Planks and Rails

The choc rails are now attached and set with bedding compound. I would probably use some sort of caulking in the future as the bedding compound never quite cured. I used epoxy on the corner joints to fill in the gaps and to seal the end grain against seepage. Finally I went around the entire rail with caulking. You may notice that I also caulked between all the planks in the floor. I was originally only going to lay down tarpaper between the planking and the subflooring but the more I looked at the gaps between the planking, and the more I thought about the amount of spray that was going to be coming through those gaps, I figured more caulking was probably a very good idea.

To Be Square

This is the trailer, it is nice and shiny and new. That is soon to change. I knew the overall dimensions of the trailer so I began by measuring the trailer and then cut the segments of my choc rail to match. This was wrong. I had made an assumption and we all know what that means.

LEARNING CURVE NOTE: Do not assume that your trailer is actually square. Check this before fitting pieces to the trailer.

After much futile adjusting I resorted to trimming, adding, and patching. From here onwards I'll cut and fit pieces to my plan dimensions and realize they are not going to sit quite right on the trailer base.

Blueprint Blues

As preparation for the wagon course we were instructed to come with a set of rough plans. So the first set of plans were drawn up.
During the week of the course we worked on refining our concepts and so composed a more detailed and improved set of plans. Plans version 2.0 drawn up.
Although I had decided on the trailer that I was going to construct the wagon upon prior to attending the workshop, I did not get it delivered until a few weeks later as I needed to add a trailer hitch to my car to be able to tow it home. When I got the trailer home and measured it, it turned out to be four inches longer than it was supposed to be (I had called the manufacturer to check the dimensions prior to ordering). This was not really a problem since it meant I gained some interior space, but it meant that my current plans were now four inches off. Plans redrawn, version the third.

LEARNING CURVE NOTE: Obtain your trailer before beginning to draw up any sort of construction designs.

Since beginning the construction process I have found the plans to be more of a point of departure than an actual architectural design that I can dimension lumber from.

Preconstruction Background

In May of 2009 I attended a workshop on Gypsy Wagon construction at the Port Townsend School of Woodworking. The following posts are my chronicle of the construction process of the gypsy caravan that I am attempting to build.