Thank you.
Today - Mudflaps, clearance/marker lights, grey-water jug and drain hose, levelers, more interior touches.
Yeah, let's do those interior touches first so we can get outside.
Yesterday I mentioned the bungees across the two wire shelves in the wardrobe? Those are below the medicine cabinet. DW had this idea; she said, "there's another couple of bungees. You should drill holes and put them in the medicine cabinet". What a great idea I thought!
Last weekend, DD was describing her ideas. She said, "if you put hooks here, and hung chains, when you get to camp you can hang this and create more shelf/display area (think fruit or bread). Then, when underway, pull it higher to the hooks to keep it from swinging".
That's what we like - configurability (I know, not a word)!
Oh did we mention DSIL and DD are known in their group as kind of the galvanized metal people? That's like their thing. You know what I mean, the same way as I'm know as that good-looking guy! That thing!
DW came home with these 3-AAA battery powered touch lights. Double sided tape. Don't they look sharp? At least until we get 12 Volt installed. Can you find them all? Three. Where's Waldo?
The galley gadget shelf? The board it is mounted to is 1/8" paneling, stabled to the inside of the cabinet framing. The staples were pushing out. The panel was falling off - inward!
I pulled the icebox drain hose from the inside tray. I removed the standard screw from the upper hinge. I pulled four mounting screws. Out came the icebox. In went the screw gun. Two screws later, the panel was secure and DD can mess with objects here now without fear of everything falling off into the cabinet. Install was the reverse.
DW loaded it up with function.
While I worked on the exterior, DW was busy in her sewing room. More of those grey sheets (flats and too long of pillow cases) got made into stuff. Did I mention DW does stuff with sheets? ;)
The pillow cases got cut back and re-sewn to standard pillow sizes from those stupid queen and king sizes they put in sheet-sets. Don't you just hate those tails? I get wrapped in them. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night screaming and kicking and thinking I'm tied up in spider-silk (like those things in the Hobbit?). It's terrifying - I tell you, terrifying!
Now the kids have grey matching pillow cases for their camp bedding. DD talked how they got new pillows for home so they could put their current ones in the camper - to stay. DSIL and DD both see the value of putting a basic couple sets of camp clothes in the camper, permanent-like. The towels and stuff. In a busy young family's lives, the key to an enjoyable getaway is everything already there, just load food and water and take your weekend!
DW loaded up their pillows, and the rest of the bedding, and then went further and made STUFF sacks for the sleeping bags - out of sheets! Brilliant! See we know what it's like pulling a trailer down a dusty dirt road. Especially with Jalousie windows. They vent awesome, but they don't necessarily seal out road dust. When you get to camp, sweep off the picnic table, put the bedding (in dust bags) on the table, set up the front porch, get the microfiber dust cloths (DW provide in that one cabinet) and wipe stuff down. THEN bring in the bedding and spread it out. You get the drift!
I only got a couple photos.
There on the left. The throw pillows are for the front and back sofa's. Lounging. They work great! Cheap. Clearancepriced. That's DW.
That bundle on the left is the big, thick double bags of the two zipped together master bed-roll.
I'm surrounded by women with great ideas! I know - poor me.
I had a five gallon water jug. I used one like this as a grey water tank for one of our previous campers; don't remember which. This type has a screw on lid with a center 3/4" female pipe thread. I had a few fittings on hand to change it to a female garden hose thread. Sets up real well, and to allow smooth entry of grey water flow into the jug, just open the jug vent a little bit.
I guess I didn't get pictures, but I made a pair of "levelers" for the trailer. I've made the style before - and it's quite effective. Now picture this!
Cut two boards 24" long. Then cut two 1.5' long. Then two at 1 foot. Then two at 6". Now you have one pair of four boards each. One of the pair, for one trailer tire, and the other of the pair, for the other tire. Okay. I forgot to mention. When you cut those boards, put a 45 degree angle on one end of each, so if they are laying flat, a tire can roll easier onto the upper surface of the boards.
Now go over to your bench. Flush up the square cut ends and screw the 1.5' to the top of the 2' board. That leaves a six inch shelf for the tire to roll onto before it hits the 45 degree ramp of the upper board.
Then screw the 12" board to the top of the 1.5' board. Don't forget to flush the square ends. Then put the 6" board on top of the 12" board (flush that square end) and screw IT down. Now you have a leveler you can pull (or push) the trailer tire up onto like a stair step. And do one for the other side.
At camp, you need to evaluate your un-level circumstances first. Once you have a clear picture what you need to do to the trailer to level it, you place the boards. Maybe under the tire. Maybe a few inches away. So that when you park it in its final spot, it sits up on its stairs just right. One tire may be on step four. The other might be on any step, or none! And they stow easy.
I used scrap pressure treated 2x6 style deck boards we had on hand with 2" and 2.5" construction screws. These boards are that stuff that's just over one inch thick? Deck boards. You can screw a handle onto the sides to make deployment easier. I should have just took a picture.
These are good for hard surfaces! But they can make your trailer sit high. Then the jack and stabilizers might be too far from the ground! When camping in dirt, it's often much easier to dig a little hole for the high tire, especially with a trailer that only has one axle!
It's illegal to do that in some places. But you should carry a shovel anyway. DSIL mentioned that when I showed him the leveler ropes. (That's a sailing analogy; don't let me confuse you. The levelers don't have ropes. Hey! Ropes would make cool handles!) He's going to put a shovel on board. You know - permanent! Loaded. Ready to roll!
I also failed to get photos of the "extras". You know, camp set up stuff that normally goes in the outside access storage compartments, or in the bumper or tongue mounted cargo boxes. But since we don't have those yet, it goes in the pickup bed. These include...
1. about a thirty gallon blue holding tank on wheels. That can be used as a temporary storage for both grey or black water, if they find themselves camping in a place without an outhouse or bathroom of another style. These things can be dumped at a regular RV dump station if you have a sewer hose. You've seen them. Maybe you own one. We got ours from DFIL.
2. A plastic (grey) milk crate holding: the levelers and the wheel chocks, the extension cord, the grey water jug and hose, and the stabilizer jacks handle.
3. And a spare tire.
Okay here's the surprise I mentioned yesterday. :) Wait for it!
Mudflaps!
I mentioned my father-in-law (DFIL) originally introduced me to the flipped axle thing. On his cool lifted canned ham, he also had mudflaps. Yosemite Sam! Guns pulled, stating "Back Off".
We found the metal wall hanging Tow-Mater plates at Hobby Lobby, along with all the other Route 66 stuff, and the garbage can Tow-Mater plate, etc.
Those are "large flange" pop-rivets.
I had been looking for something to make custom sized mudflaps out of. Not just for this trailer, but also some for Lil' Spen, my blue period utility trailer that goes with the Willys Jeep, because being lifted, it becomes quite needed. Especially with tire treads like that. You really don't want to be trowing rocks at people behind you, especially on highways. And you want to try and keep wet-road water-spray under control too. Especially for that sensitive wood undercarriage, the floor covering. That may get worked in future, seeing as how DSIL is a metal guy and all.
So I finally got this idea to swing by the local truck stop. I bought a single semi mudflap, off the shelf. Less than $20.
After cutting it to size on the table saw, I rounded the resulting square corners to match the original rounding of part of it - on the bench sander.
So with the signs at $6 a piece, that about $32 for a set of custom flaps, and I have extra (free) material for the thinner flaps planned on the Spen.
Drilling the holes on the trailer was work. Failed to get pictures. Had to run to the store for six bolts. I had the washers and nuts.
But holes in the rubber? I used a spade bit. Cuts material out better.
Now look for those on the trailer pics coming up later.
Now, one more exterior surprise. Remember back ago when I was rebuilding original rusty clearance lights? I finally bit the bullet and just bought LED teardrop clearance lights from Vintage Trailer Supply, commissioned by them on the quality of the originals. Their descriptive write up is very worth the while!
Vintage Trailer Supply Replica Clearance Lights.
I rolled out some butyl.
And put it in the fixture's seal channel after wiring in the lights.
Aren't these sharp?
Notice DSIL added reflective tape at various places (he is concerned about visibility parked on the street at their home - and should be).
And on the stairs too! He doesn't want kids running around the corner in the dark and getting wiped out in a stair tangle. That's taking responsibility. He's good at that! Plus it looks cool!
And then it was nearing time for DSIL to pick up the trailer on his way home from work. We used the on-board tools and did one more shop floor sweep up.
He had an ear to ear grin the whole time he was here. DD called later and wanted some "before" pictures emailed to her (because of the PhotoBucket picture loss thing at the beginning of this thread). They had been at their group meeting, receiving detailed information on the camp-out location. We're pretty secretive here in Wyoming. There's this 50' tall Owl we worship here. In a glade.
Seriously, folks at the meeting were pretty impressed and wanted to see some "before" pics. I sent her 8-10 each of exterior, interior, and wood rot and structure repairs.
They leave early today - taking a half day off. They'll get to camp as soon as anybody, and place their stake. They have a full out-doors living room planned. They got this!
So long Tow-Mater!
Ya'll have fun now, you hear?
