Builds Cape Town Troop Carrier CTTC (1 Viewer)

[Troepadoer]

F E E L I N G F R U S T R A T E D ! ! !

After starting with a bang, I came to a screeching halt . . .

The only woodwork I have done previously, have been with either MDF or melamine board. Both these products are a very precise 16mm thick. I use a FESTOOL machine for making the joints with beech wood dominoes. This machine is designed for 16mm thick wood. The problem comes in with the plywood being only 12mm thick. The thickness varies quite a bit from one piece to another, and the extremely thin layer of ply on the outside splits off very easily. Also, I have only a few clamps which are long enough for the pieces of the bench, so I am gluing and clamping one or two pieces together every night. I thought I would be able to finish all the woodwork in a week, but at the moment it does not even look like I will finish with the left side bench before we leave on Saturday for two weeks in the Kruger National Park. V E R Y D I S A P P O I N T E D ! ! !

But enough with the sulking There is a little ray of sunshine! Alu-cab fitted a 270° awning yesterday, and I am really happy with the product. (I will post pics once we are set up in the bush)

So… we might not have cabinets to store our stuff yet, but we will have a shady patch from which we can sip G&T’s and watch the animals at the water hole till sunset

Cheers from a VERY cold Cape Town

 

[cruiserpilot]

I'm in California, it's 100 deg today. I'd take your 4 deg cold in less than a nano-second!!!! Don't worry, the truck will
come around and you will have time to ponder your next move as you sit by the waterhole. I thought 12mm was standard
for a lot of interior builds. I'm surprised the Festool is not more adaptable.

 

[Troepadoer]

I'm in California, it's 100 deg today. I'd take your 4 deg cold in less than a nano-second!!!! Don't worry, the truck will
come around and you will have time to ponder your next move as you sit by the waterhole. I thought 12mm was standard
for a lot of interior builds. I'm surprised the Festool is not more adaptable.

I decided on ply instead of aluminium because of the Festool's ability to make such strong, yet precise joints. What I forgot was that the machine uses the width of the board to determine the exact middle of where the slot is drilled. Because the board is now 4mm thinner, the slot sits 2mm off centre, and again, the slot on the flat side of the attaching board is off with 2mm.

I have made a "jig" to try compensating for this, and it works, but every slot now takes longer to set up, and the join is not so perfect as I would've wanted it.

BUT I WILL NOT GIVE UP

 

[wildphoto]

Hi Troepadoer, I assume you are using the better quality ply? I know there are different qualities and it makes a huge difference to cutting. Check with Baltic Timber.

 

[AlanofOZ]

I decided on ply instead of aluminium because of the Festool's ability to make such strong, yet precise joints. What I forgot was that the machine uses the width of the board to determine the exact middle of where the slot is drilled. Because the board is now 4mm thinner, the slot sits 2mm off centre, and again, the slot on the flat side of the attaching board is off with 2mm.

I have made a "jig" to try compensating for this, and it works, but every slot now takes longer to set up, and the join is not so perfect as I would've wanted it.

BUT I WILL NOT GIVE UP

You must have the patience of a saint!

I initially considered a biscuit jointing tool for my job, but went for doweling joints instead. I used 19mm ply and even that was a bit too thin for a biscuit, but a simple hand-held doweling jig worked in the end. Keep at it, the job will be all the more satisfying for overcoming the challenge.

We got to a top of 15C here in Melbourne today, wet and miserable but not too chilly. The winter solstice was yesterday and today it was dark by 5:15pm.

 

[tmarx]

There is a little ray of sunshine! Alu-cab fitted a 270° awning yesterday, and I am really happy with the product. (I will post pics once we are set up in the bush)

How did they mount it ? Did they reinforce it on the inside ?

 

[Troepadoer]

Hi Theo,

They mounted the front bracket through the stub left from the rib running overhead just behind the passenger's head, and the other on the back corner of the tent. Both brackets are just attached to the outside skin of the bottom half of new roof.

Front bracket

Rear bracket

The awning originally opened too low over the small rear door, but they gave me an extra pole for the rightside corner to lift the last "arm" and now the door will not catch the arm when open.

I love the size of the awning. It will be very handy when cooking behind the car.

 

[Troepadoer]

Hi Troepadoer, I assume you are using the better quality ply? I know there are different qualities and it makes a huge difference to cutting. Check with Baltic Timber.

Hi Wildphoto!

I have decided to go for commercial ply first. It will definitely not be our last build, so only when we are very sure of the final set-up will I rebuild everything in marine ply. So far all the wood has come in under R2000, so it is not the most expensive exercise.

 

[wildphoto]

Well the good news is that I have paid a deposit on a Bushlore Troopy that is already set up as a camper

The only "negative" is that I only take delivery in December

So in the interim, I will just watch all your exciting news & developments, so please keep them coming.

 

[cruiserpilot]

Well the good news is that I have paid a deposit on a Bushlore Troopy that is already set up as a camper

The only "negative" is that I only take delivery in December

So in the interim, I will just watch all your exciting news & developments, so please keep them coming.

They say Christmas is in December! Very cool, J

 

[wildphoto]

Everyone gone a bit quiet - hibernating?

 

[hsumbal]

Hi Allan!

A while ago (before we had the Troopy) my husband and I were held at gunpoint inside our vehicle in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for three days. The whole ordeal was not as scary as it was bloody inconvenient! This is where our dream of this overland vehicle started. We wanted to be able to eat, sleep and do minimum ablutions inside for a short while at least.

I want to stress that we are not trying to build a Fort Knox! I am not afraid of people, and we will camp outside of our car MOST of the time. We live on the most beautiful continent in the world, and there is nothing that I love more than to sit next to a camp fire at night hearing the noises of the bush around us, and watching stars like diamonds overhead.

We like the layout of the Aussieoverlanders vehicle in that it has a high cupboard on the one side and the bench on the other, with a clear path in between. For the reason you have mentioned above, we have decided to have an induction stoveplate and a small stainless steel basin on-top of the high cupboard. I will then be able to prepare meals inside of the car when the roof is up.

The dropdown table on the barndoor will enable me to use the same stoveplate outside of the car when we camp and there is no time to make a fire, or when it is not safe to make one.

@wildphoto has asked me why I do not consider having my stoveplate in a pull out drawer, so that I will be able to prepare meals even when the roof is down, and my answer is that we are not designing this car so that we can “live inside it”. It is still primarily only our vehicle to reach places that most other vehicles cannot, and we still love living outside and around it, more than we would like to be cooped up inside.

The tents that you and I now have on our cars are Alu-cab’s second design. The first one (that they built for Andrew St.Pierre White) were even more square at the front. We just could not get ourselves to do that to the Troopy. I then wrote Mulgo in an effort to import their tent as a whole and have it installed here, but they explained that they use very specific bonding materials and techniques, and did not want/foresee that technology to leave their company – which I had to respect.

We then went back to Alu-cab and by then they have already changed the design to what we have now. My husband is designing a pulley system to install at the back of the tent, so that we will be able to open and close it from the inside, and I will keep you up to date on that.

Cheers from Cape Town!

If you get caught on gun point again, your captivators may not allow you to stay in your own accommodation

 

[Troepadoer]

Everyone gone a bit quiet - hibernating?

Hi Wildphoto!

We just came home from a 2 week camping trip in the Kruger National Park. The car handled himself very well considering he towed a camping trailer with 2 Eazy Awn tents ontop.

Camping was hectic to say the least. I could not get the woodwork done before we left so everything (for 6 adults) we piled haphazardly into the back. I am anything but a neat freak, but the chaos from day one was almost tòo much for me.

We had fantastic weather and the animals were amazing, but now I am really stoked to get the storage sorted out.

We are off to Tunisia next week, but I will post pics as soon as we are back again

 

[Troepadoer]

Here is a photo of my son's Avensis parked under the awning with the trailer in the back

 

[Troepadoer]

If you get caught on gun point again, your captivators may not allow you to stay in your own accommodation

You may very well be right, but I am not planning on going back to the DRC again if we can not travel in a group with more vehicles!

 

[wildphoto]

Hi. Any more progress, or are you still sorting out Tunisia photographs

Really bored waiting for mine !

 

[Troepadoer]

Just a quick update...

Tunisia was hot and dusty as expected, but we had the wonderful opportunity to visit the most Northern point of Africa! Getting our taxi driver to take us all the way was quite an ordeal, but we made it there and back to Tunis in one piece.

I had the bed of the car Rhino-lined and am very happy with the outcome. Now the ply floor can go in, which will make working in the back much easier, as hobbeling around on the uneven steel floor was not the most comfortable experience.

 

[Troepadoer]

I am also slowly still working away at all the cabinets and drawers. Waiting for glue to dry is not one of my strong suits!

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My house is starting to resemble a carpentry shop

 

[Troepadoer]

I have found this old photo on my camera of when the Troopy first came to live with us. On the left is my "old" car. The trusted Condor helped raise my children (and the rest of the hockey team!) for 10 years, but the proceeds of selling him is paying for the tent and the rest of the build.

and just because I am sooooo inlove with my car, here is a very pretty pic that my son took of the Slow Cooker is his natural environment...

Enjoy the WEEKEND!!!

 

[wildphoto]

Fantastic photo journal (of trip and car) - thanks.

I think I am now about halfway through my 6 month wait, so now on the downhill!

Regards.