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It will be a very long wait until my kit gets here (looks like mid november!)
Could someone list some useful things to gather to make the process go smoothly without too many trips to the hardware store?
There is a nice list of recommended tools on p. 17 of the instruction manual. The list is similar to those of other stitch and glue projects. Many are common tools (drill, 1/16″ bits, screwdrivers, wrenches, pliers, wire cutters, scissors, utility knife, sander (e.g., 4″ random orbital), safety equipment (respirator/dust mask, safety glasses), some are less common such as Japanese pull saw (not essential, but useful), block plane (extremely useful) and one or more wood rasps. You will also need some consumables such as disposable gloves, sand paper, foam brushes, chip brushes, low nap foam rollers, plastic spreaders… Hopefully, you have access to the manual and can take a look at the list provided.
I forgot to mention one of the most important group of tools and that is clamps… you need a lot of these… spring clamps work well — 30 – 60 of these (you can never have too many clamps)… My clamp collection grows after each new project… I probably have over a hundred by now.
thanks, I bought the manual to study . one question, it seems a lot of steps require an extra set of hands. do you have a helper or doing this solo?
also , which trailer will you be using?
In many cases, I was able to manage solo (I’m a big guy and used to working solo) — however, there was higher risk of a problem (damage to the camper, a tool or me). I assessed the risk and tested the process before committing to doing it solo. I did get a helper for a few short steps such as when I had to flip the assembled camper over, but I was able to do all of the other steps solo.
I plan to get the Trailex trailer in the spring when I finish the camper off. I did look at some other trailers, but figure if I’m putting all this work into the camper, why not go for the deluxe trailer… I’m sure that others will work, but one that I found (and aluminum trailer from Northern Tool) looked good but after looking at reviews I found that it was only rated for 55 mph… I would rather spend the money for a trailer that I know will work and is light weight. I’ll be putzing with my camper a little over the winter, but mine is essentially all assembled and coated with epoxy. I have to cut a few holes for vents and electronics when I purchase those. I’m kind of on hold until I save up the money to buy the second wave of stuff. I’ll be storing my unit in my shop for the winter.
I just discovered this forum a few days ago… I wish I would have had it available and known of it when I was in my building phase. I see a lot of good information here and it is inspirational to see what others have done or are doing. This is a great project! Just read the instructions carefully and poke away at it. If you have more time when you’re working on it, there are steps that can be done in parallel (versus performing the steps in the order they are written). When I had more time on some days, I would look ahead in the instructions and find things to do that didn’t depend on the thing that I had just finished. This helped me accelerate my progress.
Good luck to you and enjoy your project!
man, the worst part is waiting for the kit to be shipped! looks like mid november. so painful… I’ve built the trailer and got it registered. cleaned up the garage.. everything is ready!
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