Hatch Frame Complete, the Teardrop Gets Closer

I just completed the hatch frame after a few weeks of random and sparse construction. I'm just trying to figure out how big of a spoiler to bolt onto the thing. I'm kidding, of course. I'll post some build progress photos below.

All frame parts in place on the hatch 

The tail-light mounts are in place 

One angle of the completed hatch frame 

Second angle of the completed hatch frame

I still need to do some fine tuning and trimming so everything lines up nicely, but it's very close to skinning the outside. I'm toying with the idea of skinning the inside with some type of fabric for weight savings. I'll have to brainstorm.

I also finished the polyurethane on the galley drawer faces and doors. Three coats on all parts should suit this application well.

-g

Building a Teardrop Hatch

This part can be a little hairy. I remember it so from the first build. The galley hatch construction is more art than science, despite how much you measure everything. You get a bunch of weird curves and end-angles on the hatch ribs that you sort of shrug at and say, "I'll fix it later".

That said, there are the hatch ribs cut and ready. Despite using the first rib as a template, they all come out a little bit different due to using a jigsaw to cut those arcs. Jigsaws wander a bit. Below, I clamped them all together and took a belt sander to the arcs to smooth out some of the differences.

I made a Home Depot trip today to pick up some poplar 1" x 2" spars to frame out the hatch. I also grabbed a miter box, which you'll see below, since my miter saw is currently elsewhere. I cut the spars for the top and bottom of the hatch assembly (56 1/2" wide) with the miter box and assembled the outer frame of the hatch.

Don't forget to countersink for the screws on the sides, otherwise you'll get some splitting of the plywood. I'm going to let this set and dry overnight and continue shortly with the rest of the ribs. I've just ordered a set of tail lights that will be placed on the hatch once it's completed here. I mention this because this impacts the placement of the hatch ribs closest to the outside left and right ribs. I'm building for about an eight inch mounting location of the tail light.

There were some other sundry activities as well. I added another coat of polyurethane to the drawer faces and the galley doors. Those are almost done. I have this cryptic map of their progress with fractional values.

I also bored out more holes for wiring. Below, we have the egress hole for the raceway wiring which must somehow get down underneath the teardrop floor and move toward the front. The next photo is a hole in the floor which allows this action to happen. Obviously there will be a sealing opportunity here to keep the road out of the cabin.

I apologize for the second non-focused photo, cell cameras do whatever they want. I'll run some form of conduit through the cabin near the end of this journey.

I'm really excited about the progress very recently. Much more to come soon, I hope.

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It's Rib Night

Here at teardrop headquarters, Wednesday night is Rib Night. You can only have one though, because that's all I cut last night. I'm referring to the "ribs" for the teardrop galley hatch, not delicious fall-off-the-bone pork ribs.

That's the first rib cut and sanded a bit. This will server as the template for the other five, so it had to be pretty decent. It's a chore to churn through 3/4" birch plywood with the jigsaw, and the other five will take a good bit more than a few minutes.The six-pack of ribs will probably be done this weekend sometime.

I finished sanding most of the putty as well, except for the additional spots I added Wednesday night on that front seam you can see above.

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Still Sanding, After all this Time

Is that a song reference? I kinda felt like it is, but who knows with this brain of mine. I've puttied just about everything, with a few spots left for a re-touch. So then I've moved to sanding the hull of this teardrop camper.

I'm working towards a smooth surface for the eventual paint coat later on. I grew tired of the finishing sanding and started the very first steps toward the rear hatch build.

That's the cutout piece from long ago that serves as the outline for the structural ribs of the hatch. I jigsawed a few inches into the 3/4" birch plywood before deciding that I should be done for the night at 9:30 PM. I want to ensure that this first rib is well-made, as it will be the  model for the other ribs.

I'll save this for another night soon.

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Wood Filler on the Exterior

I began applying some wood filler on the sunken screw holes and various seams. I had a little bit of time after starting the charcoal grill and waiting for full ignition. It gets uglier before it gets better, you could say here.

I'll sand all of this afterwards and apply (more) EPS over the entire outside before the eventual paint cover. The front vertical section already has a coat of EPS to begin with, so the focus will be everything after that.

Applying wood putty isn't so bad, it's like working extravagantly with oil paints on a canvas a little bit. Get some music going for the full effect.

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Cabin Cabinet Doors Installed

I had a few hours to spare, so I installed the cabinet doors. Little bits here and there help move this along. Here's a photo:

Sometimes you have to tackle the easy stuff that fits into the smaller windows.

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The Teardrop Has a Roof

Is "roof" the proper term for such a thing? Nevermind, I can think about that later. The news here is that finally another big structural component finally got done. Here's the final shot:

The entire outer skin is now in place with the installation of the section that runs to the top of the galley. The rest will be the huge hatch door. I've got some stuff to clean up along that galley edge, a little trimming here and some putty there.

Below is the section receiving a coat of penetrating epoxy sealer on the inside. Following that are a few more angles of the section in place.

I had to throw in the last photo of the wiring work just for fun. In the background I had one of the interior cabinet doors on the workbench to install the handles. Below is both of those.

I think I'll move on to cleaning up the roof/outer skin. Putty for the screws and gaps and getting the top of the galley buttoned up. That'll line me up for building the rear hatch door, which is kind of a big deal.

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In rare moments of free time, I can get things done. Motivated by the new battery and the positive wiring tests, I ran the fan wiring and buttoned it all down in preparation for the last of the roof install.

That's the complete wiring for the four cabin lights and the fan (to be installed later). I have a shitty, loud fan/vent from previous projects, but I have to go for something better here. Below, you'll see the fan wiring hanging out and then the all the lights and fan wiring running out of the conduit to the wiring raceway.

Maybe, just maybe... I'll get this last piece of the roof installed this weekend. I'll have to dust off my precision circular saw skills once again, it's been a while.

[g]

September Teardrop Update - Wiring

It's been a while! I haven't ignored the blog, I really haven't had much time to work on the Teardrop with all the Summer activities going on, not to mention a busy August at work. I did manage to wire the interior cabin lights and drop the wiring down the conduit to the electrical raceway. Here's a view of the top:

I've had a bit of a hold up anyway, as I wasn't able to test these connections due to lack of a (good) 12v battery. Once tested, I can install the remainder of the roof. I think I even have the suitable plywood. Oh but what do we have here...

Yes, I just picked up a marine battery to power all your teardrop camper needs. I just tested the wiring, and all four lights fire up perfectly. There is one other thing before I close up the roof: I need to run the wiring for the ceiling fan. I should be able to get that done this weekend.

With Fall creeping up, maybe I'll have to time to get crackin' on this.

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What's this? A teardrop update!

What year is this? It's the new year, 2016, and well into it. I haven't had any regular updates, but there has been some work done on Teardrop II. There's also been a lot of not-work days. It's been a busy Winter of all things, mostly work related. Anyway, I'll take us back to November 4th, where I ratcheted the front curve of outer plywood down a bit more in the photos below.

I have since screwed it down flush and cut the 14" x 14" square hole for the vent fan. It'll fit a standard RV 12v fan that I'll order some day soon. Below you can see the progress.

I've also set upon the galley drawer faces, which I'd cut fresh from 3/4" Birch plywood I still had in stock. Below are photos of those, the dimensions are as spec in the Generic Benroy plans.

Ah, cozy days in the garage with the heater burning in the background. Speaking of some of the more homelike touches, I also began to finish the rough cut cabin doors by sanding and laying some polyurethane coats down.

Let's extend that treatment to the galley doors. In the next photo is the drying rack for all of these items above, the galley drawer faces and doors and the cabin doors. The drying rack is really just some junk spanning some other random juts and objects in the garage.

One of the other various Home Depot trips netted another piece of conduit that could fit the ceiling to electrical raceway. Remember this (more myself than you), it's 3/4" PVC. Here's the evidence below.

Finally, I have to leave you with photos of the honorary shop cat and a view from my camp chair in the garage.

Here's to more building soon, cheers!

[g]