Author: Daniel

As I check all the things before the helpers arrive, I notice this window opening is too narrow. Oops. Another one of those cases where I changed the window on the plan but failed to update the layout marks on the wood. But it’s all built and locked together. Crap. Actually, this is not a … Continue reading First Level Framing & Raising

The next few photos will seem a little out of sequence with the story line simply because I got ahead of myself while I had a backlog of pictures. Shown here, the deck nearly done when I notice there is some ProtectoWrap missing from around one of the wheel covers. This is very inconvenient, as … Continue reading Tape & Frame

First load of lumber. This will turn into walls soon. Mostly 2x4s (a handful are 10ft for top & bottom plates; the rest are 8ft). Some 2x8s for widow and door headers. Some 2x3s for standoffs/junk/brace/utility. Some 1×4 for wall section bracing to keep them square. I spent 14 hours on FRHT today and there’s … Continue reading A Stack of Wood

In the event that I don’t have any helpers for putting up the walls, I’m still going to do it, weather permitting. This means some creative thinking in my noodle is required to figure out how to raise, plumb, true, and square my walls onto a deck that’s 24″ off the ground, solo. I have … Continue reading Wall Raising Cogitation

Once the insulation boards are in, there’s still the matter of the metal parts. Those parts will be very cold in the winter given that they will be in contact with the outside air from below. Enter: more pink stuff! This time, it’s a plastic-y foam called “sill seal” which provides a thermal (and moisture) … Continue reading Deck, Deck, Goose!

At long last, a welder came, removed the busted tail light bracket and installed a new one. Now I can insulate this corner and finish the floor deck! … and after that, it’s time for WALL FRAMING. That’s when things change dramatically. Continue reading Finally, the Bracket

Installing the XPS foam has proven to require more critical thinking than at first you (and I) might imagine. To wit: how does one slide a 54″ long sheet simultaneously under a cable (red arrow, left) and under a lip (red arrow, right), after realizing that once it is flat enough to slide under the … Continue reading Wrangling XPS Foam

Before work can begin in earnest, a dedication seems in order. This is the “tongue plate” – a flat piece of sheet steel that spans the arms of what’s called the tongue, namely the yoke that connects the hitch receiver to the trailer body itself. FRHT is hereby official. Much later, I decided I didn’t … Continue reading What’s in a Name?

A friend posted this photo recently and it caught my eye. I was planning to use “ship lap” wood siding for FRHT. This door appears to be fabricated with a similar lap technique, plus decorative studs. I don’t think I’d go for the Star of David look, but the Wonder-Woman-esque chevrons are quite attractive, I … Continue reading A-door-ation

And now, a short rant. When inspecting the trailer, I noticed the side marker/turn-signal lights were a bit of a distance from the chassis, so I measured them. 8′-8″ lens to lens. Okay… but I thought to be street legal non-wide-load, 8′-6″ was the limit. WTF? You’d think the professionals who designed and built the … Continue reading A Short Rant