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July 31 2021 -
Started my design. Me and my mentor drew it out on paper and planned out how much wood we would need. Figured out the type of wood we need also. Going to pick it up as soon as possible so we can get to work. Need to get 2x4s for the frame and 4 sheets of BC sanded plywood for the walls. Learned From my Mentor that BC sanded plywood is one of the best outside plywoods you can get. The most important thing I learned from this meeting was what wood and types of wood we would need.
Aug 3 2021 -
Started to get to work today on our frame for the camper. Lined everything up and then decided to not build it and go get a different length 2x4 so we didn’t waste as much wood. This was slightly annoying as we didn’t get any progress done but it will be good in the long run. It will be good in the long run because I will save money.
Aug 4 2021 -
Drew out our design on a piece of plywood. Life size scale. Awesome to see how big it will actually be. We took pictures of the design on the wood and blew it up to make for easy changes with a pencil. Played with a few different designs and ended up changing our design. We originally had a curved bottom on both sides. Then we went to a flat edge on the back side. Then a flat edge on the front side. We did this to add more space on the floor. Now the whole sleeping area is roughly 6 and a half ft. I liked this design a lot better then our previous as now there is much more space. Didn't learn much today, just went through to process of designing something and changing it.
Aug 14 2021 -
We built the frame today and put the floor on the frame. Once we were done building it started to go down poor and I got very nervous. My floor was getting soaked. We put tarps and tin on the frame to cover it up but it was still soaked. I had to take a vacuum and suck all the water out of the wood. While building that frame I learned how to lay it all out. This is the same as building a porch and laying out your framework under the floor. After the rain passed we cut out the two sides to the camper. We used a skill saw and a jig saw to do this. After we used a belt sander to make the edges the exact same. We said that was good for today and cleaned up.
Sept 5 2021 -
To start today we cut all the shelving for the back end. This didn’t take very long as it was only three cuts. After that we had to route spaces for our shelves to slide into. This was cool as I got to learn how to use a router. The assembly part was hard as we had to do it inside because rain was coming and going. We used a krig kit to drill screw holes for the shelf. We used wood glue and screws to secure them together. Then we split 2x4 in half to make our support for the roof.
Sept 6 2021 -
Today we assembled the camper. We assembled the sides, shelving, and ribs for the roof. We built it inside to avoid any possible rain. I learned the best type of bit to use for pre drilling screw holes. Once we put it all together we had to move it and assemble it to the frame/floor. This went vary smoothly and fit like a glove. We attached these together using small carriage bolts that went through the plywood, and the frame. We new there was going to be a little bit before we could work on it again so we loaded it up on the camper and brought it to a place undercover.
Sept 26 2021 -
Today was a day of learning. We put the plywood on the roof. This might not seem very hard but the plywood has to make a curve over the camper. To do this my mentor taught me how to use ratchet straps to pull down the plywood. This was awesome to learn because 1 - it worked very well and 2 - It was a good skill to know how to do. We screwed the plywood into the ribs and it was locked down tight. The screws poked through into the inside of the camper. To fix this I went in with a right angle grinder and grinded off all the tips. We puttied the screw holes and left sanding for later.
April 2 2022 -
After a long winter it was finally time to get back to work. Today we built the back door hatch, door, and planed a few things outs. The Hatch was very challenging. Cutting the ribs and assembling them to the curved piece of the hatch was very easy. The hard part was putting on the plywood for roofing. We used the same techniques as the rest of the camper with the ratchet straps. This piece of plywood though had been sitting the whole winter inside and had become very brittle. This was also a tighter curve then the curve in the front of the camper. As we bent the plywood it would pop can crack. It looked very bad and I was afraid our plan was not going to work. After lots of putty and sanding though, it looked like nothing even happened.
April 3 2022 -
Today was a very exciting day as we put our water proofing on the roof. We used a pond liner and contact cement to apply it to the roof. My mentor taught me how to do this. THis was a three man job as it was a huge piece of plastic that had to be put on. My dad, Mentor, and me got it on with no problems. We also had to put a small piece on the back door hatch. I thought this one would have been easier but it came out a little rough. There was bumps and air bubbles throughout it. We decided to take it off and try again another time. This frustrated me because it took a long time and we got some progress done but not a lot.
April 9 2022 -
Today was all the little pieces day. We started by attaching the hatch to the camper through a huge hinge that works beautifully. Then we had to put trim on all of the edges. At first we didn't know how we would bend the trim around the sharp curves. We came up with the idea to cut slits in the trim to allow it to be more flexible. Attaching this was very tedious. Then we put on the door which had a lot more parts to it then I could have imagined. By the time the door was done it was three pieces of plywood thick. We then cut a hole for the window and test fitted that. It will go in after painting. We then water sealed it some gel coat on edges of plywood. Today was very exciting because it was the last final pieces before the final pieces if that makes sense.
Left to do -
Paint
Rubber Sealers
Hydraulics for back hatch
Window
Aluminum front and back pieces
Then anything to make it look nice on the inside.
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