SKarosser Copy Scratch Home build?????

[mjb666]

Hi Mark

Not a Teardrop but i thought you would appreciate the build on this, all things considered, i reckon it's Great value for what it is

Mike

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-Volkswage ... 1438.l2649

[wonkywheel]

Certainly a step up from the teardrop, with plenty of headroom, indoor cooking, and sink. No leaks either

[wonkywheel]

Friday off work (why not)

I went through all the various parts, roof, base, sides, back and bed checking all had been welded. There was always one or two bits missing so they were sorted.
Then all the weld was dressed back to smooth ready for the skin.

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Then I began to assemble the giant 3D jigsaw puzzle
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First, the right-hand side was screwed into position. Followed by the cabin front, back then the left side. I knocked the left side over and it fell fracturing one of the spar welds. I just marked it up so as not to forget it and carried on. The welder has got to come out soon anyway


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Next was the nose section and the bed base. There was one spar missing from the nose so one will have to be cut. Also, I am not altogether happy with only one spar on the nose center and roof. The fiberglass is only 2mm thick. Its true it will be backed by 25mm Celotex and 2mm PVC sheet but I might put a couple of extras in for luck

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Last was the roof section.

That was about the end of my stamina so I tried to hide it a bit with the camo tarp.

If I have enough box section, cutting the required missing pieces will be next If not then it's welding

[zildjian]

Guess now would be about time to start looking for big unsupported gaps, from the pictures it looks (at least) about right,

We'd better get the scales out soon to think about weighing it to date.

[wonkywheel]

I think it might be too late for the scales now.
Things seemed to happen all at once.
Now it is screwed together I am reluctant to take it apart. When fitting the nose section I found that the cabin end was the wrong way around (the fixing holes didn't match) and that had to be repositioned.
The trouble is, until there are enough fixings in place it's a bit like a pack of cards, move the wrong one and they all come down
As it is I can still lift one corner at a time so I'm guessing at under 100-120 lb?? a corner.
If I can get the lifting Eyes in the truck I might see about a trip to the weighbridge before I put the cladding on.

[wonkywheel]

I think I overdid it a bit on Friday so I had an easy day today. All I did was cut the fiberglass sheet up and measure up the extra spars for extra rigidity. I think I have enough box to cut the parts although I shall need more for the gas box, cupboards, and shelves.

[wonkywheel]

Quite a good day today (Sunday)

I put corner pieces in all the places where they were missing. Screwed all the top half uptight ready to weld.
The rain last night filled the floor area again with water so I decided to alter tack a little and try to make it a bit more watertight. I lay the roof section in place held by "G" clamps. The sun was out and it was quite cool in the shade. I was going to cut and fix the edging angle to hold it in position but found I had on;y one length left So I ordered 15 more 2.5 m lengths to be going on with.


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The cabin top, then, the cab over top, followed by the upper nose front.
If I can put the corner angles on and screw it in position it will give me location points to work to when it comes to gluing them on.


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Left side in position. ( Its starting to look like a camper )




I need to concentrate on the back panel. The unit obscures both sets of lights and the number plate. I ordered a pair of led rear lights but missed the fact that they were really trailer lights and have no reversing lights. Also, my trailer connection plugs are 7 pins (grey and black)
and I have never used or tested the grey socket which I believe is supposed to carry the reversing light connections
Time will tell

My original intention was to vinyl wrap the camper instead of leaving it white, but, the feel of the cool white sheet, both inside and out, compared with the temperature if the aluminium checker plate was quite significant so there might be a rethink on that one.

[zildjian]

Grey plug; interior lighting, Fridge, reversing light & battery charging (stand to be corrected of course)
If not wrap at least some detail to break up large blank panels always seem popular

[wonkywheel]

Slow progress.

I've been trimming and fixing the corner angle to put the drilled location holes in the fiberglass sheet. The sheet comes in a roll and has a tendency to want to belly in the middle of any unfixed area but I am reluctant to spoil the nice clean surface with fixing screws or pop rivets. I think I will try a grab adhesive when it comes to fixing the sheets to the frame.
I had started at the back to get ready to put the tail light units in position but as I moved along to the door frame I still wasn't happy with the way the door shells fitted in the frame. I had already ground the weld away to reposition one of the spars and refixed it but not well enough for my liking.

It took some serious effort to get it the way I wanted it. I got the reciprocating saw out and cut through 3 spars at the weld. Used a 2lb lump hammer on an aluminum drift to break and distort 2 more joints the used a 36-inch Stilson to twist part of the framework into position.
When I was finally happy with the fit, shape, and position of the door frame I found the modifications meant I needed to replace 3 out of the 4 frame parts with longer pieces to enable them to be welded together

My trusty saw was used to cut out the bottom vertical spar altogether

The framework adjusted with the Stilsons until it was in line(I had sprung it into position the screwed it together but it left a slight bow)
Then the vertical spar refixed with packing into its new position ready to weld.

Frustrating, time-consuming, but I would have always looked at it critically if I had bodged it. Its mine so I have to be happy
Looks like I will be missing the getaway this year by about 2 weekends(given a fair wind) but next year

That took all of this 3 day weekend

[zildjian]

Handling those large sheets sounds a nuisance, I'm away this weekend but could call over the one after if of help,
expect otherwise you can lose some of the fit beneath graphics of course