Hatch Solution and Detail Work

My hatch has not properly closed since I bought the teardrop.  It seems to have been slightly bent out of shape and it always made it very difficult to fully close.  This was a problem on the road because moisture made its way into the galley.  Today I finally fixed that.  On one of the forums I had recently posted on, it was suggested that I try 'compression latches' to get the hatch to close properly.  It was just the ticket.  I picked up a couple of the latches and carefully drilled and bolted them into place.  The result was a smoothly closed hatch.

As an added benefit, the aluminum at the corners had been kind of mangled in the past, the latches cover the yucky metal.  I think it looks pretty good!

I think the latches blend in quite well with the details along the bottom.

 I finally added some labels to help me remember which way is on/off for the outdoor LED porch lights.

You can also see the small black strip of velcro that now holds the sliding shelf in place while on the road.  It kept sliding out when we were traveling.

I also added some labels to the interior door locks.  I could never remember when they were locked or not.  The latches open whether they are locked or not from the inside, but it is inaccessible from the outside.  This will add a little more security inside the teardrop.






Those are all the details I was able to complete this weekend.  I will be installing a hitch on my other vehicle, my Honda Civic.  I'll also be adding a charging circuit so that while we tow, I'll be able to trickle charge the teardrop's battery.  I've learned a lot about electrical work while working on this teardrop.  Doing the wiring for the tow vehicle will be yet another learning experience.

Pulling Lots of Things Together

Happy Mother's Day!

After church today we all went out for brunch.  I was able to steal away a little early and while I was waiting on everyone to get home, I was able to get all the old caulk, dirt and goo off of the hatch.  In doing so, I was able to see the potential for how awesome the teardrop will look when I get to polish it.  I used an SOS pad to get the goo and rust off of the skin and hosed it down and let the sun dry it; every time I do work like this, it makes me look forward to the polishing.

One of things that makes me really happy is that I was able to find tail lights that are almost identical to the original shape and size.  The down side to this was that the previous owners had put other tail lights on it and drilled lots of extra holes for that and for the license plate.  I decided that once it was all clean, I would cover the inside of the hatch in the headliner material.  I'll caulk the remaining holes to keep water from entering through the holes.  I really like how the hatch looks with the carpet like material on it.

One big task I accomplished today was putting the hinge on.  It was quite difficult.  The problem was getting the wood strip to be anchored; this was tough because it was a 'blind spot.' I couldn't clamp it because it had to be underneath and it prevented me from using any kind of clamp, etc.  Jack and I went to see Ironman 3 and decided to try to finish this when we got back.

We ended up drilling through from the other side and putting two temporary screws in place to hold it.  Then, we added the butyl tape and went to town.  Jack was a big help putting the hinge on the hatch. I think it looks really nice with the headliner on.  I was not able to figure out the mechanism that latches the hatch; I was trying to use screws and I just realized that it actually needs a bolt.  I just remembered that is what I took off of the latch.  Again, it's one of those strange things that you can't see it when it's doing it's job.  I'll have to fiddle with it later when I have more time.

I realized, sadly a bit too late, that the counter top was about 1/4" too wide.  It caused the struts which hold the hatch open to not be able to close all the way.  Thankfully, I can get away with using 1/2" plywood to make a finishing strip.  That will give the counter top a finished look.  Also, you can see in the image above that the wood strips will need to be painted orange as well to give it a really nice finished look.

The next big job was adding the butyl tape to the Fantastic Fan.  I installed the tape and cut roof spars to screw into and also to give some rigidity to the roof.  When I was moving the fan in and out in preparation for installation, I flexed the roof too much and the foam piece that was holding the dome light popped off.  I am glad it happened now and not when I had the headliner in place.  This reinforced the need for the roof spars, both to 'screw' into and for support.  Unfortunately, I broke one of the screw heads off in the process and found one that would not penetrate.  I'll need to check on that hole (right in the center) so that it does not leak.

I am still going to caulk the edges of the fan, but I'm hoping the butyl tape will do its job.

You can see in this image that I was able to 'brace' the ceiling with the vertical and horizontal spars.

There is no movement at all on the roof now.  I'll have to re-glue the foam for the dome light.  I may use the Gorilla Glue to hold the roof spars in place too.  You can see that I drilled holes to allow the wires to pass through the ceiling beams.

There are two things I need to do to make it safe for being outside.  

1. Add the weather stripping to the doors.  

2.  Install the rubber/aluminum over the hinge. 

After that, it should be safe to be outside; I'll probably keep a tarp over it until I can really caulk all the roof and hatch joints properly.  Getting it outside will be great, but I worry about pulling out to the back porch without a tow dolly.  Maybe I could rent one from Lee's Rent It?  Or, I might need to purchase one if it works well.  They are pretty cheap at Harbor Freight. 

Hinge Trouble

I started to tinker around with my new hinge tonight, only to find out I've got a problem.

Take a look:

What you are looking at is the discoloration of the metal from the adhesive used to hold a rubber gasket underneath the piano hinge, which was original on the teardrop.  The new hinge is one I bought to hopefully solve my leak issues.  Unfortunately, as you can see, the hinge is too narrow and does not cover the 'gap.'

Here is the original hinge:

Significantly larger; probably double in mass and girth.  I think I'm going to have to resort to replacing the rubber gasket and re-installing the original hinge.  I'm wondering if I should resort to my bicycle tire gasket solution again?

One thing that I did notice about the 'hatch' is that it is much more rigid with the horizontal stabilizer piece I re-attached to it.  Also, it seems like the hatch fits perfectly over the sides of the galley.  This was a problem on the trip back from Tennessee.  It seemed to be quite weak and wobbled a lot.  It now feels more solid.

Now, to find a gasket that is five feet wide and 1 1/2" thick, or something that would work like that.  I wonder if butyl tape would be sufficient?

Ripping Out the Galley

Today was a productive day!  I started by drilling out all the rivets on the hinge; all 60 of them!  This is what my drill bit looked like when I was done!  You can see the 'head's of the rivets on the drill bit.  The drill bit 'pops' off the rivet head and then you finish drilling it out to 'open' up the hole.

 Once the hinge was removed, I was able to take the hatch off.  Putting the hatch aside, I was then able to start drilling out the rivets that held the cabinetry in place.  I decided to take all the rivets out that were attached to the aluminum skin of the sides of the teardrop.

Then, I got Medieval on the cabinets.  My five pound sledge provided just the right amount of persuasion.  What needed additional persuasion was soon tamed by my reciprocating saws demolition blade. 

Thankfully, I managed to 'pop' a lot of the rivets and thus I didn't have to drill out all of the ones in the 'back' of the galley.

After deep cleaning the aluminum, I was able to spray the hatch and galley with the same paint as inside the cabin.

Hatch before:

Hatch After:

My wingman, Jim Tingey, came by today.  We spent most of our time talking through different design ideas.  I wanted to cover the front of the teardrop (the 2' above where the teardrop meets the frame) with diamond plate.  The reason for this would be to fix up some cosmetic concerns.  We figured out that the teardrop was installed on the present trailer frame and in doing so had to be retrofitted; hence the need to cover up some cosmetic issues.  The diamond plate was going to cost quite a bit; I had several estimates from local manufacturers and one from Pittsburgh, PA.  Jim's idea was to try something slightly out of the ordinary.  He suggested that I try looking at other materials; plastic or rubber.  I've contacted a good friend who's company makes just such a product.  Additionally, we talked about putting the battery on the trailer tongue.

After talking through a variety of designs and ideas, Jim suggested putting the battery, fuse box, etc. in the galley rather than putting it in a tongue box.  I had been looking at one of those cargo racks that you can use in combination with your tow hitch.  I saw some pictures online of a way to 'customize' a Harbor Freight rack to fit on the tongue of the trailer.

This would be an excellent way to have additional storage and maximize the aerodynamic boost of the design of the teardrop.  I put some of the most essential items in the newly painted galley and started working with some ideas.  Now, its time to study pictures of other people's galleys and begin designing my own.

While showing Jim the cabin, he wondered aloud if the 'shelf' could double as a bunk for my 11 year old.  We had him climb up into it and guess what?  He fits!  However, we'll end up adding some sort of storage cabinets there so the bunk idea is out of the question.  

We talked through adding insulation to the cabin and possibly a solution for how to add the same on the doors.  I'll probably end up adding the insulation and wood paneling to the doors in 'compartments,' rather than as one large piece.  It felt good to share ideas and solve some of the problems together.

My plans for tomorrow are to get the cabin water tight.  I am planning to remove the old caulk and install the bolts that hold the cabin to the plywood flooring.  After that, I'll put the other door on and install the weather stripping.  I may attempt to add the floor storage box tomorrow too.  My door and galley locks as well as the galley hinge will arrive next week.  I won't install them until after I have the window installation finalized.  I'm hanging on to the screen windows I've made until after I've decided if the sliding windows are going to meet my needs.