The Windows and Cabinets are Done

Thanks to tropical storm Fay, the weather here was slightly cooler this weekend. My sister and I were able to permanently install both windows and finally attach the last of the cabinet doors.

A Window and Some Interior Shots

Even though its been almost a month since I posted, I haven't stopped working on the trailer. I have been making the covers for the cushions and painting the cabinet doors. Today, my sister and I finally ventured outside and put on some of the second layer of the roof and cut the hole for one of the windows.

The Powder Puff's First Trip

Granted, it was only 50 feet down the driveway. But it was SPECTACULAR! This is the first time it has ever been out of the garage. So up until today, I didn't know for sure if it would clear the garage door way. I have a very sloped driveway so anything could have happened. I was really afraid to even attempt this as my sister and I have no experience towing anything. I had visions of ripping of the roof or sending the trailer careening into the house across the street. But I wanted to get some full shot pictures of it before I start painting it. This was also the only way to get a shot of the roof. To my surprise and delight, we were able to get it in and out of the garage without any problems.

Microwave

Yep.......that's right.........I found a pink one!

Backsplash

I got this idea about 5 months ago and now I finally got to implement it. I used some beige floor tiles I had laying around. I primered them and then painted them. Some of them are also sprinkled with pink glitter.

And Now for the Sewing Portion of this Project

Since it's too hot to be in my garage, I have been working on things that can be done inside the house. I made a curtain to hang down under the counter top to hide the dog crates.

More Work on the Door

I got the trim around the window and the inside of the door painted.

I Should Be Working on My Roof But............

The weather here is just brutal. It's in the 90's pretty much every day. So I've been working on small things. I built a drawer and attached it under the counter top.

The AC Install is Complete

The air conditioner has been successfully mounted to a drawer slide. The slide I used is rated for 100 lbs. so it easily supports the entire weight of the AC. So I was able to remove the tacky little shelf that I had on the back of the trailer. I tried to take pictures of how it operates but I think you have to watch the video to really understand it.

The Door Has a Handle

My sister and I got the door handle on without any problems. We made a small mock door and installed it in there first to make sure we understood how it worked. The handle is a storm door handle with a deadbolt lock. I know it looks really modern in comparision to my jalousie window but my choices on what to use were very limited.

Jalousie Window

Jalousie windows were popular on travel trailers in the 1950s and 60s. As soon as I decided to build my own trailer, I knew that I wanted to use this type of window. I felt like it would give my trailer the retro look that I'm shooting for. Back in January, when my sister and I went to the junk yard, I was hoping to find some of these windows. There was only one in the entire junk yard. It was in the door of this old delivery truck.

We fought for 2 and a half hours in the blazing sun with no water to get the window out of that door. I really wanted to give up but my sister insisted that we keep working until we got it out. I'm really glad she made me stick it out because now I have a great since of satisfaction seeing it in the door of my trailer.

Knock, Knock

After 3 weeks of working on it, the door is finally on. I had been putting off building the door because I made a big mess cutting out the doorway. It was really hard to control the saw holding it vertically. So the doorway ended up being very crooked and uneven. I wasn't sure how on earth I would get a door to fit. I bought a sheet of 1/8 inch door skin, clamped it over the doorway, and traced around it from the inside of the trailer. After about 3 hours of shaving off tiny slivers, the piece finally fit inside. Then I put the piece onto a sheet of 3/8 inch plywood and cut it out. It fit pretty good but then I had to frame the door with 1 X 3s. That seemed to throw everything off and there were many more hours of shaving tiny slivers. Once I got it to fit with the framing on it, I filled in the middle with sheets of styrofoam and glued the door skin to the side that faces inside the trailer. All along, I knew that the piece of plywood was bowed out but I thought that the framing pieces would straighten it out but it didn't. So I clamed the top half of the door to a dog crate (just what was available) and let the bottom half hang over unsupported. Then I put a lot of weight on the bottom corner of the door and left it there for 2 days. It's not completly straighten out but I felt like was close enough to go ahead and attach the door.

I Have Power

The electrical wiring was by far my biggest worry on this project. There was no way I was going to try and figure it out on my own because electricity is very dangerous and I wasn't about to take any chances on getting hurt or starting a fire. My dad has done some electrical work in the past so I asked him to help me. Once he showed me how to run the first circuit, it was surprisingly easy to run the rest of them. I decided to go with a 15 amp service instead of a 30 amp. The 30 amp would have been almost triple the price. My only limitation with the 15 amp is that I will have to turn the air conditioner off in order to run the microwave.

I Wasn't Taking a Break

I've had several people ask me why I stopped working on my trailer because I haven't posted anything lately. I didn't stop working on it. I just didn't have anything very exciting to post. But now I do. I just finished my little dinette table and it is so cute! It's made out of left over fiberboard from the counter top. I used the folding leg and brackets from the table in the old camper. I glued thin wooden rails to the cabinet fronts so the table can be lowered down to make one big bed out of the two separate beds on either side of the trailer.

And now for something much less exciting. The other thing I have been working on is getting my air conditioner installed. When it is pushed out like it is supposed to be, it sticks out past the bumper. This could potentially cause a bad situation if I were to get rear ended while towing. In order to avoid that, the AC cannot be permanently mounted so that it can come in and out of the trailer. Not mounting it with the brackets that it comes with causes a problem of making sure it doesn't fall out of the back of the trailer. I attached a little wooden shelf to the bumper to solve the problem but I am not happy with it and I am currently researching a better way to install it. I have seen pictures of people attaching drawer slides directly to the AC. I haven't found any step by step instructions but I going to try it based on what I see in the pictures. I also ended up returning the first AC I bought because it was broken. I bought a different brand to replace it because the Goldstar had these metal clips on the bottom that were causing problems due to the fact that I am using the AC in a totally different way from which it is intended to be used.

Doggie Door?

I cut the hole in the back of the trailer for the air conditioner but my crazy dogs seem to think that it's a door for them.

One Light Fixture Up

I really hope that these fixtures are going to work because I love the way they look. They totally fit the style of my camper. I made the box for the light out of plywood and a 1X3. I attached it to the wall with a piano hinge. I put it on a hinge so that I could still get to the wires once the roof is on. It doesn't tilt down as much as I was hoping it would but I am using hinges that came out of my old camper so if it doesn't work, at least it didn't cost me anything.