Looking Forward to the End....A Little Closer

I wanted to start this week's entry with some information for those who have either purchased and received a poor quality trailer with safety issues and for those that placed a deposit on a trailer and did not receive one or a refund.  There are avenues you can move forward with against Crybaby Teardrop/Surfside Custom Trailers.  Let me start with the folks that did not receive a trailer, I encourage you to file a report with the Huntington Beach Police Department, they are aware of this business and you can have a report taken at the desk.  I also encourage you to leave feedback on Yelp, both business names are there.  For those who have received a trailer with safety issues such as a cut axle, doors that do not stay shut, and if your trailer is registered as a utility trailer please contact me immediately I have information for filing a report with the proper authorities.  As a trailer builder trailers must meet certain safety standards before they are deemed worthy for the road.  I ask everyone who has suffered because of their business practices to contact me in moving forward with a lawsuit against them.  tabitha.wbtb@gmail.com Now on to some fun stuff.

The  weather has been a bit weird some days it's up in the 90's with blazing sun and then days like today were I have to come to a stopping point because we are in a flash flood warning.  No rain yet but didn't want to be working and have a downpour.

                                       

Waiting for the weather to pass.

                                       

We started the back cabinet with the shelf bottom.

                                       

I cut the uprights to fit the slope of the roof.

                                       

I secured the uprights with 1"x1"'s and framed the top and side with the same to support the face.

                                      

With some wood glue and nail gun the face started to go up.  I used the leftover pieces of cedar to match the rest of the interior.

                                      

The weather finally passed and I headed back out to complete my project.  The face to the cabinets installed.  The cedar planks were not very wide and they were thin and I worried the table saw would splinter the wood so I decided to use my tile saw.  I added some water and it cut the boards beautifully and I didn't need to sand any splinters.

                                      

Both side cabinets will have doors and the center we will leave open.

The rear cabinets trimmed out now here comes the before and after!

I had to share again, this was our rear shelf which broke our first trip out.

Pillows, clothes pins, sheets and a deck of cards..... this should not have broken but you can see the material that was used... no glue, no reinforcement, just this held in by the over-sized stereo housing.  Look at the ceiling falling down in one spot and off to the side it doesn't even go to the wall.

When we got the trailer the shelf looked normal until we put something on it.  The speakers we moved to the ceiling so they wouldn't get damaged by gear during travel.  The stereo we removed and use just an XM receiver and amplifier connected to the speakers.  The new cabinets now fit the space and are built to last.

My project list keeps getting smaller and with this complete the cabin is finished.  I still have some big projects ahead of me, I mean I still have to replace the windows, galley lid and hinge, have all the pinned joints on the frame welded, secure the under bed storage floor, have the rims and fenders stripped and powder coated, rebuild the spare tire mount, and seal the undercarriage.  Looking at this list may make some cringe but this is an eighth of what it was and doesn't make me dizzy looking at it anymore.

In closing I want to share some camping hacks to help during your next trip.  It's summer and that means bugs and other critters are out just waiting for their next snack to roll into camp.  Now we don't like bringing chemicals into the wild with us so here are a couple of natural recipes that work really well.

Mosquito Spray

Catnip

Lavender 

Vinegar

Almond Oil

Spray Bottle

Soak the catnip and lavender in a jar of vinegar for 2 weeks (cloves also work well in place of catnip), strain into a spray bottle and add 1-2 TBSP almond oil (olive oil can be used in place of almond).  The oil helps it stick to the skin better.  Mosquitoes, flies, and other bugs do not like the smell of these and will stay far away.

You can burn sage bundles to keep bugs away, use the bundle like incense and let it smoke in a container on your table.

Cleaner

Vinegar and lemon/orange

Soak lemon or orange in vinegar for 1-2 weeks and put it in a spray bottle.  This will clean and disinfect counter tops, tables, and stoves.

If you're in bear country use plain vinegar, you don't want to attract any unwanted guests.

Bear and Small Animal Deterrent

This one is easy, take some old rags and put them in a container that seals well, add ammonia to soak them.  Once at camp pin them up around the exterior of your camp.  The ammonia cuts the smells of any food and kind of jams the animals noses, they'll go on to another camp that smells of treats.

Remember when you are camping in bear country to put all you food, spices, toiletries, dirty clothes, and anything with a smell including cleaners into the bear box or up in a tree.  Make sure you've cleaned out your car too, a bear can smell a french fry or used candy wrapper from 3 miles away.  A bloodhound has a nose 10x greater than a human, a bear has a nose 30x greater than a bloodhound.

Have a great camp and stay safe!