A whole year...

A whole year has gone by and I haven't done any blogging... I haven't done that much additional stuff to the cargo trailer but what I have done has been very helpful. I have continued to take lots of pictures and document everything I do, but I have dragged my ass on posting it to the blog. Why? because I'm a full time college student now and I have been mega-busy with classes. But there's more... I have been genuinely not interested in updating the blog because I got used to not doing it. Yeah, I know that's a lame excuse but at least I'm being honest.

So.. Anyway,

I decided today that maybe I should get some new posts up and motivate myself to continue posting my progress. I'm currently listening to high energy trance music and I'm in that kind of hyper busy mood to get back on track. I Love trance music!!!

Right after my last post in 2010, I purchased a brand new Thetford PortaPotty... I was driving to fast food restaurants and using the occasional tree, but that was getting frustrating. I believed that the new PortaPotty would make life in a stealth cargo trailer far more acceptable.

I was right, the PortaPotty is a necessity, and I can say that the past years use of it has been a wonderful treat in comparison to the previous method. It's well made, easy to clean and empty out, and it works very well! It's a welcome addition to my living space.

Winter In Cali...

Yup, Its winter and my progress has slowed down a great deal. I have done a few things but as the cold crept in, my interest in staying busy has faded a bit.

California at 4500 feet of elevation gets very cold in the winter. Throughout November, December, and January the days have been in the 40's mostly and some of the overnights have gotten down to 12 degrees... brrr

I am thankful that my friend Craig has let me have access to 120volt power because I use a heating blanket and a ceramic heater at night to stay toasty warm.

I pay a small rent to stay on my friend Craig's land because I know that my use of his electricity costs him money and I don't want to be a financial burden to him or his family, plus it's the right thing to do! :)

Even though I have slowed down in my progress, I have still accomplished a great deal over the past three months. Today, I finished the slide show that I had intended to create when I got started but never got around to.. I also created singular slide shows to make the photos in each entry in this blog easier to see. I'm going to try and get those slide shows implemented today.

Click HERE to see a slide show of the photos from all of the posts. [approximately 200 photos]

Creating the Recessed Battery Box...

Jerry and I dragged the two 8D Lifeline AGM batteries over to the basic area where they would be mounted.

After some quick measurements we determined that we needed a 21" x 22" rectangular hole in the floor.

As you can see, Jerry cut out the hole in the 3/4 plywood floor with a Milwaukee Sawzall.

Jerry welded some steel bars across from one floor beam to the other and then added some sidewall steel to finish the box.

The two AGM batteries are inset in the floor now and are secured from damage when driving.

I took lots of pictures because most of the work on this part was done by Jerry...

Click HERE to see a slide show of the photos from this post.

Metallized Burner Area..

The propane burner that my friend Jerry gave me was still sitting in the wooden area that I made for it. 

The wooden surface underneath the burner was unacceptable to me because I felt it could be dangerous.

I attached aluminum sheeting to all of the wooden surfaces that might come in contact with flames to protect them from catching fire. Safety is my primary concern.

I wanted to make sure that the propane hose going to the burner was moved from the heat area as efficiently as possible.

The propane gas delivery system is not even designed yet.


The picture in the lower right corner shows the finished burner area with all surfaces covered in sheet metal.

I can't wait to start cooking with this burner instead of the butane camping stove that I have been using.

Butane canisters are very expensive.

Click HERE to see a slide show of the photos from this post.

Mounting the Center Channel Speaker..

I decided that I better get the center channel speaker mounted.

I ran two 2x2's up the center of the wall with a 3 inch separation between them. The purpose of the separation is so that the wiring for the center channel will flow down the center column.

I also wanted to provide a sturdy surface to mount the two 19' LCD monitors that go with my desktop computer system.

We'll see down the road if that center channel location works with the finished console area.
Only time will tell...

Click HERE to see a slide show of the photos from this post.