Boomer the Quadravan 4x4 Camper

[IdaSHO]

Looks good!

I painted my camper using roll and tip, with nothing more than industrial rustoleum and hardener.

Never have used the Pettit system, but it looks to be good stuff.


Are you thinning it for application at all? Viscosity seems to be the trick with applying the rustoleum if you want a smooth finish.

Thin, and many coats.

 

[spencyg]

I'll thin the Petit if necessary, but I'm hoping it will just go on with the need for added steps. I've also had to thin brush-on Rustoleum but it comes out great if you do so.

I've started doing a little sketching on the roof rack. Material is arriving for this project over the week, so I'm hoping to get started next week on this.



SG

 

[Bikersmurf]

I've got a wrap on my Ambo... It stands up well enough on the street, but it wouldn't last a day on the trail. You're way better off with paint. Besides a wrap will put a magnifying glass to the underlying paint... They hide nothing, every last mark will show through.

 

[spencyg]

About what I suspected. Thanks for the feedback. I'm committed to epoxy paint at this point and am rounding the bend on all this sanding. Hopefully I'll start priming this afternoon.

SG

 

[spencyg]

Things have been busy in Boomerville...

First, with the upcoming adventure with Mountain State Overland, one of the (many) perks of being involved is the swag.

Not to gloat, but this most recent care package was pretty over the top.



Lots of stuff from Papa Wolf Supply, Polar Outdoors and Midland Communications, all sponsors of Season 3.

The Midland radio is a unit I'm going to try out during the trip. It is a Micro Mobile MXT100 in-cab GMRS 5W unit which is supposedly more capable for range than a CB. I'm swapping over my HAM radio antenna for the appropriately tuned unit, all easy with the NMO antenna mounts I installed last year. The guys at MSO aren't quite up to speed yet with HAM equipment, so these will be the units of choice. I'll report how I feel about the rig after the trip, as it might be a nice compromise between the spotty/terrible CB and the exclusive HAM sets.

With the spotty weather, I've been trying to keep forward momentum on the front window delete, but between rain showers it was time to start digging into the roof rack.

First the old rack needed to be removed. All the holes, both from rack removal as well as from other patches which have been applied over time then needed to be ground out and filled with fiberglass and resin for a permanent repair ahead of painting.

Grimy, Moldy, Mossy Roof. Cleaning Time.







I dished out every hole with a die grinder, then filled each with 3 layers of fiberglass and resin. I need to finish grinding the patches flush and doing any last filling with some bondo.



While the rain was holding off, I finished the last of the sanding and filling on the front window delete.



And this morning the first coat of primer was applied. I'm expecting at least 3 coats of primer on the new areas, and then the whole topper will get one coat prior to final paint.





With that finished up, I headed inside for some fun with relearning TIG welding on aluminum.



I didn't want to bend the rear corners of the rack tubing since it always looks crappy, and I have 6061-T6 square tube which means it would likely crack anyway.

So I started with some 5" OD and 3" OD aluminum 0.125 wall tube and started fabricating corners. The corners were then joined with 1x1x0.125 square tube to form the rear portion of the rack. This is where I'm at so far.







The mounting strategy is hopefully going to be robust. I've got a 6ft section of 4" Sch40 aluminum pipe which I'll split down the center into quarters. Each quarter will be bonded to the upper rounded edge of the topper with 3M 5200 adhesive. I'll have the section both ahead of and behind the "jog" in the roof treated this way, the forward portion being done only to protect the upper edges of the topper from tree strikes which always seem to happen on the trail. The rear 2 sections will have mounting tabs welded to them before I bond them to the roof, then the rack will bolt to those tabs, like 1 tab every 18 inches or so. After I bond the aluminum sections to the top I'll be able to paint the whole top a uniform off-white.

Stay Tuned.

SG

 

[guidolyons]

That are some sexy TIG welds, nice idea for the corners.

 

[Bikersmurf]

The rack is coming along really well.

I'm also impressed by the glass work. A bit of A-B foam or filler inside and some 'Carpet' inside and it'll look like it came from the factory that way. With LED lights these days, you can easily have plenty of light inside, so you'll never miss the 'windows'.

 

[spencyg]

That are some sexy TIG welds, nice idea for the corners.

I'm one of those guys that can lay a bead when sitting/standing at a bench with everything properly positioned....pull me out of that "ideal" environment though and my TIG skilz go to hell. I only post Picts of the good welds, and there is only one pic

I was able to weld up the full frame yesterday and did a test fit on the roof. I have a little more top profile work to do as the transitions between the roof profile and the rack "aren't quite there yet".

Thanks for the comments in the glass work. I have never found fiberglass to be all that hard to work with, it is just extremely time consuming to have it come out right. There is far more sanding involved in a good repair than anything else.

SG

 

[TravelsWithRalph]

look good. Nice sketch too. Program or pencil?

 

[spencyg]

For quick 2d stuff I use Draftsight which is a direct (and I mean, command for command) knock off of AutoCAD. When I need more detail I immediately turn to my primary 3d modeling platform, Solidworks. This particular sketch started in Draftsight and I've been hand sketching over the printout. Capturing Boomer's profile was just an import of a picture and tracing over the outlines in Draftsight.

SG

 

[mgmetalworks]

I'm one of those guys that can lay a bead when sitting/standing at a bench with everything properly positioned....pull me out of that "ideal" environment though and my TIG skilz go to hell. I only post Picts of the good welds, and there is only one pic ...

Here's a tip for Aluminum... brush the heck out of the joint with a stainless brush. I see some light scuffs in your pics but it doesn't look like enough to really break through that oxide layer. You'll have a nicer flowing puddle the cleaner the joint (dirt and oxide free). And brush it immediately before welding. Looks like you have the steadiness and timing down already, that's the hard part for most folks.

I weld with the bigger gas lenses when possible too. Better shielding gas coverage.

 

[Bikersmurf]

I've not taken a glass project like yours, but in my work, I laminate with glass/carbon... I agree it's not hard. Once you know the basics, the rest is just time. Laminating under vacuum with EVA 'bags/sheet' reduces sanding, but would be next to impossible for something that size.

 

[tgreening]

What's your welding setup for this work. Just curious.

And you've probably already thought of this but I didn't see it mentioned...while you're up there I'd clean up around all your roof vents and what-not and pour some self leveling Dicor around them. It'll give you a much needed extra level of leak protection, it's easy to do, and you can get the stuff at just about any RV place. Leaks suck...

 

[spencyg]

Thanks for the feedback on the TIG work. I actually cleaned up the surfaces prior to welding with a 3m nylon grit wheel....totally awesome if you've never tried it. Takes all oxidation off and leaves a (non scratched) virgin surface. I use a gas lens as well. Part of my problem was some older 4340 rod which I think needs to be thrown out. The biggest issue though is that I don't have a hand control for amperage (just foot pedal) and working on the floor when assembling the full frame has me all contorted and uncomfortable. This forces "rushing the puddle" which then leads to contaminating the rod, screwing up the electrode...so on and so on. I mostly just prefer bench welding as my results always come out better. People who I consider true "welders" don't rely on a setup for quality results....I am not a "welder". For a welding machine I run an old beast. Lincoln 250/250 TIG. High frequency start and AC/DC, but no pulse or wave control. I have used higher end units with all the fancy doodads but I like the old girl for the simplicity and the shear brawn. I do run a water cooled torch which is a God send.

And as for bagging, I would have preferred to bag, and do so whenever I'm working with CF. As you said, for something like this it would have been far more trouble than it would have been worth.

I'll look into Dicor...never heard if it.

SG

 

[justcuz]

Things have been busy in Boomerville...

First, with the upcoming adventure with Mountain State Overland, one of the (many) perks of being involved is the swag.

Not to gloat, but this most recent care package was pretty over the top.



Lots of stuff from Papa Wolf Supply, Polar Outdoors and Midland Communications, all sponsors of Season 3.

The Midland radio is a unit I'm going to try out during the trip. It is a Micro Mobile MXT100 in-cab GMRS 5W unit which is supposedly more capable for range than a CB. I'm swapping over my HAM radio antenna for the appropriately tuned unit, all easy with the NMO antenna mounts I installed last year. The guys at MSO aren't quite up to speed yet with HAM equipment, so these will be the units of choice. I'll report how I feel about the rig after the trip, as it might be a nice compromise between the spotty/terrible CB and the exclusive HAM sets.

You might want to order some of these from your home state as a momento for the MSO guys. I ordered 10 and only had to pay 4.80 postage! Go on their website and order them now so they will be here for the guys. You can't buy any kind of survival book for $4.80 let alone get 10 of them!