Update on "Toybox" trailer project

[barry2952]

Udate
6-25-2006

Found a store in California with a full bolt of "Beatnik". Bought 10 yards. My friend Dug came by and measured for drapes and gave me an education on drapery construction and installation. We've decided to have the pattern on both sides so that they look good from the outside, too.

I'm getting ready for a test run. I'm going to load my '77 Town Car as a test subject. It's about 18" longer, but the same width as the Mark II.

Before installing the windows I wanted to finish the polishing. I did about half of the remaining corrosion over a three day period.

This is the last patch of corrsion. I'm thinking of leaving it as a badge of honor.

The windows are scratch and UV resistant polycarbonate. The gasket is an Au-Ve-Co product used as a gasket for Dodge truck rear windows. I'll have used 200 feet of gasket and almost 3 full 4' x 8' sheets of polycarbonate.

Every window opening is different so each framework is like a wooden prototype. The window frame up front is stained to match the bamboo and the frames in the back are painted matt black. The windows in the back will be framed in bright aluminum trim while the aluminum trim up front is a dull finish.

The street side of the trailer exterior is now complete.

 

[Calabrio]

Beautiful.

 

[pepperman]

Very cool Barry, i like the entire look of it.

 

[Frat-man-du]

all I can say is "WOW"

 

[barry2952]

Thanks.

Conspicuity tape. Required by DOT. Got my attention and I learned a new word!

The street-side is finished. I just have the curb-side windows to install and a door to re-polish and this baby's ready to go for a test drive.

 

[barry2952]

Just curious. What is the maximum allowable length of a motorhome/trailer?

Can you imagine the two of them together?

 

[barry2952]

7-5-2006 NEARING COMPLETION 44 days left

Today was a proud day. Warning, I took a bunch of pictures.

I pulled the trailer out into the parking lot for a near-completion walk-around. It seems bigger outside.

The next two pictures show that there is no support holding up the front or rear of the trailer. It's not just balanced. If I were to let the air out of the airbags the nose would touch the ground. Each axle has its own ride height valve so I can select which of the three axles I want to be the fulcrum and simply set the valve to have more air in that set than the others.

This is the position that the trailer will be in for loading and unloading. The front is inclined 3-5° to allow the weight of the car to pay it out of the trailer controlled by the winch.

The cabin is nearing completion. I hired and fired a painter. I did a much better job myself. I painted the window frames and aluminum openings the same color as the bamboo siding. The black rubber window gasket look great up against the lighter color. The light green composite window sills and table will be ready soon as will the "Beatnik" drapes. The windows are now all installed.

I found the ideal curtain rod. It"s 1/2" diameter stainless tubing that has a semi-shiny surface.

Many have expressed concern that the trailer will blind other motorists when the trailer crosses their path. I've explained that the side of the trailer is a convex mirror and deflects light upward or downward but never straight ahead.

Notice the concentration of reflected light close to the trailer. It was a 4:00 sun with a pretty clear sky.

That pattern also shows what would happen to intersecting headlights. Without the conspictuity strips an intersecting car would not see the reflection of their own headlights.

It did turn out just like the conceptual drawing.

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[pepperman]

That is very good Barry, when are you going to load one of your cars on to it?

 

[barry2952]

About a week. I'll try and post a video link.

 

[pepperman]

Good i look foward to seeing it.

 

[JC1994]

that is one baaaad hauler!!! :Beer

 

[barry2952]

Thanks!

July 9, 2006 41 days to go

Upper clam shell door.

Reinstalled door to check fit and found that the shell of the trailer shifted slightly when it was foamed and stuck in a position that is actually more square.

The gap was off by 3/8" and the rear door had to be disassembled after scribing correct gap lines.

It is starting to look finished.

It took about an hour to remove the foam over-fill from unwanted areas. I had to remove the two arced side rails that gave the upper door its shape. I literally had to cut the foam away from the wood to release them. Once the side rails were removed the door retained its shape due to the structural foam bonding everything together.

I flipped the door over and cut the new edge with freshly sharpened and adjusted shears.

Trimmed the wood supports and reinstalled the side rails to match the new door gaps. Filled in the gaps where I had to remove foam to make the door adjustment. All four corners have been cleared of foam as these are access areas for tail lights and door hinge and wiring.

The inside of the door is covered in FRP. I salvaged the old window frames. I'll probably powder coat them silver.

Almost finished. Still need to add edging and finish sides.

Window sills. Bill's making a matching table top and countertops. The table top is the shape of the bubble lamp. It's 24" x 36". Kind of an oval shape with the ends lopped off.

 

[barry2952]

7-16-2006

Finished installing and trimming inside of upper rear door. Installed gas supports that smoothly open the door with a very light touch. I'm trying to devise a way to pull the upper lid closed but I'm going to install a latch system similar to that of a pick-up tailgate for additional security.

Bill cut and installed the aluminum trim. His joints are flawless.

I selected and ordered tail lights. They are red and yellow LEDs that mimic the shapes of all the window and door openings. Round tail lights just wouldn't have looked right. The original puny tail light was rectangular with radiused corners, too.

I wanted to hide the original tail light holes. Luckily they were positioned where they could be removed as part of the cutout. I made a cutout of the three lights and traced the shape onto the aluminum. I drilled some relief holes and cut them out with a pair of aviation tin snips.

Installed the stock black gaskets. They match the window gaskets perfectly. I've ordered black Lexan for the rear window. It looks kinda like a prision cell through the rear windows. I can do some kind of graphic on the black background.

DRAPES!!!!

My friend and fellow Lincoln Club member, Dug, took measurements and had the drapes made in a sweatshop in Guatamala. They really turned out nice. I wanted the pattern to be consistant around the room so Dug had the material worked in "pillowcase" fashion so the the pattern repated horizontally.

I must credit my wife for finding the perfect fabric. She's got a great eye for style.

I installed the stainless steel curtain rods through the neat pocket in the drapes and installed the tubing into holes drilled into the sides or the window opening. They are held in place with screws concealed behind the aluminum trim. The pattern repeats on the outside to complete the look.

Nearly finished cabin.

The rooftop heat pump/air-conditioner should be arriving in about a week, along with a light gray EPDM rubber membrane roof. A house is only as good as its roof. Tail lights should be arriving soon. I'll test the lighting system and take it for a spin.

 

[barry2952]

7-18-2006 31 days to go

First test load. Loaded 1955 Porsche "Continental" cabrio. It only weighs 1,800 lbs. The winch pulled it in like a breeze. No creaks, no moans. Found that the needed angle to get the car to roll out was only about 3°.

I put the 90 lb. air conditioner on the tongue and put the Porsche about mid-point in the garage and the trailer sat perfectly level.

My favorite picture of the day.

 

[barry2952]

7-20-2006

It was suggested that I post a picture of what the trailer looked like originally.

New tail lights lit and new black Lexan window.

Tail lights are clear until lit.

Front clearance light lit.

Cut hole for roof top heat pump/AC

 

[Sergmark]

Hey Barry !! Lookin pretty good
Ok I guess no Lincoln tailights
I think the front clearance lights are awesome LOOKIN GREAT

 

[Frat-man-du]

Damnnnnnnnnn! Great craftsmanship!

 

[barry2952]

7-23-2006

Windows. They're done.

I used 250 ft of 3/8 foam backer rod in-between the aluminum frame and rubber gasket. This pushed the gasket tight to the window material and gave the windows the correct shape.

I've learned that silicone is not the correct sealant, butyl is. I filled the gap and covered the backer rod. I worked a smooth surface around the window leaving the excess for easy removal after the material sets.

Everything in the back is finished, except the floor. I am seeking a 21 foot length of gray battleship linoleum to cover the floor in-between the E-tracks that I have on order.

The windows and ceiling vents were trimmed in bright anodized aluminum.

 

[Vaughn84]

WOW! I am in complete awe. I have some how missed this thread and have just now read through it. This is an awesome project and you have done one hell of a good job. Great craftmans ship, top-notch all the way around. Superb!

 

[94m5]

barry mike and i will be at the meet the 5th of Aug. would love to see the trailer and contents if possible. jd

 

[barry2952]

What meet is that JD?

 

[billcu]

See here for the meet Barry:

http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=24113

There will be over 20 Mark VIII's, but there's always room for a Mark II.

 

[mespock]

Wow!! all this just for his car.... Well I guess it'sn not just a car...

Nice Job Barry!

 

[barry2952]

Thanks Rich.

7-26-2006

I decided to restore the original mechanical doorbell, and I'm glad I did. The tone is melodic and the shape is beautiful.

I eliminated two of the original roof vents and restored the other two. The vent mechanisms were simply suffering from neglect.

In preperation for the installation of the EPDM rubber membrane roofing I mopped the dust and dirt off of the roof and then hand wiped the surface with lacquer thinner to remove all remaining dirt and oils.

The roofing came in one piece 9' x 26', 45 mil thick. It was heavy enough that the hi-lo became the preferred method of putting it on top.

I spread out the material last night, at the roofer's request.

At first I thought they had shipped the wrong material because it looked real white under my shop's metal halide lights. It was only after comparing it to something I knew was white that I saw that they did ship the gray material, as ordered.

I am extremely glad that I hired out this task. The roofer was not. He is a perfectionist and he wasn't happy with his work because there are a few wrinkles in it. Had I done a glue down this big myself I'm sure there would have been more than a few wrinkles. I am more than satisfied with his work.

As soon as the rubber went on I installed the air conditioner, It really was a simple as the instructions showed. The whole installation took about 45 minutes.

Next step is to acquire a 2KW true sine wave inverter to power the air conditioner and wine cooler when off-grid.

 

[barry2952]

7-30-2006 13 days left

In order to make the rear hatch water tight I needed to bridge the gap of the clam-shell door.

I found one of the aluminum extrutions at a local metal warehouse. It's 1/4" x 3/4" and rounded over on one corner.

The other extrusion is an aluminum edging commonly used on '50s kitchen tables. It's a hammer-in "T" moulding. The short barbed section normally implanted in the plywood top served nicely as a finish detail on the side of the door, when open.

The finished stacked molding gave me a 1/4" gap over the body. I've installed a test piece of 3/8" x 3/4" weather strip to check the fit.