Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
You could also go with some paper backed veneer. The stuff is great to work with cuts with scissors and you could cut a nice design into it to make it look like you meant to do it, ( I will never tell).
Bill
That seems to be about the going price for 100 ah, I spent about $470 for a a 50 ah from Bioenno power and am using 2-100 watt flexible solar panels from Renology. They are both mounted on the front of the teardrop curved surface ( not ideal) as I did not want to loose storage space on the rack. I am near the completion of my build so I can tell you how this combo is working out but will post this summer when I have some experience with it.
Bill
Andrew,
I can see why you passed the 250 hr build as your finish is outstanding. Mounting the lead acid battery low like that instead of on the galley floor makes good sense, however I built my trailer with Timbren axel-less suspension, this lowered my frame about 3-4 inches and I was concerned with battery getting hit underneath so I went with a much more expensive lithium battery in the galley box. The primary reason for the Timben axels was to lower the overall height to compensate adding the ICC module however I should also be rewarded with a smoother ride. I will let you guys know how that works out when I complete my build I will open a thread outlining my unique changes and how they have worked out.
Bill
Andrew,
I can see why you passed the 250 hr build as your finish is outstanding. Mounting the lead acid battery low like that instead of on the galley floor makes good sense, however I built my trailer with Timbren axel-less suspension, this lowered my frame about 3-4 inches and I was concerned with battery getting hit underneath so I went with a much more expensive lithium battery in the galley box. The primary reason for the Timben axels was to lower the overall height to compensate adding the ICC module however I should also be rewarded with a smoother ride. I will let you guys know how that works out when I complete my build I will open a thread outlining my unique changes and how they have worked out.
Bill
They ship the kit with lv (low viscosity) epoxy to make it easier to saturate the glass weave. The trade off is at higher temperatures it tends to fish eye and orange peel on the flat panels or second and third buildups. I ordered Mass epoxies flag resin and it helped considerably. If you used other brands of epoxy you will appreciate what a really great quality the Mass products are. One thing I did notice is probably due to the different viscosity the 2:1 pumps with the kits tend to dispense more hardener than resin. The ratio is close enough that it hardens fine however when you get the the end of the gallons you will find you will run short on hardener. I just purchased an extra pint and was good. Of course for the larger layups you want to measure your epoxy with a digital scale and never mix up more than 12 oz at a time or it will cure way to fast. On my larger layup for the outside of the tear drop I had 12 batches pre-measured in Dixie cups and a dedicated person to mix as me and 2 other people applied and spread. this was what I considered the sweet spot of manpower for the layup and it took us 1 1/2 hours to complete it. It would have been a perfect layup had not the temperature rising from 70 degrees at the start and rising to about 80 by noon, the epoxy off-gassed seriously and I had numerous bubbles in my otherwise perfect layup. Oh well live and learn, I could point out at least a dozen mistake a casual observer would never see, ahh the joy of diy.
Bill
Bill
Adam,
I live in Bakersfield California, the biggest mistake I made was having the kit shipped to me in the summer. As soon as I received the kit the wood began to warp, from the damp east coast to 100 degree west coast it seriously complicated the build. Also not only did it shorten the pot time of the epoxy but when I started in the morning with cooler temperatures and the epoxy began to cure with the temperature rising in the noon I had serious off gassing that left bubbles all over my otherwise perfect Layup. I am retired and I worked on it 3-4 days a week with camper and ICC carrier I am about 4 months for my build.
Bill
They document the build process so well and with the info on this forum most any capable person should be able to build it. The only real difficult part of the build is the sanding and that is the make or break to the final appearance upon completion. Also temperature will play a big part in your working time with the epoxy if you are in a warmer part of the country you will want have some assistance when doing the glassing process and figure on doing them one seam at a time.
good luck Bill
Not sure if you have tried this but I tip the epoxy with a foam sponge after applied with a roller. I thought it was just final coat but it save you a great deal of sanding base coats as well.
Bill
