Author: Yvonne @Quilting Jetgirl

• Received and fit checked waterjet aluminum adapter plates for roof hatch
• Fit checked key blanks in truck
• Deburred and paint prepped aluminum roof hatch adapter plates
• Masked off bond areas on aluminum roof hatch adapter plates
• Primed and painted aluminum roof hatch adapter plates
• Disposed of scrap material from subframe
• Started laying out wiring diagram
• Started detail design of tire mount
• Laid roof panel on floor to prepare for edge champher
• Ordered habitat wiring
• Fit checked fantastic fan in roof panel cutout
• Champhered top edges of roof panel
• Received habitat wiring order
• Cut foam for core between aluminum hatch adapter plates
• Prepped and bonded top roof hatch adapter plate
• Routed top side of hatch opening
• Flipped over roof panel
• Champhered lower edges of roof panel
• Prepped and bonded lower roof hatch adapter plate
• Routed bottom side of hatch opening and removed excess composite panels

We encountered an unforeseen mix-up in the layout of our roof panel when we received the physical roof hatch from Tern Overland. It was a bit of a collaborative miss with everyone involved (us, Total Composites, and Tern Overland). When we originally laid out our roof panel, the orientation of the roof hatch was not obvious and we accidentally assumed that the hinge would be on the narrow side of the hatch like many American hatches. It was a bit of a surprise when we opened the box and read the instructions and found that our opening was rotated 90 degrees in our panel from what it needed to be.

We hadn’t actually specified dimensions of the hatch opening when we supplied the information for the box layout. We just specified the center position of the hatch and said that there needed to be an opening for the supplied roof hatch. We did, however, have a rectangle in the layout drawings that was longer fore-and-aft and narrower side-to-side. We had assumed that any needed details of the hatch layout would be double checked against the requirements of the hatch, but unfortunately, that did not happen.

The bottom line is that we should have requested the full installation instructions for the hatches, windows, and door prior to submitting our box layout for build. Also, it’s best to get instructions directly from manufacturers via email instead of relying on what is on websites as products and details online can change over time.

Overall, we have a pretty good recovery plan. We had 2 aluminum plates water jet cut that bond to the upper and lower surfaces of our habitat roof and act as “adapters” to rotate the orientation of the roof hatch cutout. The plates add minimal weight and actually reinforce the roof around the large roof hatch opening.

Received Waterjet Aluminum Adapter Plates for Roof Hatch

Fit Checked Waterjet Aluminum Adapter Plates with Roof Hatch

Masked Off Bond Areas on Aluminum Roof Hatch Adapter Plates

Primed and Painted Aluminum Roof Hatch Adapter Plates

Laid Roof Panel on Floor to Prepare for Edge Champher

Fit Checked Fantastic Fan in Roof Panel Cutout

First Crawl Through the Passthrough

Received Habitat Wiring Order

Cut Foam for Core Between Aluminum Hatch Adapter Plates

Bond Prep for Upper Aluminum Hatch Adapter Plate

Bonded Upper Aluminum Hatch Adapter Plate

Routed Top Side of Hatch Opening

Routed Top Side of Hatch Opening

Bonding Lower Aluminum Hatch Adapter Plate

Bonded Lower Aluminum Hatch Adapter Plate

Routed Bottom Side of Hatch Opening and Removed Excess Composite Panel

Routed Bottom Side of Hatch Opening and Removed Excess Composite Panel

Finished Roof Hatch Cutout

• Received Sika 205 Activator
• Re-cut fillets in forward panel for passthrough frame (we changed our passthrough design after Total Composites cut our panel)
• Fit checked passthrough frames
• Added required fillets to passthrough cutout corners
• Bond prepped forward passthrough cutout
• Prepped passthrough frames using Sika 205 activator
• Bonded in passthrough frames using Korapop 225
• Cut steel for back wall hardpoints
• Painted rock shields

Sika 205 Activator

Passthrough Frames

Recut Fillets in Forward Panel for Passthrough Frame

Recut Forward Panel for Passthrough Frame

Fit Checking Passthrough Frame

Added Required Fillets to Passthrough Cutout Corners

Added Corner Fillet

Bond Prepped Frames with Sika 205 Activator

Bonded in Passthrough Frames

Bonded in Passthrough Frames

Cut Steel for Back Wall Hardpoints

Rock Shields – Before

Rock Shields After Painting

• Fit checked forward wall panel again
• Bond prepped and bonded forward wall
• Trimmed scrap side wall panel for fixturing side wall extrusion bond
• Fit checked and trimmed forward side wall extrusion
• Marked and trimmed height of forward side wall extrusion
• Bond prepped and bonded forward side wall extrusions
• Clearance trimmed aft end of lower extrusions
• Bond prepped and bonded driver side wall
• Bond prepped and bonded passenger side wall

Bond Prep for Forward Wall

Bonded Forward Wall Panel

Bonded Forward Wall Panel

Side Wall Extrusion Clamp Up

Corner Fit Check

Trimmed Lower Extrusion

Clearance Trimmed Aft End of Lower Extrusions

Clearance Trimming Aft Ed of Lower Extrusions

Bonded Driver Side Wall

Bonded Driver Side Wall

Bonded Passenger Side Wall

• Started habitat assembly sequence planning
• Sent out quote requests for water jet cutting aluminum roof hatch adapter plates (dedicated blog post about this topic to come in the future)
• Inspected and touched up subframe paint
• Laid habitat floor panel upside down on floor
• Prepped habitat floor steel hardpoints for bonding
• Dry fit hardpoints in floor
• Rounded edges of hardpoint straps to ease foam installation
• Bonded and installed hardpoints and foam in habitat floor panel
• Drilled and tapped one central hole in each hardpoint to clamp
• Re-positioned truck and habitat floor in shop for habitat assembly
• Pilot drilled and tap drilled mount holes in habitat floor
• Clearance drilled fiberglass at hardpoint holes
• Tapped hardpoints in habitat floor
• Reviewed bond primer requirements
• Ordered Sika SP-205 (from EMI Supply) to prime aluminum to bond with Korapop 225.
• Cut high density urethane foam blocks for floor support during habitat assembly
• Bonded terry cloth to top of foam blocks with 3M 77
• Removed clamps and temporary bolts from bonded hardpoints
• Chamfered and cleaned lower edge of habitat floor panel
  • All panel edges had a lot of gel coat build up that needed to be removed and the edges needed to be softened. Previous fit checks show that this was a required step to get the panels to fit well in the extrusions.
• Flipped, leveled, and positioned habitat floor panel
• Chamfered and cleaned upper edge of habitat floor panel
• Chamfered and cleaned all edges (including passthrough cutout) of forward panel
• Rearranged panels and extrusions in shop space
• Chamfered and cleaned all edges (including all cutouts) of left and right side panels
• Dry fit checked all lower extrusions
• Measured all panels and extrusions (again)
• Checked flatness of floor on support blocks
• Masked floor panel with heavy paper
• Bond prepped and bonded forward lower extrusion using Korapur 140
  • Helpful bonding description video from Total Composites
• Bonded several adhesive test samples using Korapur 140
• Finalized order of water jet cut aluminum roof hatch adapter plates
• Additional measurements and fit checking
• Measured back wall panel height in preparation for cutting steel hardpoints
• Bond prepped and bonded both side lower extrusions using Korapur 140

Bond Prepping Floor Steel Hardpoints

Just Prior to Bonding Steel Hardpoints

Bonded and Clamped Hardpoint Showing Foam Insert

Clamping Bolt in Middle of Hardpoint

Drilling Hardpoing Mount Holes

Urethane Foam Support Blocks

Chamfering Panel Edges

Chamfered and Cleaned Side Panel

Lower Extrusion Fit Check

Lower Extrusion Fit Check Corner

Reviewed Bond Primer Requirements

Protective Floor Paper

TC Supplied Sausage Guns Worked REally Well with the Korapur 140

Applying Korapur 140 to Forward Floor Edge

Applying Korapur 140 to Forward Floor Edge

Bonded Forward Lower Extrusion

Applying Korapur 140 For Side Extrusion Bond

Cleaning Korapur 140 Squeeze Out from Side Extrusion Bond

Bonded Side Lower Extrusions (Aft Extrusion Will Be Bonded At A Later Time)