building the Bullet XV

[westyss]

I wouldn't go to such great lengths for a repair on these doors, they are just not all that rugged to start with. But one thing I do see is that the location of the stop where it is now is not the best, it should be further away from the hinge. What you have there is a good lever to increase the forces on the stop itself. If the stop was away from the hinge then you may not of had the issue to start with. Reduce the lever effect and all that remains is the actual force of a light weight door. (low)I have pretty much the same door and they are not very solid.
I would say its the same as having one of those stops that mount onto the pin of the hinge in conventional homes, the ones that have an adjustment on them to screw out or in to the right stop angle, with the lever of the door you can simply push on it until the hinge screws pull out of the door frame. Those suck by the way, either damages the hinges or pulls the hinge away from the frame. Or they just poke a hole into the door.

[westyss]

I did want to comment on one more thing, in the recent pictures that you posted of the sink area, along the counter top where it transitions to the backsplash, is that white stuff in the corner a moulding or silicone? Looks like silicone to me, and if it is, well that is some fine silicone work there buddy! How do you do the inside corners to have them come out so crisp like that??

[sarconcepts]

Now that I've had some time to contemplate the two major options, I think I'm gonna chose a path right down the middle.
The exopy route - pros, hard enough material to spread out the force of impact
bonds well to the styrofoam & the fiberglass skin, tying it all together
cons, hard enough to transmit the forces to the interior panel

The sprayfoam route - pros, fills back up the void
won't transmit the forces to the interior panel
cons, doesn't really do anything for holding the door components together (it still acts as a hole)

I was thinking yesterday & realized I still have a couple tubes of the caulking/sealant I used while making the camper - Deagabond 54
it's a great product used specifically for the transportation industry, clean & paintable, works well, bonds REALLY well to anything (fiberglass & styrofoam) & dries to a hard rubbery consistency
pros, will bond the styrofoam back to the fiberglass, as well as the fiberglass to itself
strong enough to take the impact yet not just transfer it to the interior wall
I can squeeze it behind the fiberglass skin to get good bonding & stiffen the area beyond the hole as well
remains flexible
it's what I planned on using to bond the aluminum plate to the door anyhow

Now I will add, the foam-then-new-fiberglass route would be the best & as good as new, but to be real, I've never worked with fiberglass before, (not really a problem) this is a tiny area & I'm feeling a little too cheap to have the door repainted, so all the work has to be smaller than the replacement aluminum plate! I know I can't do any sanding smaller than the plate, so that's out
westyss
as far as moving the plate & bumper, the door's 8" from the rear of the camper box, so I can't move it any further back, I know it's really close to the hinges.

& yup, that's caulking where the counter meets the wall, you know me.. ..picky, picky, picky, I tried three types of caulk before chosing that one
(& yes, I did mock up caulk beads)!
it's not silicone however
I'll stop by the shop later today then let you know what kind it was, but I do know this, I've developed a real appreciation for water based caulking, because after running a small tight bead, you can wet your finger & run it along the bead to smooth things out, when it looks just right, let it dry.
thanks for all the input
steve

[sarconcepts]

here's the baby, cheap & creamy!
easy to find too
caulk.jpg

[motrhed]

FYI, I have used a ton of the Alex Plus caulking (filling household trim joints/nail holes) and have noticed that it shrinks over time if not sealed or painted.

[sarconcepts]

I haven't noticed that yet (those pics show the caulking a year old), but have you found one that doesn't shrink unpainted, (as this is) over time?
& still be water soluble

[motrhed]

Actually I haven't really looked for one, I just make sure to paint over the Alex in a reasonable time period and have had no issues since.
In thinking about it, perhaps it is the drier climate in Alberta that is the issue rather than a product fault.
BTW you did an incredible job on the entire unit but most notably the cabinetry... the craftsmanship and design is top notch.

[DiploStrat]

Most impressive! Can't believe that I missed this over the last two years! I especially enjoyed the way you evolved your needs in a camper and your comparison between the Bullet and your first Toyota. But a question: unless I missed something, you specifically skipped bathing and toilet facilities. I understand the difference between a camper and a motorhome, but this seems like an odd choice for a vehicle intended for trips of several months. Following your obit of the U.S., was this still a good choice?

As I am looking at Rickson wheels and commercial tires, are you still happy with your choice?

Congrats on building a most impressive beast!

[sarconcepts]

This reminds me I forgot to show the final door holder repair.. ..
but first,
remember these.... .... .
upholstery 009.jpgupholstery 016.jpg
Although we don't mind 'going' in the woods, Bethany does pee in the middle of the night, & I didn't want her outside in the dark in bear or cougar country, so I installed a pee toilet which drains along with the sink into the grey water tank.
This worked just fine for the full 2 1/2 months traveling last fall.
Bill Swail did show us the cassette toilets in the Earthroamers, they do seem really easy to empty, but i didn't see pooping as a great problem for us, & that proved true last fall as well
as far as bathing.. ..
P8110254.jpg
this is what we do regularly,(this was up in whistler BC) but as a backup I did install an outside shower on the rear just below the fuel cans
PA071396.jpg
but we have yet to need it.(still, I'd recommend it)

As far as Rickson, yup, I still like what I got, along with the Yokohama TY303 tires, they took a while, but that gave me time to do other things.

For the door holder, I did as I said, & filled the hole in the door with degabond 54 caulk/sealant, while it dried to a hard rubbery luscious door filling, I cut some extra aluminum plate I had lying around into two compression/tension plates, one for the door bumper (covering the hole up high) & the other to bond to a larger area of the door bottom to attach & spread the potential forces of the new door holder.
Aluminum's so nice to work with, I cut it with my chop saw, & gave it the beveled edge by hand with my table belt sander - so easy
I put a nice bed of Degabond on the back side, then bolted them onto the door (with stainless molly screws) until the bed squeezed out the edges then let it dry.
After it dried, I carefully cut off the extra, then had the lower plate painted & both clear coated,
The final product is WAY better than the original rubber plunger type door stay, that one wouldn't even hold the door open on the street in front of my home (granted it's pretty steep)
door stop 006.jpgdoor stop 008.jpgdoor stop 009.jpgdoor stop 007.jpg
For the bumper, I kept the same stem from the rubber plunger, cut off the pointed end, drilled & tapped a hole to screw a new rubber bumper to, thus, had no screw holes to repair
door stop 012.jpg
the door holder was from fastenall, a spring loaded door stay that stays in the down position while driving, (not just clanging around)
door holder.jpg
these come in many lengths

hope this all helps
steve

[Overland Hadley]

the door holder was from fastenall, a spring loaded door stay that stays in the down position while driving, (not just clanging around)
door holder.jpg
these come in many lengths

I like the door holder, thanks for the info on it.