Cub Rebuild

[miazorra]

I have been watching this site for a while and have enjoyed the many different builds that have taken place.  I thought that I would like to share my efforts.  I was basically given a Cub Supamatic by my brother many years ago.  The first thing that I did was to extend the drawbar length with a larger size section and flip the axle for greater clearance.  My job back then was testing artesian bores in outback Queensland so the camper went to many interesting places from the Gulf country to Cunnamulla as well as holiday visits to my brother place in Northern NSW coast.
The canvas was getting a little tired so I thought I would undertake a small rebuild.  I have always been fascinated with the teardrop design and have also lusted after a Tvan, so I thought that I would modify the Cub along those lines. 
I am a newbie at this thread business so hopefully I'll get the pictures sorted over the few postings.
Stuart

[cucinadio]

welcome mate....cant wait to see your efforts, should be interesting

cheers

[miazorra]

So the story begins.....
Once I removed the old roof/floor and canvas, I made a frame out of 25mm RHS to define the new shape.  What doesn't show is the extra bracing at the top/rear for the hinge support and also two cross braces on the roof for the hatch support. The rear door will open up to the horizontal position to form a roof for a rear tent section.
I welded this to the old body. 
Inside the new frame, I made up internal framing out of 19x40 pine that I glued ply strips to bring it out to 25mm width.  The frame was glued and screwed to the inside of the steel and the internal bits were glued and screwed with pocket screws using a Kreg tool.  The window opening was made to size.
I then cut the internal lining out of a sheet of 3mm luan ply and glued and nailed it to the frame.  I took care with the external measurements as I could trim the window opening and the end wall to the exact size with an edge trimmer on my router.
Back on the outside, I cut pieces of 25mm thick foam to fit in the cavity and glued them to the inside of the ply and frame.
On the outside of that I cut the exterior covering from a sheet of zincalum and sikaflexed it to the framing and the foam, thereby creating a foam core construction.
I then moved all the family junk out of the way, turned the camper around and repeated the process for the other side and the roof.
All the edges are to covered by angle and rivetted in place.

Stuart

[nick 08]

looks good so far mate keep the pics coming 

Nick

[miazorra]

Second Instalment
When I had covered the two sides, I sikaflexed and screwed in wind out windows and trimmed the inside.  The inside was lined and before I put on the roof and front wall, I ran the wiring through the cavity.  I am putting a solar panel on the roof and also have wires for power supplies. lights and speakers.
You might notice that I upgraded the hubs and wheels to 15".
With the inside lined, I set about making some shelves at the front to store stuff and to house some lighting for over the beds.  I inherited the camper with a double mattress which I converted back to two single beds.  At the top end of the beds is enclosed to cover the slide out kitchen that I had made previously.  The beds were always too short so I made some extension boxes at the ends to give me stretch room in bed as well as more storage.  On the drivers side I used this to house a battery and the electrical switches / fuses / power sockets are on the outside.  I still have to make a venting arrangement for the battery storage and install an inverter.

Stuart

[Sherlock0013]

looks interesting to date. looking forward to your progress

[indiedog]

Stuart, that looks great. Very creative rebuild of a Cub! Last year I designed something similar but from scratch however your version looks much easier to achieve. Keep us updated.

[Scotty]

This is a great idea. I too like the idea of a Tvan and camper. So many of the older campers are on the nose when you look at them, and I never thought of doing this to one. I have however, turned my 7x4 garden trailer into a Umoveit by making up 5 ply sides and a few other things. I did over 300K's with it, and it went really well tarped up with a silver tarp. THINKS:- Where can I find an old Cub?

[miazorra]

Sorry for the delay in posting more pics but I have started a new career and things are a bit hectic.  The pictures below show the front cladding being installed.  I have gone for aluminium and after folding it up to the profile I glued the sheeting to the foam and framing.  For my glueing I used liquid nails for the foam-luan ply and used silicone (non acetic version) on the other stuff.  When the glueing was on the outside I also used Sikaflex as it could be painted over if things went a bit messy.
After the glueing I put aluminium angle on the edges.  I used to make travel cases for instrumentation so I have access to an extruded section that has tapered edges for a cleaner look.  I sikaflexed the angle in place and then used lots of rivets.  Nothing like overkill.
Stuart

[cucinadio]

Nice work mate....have you fliped it open as yet??...would be good to see some picks..

cheers

[nocturnal]

Thats a fantastic job you are doing there and it has given me the inspiration to kick start my project.
I have an old cabana caravan and i am looking at rebuilding it in to the topaz stile from tvan manufactures. I will watch this build with interest
Nocturnal

[miazorra]

Cucinadio
Sorry I can't show any open shots as I haven't put on the back door yet! I have included a pic of the door as far as I have gone so far - aluminium sheeting over a steel frame.  The door weighs 29kgs and I am a little concerned about the effect of that weight on the hinge and gas rams that I'll use to hold it in the horizontal position.  
At the top of the door you can see the centreflex hinge that I am going to use to mount at the top of the door and camper body.  The door will hinge out horizontally and I will have drop down tent sections come out of the door and attach to the floor section that I have yet to make.  
I have included a side shot of the camper to give you an idea of where I am in construction. Please excuse the mess.  Stuff gets shuffled out of the way when I want to do some work.
I have a join between the old and new sheet metal that I have to cover.  I am thinking of using an aluminium section that I can cover the join and rivet onto both sides.  It has a rubber profile that clips over the top to hide the aluminium and rivets and provide a bump strip,  If anyone has any other ideas to cover the join, please let me know.
Stuart

[middojnr]

I am loving watching this thread, so please keep posting.

On ny way home, tonight, I saw an old Cub Drifta on the back of a tilt tray and wondered what fate awaited it.

Ahh.... if only I could weld and was a handy man...

[cucinadio]

Mate thanks ,looking great, top job.....been looking a lot of teardrop style trailers and its giveing me procrastination hell..

cheers