in things certainly appear to be moving along quicker than they were. We are still frequently victims of the weather, however, and I have blown dry the walls with my trusty hair-dryer more often than I care to admit. The tarp is now permanently erected as a makeshift tent, giving the trailer a decidedly blue glow but keeping the majority of it dry...mostly.



Monsoon conditions aside, the water tank is now in as well, and we are working to get the other appliances to follow - aside from some trouble with the fridge, everything works and the originals will be going back in. Here is the water tank and the bed frame above it coming together:



We have even taken to sitting in the trailer in our make-shift sitting room (below), although given the fact that the weather has decided to stay unseasonably cold, I don't sit out there as often as I'd like.



Next on the list is complete framing the interior and stain the walls - will certainly post again as soon as I can, possibly with more silly animal pictures...

I have walls....kinda....!

With deconstruction completed, the partner in crime and I began our ambitious re-construction phase last week. We basically (as I'm sure you saw) started over from scratch. For those of you who may be reading this as a result of an interest in classic trailers, the following list contains the materials used in our reconstruction:

12 2x2's (floor)
3 sheets 1/2' plywood (floor)
3 sheets 1 1/2' foam board insulation (floor)
40+ 1x2's (aka furring strips - frame)
1 sheet 1' plywood (shaped frame)
2 4x4 (ceiling corner supports - shaped with skill saw!)
6 2x4 (ceiling trusses - tapered at ends to 3/4' as was done in the original construction)

Additionally, we used an obscene number of L brackets, a few T brackets, approximately 24 bolts (to bolt the new floor to the old trailer), and a few framing ties when necessary.

The process was basically to build the frame for the floor based upon the measurements taken from the original construction. This was done with the 2x2's. Once completed, the floor was squared up and the three sheets of plywood were screwed into the 2x2 frame. Keep in mind we're working outside, not on flat surfaces, so squaring up the floor was more of a challenge that it would have been in a garage or other indoor workplace. Suffice it to say, we got quite creative.

Once the plywood was screwed into place, we flipped the floor over and cut our 1 1/2' foam insulation to size, fitting it into the spaces created by the frame. A blank square (which you can see in the photo below) was left so as to make room for the holding tank for the toilet.



Once this task was completed, we then removed the aluminum under-skin that sits under the floor (the only piece of original aluminum left in this trailer) and flipped it over, placing it atop the newly insulated floor. This was done by lining up the edges of the cut outs in the aluminum with the appropriate section of the frame. Once done we screwed it in, careful to avoid the places where the steel frame of the trailer sat, or where bolts were to be located, and then hauled it over and set it on the frame, the end result looks like this:



The floor of the trailer was by far the most frustrating part of this project (so far) because so much work was required and there was barely anything to show for it. However, this was soon forgotten when, once bolted in, we moved on from the floor and began framing the walls. Again, we did our best to square everything up and make sure all was level (difficult due to our being out of doors) and managed to keep a consistent width and height throughout. However, the driver's side is exactly 3 inches longer than the passenger's side.

I have no idea how this happened, but if it means I get a bigger bathroom (even by 3 inches!) then I don't care.

The framing was fairly straightforward, the only exception being the shaped pieces that created the corners of the trailer. We created a template and as a result the angles of the back and front are the same, whereas in the old construction, we're pretty sure the back was more acute, resulting in less length. As a result, my trailer is approximately 5 inches longer than before...which means more counter space! Yee-ha!

You can see the construction progress below:


The beginning of the work!


Note the shaped edges.


Trusses up and me working hard...kind of.

Also, note the beautiful grain in the 4x4 below. This is the main corner support and as a result of it's loveliness, rather than cover it with molding, I'm going to stain it in order to bring out the grains (p.s., this is over the kitchen):



And last, but certainly not least, because the frame was finally completed this weekend we began the task of paneling the interior! I was lucky to find 3/8' birch plywood at the local Lowe's for a pittance, and we have completed the front wall. For the time being we are adhering it only with Liquid Nails, seeing as almost every piece of paneling will be nailed to the frame as a result of cabinetry and interior walls. I haven't decided on a stain yet, so we're putting the wood up "naked". I plan to stain it in one fell swoop when it's all up.



Stay tuned for more pics - next on our list is wiring, gas lines, and plumbing, and after that will be interior framing (closet, bathroom wall), staining, cabinetry building...actually if I list any more I'll get tired.