The First 100 Days

Well I was really proud of myself until I noticed that the last trailer update was on the 11th and here it is 18 days later and I am not nearly as impressed with my progress as I could be I guess. Anyway, here is an update on my measly progress.

The roof is on. All the cedar is attached and half the outside and half the inside are sanded. Sorry about the bad picture but I had just done some sanding before I took the picture. All the exterior skin is on and the vertical trim detail is installed as well.

The framing is completed for the upper hatch. It will hinge at the top and will help to keep the lower doors closed as well. It will get skinned with cedar as soon as I pick up some more lumber. Luckily I am staying fairly close to budget (Sharla skip this part :-) )

The hinge is plastic and continuous so it won't let any water in, and both sides are mounted to some very stout oak. I am sure I have over-engineered this but I would rather be safe and know that it is more than sturdy.

The interior and exterior door trim are finalized and attached. I had to build a couple different jigs to rout the curved pieces for the door frames and the hatch. Those were almost as much fun as the finished results. The trim is cedar and will really pop against the red oak sides. In this shot you can see the shelf that is mounted inside the trailer in the area that will be above our heads. On the shelf are mounted 2 reading lights each with its own switch and an outlet for things like cell phone chargers. In this shot you will notice a green extension cord running to the outlet, this is only a temporary solution until the balance of the interior is sanded and I can mount the chase for the electrical to the inside of the roof.

The shelf is a birch plywood torsion box and has a piece of oak as it's face. All the electrical is installed inside the shelf to make a very clean installation. This shot showcases the fit of all the elements. I am really pleased with the way it is turning out and considering every single piece is from scratch I am surprised that I haven't run into more "opportunities" than I have. But I guess much to Sharla's chagrin, all my "pondering" is not wasted effort. My Lovely Wife and I laid down in the shell with the lights in the garage turned off and the reading lights on; we will have plenty of space and I had a gigantic grin as I thought about how close I am to being finished and how much fun it will be for us to take the maiden voyage. I have a lot to do, but I am hoping that it will start to come together quickly and I will feel accomplished soon.

I think this may be tied for one of the biggest projects I have taken on. A couple of basement remodels and the doors in Xenia would be at the top of that list. But in terms of satisfaction when we are trucking down the road and talking about this project with people, I think this will be very cool. It was funny to watch people driving down the street and see them slow down and look with a puzzled face. But now they come to a complete stop and you can see them mouth "what the heck". I have had people park their car, get out, and chat with me about it, they are amazed. I can only imagine what I will hear as I am proudly standing at my Tiny Trailer at the gas station and the guy next to me asks "So where did you buy that from?" and I can grin and say "Well sir, I actually built it from scratch in about 100 days".