The stainless self tapping screws were a pain to work with as the threads stripped off them quite easily and the heads ripped off more than I could count. For each hole I had to pre-tap a thread using a self-tapping screw with a similar thread which helped a bit. The outside aluminium extrusions looked great when they were screwed onto the door but looked average once they were glued and screwed. If you take a passing look at the door then it doesn't look too bad but I'm not super excited about it. Hopefully the rear door will look the part.
The wind-lace seals were purchased from a car restoration shop and fitted to a 'T' profile aluminium extrusion which was glued and screwed to the trailer door frame.
The door handle and stainless hinges were purchased online from Comac which is where a lot of the components I bought came from.
I tried fixing the wind-lace around the 90° bend without cutting it but the door wouldn't shut. In the end I had to mitre cut the corners using a sharp utility knife and long nose pliers to extract the exposed steel 'U' shaped clips lurking beneath the protective plastic outer. The corners will be glued so they don't look as untidy as they do in the photos so I'm experimenting with some scrap pieces to get the finish I'm after.
Overall, not a bad result - I'm a little disappointed with the finish of the aluminium extrusions around the edge of the door as they are not exactly flush with the panel. I'll get over it with time I'm sure...
Now its onto the rear door which will test my patience me thinks. Once that's done then I'll get the gas fitter in and plumb in the gas cylinder and hob. I'm also thinking of getting them to provide an outlet handy to where I can connect the bar-be-que into so that I can run both at the same time which will decrease cooking times.
The bench top has been cut to size to fit the galley and dad helped with routering out the hole for the hob/sink combo unit which I got on special from Burnsco (a little extravagant and definitely not part of the original plans but looks good and will compliment the galley area and functionality of the camper).
The glass lid lifts up and doubles as a splash back to keep the mess down.
I lined the galley with the ACM panel I used on the outside - except I used the white side instead of the silver - so it should make cleaning up a little more user friendly. The ACM has a protective plastic lining on both sides which I will peel off at the end. No need to paint - the ACM sheets are all you need.
The fridge is also an expensive luxury item that was never part of the plan - but I ended up purchasing an 85L Isotherm Cruise Fridge/Freezer from Burnsco - again on special. It slots nicely under the bench and will provide ample room to keep the brewskies cold. The 77L fridge has an 8L freezer compartment which will come in handy. Combine the fridge with the 68L Waeco Cool-Ice chilly bin and we'll be styling (although the chilly bin will have to live in the back of the ute - no room in the galley any more).
Here's a photo of the galley space with the bench top, hob/sink and fridge in place. There's room under the sink for fresh water and grey water tanks (ie: containers). There probably won't be too much room for anything else under there as the LPG cylinder locker takes up quite a bit of galley space .
Depending on how things go after the first couple of trips, I might end up putting the fresh and grey water tanks underneath the trailer deck. There's an outfit in town that makes them any size and shape you want. The biggest problem would be securing it to the under side of the trailer but that problem can wait for a year or five. I want to get it on the road and enjoy it for a bit before deciding on the final setup. The same goes for the cabinet in the galley - after a couple of trips we'll know what we want in terms of storage above the bench so that can wait too.
Anyway, things to do, back doors to make....
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