Concession Trailer Build with intro

Dr of BBQ


Wagon the last post on this thread was in June I'm sure he is out working every day. Maybe you'd like to start a thread of your own.
good luck
jack

New to bloggin also Jack.  Thanks for the advice.
corey

Wagon

kingofcreams


So I built the awning door for my serving window but did not document the steps in building it sorry.






My question is to those who have awnings like this. How much clearance do you have between the door and the window when the door is closed like in the pic above? I have like 1/2" and am unsure if a gas support lift will fit.

Thanks

Hi KOC...
I've really enjoyed reading and watching your progress.  I've owned an RV dealership, enjoy metal fabrication and enjoy the build.  I have a little hesitation with the concession door.  Not so much the cut but trimming, etc.  Would you mind telling me what aluminum extrusion you used for the framing, etc?  Also, can you give a littel detail on the door construction process?  Nice looking kitchen!!

Thanks and glad your getting something from my thread. Thats why I started one was just to give back a little of what I got.
So on the awning door: I used extruded aluminum channel 3/4" x 3/4" x 1/8" I got this from www.speedymetals.com
 3/4" {A} x 3/4" {B} x 1/8" {C} Channel 6063-T52 Aluminum, Extruded-48"
SKU: 63ch.125x.75x.75-48
I also used 3/8 plywood, .063 aluminum sheet and a pieace of the same FRP that I used for my wall overlayment inside the trailer.
I had the  .063 aluminum sheet cut to size at a local sheet metal shop. I had to cut down the ply wood and FRP myself. I miter cut the aluminum channel then basically made a sandwich with the aluminum sheet on one side, the plywood in the middle and the frp on the other side. I used a polyurethane adhesive to glue both sheets to the plywood and let it sit overnight. I had taken some smaller aluminum channel that would fit inside the channel mentioned above and cut that down to make triangles. I also had to cut the corners off of the "sandwich" because those smaller pieces of channel went inside the larger channel at each corner. Then I slid one piece of channel on at a time insterting the smaller piece of channel at the corner until all four sides were on.  It was a pretty tight fit too but worked well. After that all fit together I drilled holes in the channel at the miter cuts, one on each of each piece and through the smaller pieces of channel and riveted the outer channel to the small angles that I cut and insterted. I flipped the door over and did the same on that side. After that I took some 100% silicone and cut the tip real small and caulked along all the edges and rivet holes. Caulking should have been placed inside the channel too but I didn't do that. The door came out heavy and very sturdy and has worked very well after doing 12 events. This is the same way I contructed the doors for under my sink counter inside as well except I used two pieces of FRP on each side of 1/4" plywood for that because the FRP is thicker than .063 aluminum. I bought and installed gas lift supports and the whole thing couldn't have come out better. I am pretty happy with it. I also installed a handle as you can see and two cam locks once on each side of the door. The latches of the locks latch to pieces of angle aluminum that I installed inside the space between the window and the awning. This door only costed me about $120 to build.
 
Let me know if I can help in anyother way.

I just want to say I've gone thru your whole post and LOVE IT! My boss and I have decided to build a concession trailer using an old BeeLiner mobile home. I've already got a lot of information from web-surfing, and I do have a basic knowledge of light framing construction, so that will help with what we want to get done. I love how you have detailed this process, and I WILL do the same thing. The only thing I'll have to do extra is eventually replace the old tin roof and the outside walls of the trailer. If anybody has any ideals about replacing the outside walls and what to use, that would be a big help to us. I've bookmarked this thread; I feel I'll be coming back here to double-check my process with what you've done. We pick up our trailer on Oct. 12-14, 2012. When we do, I'm going to take some pics of it and start a thread of my own. Thanks again for sharing your vision with everybody, because to me, you just proved to me and probably a bunch of other people that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!!
Jerry
JBJR Concessions and Sales

JBJRConcessions


I just want to say I've gone thru your whole post and LOVE IT! My boss and I have decided to build a concession trailer using an old BeeLiner mobile home. I've already got a lot of information from web-surfing, and I do have a basic knowledge of light framing construction, so that will help with what we want to get done. I love how you have detailed this process, and I WILL do the same thing. The only thing I'll have to do extra is eventually replace the old tin roof and the outside walls of the trailer. If anybody has any ideals about replacing the outside walls and what to use, that would be a big help to us. I've bookmarked this thread; I feel I'll be coming back here to double-check my process with what you've done. We pick up our trailer on Oct. 12-14, 2012. When we do, I'm going to take some pics of it and start a thread of my own. Thanks again for sharing your vision with everybody, because to me, you just proved to me and probably a bunch of other people that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!!
Jerry
JBJR Concessions and Sales

I'm happy you are able to come away with something from my thread. For your siding. I would consider this to be one of your top priorities after you have budgeted for the interior. First impressions is huge. I would get .040 painted smooth aluminum sheeting to install on the exterior. You can get it from a local sheet metal shop or try a google search for those terms. You can also check out  http://fishhousesupply.com/icehousekits.htm . They sell sheets but have a 10 sheet minimum. I think you'll need more than that anyway. Good luck on your build. I'll check it out once you start a thread. If you need any advice along the way, don't hesitate to ask.

Just wanna give a little info that I've found as far as exterior skins go: 49" x 96" x .040 wash over white @ $ 63.52 each.
I found these thru J. Freeman Inc. 65 Tenean Street Dorchester, MA 02122 Here is their website:

I forgot.... I haven't been here long enough to post links,  but you can still search for them on the web.

http://www.jfreeman.com/
 
J. Freeman, Inc. is an industrial distributor catering to commercial businesses since 1927. We are a distributor carrying VELCRO® brand fasteners exclusively, as well as Plexiglas®, Silicone, gold leaf, cutting boards, sky lights, and more. We also lease sign, graphics, printing, and contractor equipment. NEW ITEM acrylic sheets in white, black, bronze, grey are now available. For a complete list of what we carry, please see our product list.
We accept Visa, MasterCard, and American Express.
We sell wholesale and retail to sign companies, glass companies, construction companies, architects, and home owners. We carry a large stock and ship same day in almost all cases. We can provide quotes and technical information immediately on your call. You don't have to punch in numbers. Our sales staff is accessible and knowledgeable.
We sell Roper Whitney tools and equipment. Ask about our easy lease terms!
If you have any questions or would like to place an order please call us at:
(617) 282-1150  or  (800) 841-9442
or fax us at:
(617) 282-7507
J. Freeman, Inc.
65 Tenean Street Dorchester, MA 02122
Contact Us

Thanks for posting the information on J. Freeman. Like I said, they seem to be the cheapest as far as trailer skins go that I can find. We did get our trailer and have been gutting it out in our spare time. It's a poster child for a basket case, but we're determined to at least have the inside 100%. I might not be able to do the outside skin replacement this winter, but there's always next year. Holding down a full time job don't allow much time to work on it, but I figure, weather permitting, I should have the roof patched and rubber roof paste on it within 2 weeks. I have been taking pics as I go, and we've agreed to make a scrapbook of this project. So once I'm able to post pics on here, I'll show what we started with. Thanks again for sharing and giving people like us hope for the future!! :-)

JBJR fast is not always good, in fact it's almost never good in a build. The longer you take thinking, planing, and researching, the better your build/outcome will be. Heck with a full time job you have lots of winter nights to search RF and the internet for information that will make your trailer an easy to operate food service success.

Oh, believe me, research is about all I've been doing on this. This became a working ideal the 1st week of August, and now we got the trailer almost down to the frame. We're going to do it from ground up instead of work with the junk that's there. 1 place I have found for used equipment is Fast Track Auctions. They have a LOT of used equipment, you just have to be willing to go and inspect it before you get caught up in the bidding. Last night I watched a Star 36" flat-top grill go for 380.00, that's normally about a 900.00 - 1,000.00 grill. I'm trying to get a fountain machine right now, the current bid is under 150.00, the last 1 I saw went for 90.00, but this is a lot newer. On another side note: Found 25 gauge galvanized interlock roof through KMT in New York state. The quote they gave me was under 200.00 plus shipping for a whole single piece roof. That's the best I've been able to find on that so far. I'm off most of this week, so I'm hoping to get some things done. Talk to everybody later!! :-)

King,
I am very impressed not only with the build, but the gracious time you spent documenting it.  I am very interested in installing something similar to your window / awning (I just don't have 1300 bucks laying around for a window), and I was wondering if you had more info on the window itself, prep for the wall (other than just wood framing?), etc.
It appeared that the window framing was flush with the exterior, with the window inset a bit, but now with the awning it appears that the window frame has been trimmed in aluminum. 
I understand that you can't spell out every nut and bolt you put in, but either I missed a few steps, or am too old and dumb to follow :)

ddbuster:
Well the window itself came from Menards. It is just a residential sliding window. The size is 36" x 48". The metal studs in this trailer are 24" on center so when I cut my opening I only needed to cut through one stud. I then made a 2x3 frame to reinforced the opening. I attached the 2x3's to the studs on each side. On the top and bottom of the framing in between the vertical studs I attached 1x2's to the upper and lower sides of the 2x3's which I was able to screw the plywood wall to for stability. These 1x2's are in the walls ( not visible) but are attached to the 2x3 framing on top and bottom. The 2x3 framing was installed flush with the exterior skin and actually sticks out inside the trailer by about 1 1/2 inches or so. It's been a while so I might not be exact. I then priming and painted the framing. The window has a installation flange with mounting holes all around so I attached the window from the inside of the trailer onto the inside edges of the 2 x 3 frame. I then trimmed the outside with aluminum angle
Installing from the inside like this indented the window from the outside which gave me a 1 1/2" ledge where I was able to mount the shocks and hinge for the windown awning that I made.
 
For the awning itself I used 1/2" inside measurement aluminum channel for the framing. All the ends were miter cut at 45 deg angle. I sandwiched a piece of either 1/4" or 3/8" plywood ( cant remember now ) inbetween .040 aluminum sheet for the exterior side and a piece of FRP for the interior side. Each corner of the  plywood, aluminum and FRP were cut so that I could fit a smaller piece of channel ( which were cut at 45 deg angles ) inside the corners of the 1/2" channel.  After those sheets were sandwiched, I slipped the 1/2 channel over the sheets one side at a time. After one side was on I placed the smaller cut channel pieces in the corners of the 1/2 channel untill all were installed. Once all sides were over the sheets and in place I drilled holes through the channel where the 45 deg angle met all the way through the smaller pieces that were placed inside the corners. I then pop riveted those pieces together. I did this on all corners and on both sides. I should mention, that the 1/2 channel was hard to slip over the sheets but it straightend out the bend ply wood. Also, I used silicone in the channel before I slipped over the sheets and after very neatly around all edges. Once complete, I used a stainless piano hinge to install to the trailer window opening. I then installed gas struts / shocks to lift and hold the awning open. I also installed cam locks and a handle.  
I hope this helps a little. I am rushing to write this before I leave for work so just ask if you need clarification on something else.
 
Good luck and thanks for checking out my thread.

Very nice job on the trailer build

Let us know how you end up fastening that griddle/table down.

DWags541


Let us know how you end up fastening that griddle/table down.

DWags, the method I used was laid out in post 33 of page 2 of the thread. Take a look and if you have some specific questions ask and I'll answer the best I can. This method has worked perfectly so far and I've take my trailer on many road trips now with no issues whatsoever.
 
 

stinger159


Very nice job on the trailer build

Thank you very much. I hope you gained something from the thread. I'm pretty well please with what I ended up with. I'm thinking about installing a 50amp 220volt service to the trailer but not sure yet. I'm having the trailer and ice cream truck wrapped next week so with that expense I'm sorta drained for cash a bit.
 
I'll post pics of each after the wraps are installed.

please tell me how your cut the stainless steel for the sink counter so perfectly?
 
 

yorkgym1


please tell me how your cut the stainless steel for the sink counter so perfectly?

After I drew my outline I used an angle grinder with a cutting blade and carefully cut it out. It wasn't perfect and the edges were rough. i went over the edges with a grinding wheel on. Also, when I placed my stainless on my counter top, I used masking tape around every edge prior to placing my silicone sealant to cover up any uglyness and to give it crisp clean lines so that it came out with a very nice finish.
 
Thanks

I learned so much from your thread .. thanks for all the time you took to post pics and info details like the caulk used , prima supply..( that is the exact sink I was looking at t btw) southco latch...
Tony

yorkgym1


I learned so much from your thread .. thanks for all the time you took to post pics and info details like the caulk used , prima supply..( that is the exact sink I was looking at t btw) southco latch...
Tony

Tony,
That's why I posted, is to help out people like myself who could use ideas or even possibly learn something. I'm glad my post is serving that purpose for you!
 
Just a note on those owning step vans looking to replace the weatherstrip for your windows, I recently replaced the rubber weatherstripping in all my windows except the driver and passenger door windows for my 81 Chev P20. I have a bit extra of the 1/4"window x 1/8" panel size rubber that I'd sell for $1/foot plus shipping but would have to take the remainder of what I have. I can measure to see how much I have left. Mill supply sells it in 50ft rolls. Now for those wanting to replace the rubber in your doors with a 3/4" door thikness, mill suppy doesn't carry this even though the gasket they say works really doesn't. I've been on the phone with them and they even sent something else that didn't work. They claimed that this rubber couldnt be obtained. I have located the rubber that will work but I have to order a 50ft roll if this as well and I only need like 18-19 feet. I'd sell the remainder of that as well to someone after I recieve and use what I need. It'll save us both money by not having to pay for all that material that we don't need. I'll have to figure a price on that though. probly be around $2/foot plus shipping. Both prices are less than what I am paying per foot.
 
We're bringing our trailer and ice cream truck for graphics wraps today. The trailer will be done by Friday and the truck will be done next Tuesday. Very exciting! Can't wait to show you guys.

I wanted to give you guys an update on what my trailer currently looks like after the wrap was installed! Can't believe how great it turned out. 
  
 

 
Theres a glimse of our ice cream cart in lower left corner.


Our ice cream truck will be done tomorrow so I'll post pics of that as well once I get them.
 
Thanks for looking

 
Not sure why it keeps not posting my post but there were more pics of the trailer. The whole thing got wrapped including the front.

more pics at:
http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/kingofcreams/library/#/user/kingofcreams/library/?sort=3&page=1&_suid=13685554893430943723305841925

Dope! 

LED lights are best found alternative source for the old energy consuming lights, they last long as they have a better working life about 50000 hrs much better than old forms also they do not harm environment and are available in many colors as Red, Green, Blue, White etc. And I have brought some for cars and house decoration from  www.ledlightshub.com.

That looks fantastic!

Nice build, impressive craftsmanship...

where did you get the stuff that goes over the wires for the lights on the ceiling

DWags541


Dope! 

Thanks! We like it alot. I'm gonna post pics of the ice cream truck as well. Came out awesome. 3 days out selling ice cream so far this year in the ice cream truck and business has increased about 700% so far. (partly because of the louder speaker I got for the music box) Hopefully it stays that way all season long! Do not under estimate the appearance of your rig!

Revel


Nice build, impressive craftsmanship...

Thank you!