Cool McCool's Garage

It took all day, but I’ve got the “Filon” siding on both sides of the Tini-Home.  Once more, it’s obvious I’d never have been able to use contact cement to bond this stuff to the Luan, even stapling it and gluing the edges only was a challenge.   Keeping it positioned, and tight from top to bottom, and end to end, is a challenge.  In my usual fashion, I made a major gaffe on the left side, forgetting to drill a hole and fish the front marker light wiring through the siding before I stapled it down.  I was able to pull the staples  from the front edge and get the wiring pulled through, but it certainly would have been easier without all that Loctite construction adhesive getting all over everything!  The Harbor Freight pneumatic stapler REALLY works well though, that was a good investment.

My theory is that this stuff can’t be much different than aluminum  sheeting as far the expansion factor is concerned, and that mounting it to the body of the trailer the same way as the original aluminum skin, will be OK.  The rationale for bonding it to the Luan exterior skin, as is done on larger RV’s, due the expansion and contraction of the skin with heat and cold seems counterintuitive, as the Luan is dimensionally stable.  We’ll see what happens when it’s parked out in the broiling sun. 

Tomorrow I hope to get the roof panel on, which will be a trick as it’s almost 25′ long.  The plan, at least for now, is to pull the Filon off the roll up and over the trailer, then, one side at a time, lay a bead of adhesive down, screw the material down, then trim it off with the router.  I’ve cut a 25′ piece off, and have it (rolled up and bound) standing up in the shop, but after the tussle with the sides, I’m thinking it’s going to be impossible to unroll this piece onto the trailer.  There’s about 36′ left on the roll, and with the trailer backed up to it, I should be able to get it up and over by myself.

I’m thinking that a piece of aluminum diamond plate about 18″ high will  make a good gravel guard in front, mostly because I’m not sure how I’d cut the skin out around the tongue.  By dropping the siding down to the top of the tongue, and then fitting a piece of polished diamond plate, this will enable me to get the front finished.  I know it’s a “modern” thing, but the trailer is already fitted with modern windows and siding, so I’m not too worried about authenticity.  I want to be able to get it done!  Besides, I like the stuff, and plan on making a cover for the ugly, but stout, extended tongue anyway, so it’ll all blend in.