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!