Hot Day!

The temperature outside the teardrop on the patio was 102 degrees (in the shade) and the temperature inside the teardrop was 97 degrees.  I really don't like hot weather; especially when I want to work outside.  I cannot imagine how the guys who work on the roof or on the roads do it.  I took lots of breaks, drank lots of cold water, and moved my zero gravity chair into the garage to cool down.

Not a lot of photos to document my work today.  

I made the hardware for the window curtain rods and painted them glossy black.

I carved the foam pieces for the bulkhead.  Covered them in foam and then installed them.  Turns out the glue (PL 300) did not work well on the insulation (1/2") that I used on the bulkhead.  I didn't think that very thin plastic layer on top of the insulation would be a problem, but the glue only 'stuck' to it, not the actual insulation.  So, I needed to pull out four of the strips of cedar and re-glue them.  I ended up using Gorilla Glue.  I also used a little bit of it on the foam covered pieces along the wall of the bulkhead.

Used the marine grade contact cement and clamps to glue the foam door panels to the door.  They turned out fantastically!

Very carefully created a pattern for the cut out for the mattress.

Traced the pattern onto the foam mattress.  Used a $14 electric knife to cut the two small wheel well sections out; ended up with two really nice pieces of foam that I may turn into a back rest or possibly a couple of pillows for the teardrop.  Couldn't believe how easily I could cut the foam.  Two minutes and it was done.  The mattress pads fit right over the cut outs; we may not even need to customize the covers. 

Not quite as productive a day as I would have liked, but all in all it was successful.  Tomorrow is the day to start working on polishing the body.  Not sure what new experiences that will bring for me!

First Night in the Teardrop

I took a half day yesterday; that got me home in time for a much needed nap and some time to work on the teardrop.  I successfully fixed the trailer wiring.  I'm not sure exactly what I did, but it was the front two marker lights that gave me the trouble.  I re-did the wiring and everything worked!

Because I had success with the wiring, I went ahead and put another coat of polyurethane on everything.  The countertop and all the surfaces are looking great and are super protected from moisture at this point!

One of the problems I've had is that my battery would never fully charge.  It turns out that my problem was the battery charger.  I tested it on the battery in my car, which I knew was fully charged.  I was able to salvage the inline fuse and battery clamps from the old charger and was able to use those as my main connectors from my electrical system to my battery.  

The business end of my GFCI power cord.

I spent a little more time working on the electric.  I cleaned up the wires and anchored them.  I thought I would start on the AC portion of the wiring.  I cut the ends off the GFCI extension cord and wired it up to the Marinco power inlet.  That went pretty well, but unfortunately, I can't get the GCFI portion of the system to 'reset' so that I can run power through it.  I need to do a little research to figure out what I'm doing wrong.

I decided that I would try spending the night in the teardrop.  The forecast was for a clear and cool evening.  We put the mattress in the teardrop; it still needs to be trimmed in order to fit into the area where our feet go, but for one person, it was fine.  I cranked up the Fantastic Vent, tossed in my sleeping bag and got comfortable.  After reading a few chapters of my book, I turned off the lights and drifted off to sleep.

Very comfortable.

My son came out to say goodnight to me.  I was in deep sleep when he opened the teardrop door.  He scared the daylights out of me.  I went into full freak out mode when the door to my teardrop popped open!  I think I scared him as much as he scared me!  Needless to say, I learned how the inside door locks worked after that.  Jack has some serious payback coming up!

Usually, this time of the year, I am awoken by the birds outside my window at about 3:40 in the morning.  I slept right through the birds this morning.  The fan canceled out any birds or any other noise in my backyard.  It was a pretty good night of sleep.

Rain Test

The battery meter I had ordered was defective.  I ordered a new one and it arrived today.  So, I decided that I would test it out.  It worked perfectly, so I decided to go ahead and install it.

Just as I started screwing it into its place, the sky unleashed with a torrential downpour.  Once again I was reminded of the genius of the teardrop design; I was completely dry as the rain fell hard all around me.  

As the rain continued to fall, it seemed to come sideways for a few minutes.  Rain splashed the countertop  and the doors.  Luckily for me, the polyurethane did its job!  Minutes before the rain had come, I had lightly sanded the surface.  I'll add another coat or two to all of the surfaces this weekend.  It's nice to see something working the way it is supposed to!

One thing I am unsure of is the health of my battery.  I have only had it for about a year.  I purchased it last spring to use on our canoe with a trolling motor.  I kept it on a battery tender over the winter.  I noticed that the red light stayed on continually a lot during the winter.  Turns out, it might not be okay.  As the image shows, the maximum voltage I can get on it is 11.8 volts.  I'm not sure what to do about it.  I've posted a question on the TTNT website and look forward to the insight of those on the board.

The gasket over the hinge is working perfectly.  I had adjusted the end pieces so that the water would run off the edge.  So far, no problems with the gasket at all.

We have a little moisture coming in through the carriage bolts near the lock.  I am going to use rubber washers to hopefully keep the water out.

I want to use rubber washers on the bolts for the tail lights too.  Additionally, I'll caulk around the top of the lights to keep the water from penetrating under the plastic and entering the hatch.

It's a little hard to tell from this image, but I kept the vent slightly ajar today.  It was another hot day.  The temperature inside rose to over 100 degrees again; outside it was 90+ degrees.  I think the real test will be when I'm able to keep the window screens open too.  

Another item arrived in the mail today; the teardrop's mattress.  We ended up finding a nearly perfect mattress at Wal Mart.  We weren't too sure about it, but after opening the box and letting it expand, we are positive that this will be phenomenal!  It's exactly the right width: 58".  We'll need to trim the feet portion of it to fit the teardrop's bed area, but that should be fairly simple with an electric knife.  The whole family gave it a once over and we really like it.  I'm a side sleeper so I knew that I would need something that would support me; this mattress is perfect.  Throw in a couple of body pillows and we are in sleep heaven!

Tomorrow I'm taking a half day.  I can't wait to get home and get to work.  My first job will be to re-test the trailer wiring.  I'm planning to solder all the connections and test each and every one of them.  My main goal for the weekend is to get the insulation installed and possibly the headliner in place.  It's ambitious, but I'm optimistic.

I found out today that I'm going to have surgery on my left wrist early this summer.  I had the same surgery on my right hand a couple of years ago for carpal tunnel.  Ideally I would like to have the teardrop 'done' enough to camp in it by the time I have that surgery.  I'll have my work cut out for me for sure!

Just Chillin'

Spent a little time this evening just hanging out inside the teardrop.  My son joined me and we both gave it the stretch test.  We both agreed that having the mattress in there will be much cozier; both of us are side sleepers.  The windows and vent hatch provided quite a lot of light even though the sun was down.  Big plans Friday to get the hinge and hatch re-installed, the vent sealed, and the doors completely water tight.  Then the teardrop goes out on the concrete patio in our back yard.  It's inhabited the garage long enough!

Don't have our own mattress just yet, so tonight I'll look at one of my favorite pictures of a teardrop; this is from Vacations in a Can.  Their simple, but elegant designs got me started on this incredible adventure.