Itchin' for a Road Trip

I'm so ready for our first road trip.  The holiday weekend coming up is the unofficial kick off of summer and I would love to camp one night somewhere.  Most of the sites near by are reserved already. I decided to try my hand at painting the Carpe Diem.  I think it turned out pretty darn good. We might even just camp in the Burleson Recreation Area.  The showers are always hot there for sure!

Nearly Watertight

I spent the entire day yesterday working on the tiny parts that make up the door frame inside the cabin.  These tiny parts had to be cut, sanded, pre-drilled, primed, painted, dried and then finally installed.  This, along with a multitude of trips to the hardware store for the proper stainless steel bolts, washers and nuts took up the greater part of my day.  I decided to spray paint all of the wooden pieces to seal them from moisture.  I also painted the interior surface of the door; I chose a soft gray, which looks an awful lot like the original aluminum color. 

Erica took some photos of me installing the interior door frame trim; fun to see me inside the teardrop!

 While I had all of the bolts out, I used CLR, Brillo Pads, soap, and elbow grease to remove the rust from the hardware that had been in place for 60+ years.  My goal was not to polish, but to simply remove the rust.  However, in doing so, there were a few patches that shone so brightly that it made me smile to think about how shiny this thing will be when I finish with all the interior restorations and can properly clean and polish the exterior!

I learned how to use my rivet tool.  I was able to re-install the window hatch. The earlier owner decided to cut the hatch on the passenger side to make more room for a hinge.  I installed new hinges and was able to cover the old holes using my rivet tool.  Not perfect, but functional and pretty nice.

Both doors were painted in preparation for the screen windows.  I love how the grey looks!  I applied the seal to the door frame.  I'll need to play with the fixture that opens the hatch.  It's a pretty simple, but ingenious design.  It is nothing more than a metal rod that is used to 'push' open the hatch.  When not open, it folds back onto the frame and 'locks' the hatch.  For now I'll re-install the fixture and live with it a while before designing anything different.

Once I finish both doors, I plan on spray painting the interior of the cabin, installing bulkhead doors and flooring in the storage area, and then re-installing the tail light wiring semi-permanently.  That will basically complete the interior until I am ready to begin installing the 12v/120v electrical system and start thinking about how to insulate the cabin.

The next big project will be removing and then installing a new hatch hinge.  I've decided to take George's, from The Teardrop Fix It Shop, advice and replace the hinge.  We'll use a block of wood to 'hold' the hinge in place and to give the hatch some heft.  This should be a permanent solution.  Then I can dismantle the galley and begin renovating it.   It will be fun to start planning the design in the meantime.

Today is Easter.  I have things I have to finish to be ready for the end of the semester at NLU and to prepare to go back to school tomorrow.  I don't know if I'll be able to do any work on the teardrop today.