Tuesday, October 28, 2014

So where are we at now?

It was back in July that I emailed Terri a photo of a beautiful, finished wood teardrop camper in the glory of a misty forest campsite.  I told her, "You have to talk me out if this."

Her negotiation skills could use a lot of work!

The first order of business was to find a trailer.  The used market was very limited, and since we decided to go for a 5x10-ish design, a custom trailer seemed like the only way to go.  Trailerman in Abbotsford is doing the thing, and so far he's been very helpful and easy to deal with.  In Canada, we need VINs for trailers, so that eliminated a lot of the mail order ones commonly used for teardrop builds in the States.  The rest of the new models were too expensive and too heavy for what I hope will be a sub-1000 pound camper.

Lead time from mid September was 14 weeks, or early in the New Year.  We're at 6 now.  I'll use the time to plan the build, research sources for the many parts needed, and wait impatiently.

There's a lot to learn and buy, and I'll be happy to not have to run to the store every time I'm ready to begin a new step.  The forced pre-planning period will be good for the final product.

I've bought a lot of the electrical stuff, some odds and ends, and I've ordered the windows.  I've sourced about 80% of what I need, including some of the stuff that's hard to find in Canada.  The rest has been cost estimated, so we know a little of what we're up against.  I've got a decent design going, based largely on what I've seen and read, but with just a little original flair thrown in for good measure.

I've been keeping track of all expenses (down to the last nut and bolt) in a live spreadsheet.  I think it'll keep me honest, and it's very interesting to see how much money can get drained away in the little parts we don't consider at first.  Grey costs are estimates.  Once the trailer is complete, this will be an interesting record for a future builder, especially in Canada.

For the time being, I'm consciously eschewing some expensive options, such as:
  • Marine plywood substrates
  • CPES (Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer)
  • Proper marine enamel, like Interlux
  • Pre-made doors (though I am ordering windows)
  • Epoxy joints and surfacing
It's a cost thing, largely.  I think that the trailer will be plenty durable enough the way I'm building it, and I'm trying not to overkill it.

Monday, October 27, 2014

The first part of the egg! (wiring the inline 125V breaker)

We're really cooking with gas now.  No trailer yet, no, but lots of little bits and pieces that will soon make something pretty outstandingly cool.

What did I choose to start with?  Why, this fine gizmo, of course:


This thing was a bit of a struggle until I went to my local Tobram electrical shop and got some advice.  It's an inline 10A breaker for the 125V (house current) circuit.  This circuit will be 3 plugs in a line, the first being a GFCI.  The 12V circuit only interacts with the 125V through a battery keeper / trickle charger which will plug into one of the outlets.

Why use a breaker?  Aren't we covered by the breaker from the source and the GFCI?  As I discovered, no:
  1. GFCIs only measure a ground fault, ie: a difference in incoming and outgoing current, not the level of current itself.  It won't trip until the wires are actually smoking and shorting.
  2. The 125V wiring will be 12/2 Romex, which can handle 15A, and I will make sure the extension cord to the plug can deal with the same.  However, we could potentially be plugged into a circuit that is capable of a lot more ... a good example would be at an RV park, which commonly hands out 30A or 50A service.  So we need a breaker that can protect our circuitry.
All the big-box stores wanted to sell me a full household breaker panel.  Too big, too bulky, too expensive.  I knew this type of inline breaker must exist.  It just took a face-to-face with a knowledgeable electric store clerk to find it.  She only had 10A ones, but that'll be plenty for what we're plugging in.  If it's not, it's easy to swap for 15A.  The whole arrangement was less than $25 and fits in a standard 1-gang box.  Slick!

Here's the thing all closed up and neat looking.  It'll be screwed to the wall in the electrical raceway:

Monday, October 20, 2014

Looking back, this will be the time when I didn't know any better

I like being outside, doing unnecessarily expensive and time-consuming things, working with my hands, and being frustrated.  Ooh, and spending time with my family.  That's the top thing.

I don't own a truck and I don't really want one.  My garage is normal inside, but uncommonly short at the door.  If you think that's some kind of metaphor for something, you might be disappointed by the lack of dirty content moving forward.  

"Wow," you're thinking.  "This guy should build one of those teardrop trailer things that you can tow behind a car."

Great idea!

So what's the point of this exercise?
  1. To get out camping as quickly as possible
  2. To camp in the most economical way
  3. To do such a great job that I'll open a shop and do this all the time
Dang, hang on.
  1. To have fun building it
  2. To show it off
  3. To go camping often with my family, hopefully with less hassle than now
Also, to keep a cap on the money side of things, because it is very easy to get carried away.  Please mention in the comments if you see me doing this.  It's hard to see in yourself.

How does adding an extra large vehicle-type thing produce less hassle, you might ask?  Well, maybe it won't.  But my hope is that with all the camping stuff stored in one large go-bag with wheels, it'll make getting ready to head out much faster.  Originally, I was wishing I had just a box to tow behind the car with all the camping gear in it so we wouldn't have to spend so long getting ready.  Then I thought, "Damn, we should just sleep in there!"  Then I looked that idea up on Google images, and an obsession slowly started seeping into my poorly-sealed brain.

Right now, the young person/couple with no kids is thinking, "What a glut.  I don't need so much stuff when I go camping.  I just grab my light fashionable bag and breezily leave the house."  To that family unit I say, go find something much more hip to read.  This blog is about how to easily cart around a whole bunch of things you don't need, including the kitchen sink.  Judge silently and from afar.

To be fair, let's look at the rest of the family's perspective's on project scope and ambition:

Terri:
  1. To go camping.  A teardrop trailer sounds awesome, really.  It does.  But the main point is to go camping.
Finlay:
  1. Are you making a campin' trailer?  For really?  Does it have a wheel?  Does it have a sink?  Can I be in it?  I can!  Daddy, I have a bite of cereal.  I can do a calculating for you.  Here ...
Okee dokee.  Let's try to make sure we're meeting everyone's goals through the long haul here.  Stay focused everyone, keep your chin up and be safe out there.  Hey!  Put on some pants.  You too, Fin.