28 October
Today we started off dealing with one of our teams biggest issues that we need to overcome - our lack of open communication. We all sat down together this morning and had a conversation as a group; seeing where each of us is up to in our respective tasks, and what our next tasks should be.
Getting stuck into our jobs for today we attached the frame and the noggins - which brace the frame to make it sturdier - to the front of the caravan. We discussed how we should go about building the elements we need to put in our kitchen including the bench, shelves and cupboards.
Getting stuck into our jobs for today we attached the frame and the noggins - which brace the frame to make it sturdier - to the front of the caravan. We discussed how we should go about building the elements we need to put in our kitchen including the bench, shelves and cupboards.
21 October
Today we made and attached the frame for back of kitchen to the wall we added last week. This frame will provide the strength and support we need for our caravan to bear the weight of our bench, drawers, cupboards, sink and esky. We are also starting construct our kitchen today. It's a big job with lots of measuring twice and cutting once before we will be able to add it to the back of our caravan.
14 October
Today we have started creating a frame between the sides of our caravan that we will attach roof to later, we used glue, the nail gun and brads to secure the frame. This will give our caravan greater support overall making it stronger. We also measured, cut and attached the wall of the back of our kitchen. This means that the roof of the caravan will lift up at one end to expose the kitchen. The kitchen needs to face out from the caravan, not in because there won't be enough room inside to use it properly.
7 October
Term 4 has started and we're nearing the end of our project, today is all about the assembly of the caravan. We need to get the framework completely perfect so that it all comes together in the end.
To get this done today we have attached a brace of wood around our caravan base and then attached a layer of ply over the base to cover any gaps from when we put the bench joiners in. We also need to attach a framework to the caravan sides at the same time as attaching the sides to the base; this will support the roof when we add that later.
We also researched windows online so see what would best suit our needs. We want to insert a window on the side of the caravan opposite to where the door will be so as to allow for cross ventilation inside the caravan. This will mean it won't get too stuffy inside such a small space.
To get this done today we have attached a brace of wood around our caravan base and then attached a layer of ply over the base to cover any gaps from when we put the bench joiners in. We also need to attach a framework to the caravan sides at the same time as attaching the sides to the base; this will support the roof when we add that later.
We also researched windows online so see what would best suit our needs. We want to insert a window on the side of the caravan opposite to where the door will be so as to allow for cross ventilation inside the caravan. This will mean it won't get too stuffy inside such a small space.
16 September
Bryson and Danielle today have drawn up a 3D rendered version of the kitchen design that they planned out a few weeks ago. Through this process we can see how it will look and make sure it all fits together, looks good and works functionally - to achieve this we also need to make sure we have the correct measurements in place! The kitchen needs to fit in a sink, an esky, cupboards and drawers; everything you would need to take the caravan out for a night or weekend fishing trip!
The team attached two lengths of pine on the underside of our caravans base, to strengthen the base while we construct the caravan. These braces will be temporary until the caravan is attached to its metal frame. Todays big picture task is getting the sides of the caravan attached to the base.
The team attached two lengths of pine on the underside of our caravans base, to strengthen the base while we construct the caravan. These braces will be temporary until the caravan is attached to its metal frame. Todays big picture task is getting the sides of the caravan attached to the base.
9 September
Today's focus has been on joining the three sections of the base together. To do this we cut out circular holes on the edge of the pieces to join up and cut from the hole to the edge. To actually join the pieces we first glued the pieces using silicone sealant, then we inserted bench joiners where we cut and tightened them up with nuts on each end to make them tight and secure.
Jonas has been working out how to configure the tail-light wires and coverings within the wooden and metal caravan frame, as well as inside the caravan itself. He has also researched the compliance specifications through Vic Roads that we all need to follow to ensure our caravan can be registered successfully.
Jonas has been working out how to configure the tail-light wires and coverings within the wooden and metal caravan frame, as well as inside the caravan itself. He has also researched the compliance specifications through Vic Roads that we all need to follow to ensure our caravan can be registered successfully.
2 September
Our big task today was to join the two pieces of marine ply to create the length we needed for our caravan, it will be 2760 mm when it's finished - long enough for even Mr. Tynan to lie down in comfortably! To join the pieces we used another piece of marine ply on the underside where the two pieces meet. To ensure it was joined securely we glued, nailed and also stapled them together.
We chose to use LED bulbs in our lighting plan for a few reasons, they are safer as they don't heat up too much, they are fairly inexpensive, and they have a low energy consumption so they won't drain the battery too fast.
We chose to use LED bulbs in our lighting plan for a few reasons, they are safer as they don't heat up too much, they are fairly inexpensive, and they have a low energy consumption so they won't drain the battery too fast.
26 August
We set out where the springs for the suspension and axle will sit on the frame of the caravan. We used clamps to secure where they will sit. To help us figure out how it would all look when it was attached, we went and looked at our school bike trailer and its axle and wheels. We have the wood ready for the base of our caravan, we have measured and marked it up with masking tape and cut the wheel arches out using jigsaws. By lying the sides of our caravan out we were able to measure where our door will go - we had two choices to either create a square or rounded door, with the consensus being to keep the door traditional and square shaped.
19 August
Zen, Sam and Austin sprayed the metal frame for our caravan with a galvanized paint to prevent rust so that it will stay strong and last. The team have gathered precise measurements today to decide if and how we can fit a spring mattress in our caravan, or if it we will need to use an alternate foam mattress. We have decided the best outcome will be to use a foam mattress that is a double bed size but with a slightly longer length. Danielle and Bryson have designed a first draft of the kitchen fit out of the caravan while Austin, Kian and Jake have created their first draft of the internal storage for the caravan.
12 August
We spent some time planning where our windows and doors would go before carefully measuring the plywood and finally cutting them out. Sam, Kian and Austin used the angle grinder to smooth the metal edges of the posts we will use for the frame before spot welding it together to hold it in place ready for Ken to help us weld it together securely.
5 August
Bryson, Jake, Danielle and Matt completed our wooden scale model while Jonas worked on refining the electrical plans for the caravan. Austin and Kian filed down the metal posts Sam and Zen cut using the angle grinder ready to use for the framework in our finished caravan.
July 29
This week Bryson, Austin, Jarrod and Danielle began creating a miniature scale model of our teardrop caravan. While Sam and Zen cut metal ready to create the base for our caravan. Jonas and Jake drafted our wiring plans.
15 July
Our first week we looked at many images of teardrop caravans to draw inspiration from. Traditionally the caravan resembles a teardrop in that it is pointy at the back and rounded at the front. However the design we decided on is more of a traditional caravan shape where it is rounded at both ends because it is easier to bend the plywood that we will be working with. - Bryson.