I took more photos than most probably care for, but the headliner installation was my biggest concern for making this thing look as professional as possible and other blogs that I visited did not go into great detail on the headliner install, so I will provide more for future builders.
This birch veneered, 1/8 inch thick, plywood definitely has a tendency to sag when installing on the ceiling. I cut the plywood to a width of 59.5 inches with a utility knife and straight edge. It takes several passes with the knife but you don't get splintered edges along the cut like I would expect with a table saw. I worked the headliner from the bulkhead between the galley and cabin toward the front. I rested the plywood on the cabin cabinets and used a spar to support the front end of the sheet.
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| Spar used to support front edge of plywood |
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| Plywood up against bulkhead with spar holding it in-place |
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| Cabinets helping to support headliner |
With the headliner in position, I pulled the spar near the bulkhead and applied the glue then laid the spar on top and screwed the spar in from the ends thru the sidewalls.
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| Gluing first spar adjacent to bulkhead |
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| Bracing headliner against roof spar |
I installed a second spar right above the cabinet face frame approximately 10 inches away from the bulkhead spar. I didn't have to brace up the headliner at the second spar since it landed on the cabinet face frame.
The next spars to install have to support the fantastic fan vent. I unboxed the fan to measure up the rough-in dimensions then built the fan frame and spar assembly on the ground.
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| Spars with fan opening |
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| Spars set into position |
I set the fan on top to make sure it was in a good position from a profile view and was pleased where it landed on the interior.
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| Fan positioning |
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| View of fan from top side |
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| You can see how the headliner sags down from the spars |
I marked out the opening and spar location and proceeded to rough cut, with a palm router, the opening for the vent in the headliner.
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| Rough cut of fan opening |
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| Rough opening complete |
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| Re-positioning of spars |
At this stage I could still keep the spar under the headliner at the front edge to keep it from sagging while I installed the vent spars.
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| Glue-up for vent spars |
I used the vent opening to clamp the headliner to the frame work around the opening area and braced up the balance of the headliner with support legs.
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| Headliner clamped and braced while glue dries |
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| Support leg purchased from Rockler |
I stopped by Rockler earlier in the week and saw these support legs and they were almost $60 ea. It was what I wanted to support the headliner during construction, but not at that price. I walked over to an area where they have returns and found the exact same support leg marked down to $25. Too bad they only had one!
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| Good Deal. |
So while the glue was drying I installed the front rib panel I previously made. This went relatively easy since I had fitted this component up after fabricating and finishing the interior side, The only issue with the front panels is that when assembling this piece off the the trailer and with the tight radius's, there was a slight outward bow at the mid-point in the panel when measuring from side to side. This was corrected when screwing the panel into place.
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| Front Rib Section |
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| Front Panel Interior Side |
Having left the bulkhead in between the galley and cabin full height, I have a small 7 inch headliner that needs to be installed in the galley area. Since this part is curved, the headliner does not want to sag like it does in the flat areas. I didn't want to have the plys of the plywood spars and the edge of the head liner visible from the galley area so I cut a fascia piece of maple 1-5/8" wide so the headliner would butt into the fascia piece. pretty simple and clean install. The solid maple piece also stiffened up the spar that will carry the hatch hinge which I was afraid would deflect with the weight of the hatch.
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| Maple fascia piece backed with a plywood spar |
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| Top view of spars and headliner in galley area |
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| Fascia piece and corner electrical chase in galley, Passenger Side |
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| Fascia piece, headliner and corner electrical chase in galley, Driver Side |
I had to hold the spar back from the outside panel not to block the electrical chases in each corner of the galley. The spar which hold up the headliner was screwed into the bulkhead for support.
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| Cutout in Headliner for electrical chase |
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| Another view galley headliner from above |
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| Headliner and fascia interface |
The next day after the glue dried and my clamps were free to use elsewhere I laid out the spars in the front end and layout for the star gazing window. I used the trim ring to gauge the spacing of the spars and noticed that the gap got progressively larger from the inside out to a point that the window did not rest against the top and bottom frame spars in the 2 foot radius of the front end. I marked the gap and beveled the spars on my table saw to make sure the window had full bearing on the frame.
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| Gaps between window frame and spars |
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| Gaps between window frame and spars - different view |
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| Bevels cut with better fit-up |
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| Bevels cut with better fit-up - profile view |
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| Side frame for star gazing window cut from 2 x 4. |
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| Frame positioned for tracing of rough cutout |
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| Window perimeter tracing |
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| Cutout for clamping purposes |
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| Clamping of headliner to window frame opening and securing loose end with pipe clamp |
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| Another view of headliner install at trailer front |
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| Bracing of headliner at seam |
I placed additional glue along the side ofthe spar and headliner to fill the gaps and allow the glue to run under the minor gap between the spar and headliner at the edge.
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| Added Glue at spar / headliner joint |
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| Interior headliner joint after glue dried |
Below is the anticipated trim shape I plan to use to cover the joint, I just need to find it unpainted in maple or birch.
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| Planned trim shape to use for covering the seam |
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| Fitting of headliner at the end of the curve, interior |
Placing spacers between the spars helps to hold the headliner down against the mortise joint used to support the headliner at the edges. This spacer also gives a larger edge to screw the trailer roof onto.
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| Spacers between spars |
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| Gap closed up in corner with spar spacers |
I am pleased with the headliner outcome which is much better expected. Time to sand and seal the headliner and get the electrical routed so I can insulate and put the roof on. I would like to finish this up in the next month as spring is just around the corner.
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