Fiberglass M416/M100 Military-style Trailer Tub Kit

[jscherb]

What tire pressure do you run? The first photo there looks like only the inner tread lugs are touching pavement. I'm wondering myself what PSI to run when my trailer is complete... overinflate to have less rolling resistance sounds good, but would hinder the braking performance.

Those are just an extra set off the Jeep, haven't changed the pressure since they were on the Jeep. When there's no load in the trailer this set of tires looks like that, when the trailer is loaded they've got a better contact patch.

 

[jscherb]

The fabric for the covered wagon top arrived today. I went with the Sunbrella acrylic from Sailrite, in a color they call Fern, it's a close match to the large olive drab sample I did the mockups with. Laid out on the floor are all the materials for the project - fabric, zippers, snaps, etc., and four plastic plant stakes...

The plant stakes will be inserted into sleeves at the bottom of each roll-up side panel, they'll make it very easy to roll the sides up in a tight roll. The sleeves will have open ends, so if I want to remove them they'll slip right out.

I also picked up a Sailrite hotknife, it's great for cutting synthetic fabrics like acrylic, polyester and nylon because it seals the edges as it cuts - no unraveling, so it makes some hems and other edges a simpler to finish off.

 

[jscherb]

Before beginning the sewing work on the covered wagon top, I decided to improve a few minor details on the frame and hardware and paint it olive drab.

Now the sewing fun can begin.

 

[jscherb]

I've begun the sewing of the covered wagon top, and I'll try to post steps along the way in case people are thinking of sewing their own. The project is being juggled among several other priorities these days, so it'll probably take a few weeks for me to get this done, but I hope to make some progress every few days.

This morning I sewed the bow sleeves - these sleeves go around the bows and zipper in place, and will be sewed to the underside of the main canvas to secure it to the bows.

In this photo I've got two sleeves zipped in place, and the third is draped over the middle bow.

Here's a closer view of a test sample I sewed, it shows the sample sleeve sewed into the main canvas, and the sleeve zipped around the bow. I'm holding the sample upside down for the photo; the sleeve goes on the inside/underside of the canvas, not on top.

All three in place.

The next step is to make up the roof; it'll be made from two pieces of canvas, seamed in the center along the middle bow.

 

[jscherb]

I also got the top panel seamed together today before running out of time...

I used what's called a semi-flat-felled seam to join the two pieces of fabric together; the same seam also attached the bow sleeve to the underside of the panel. Seams like this are common in boat bimini top and Jeep soft top construction because they're very strong and very water resistant. A closer view of the seam:

Here's a video explaining a semi-flat-felled seam:


And an inside view, showing the bow sleeve that's been attached to the panel zipped around the bow. The center bow has been sewn to the top panel; the rear bow in this photo will be sewn to the top panel at the same time as the end panel gets sewn.

The next step is to do the semi-circular top end panels, which will also include attaching the bow sleeves for the outer bows.

 

[screwball48]

Looking very nice.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jscherb]

Got the end panels sewed on today.

Next I'll trim/hem the bottom of what I've done so far, and then I can start making the roll-up side panels.

 

[Captain K-man]

Looking good.

 

[jscherb]

Looking very nice.

Looking good.

Thank you very much. Still a bit of work to do, but I think it's coming out ok so far.

 

[Titanpat57]

I really find this mind boggling. How do decide the sequence of pieces to assemble first? Also, do have to include an allowance for expansion or contraction?

Thanks for sharing all this work.

 

[jscherb]

I really find this mind boggling. How do decide the sequence of pieces to assemble first? Also, do have to include an allowance for expansion or contraction?

Thanks for sharing all this work.

I started with an overall design for how I wanted the covered wagon to look and work, and from that worked out a plan of the fabric parts necessary for that design and how they'd have to go together to give me the end result I was looking for. Then I worked out a sewing sequence based on how all the different parts were designed to work and assemble. For example, the zipper sleeves for the bows get sewed to the main top panel using the same stitching that holds the top panel parts together, so the sleeves had to be made before sewing the top panel together. I worked through a plan for each step of the sewing, which dictated what parts had to be made first.

The design and planning process really isn't much different than the process I go through for any design and construction project, whether the material be sheet metal, wood, fiberglass, or fabric, the thought process isn't that much different, only the tools, materials and techniques differ. It's all about thinking through the design and planning the sequence. With any of my projects I typically spend more time designing and planning than actually doing the construction, and I usually only post the details of a small fraction of the design and planning work.

This material (Sunbrella acrylic) is very dimensionally stable; it doesn't shrink and stretches very little over time, so no allowance has to be made for expansion or contraction. That's one reason I went with the more expensive Sunbrella instead of the nylon Cordura fabric I was originally looking at, nylon will stretch a bit over time. (Also, Sunbrella is very UV resistant and Cordura somewhat less so).

 

[jscherb]

I only had enough time for sewing today to hem the bottom of the top panels. This part of the project is done now, the roll-up side panels will zip to the bottom of this. Making the side panels is up next.

 

[jscherb]

This morning's sewing - got the front panel done.

Snapped down. I used green snaps because I thought bright chrome ones wouldn't go with the military look.

There's a rod in a pocket on the inside that makes it really easy to roll up the panel into a tight roll. The rod is removable should I ever need to take it out.

Rolled up:

If you're wondering why the rolled up panel is wider than the frame, it's because the front panel has flaps that go around the sides and will cover the vertical zippers between the front and the side panel. This is to prevent water entry at those zippers.

Inside:

Still have the other 3 sides to sew.

 

[jscherb]

Got a little more sewing done today - one side panel. In the first photo it's rolled down and you can see how the flap that part of the front panel wraps around and covers the zipper. There will also be velcro under the flap to hold it down; the velcro isn't in yet.

Rolled up:

Inside:

The back panel and the other side still to go.

 

[Kmrtnsn]

Jscherb,

Very impressive, I wish I had both your free time, and talent. Your threads never cease to amaze.