Trailer Build - Week Twenty-Two - April 9, 2017

I received the hatch lifters and installed them in the exact spots I had laid out.  I ordered the 60 lb lifters and they held the lid open very well and only 1 inch higher than I planned on (81 inches from ground to edge of opened hatch).  I am pleased with the results except that there is a fair amount of load in the lifters when pulling the hatch down into the closed position.  I may give the 40 pound lifters a try to see how it does. 

Passenger Side Lifter Installed

Driver Side Lifter Installed

End View of Lifter and Side Clearance 

Clearance of Lifter Bracket with Passenger Side Galley Cabinet

Time to start putting the exterior skin on the trailer.  I had soaked a piece of the 2.7 millimeter plywood in wet towels for the interior of the hatch and noticed that the wood was stained and would not be good for the exposed interior of the hatch, so I decided to use the piece for front end of the trailer.  Before installing the skin, I checked all the electrical one more time as access to the wiring will be very limited.

Front Plywood with Holes Pre-cut for the Electrical Runs to the Battery Box

Another View of the Front

Spars Used to Bend Plywood through the Curve 

I cut the plywood 6 ft long for the 5 ft width of the trailer and will trim off the excess with a flush trim router bit once the glue dries.

Plywood Overrun

Screw the Plywood to t he Ribs where the Skin Meets the Trailer Frame

Another View of the Skin / Frame Interface (Front of Trailer)

The next day I moved onto the next piece around the front of the trailer; I used a 4 ft long piece and needed to assure it landed on spars for joining to the next sheet to the top.  I needed to leave a small 1/2 inch gap between the first piece and the second sheet to get the 4 ft wide sheet to land on the spars correctly.  Not a big deal, because I had 3 transverse spar members at the interface of the front ribs, so I can fill the gap with some bondo.

Second Plywood Sheet Around 2 Foot Radius

I also decided to screw the plywood down along the ribs and spars to assure the plywood was securely bonded to the ribs and spars.  The exterior gets covered in aluminum so the holes don't matter; although I will fill the holes with Bondo.

Clamping of Second Sheet.  Rough Cutout of Star Gazer Window to Help Clamping

Cutout Needed for Solar Panel  Cable Leads

Another View of Second Sheet Screwed to Spars

Second Sheet Overrun and 1/2 Inch Gap Between First and Second Sheet

I did the same exercise for the rear exterior panel, screws into the ribs and framing to secure the plywood while the glue dries.

Rear View of Skin 

Another View of Rear Skin Screwed after Gluing

Side View Markings of Top Framing Member and Location of Tail Light Mounting Members

While I was working on the exterior skin, I decided to coat the exterior plywood panels with a diluted mixture of urethane and solvent (50/50) to get a penetrating sealant into the plywood for protection and to get a more consistent absorption of the contact cement that will hold the aluminum onto the sides.  I also had filled any screw holes, knots, etc with Bondo to assure the surface was smooth and not to reflect throught to the surface of the aluminum.

Sealing the Edges

Sides Covered in Diluted Urethane