So I've gotten pretty far for doing stuff after work. Flipping the base was stressful. I had to depend on how I connected everything not falling apart. I have to say, that's the most stressful thing about this project. The fact that I think I can build something that I later tow at high speeds, going over bumps, and have it not fall apart. What made me think I could do this?!? 

Anyway... since I was last here I have treated the underside of the base. I used some nasty, thick, black tar stuff that I rolled on. It is called Henry's Asphalt Emulsion Sealer and Dampproofer. Remember when you were a kid and they fixed the cracks on the playground asphalt at school? Well that's how this smelled. Totally took me back. It went on easily but it was pretty messy. I ended up doing 2 thick coats. One reason I did that was because after one coat there was about half a can left and what the heck am I ever going to do with this stuff?!? May as well slop it on. I let that dry for two days. It was pretty cold in the garage so I think it took longer to dry than it would have otherwise. Looked pretty good once it was done though. It is somewhat rubbery. I think it will protect it from the highway pretty well. If the whole thing doesn't fall apart when I tow it. Still worried about that. While that was drying I started working on my template. I had bought (or at least I think I bought... not sure they charged me for it) a 4x8 piece of hardboard from HD Supply. It's pretty thin and light, almost like really

thick cardboard. I traced out my pattern and door (in the house where it was warm!). I couldn't really figure out where I wanted to put the voids because I need to make sure they align with the shelves. I want to include as many voids as possible without sacrificing the strength of the board. The 3/4 inch plywood is super thick and heavy and I'd really like to cut down as much weight as I can. The next night I cut out the template. I started out using a small cut-out tool I got from Harbor Freight. Side bar... Harbor Freight is my new favorite store. Everything there is so much cheaper than other hardware stores. Sure, I realize the quality isn't as good as some others but from the people I've talked to who know what they're doing, they say it's good stuff and will definitely work for what I'm doing. OK. Back to the task at hand. I was using the cutout tool but promptly broke the bit so there went that. I used the jigsaw to do the rest. THat actually worked really well and I may use that instead. Btw, the blade of a jigsaw gets VERY hot while in use. Don't ask me how I know. Wouldn't talk about it. Once that was cut out I couldn't wait and had to hold it up to the side of the trailer. I can't wait until this thing starts taking shape. It's going to look good. If it doesn't fall apart on me.

 I also took a trip to Home Depot and got the rest of the wood I was going to need. Or at least the rest I think I'll need. I found some real thin stuff for the inside skin, slightly thicker for the exterior roof, and some 1/4 inch for the sides. Unloaded all that. Abby is clearly over this project and is not enjoying the cold garage, but she's a trooper and stays out there with me the whole time. Finally there was a night Jordan was home when I was home so we were able to flip the base again and set it on the trailer. Scary again but somehow it stayed together and we got it on the trailer frame. It was actually kinda hard to get it squared up because the bottom was now textured and didn't move easily over the frame but we got it on there and it seems like it's squared up and even. I dont think that thing is moving. It already seems so heavy and it's only a portion of the base. I'm a little worried about weight at this point so am going to try to find other places I can cut down. Once I had it up there I had to think about how the heck I was attaching the base to the trailer frame. 

I ended up using some self-drilling screws. Once I found the right screw driver bit thing for the drill it was actually pretty easy. I attached it using several screws around the perimeter and then used some smaller ones in the interior of the base. I don't think it's going anywhere. Then back to the store I go. By now it was Thursday. I went to Lowe's to buy insulation. Home Depot didn't have the right thickness. I got several sheets of both 1.5 thickness and .75. Getting all those foam boards in the Jeep was quite a sight but I got them home and unloaded. I started putting the insulation in because it was so nice to see the trailer progressing. I cut it using a box cutter and made sure it was a tight fit as that helped with strengthening the base overall. I got a few sections in before I decided to call it a night. Now is also the time I need to start thinking about how to run the wires. I need to run one main wire from the tongue of the trailer to where the galley will be. This wire will run from the battery (which I plan on storing in a metal box on the tongue of the trailer) to the fuse in the galley area. I will use 8 gauge wire for this since it will be the main power source. I will run the wire through the basement, in some plastic conduit. I bought some clips to screw it to the wood so I can tuck it up and out of the way. I've decided to drill a hole in the floor for the cable to enter and silicon around it. That way no water should ever be sitting on it. I didnt have the wire or conduit yet so it was as good a time as any to call it a night. More Amazon boxes came on Friday so I should be set with things to do this weekend. I really hope to finish the frame for the bed platform and seal the basement to make it water proof. At least the floor and walls of it in case I ever put anything wet inside. I will also need to figure out where the doors to the basement will be. I'm thinking of centering them under the regular doors. Then I can make some type of cool thing to store shoes the door of the compartment so they don't have to come into the cabin area. So many ideas and little skill! Here is where I stand today... ready for a weekend of work!

 More progress since last post. I got the trailer primed and painted. First I cleaned the whole thing with Klean Strip. It was pretty easy, just brushed it on. It is basically a metal prep for rust. Turned all the rust black and is supposed to inhibit new rust from forming. I let that sit overnight and then primed the whole thing. 

I used Rustoleum Rusty Metal Primer. I brushed it on instead of using spray paint because I felt that spraying it would have wasted a lot. Not to mention the mess it would have made in the garage. Let that dry a couple days then brushed on Rustoleum Protective Enamel. That all should have been a somewhat easy, quick job. But in the middle of painting one night I got "the call." The call to go get my Covid shot. You see, I was on a list for the left-overs from the tier 1 vaccination clinics. I was supposed to get it in tier 1 but apparently probation officers dont make the cut to actually be scheduled. So I had 15 minutes to get to the location. Showed up with black paint streaks up to my elbows, paint in my hair, and raggedy clothes. But I got vaccinated. WOOHOO! Also in the middle of it all California decided to play winter for a few days and it rained a ton, was super windy, and cold. Made things dry a lot slower. Not to mention the power went out for a day so nothing got done that day either. Finally this weekend I was able to pull it out into the sunshine and inspect it. It looked pretty good but let me tell ya, painting in the garage under crappy light sure showed. There were a lot of spots that needed touch up. I went around with a spray paint can of the same finish and touched up all the areas that needed it. Sunday (today) I was able to put all the lights back on. And they still work by the way. Had a dumb moment and realized I had painted everything and forgot to rough off the paint at the grounding points for the lights. Had to removed them all, get the wire brush back out, and remove a little paint. We're good to go now. Also put the trailer jack on the tongue so it's much easier to move now. 

Oh I forgot! I also installed new hubs on the trailer and wheels. I went from a 4 lug to a 5 lug hub. I put on 13 inch wheels and bigger tires. Looks so much better! I basically got the biggest tires that would fit on the trailer and still allow enough clearance. 

With the trailer good and ready I cut the base. I used 1/4 inch ply for the base. It took 2 pieces so there is a seam in the middle (short ways). I then build a frame to strengthen the base and that is where the insulation will go. Framed it in 2x4's and ripped those to 2x2's for the inside of the frame. I will also put insulation in there. That took me awhile today because it is so big and hard to maneuver. Also I used wood glue and screws for extra hold. The glue didn't hold like I was hoping. I think that was user error though. I should have used clamps for pressure instead of just setting things on top of it. But since I was working on the ground that made it very difficult, if not impossible, to use clamps. 

I then came to a point where I couldn't move it myself without possibly ruining the whole thing so I had to wait for J to get home. 

We set it back on top of the trailer, ready for me to treat the underside. I had great plans of doing that too but needed a roller from Home Depot. Tried to go get it but T'Challa wouldn't start. He does that sometimes for no good reason. I took that as my cue to get in the hot tub and call it a day. Hopefully I can make more progress tomorrow. I finally feel like I'm getting somewhere!

 I had big plans for today, apparently too big of plans. Life got in the way. Had to cut up limbs from the tree I trimmed last weekend. The kid took it all to the dump for me and subsequently got a flat tire. So next up was changing and fixing the flat. With that done I had a little time left in my day. Finished grinding off the crud with a wire brush and a wire brush I could put in my drill. Now that thing was cool. Really appealed to my OCD and had to stop myself from taking the whole trailer down to bare metal.

I used my metal grinder to take out some rusted screws that had broken off. Removed the trailer jack that was on there. I'm not sure if I'll put that one back on or keep the one I have that has a wheel and swings to the side. Options are good I guess. Scraping it clean with the metal brushes was a huge mess. Fine black grit all over everything. Nice. Next I moved the trailer outside. Well.. I didnt do it. Remember, there are no wheels on the thing right now. I recruited the strong members of the household to help. We got it into the driveway and put the corners on some heavy duty tool stands. I power washed it then scrubbed the whole thing down with Dawn dishsoap and power washed it again. I wanted to get the metal treated tonight so I could paint tomorrow but that just isn't going to happen. Left it outside for a few hours so it could dry and it looks much better. I can't wait to get fresh paint on it, followed by the new hugs and wheels. I'm going with a black camper with teal accents. Accents picked out by Jordan but I'm not complaining. It will match my kayaks so that will look good. The hubs I bought have come in. I got those from eTrailer because they came pre-greased. 

One more thing I don't have to deal with. They didn't come with a cotter pin so I had to go pick up some of those from Home Depot. I also realized my current hubs didn't have a washer in them. I'm hoping there is one in the hub but I won't know until I remove the protective caps keeping all the grease in. I really dont want to have to find washers too but I will because I want this done right. Cant wait to have the frame all done so I can start the actual build. Still trying to decide what I want the outside to be... Monstaline or FRP panels. Also trying to decide if I want to try and build my own doors or buy them. Pros to buying them... much easier. Pros to building them... cheaper and I can customize them more to my liking. I may try to build them and if I fail miserably then buy them. We'll see. For now, just got the trailer back in the garage for the night. Put it in the middle so I can have room to paint it. Hopefully that will start tomorrow but of course I do need to get some other stuff done. Plus my neighbor gave me some left over sod from their backyard project so guess that's how my Sunday will start! 

 Didn't make much progress today but learned a lot! First I learned that my trailer does not have a drop axle, it has a torsion axle. The one thing I thought I knew...lol. That's alright though, reading up on the torsion axle sounds like a better deal than a drop axle. Also somehow I measured wrong and the wheels are 12 inch, not 13 like I thought. Off to a great start! Jacked it up and took off the tires today. I figure it's a bad sign when the lug stems come off with the lug nuts. I figured I needed new hubs but this confirmed. I removed one of the hubs to see what size it was. Left the other one on in case I forget how I got that one off, I'd have one to look at. Hubs are messy. That's all I'll say about that. 

I went to some trailer stores in Woodland. The first one had a bunch of semis in the parking lot. I figured it was the wrong kind of trailer store. I was right. Went to a couple other places and they weren't a ton of help. Back to Google and YouTube I go. I figured out what size I needed and ordered it online. Ordered some that are pre greased because I really didn't want to play in hub goo. Hopefully they are greased enough. Also ordered some wheels and tires. I bought some 13 inch wheels and tires with a load range D, I think they're 6 ply. They seem pretty good and definitely much bigger than the little guys on there now. I think they're overall diameter around 24 inches... the ones on there currently are 20.  I dont think I can go bigger because one portion of the frame is pretty close. While I wait for the hubs and wheels to arrive I'm going to start sanding the frame and get it ready to paint. I'm thinking about removing the existing trailer jack and finding one that swings. The way it is now I won't be able the back of the Jeep. Feel like I didn't get enough done this weekend but at least some things are ordered and I can start the tedious task of getting the frame ready for the build. I want the fun stuff to start! The part when I can see everything coming together!

 So in 2020 there was this thing called Coronavirus. I'm sure you've heard of it.... unfortunately And with that comes a lot of time. Time to stay home. Way too much time. I love camping, being outside, but with the Rona it seems that so did everyone else. Get out of my forests people! I love backpacking and camping but sometimes I want an easier way. Let's face it. Camping is a lot of work. Takes a lot of preparation. So along came the the idea of a teardrop. I've seen those cute little things being pulled down the road. They look nice and simple. Right? I could do it I'm sure. Couldn't be that hard. Well let's see how that pans out. First I read lots of books (especially the one by Tony Latham... a must if you undertake this project) and looked a TONS of plans online. Even bought a few sets. The one thing I realized is there are just as many plans out there as there are ideas. So I got to work. I used things from all the sources I had and I made my own plans. They changed over and over again, and I'm sure will keep changing, but I have a starting point at least.

Yep. Taped my plans up in the hallway. Hope the house doesn't mind because they may be there awhile. I have life-sized plans drawn up of the trailer (side view) and of the galley (back view). I had problems conceptualizing things based upon small drawings. So went actual size. I found lots of things that weren't going to work. I also got to looking on Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp, and Craigslist for a trailer. I thought that was going to take awhile because I didn't want to spend much money. But go figure, I found one the first week I was looking. Not that I'm complaining but that meant this was really going to happen! I found what turns out to be an old pop-up camper trailer. It's about 8 feet long by 6 feet wide at the widest part of the frame. Hooked that bad boy up to T'Challa (my Jeep) and brought her home! Well... I didn't actually drive it home because I was still afraid of towing trailers at this point!

The trailer seemed pretty solid. Tires were flat but I filled them up (us Jeep owners have air compressors on board!) and we were on our way. It held air and rode with no problems. We had one head scratching moment when we couldn't get the hitch to latch. Turns out the big ol' spare tire was indeed too big and was in the way of the latch. Figured out that problem and we were then on our way. Eventually got the trailer home and started disassembling it to see what all I had. THe frame seemed solid, no rust and the lights all worked. I called that a win. There was some wood and a big sheet of metal on the top  I needed to remove and that all came off quite easily. The sheet of metal was HEAVY. Might see if I can get some money at the recycle place for it since I have no need for something so heavy on something I'm trying to keep light! Got out my pressure washer and got to work. It is January so I thought my abilities to work outside were going to be limited. But once again California has proved me wrong and I'm out there in shorts and a teeshirt playing in the water. Couldn't ask for a better weekend! So the wheels on this thing are only 13 inches. You see that Jeep pulling it. It has 33 inch tires on 18 inch wheels. I really want some bigger wheels on this thing, but I have no idea about anything to do with trailers. I'm very glad to have some Facebook Groups and the TNTTT forum to post my numerous questions on. Hopefully someone will explain to me how to figure out what size I can fit on here. So for now it's all cleaned up and ready for my next step... removing wheels, checking out hubs and hopefully getting bigger ones. It has a drop axel. What does that mean? I have no idea... It also has these cool flag pole holder looking things. Turns out they were for supports for the pop-up trailer. I'm thinking I can make some kind of shade or hammock holder or something fun. Why waste something that cool! After I figure out my wheel situation it will be time to sand down the frame and repaint it. I'm looking forward to actually building but I know prepping it right is important. 

Wish me luck everyone! Hopefully in a few months I'll be able to post pictures of some cool places the trailer is instead of my driveway or garage!