On Friday we built the electrical components "box". We used a leftover piece of subfloor to create a platform so the battery and inverter could sit above the vent and drain pipes for the gray tank. The other advantage of this platform is keeping the electrical components up over and away from any leaks that might occur around that back end of the trailer. We attached a lighter piece of plywood to create a side for the distribution panels to be mounted on. This way components can be accessed from the back hatch but also from under the bed inside the trailer. The "box" is about 17" tall, so the bed platform will be able to extend over it.
Most of the electrical components have arrived, so it was fun to do a little unboxing. Our 200ah lithium ion battery from AIMS is predictably massive, but I was also surprised by the size and heft of our 2000w inverter-charger, and I'm a little worried about having all that weight on the tail end of the trailer. We lined up the supports for the platform with the two main beams in the trailer frame, which should help distribute the weight. Our AC distribution panel and DC fuse block also arrived, and Will thinks he will be able to get started next week! We might have electric in the Airstream before September!!!
At Wally World, I wistfully examined the 50a --> 30a --> 15a adapters in the RV section at Wally World, dreaming about hooking up the air con to run off of the extension cable we have running from the farm house, hahah.
In other large purchases, Peter ordered our axles. He talked to Colin Hyde, per Will and everyone else's recommendations, and wow, the guy is so knowledgable. What we ended up ordering is: #3500 axle with 12" brakes, powder coated tubes, 32 degrees torsion arms down angle, EZ lube spindles, shock brackets welded in place, and mounting hardware. The 32 degree torsion is in lieu of a lift for the time being. Colin says it will give approximately 1.5" of additional clearance. We are wanting more like 3" of clearance, but Colin said lift kits are not too complicated to install, and easy to add on later, so we felt comfortable delaying that purchase for now.
On Saturday I turned back to the interior skins, only this time armed with Citrastrip. I feel so dumb that I wasted two days trying to strip paint without this. Layer one for 30 minutes softens the Kilz enough that I can use a paint scraper to get it off, and layer two for 20 minutes weakens the blue paint enough that the powerwasher can get it back down to the vinyl. Bonus: it smells very pleasant! I was only able to get through half the skins before I ran out of Citrastrip (and gas for the power washer), but then it was time to leave for our next project.
The sawmill!
Peter's mentor and the officiant at our wedding graciously invited us to his farm and sliced our locust log into six hefty pieces. I got to feed the cows their evening beer mash, and then they fed us smoked turkey, and I am just really thankful for this couple and their hospitality! The wood grain and raw edges on the boards are really beautiful, albeit super freaking heavy, but I'm excited to see what my baby is going to be able to do to them when we get to the aesthetic stage of this build.
When we were working on the electrical box, Peter showed me how to use the circular saw, the jigsaw, the sander, and the router, and now I get his affinity for these things! Peter finds this work "fun" and I did not agree at first, but the more he teaches me about power tools and plumbing and carpentry and problem-solving, the more I see where he's coming front. I got hyped about this project in the beginning because I was dreaming of the end product, but the more I learn, the more I enjoy the process.
Next time . . . we have to freaking ground our external lights! I just keep forgetting to do that. I want Peter to add a bracket to the electrical box because the "wall" feels a little flimsy to me. I need to finish scraping paint off of the skins now that I have a method to do this! Peter is probably going to focus on laying more plumbing and melting/shaping the gray tank vent pipe so it can hide between the skins.
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