Doors and windows and handles... oh. my...

    It has been awhile since the last post because I have been working on a couple of things that really don't amount to anything of interest to anyone else and don't come with any cool pictures.  The hatch finishing process has been  a hassle, and tracking down an aluminum source has proven to be somewhat problematic.  But...  This just in! Breaking news!  Today we were able to place a confirmed oder with a local metal company for all of the aluminum parts necessary to put a roof over our heads and a skin on the galley hatch.  This is big because I feel like once I have the metal phase complete, I can move from scratching my head over the  build to scratching my head over the logistics of the trip itself.  That said, I have made some progress on the camper in the mean time.  The doors to the sleeping cabin, and their hinges, and moldings,  have all been sitting around the shop for quite some time, so I figured it would be a good time to tackle the door installation while I figured out the metal supply business.  The door installation process turned out to be much more time consuming and tedious than anticipated, but I will spare you the stops and starts; I'll give you the version that makes it look like I know what I'm doing.  Brevity is a virtue, right?

The first step is to bend the t-molding around the door.  This molding covers the gap between the camper side and door, and will eventually get a weather strip around it to seal out rain and wind.  Here you can see the straight length of molding, the end made flush to the flat side of the door, clamped to the lower, straight section of the door.  

Pulling away from the clamped section, the molding is bent around the door a little at a time.

Here the bend is complete and clamped into place.  Then the top end is marked, cut to length and filed smooth.  At this point, screws are countersunk through the molding into the edge of the door every 3"

Once released the molding rebounds a bit but is ready for a bead of silicone and final application to the door.

The hinge has been cut to length, and had countersunk holes drilled in it.  The door has already been hung and pilot holes have been drilled in the edge of the door as well as in the edge of the door opening.  All that remains is to lay a bead of silicone and screw it in.

Ta da! it's a door... almost.

   

Looks pretty good, but it seems to be missing something.  It would be nice if there were some way to open and close the thing, and maybe something to fill up that big hole and keep the bugs out.

Locking door handle

Sliding window

 

That's better.

   

       There are a few more things to work out before the doors are really operational, but they do go some distance to completing the look.  I still need to do the weather stripping and there is an aluminum drip rail that needs to be bent to the shape of the top of the door.  It will need to be bent on a form and attached to the camper side just above the door so that it carries any water running down the side of the camper around the door opening.  I also need to monkey around with the door handles a bit to make them latch correctly.  All that said, it is very good to get some of these parts out of their boxes and into their rightful places.  As the girls see the camper coming together, they are both getting pretty excited about the journey ahead.  They've both been talking about it quite a bit.  Yesterday, as Kinsey was helping me weatherstrip the doors, she said, "I can't wait to see it roll out that door."  It made me smile.  Their mounting excitement makes me realize two things.  I have made them a pretty serious promise, and there is less time than I think to make it happen.

Kat's Comments 

The girls have both had their turn so it's only fair that I get a a chance to chime in. Right? Watching this whole process has been amazing. Not only are we getting a gorgeous teardrop trailer out of this but my husband is now blogging. The mind boggles. He has been working non-stop for months juggling multiple projects. The man is crazy. Crazy awesome. I get called in from time to time to offer opinions or hold things. Mostly hold things. This weekend I held the doors and then the windows. What Ry doesn't tell you is how hard each of these steps were. Things are never as simple as one would hope. But here's the thing, despite parts refusing to fit or not being as advertised, Ry has consistently been able to make it work. I have always called him my fix-it man. Whenever I have issues with making some thing or another work Ry figures it out for me. The trailer is no different. While there may be a wee bit of profanity involved, in the end he gets the job done. So while I miss having him around, I am am eternally grateful for what he's enabling our family to do. Cheers, my dear, and don't worry, we'll figure it all out in time.