House Trailer Build

[Caravan Monster]

Well, here I go! Got a trailer. Got timber. Got a plan of sorts.

Sorry for the dark photos, but you get the idea...




My first attempt at making a window

I' m sure the next one will be a bit straighter!



Been living in this for five years... It' s time to make somewhere better to live.



The plan has changed somewhat from those mentioned in my earlier post. My initial ideas were somewhat naive on reflection.

In appearance, the trailer will fall somewhere in between two types: the showman' s wagon and the shepherd' s hut.

The construction will be similar to the housetruck sequence illustrated in Roger Beck' s book.

I'll keep posting as things take shape.

[captainkf]

Good luck. Be sure to have a good idea of what you want it to look like, as it makes the process much smoother!

-Richard

[Caravan Monster]

Thanks Richard.

Progress Report.

Here' s how I drew the curves for the roof formers- there must be an easier way!



Curves chainsawn, adzed down to the line, then planed flat and level-



3" x 2" framing nailed and 12mm ply sheathing glued and screwed-



A little more work to the roof formers is needed, and then it is time to raise the framing. Not looking forward to lifting the 16' x 8' sides because they feel heavy. I' ll have to rig some lifting gear.

[Caravan Monster]

Progress report

Framing goes up





It was quite windy when I did this, which didn' t help!

Just ordered some very expensive breathable oil based weatherproof paint. Hope its worth the extra. I think the brand is IEKO, anyone else used this?

[Caravan Monster]

Roof structure goes on

[j_nigrelli]

good work with that "shin hoe"


keep us posted on the progress

[Caravan Monster]

shin hoe! - it took a few minutes to work that one out

Cladding starts to go up.

[Caravan Monster]

More cladding...

[Caravan Monster]

6mm ply goes on roof



aluminium sheet goes on roof (not fixed yet)

[Caravan Monster]

Windows and door fitted. First coat paint goes on.

[j_nigrelli]

great progress.

will the roof cladding be attached with screws or adhesive?

how far - or often - is this type of venue moved?

please keep photos coming!

j

[Caravan Monster]

Thanks J!

The aluminium roof cladding is a problem. The 'no more nails' type adhesive I had planned to use failed at first attempt to fix to the soffit boards. However, I need to remove the aluminium in order to lay some slater's felt underneath for a belt and braces policy, and also to increase the angle of the bend in the aluminium to improve the fit.

I am confident that with a better fit, the 'no more nails' should work, although pop rivets might also be necessary.

Any of you bus builders have any suggestions about this problem with fixing aluminium sheeting? - you must be familiar with working the stuff.

Cedar shingles like the housetruckers used in the '70' s looked much easier!

I plan to remain stationary, although it would not be a problem to move the trailer short distances. It has a high centre of gravity and the track is just over 5 feet, so low speeds would be desirable, alongside cautious testing of cornering behaviour. Fully fitted out, I estimate it to weigh around 2 tons, so brakes would have to be fitted to travel at normal road speeds. A landrover or small agricultural tractor would pull it no problem.

Historically, very similar homes were used by travelling shows and carnivals, and were pulled by horses. If I had a scanner, I could share a photo from 1904, showing 'Lord' George Sanger' s Circus arriving in town, with Sanger and other showmen, wearing crazy victorian uniforms, stood on the roof of his ornate wagon with a live lion and a lamb!

[maldoran]

hey your project looks great, i used sheet metal screws, self tapping with neoprene washers which you can see on sharkeys website under my wagon, looks wonderful, what are your plans for inside? kevin in CT

[Tim Clevenger]

Thanks J!

I plan to remain stationary, although it would not be a problem to move the trailer short distances. It has a high centre of gravity and the track is just over 5 feet, so low speeds would be desirable, alongside cautious testing of cornering behaviour.

Yeah, I was going to ask about that. I guess that you could fit water tanks and maybe batteries underneath, and that would give you the low center of gravity for towing.

[Caravan Monster]

Thanks Kevin and Tim.

When I bought the trailer, the farmer told me that they did use it for moving bales of hay and straw and stacked it high. I guess the centre of gravity would have been in a similar place then. The farmer uses modern tractors, so they would have been moving at well over 30 mph, and didn' t report problems.

Were I inclined to take to the road, I would follow similar plans to Tim' s suggestion. Overall though, I think it would be best to just take it slow and enjoy the journey- you get there in the end!

Back to the roof- the trouble with using steel screws on aluminium sheet is corrosion- something to do with electrolysis I think. I do hope to avoid using fastners on the top surface of the roof, but am resigned to using them alongside adhesive on the soffit boards.

Interior wise, I have redwood floor boards and have ordered horizontal matching boards to clad the walls. I will make removable panels to fit between the rafters for the ceiling. Insulation is being considered at the moment- I am veering toward sheep' s wool type to retain the breathability of the structure and complement the non toxic materials that I have used thus far. Decent quality old furniture is quite cheap in the UK, and I plan to seek out some interesting stuff to give the interior a bit of character.

Working on wiring today, but when the rain and wind stops and I can get the roof sorted, I will have to return to the day job to keep my customers happy and continue working on the caravan nights and weekends, so progress will slow down.

Advice for anyone planning a first housetruck type build- it will take longer than you think! When I read Roger Beck' s book, I thought nine months was excessive for Sam to build his complex bus, with that amazing aircraft canopy. I now realise that they were working at a good pace.