Vardo Gypsy Wagon Build-modern

[Stephen1]

This is a great post! I just found it and read through. 
Great project.

[Bruno of NH]

Beautiful work Sir

[thecfarm]

Now that is a beautiful piece of art!!!

[DMcCoy]

Thanks!
Started on the roof sheathing.  I had a cluster of small diameter western red cedar trees that I cut into lumber.  I forgot how different that makes the lumber.  It's a shame to have to cover the outside of the roof.


 


 
Small diameter trees make some more interesting lumber.


 
Next up is to cover the slopes.  I'm going crosswise down the slope until I meet up with the lower roof.  The bend (96" radius) isn't horrible but enough that I think I will have to steam bend it.  Every place I looked says you cannot steam bend conifer lumber, so I will just have to find out.  As a fall back I know I can bend thinner pieces and glue them together.  I'm going with clear knot free lumber for the down slope.
I'm quite unsure of how to do the edge joints.  Are these pieces going to look like barrel staves, wider in the middle? Then reverse? The edge bevel -I'm assuming- must be the same on each piece so the joint lays flat.   Mentally I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around this one. 

[kantuckid]

Interesting project! 
As a contrast for sure in overall construction to create the same sort of gypsy wagon-
I've seen many sheepherder wagons out west in the Rockies with South American or Latino guys tending large flocks for long stays in the boonies. Their wagon "homes" had the same rounded roofs done with much less concern for aesthetics like stained glass, etc.. Seems like I recall from years back that they used painted canvas roofs or tarpaper selvage roofing. One trip we were with my parents and my Mom was intrigued with the whole thing such that she got a look/see inside one where we were hiking N of Steamboat Springs, CO on WY border. That guy was from Peru as it were. 
How is this fancy sort of wagon used on the road-inside a PU bed?   

[DMcCoy]

I visited the High Desert Museum near Bend OR many years ago.  They had on display a shepherds wagon.  I remember at the time thinking this was an early RV - for work but the essentials were all there, including a small wood cookstove.
The history of Vardo's or Gypsy wagon's has a parallel to building public roads.  They were used in the early 1900's for vacations by the wealthy until gasoline powered trucks and cars led to the RV with it's modern construction methods.  
I'm planning on covering this with canvas -> PMF (poor mans fiberglass) glued down with Titebond 3 and painted with white exterior paint. I plan to carry it on a 16' flat bed trailer that I already own.
It has gotten fancy(er) as the original goal as my wife will still state is "something better than a tent".
I believe any hand made RV will attract people's attention, much like your mother.  I know I rubber neck anything home made. 
About a month ago I asked myself why exactly I was building this, to double check on my motivation.  I love the look of wood and have built all kinds of things since I was a small boy.  I want something that I personally would like to look at and use.  I'm tall 6'6" 250 lbs, and there is very few RV's that I can stand up in let alone short narrow beds between bulk heads where my nighttime leg cramp issues would likely flare up.  RV's have a lot of things going for them but I simply don't fit.  My wife and I have said for years we need to build our own trailer so here we are.
Part of the class I took included a warning about the attention these draw and the need to be prepared for all kinds of people wanting to see inside, and a billion questions.  Between printed hand outs and a blog or two plus Covid-19 I'm hoping to mostly keep my privacy while satisfying people's curiosity.  We also tend to remote camp in very low population areas which should help.  Too much attention is a real concern I have and we will see how this works out. Family has already expressed an interest to spend the night here on our property in it so if that becomes it's destiny then I'm okay with that but a small cabin would have been tons easier to build.  Several of the students at the class I took wanted to build vardo's to rent out as a supplemental income.  There is now a place on the Oregon coast where there is a Vardo village all available to rent.  These can get you around building codes and land use laws to different degrees.
Searching for detailed information on building one of these doesn't get you very far.  I bought one expensive and out of print book about Vardo's and even it was scant on details.  I hope to help the next guy and to inspire him/her to what is possible with solid pieces of wood.

[DMcCoy]

Covering the mollycroft slopes.  Close to done.  Covering it with 3 layers of laminated cedar strips.  Upper slope needed convex shapes to "lay flat", lower slope needed concave.  Lay flat is the only term I can come up with to describe what needs to happen.


 
Photo above - convex slope ->convex strip.  Photo below - concave slope ->concave strip.


 
Top view.  Edges will get trimmed later.


 
Inside view.  Rough yet and will need some sanding.


 

[DMcCoy]

If anyone chooses to follow my slope design I have a recommendation. Add 2 more rafters to make a total of 5.  The 3 points of contact I used worked fine on the convex portion.  At the transition to concave the roof started to develop a ridge.  I changed the clamp position and added some wooden cantilever pry bars with weight to get the sections between the rafters to flow.  It worked but having more rafters would make it fool proof.
This is very time consuming - about an inch per day.  I have used my 'spare' time to start of plumbing and cabinetry.

[Runningalucas]

Bookmarked, and following.  Really a neat build.  I've got several working models at least in my head, and am planning on building at least 1 of these in some sort; will be towing it around my property for different niche views. 


Anyone interested, there are several variations of this idea on Youtube; saw some neat ones on the road down in NZ.

Thanks for Sharing.

[DMcCoy]

 The last strips to go one the mollycroft slopes.  I closed the gap where I could get my clamps through so I opted for just top pressure.  I was able to clamp a board to the truss tails and then use small scraps to apply the clamping pressure to the curved strips.


 


 
I have been working on plumbing while the glue dried on these strips.  The plumbing needed to go inside and behind the cabinetry so it became a bigger project.
Upper bunk slides out to fit a 36" mattress.  Below it is 3 storage compartments with top lid access.  To the left and forward will be a 30" wide seat with under seat storage and then the kitchen counter. On the left will be a couch that will slide out to make a bed, again to 36".  

[DMcCoy]

Tank layout didn't work as anticipated so it has changed.  I'm starting to frame the bathroom walls.
This is the left side seat @30" wide.  When the bunk is extended there is still about 10" of seat showing to use as a step.  Upper bunk rail will get a cap.  Using Western red cedar as much as possible to keep the weight as low as I possibly can.  



The lower right side bunk, slides out to fit a 36" mattress.  My wife gets this one.  Her feet will be under the upper bunk.  Makes into a @6' long couch during the day!


 
Toilets and showers are the more difficult aspects.  I owned an RV once, dumping the 'black water' tank was a nasty job.  This will have a home built composting toilet using a urine diverter which is the issue in controlling smells, that and a small 12v computer fan.  I searched the net and ended up with a diverter from the UK, more on that later. There are many toilet units for purchase but they can run $500+.
A shower will be plumb-able but I'm leaving it left out until later.  Waiting to see how we use this.  I have debated between inside or outside shower and outside would be easier space wise and adding a drain pan to the bath floor would mean draining into a portable tank or directly onto the ground.  Also the bathroom would be tight for taking a shower  - so perhaps on the back porch.

[Walnut Beast]

Pretty interesting and great job 👍

[DMcCoy]

Adding windows in the mollycroft.  I'm using old aluminum storm windows for my clear glass, free and readily available.  2" square bevels are about $14 for 30, add copper foil, solder and time.  These are relatively cheap for the stained glass look.  Colored glass costs quite a bit extra.  I added a black patina using a liquid that turns the solder black with an old tooth brush.  I've gotten better with practice, go figure.  My old stuff looks kinda rough.  Learned by watching youtubes and utilizing the common techniques.  Would make great looking inserts into upper cabinet doors for those cabinet builders out there.
The middle windows are open-able for ventilation, a common complaint with tiny homes is a lack of ventilation.



 


 


 

[Magicman]

This build boggles my mind. 

[thecfarm]

The hours that you are putting into this is mind blogging too!!!  ;D

[DMcCoy]

Thanks for the compliments! 
Here is a better shot from inside.  I'm still trying to figure out the curved windows at the ends.  Typically they are single piece colored glass, and I'm thinking a shade of amber or light purple or blue.  There is a Bullseye glass store in Portland and it's like a 500 crayon coloring kit.  Worse, color choosing is not my strong suit.  Yeah TC this is a big time consumer!!  I find I enjoy long term projects perhaps like people who build train set displays.


 

[samandothers]

What you are doing is jaw dropping!  You have put so much time and thought into this and it shows.  Thank you for sharing your progress.

[DMcCoy]

I'm sheathing the lower roof.  I'm hoping to get the roof sheathing done before our nursery and spring shipping consume my life through July.  
I started doing a half lap joint on the board ends so the screws will catch both boards.  I split the joint on the rafter, so the joint is hidden from inside.  I did use glue on the half  joints but not in the tongue and groove.
I will need to install barge rafters and facia's to finish.  The Vardo specific term is weather boards which I assume mean 'rain'.  I'll take it one more step to assume there is also a drip edge to keep rain from wicking down the walls but there are no details I could find that specifically state this.
Half lap joint on board ends, split over the rafter-


 
I really hate to cover this up- It will get puttied with automotive filler(Bondo - no joke) and sanded before covering with canvas PMF (poor mans fiberglass).


 
Inside...


 
All I can think of is "train car".



For all of us non-women's clothing makers the fabric going down the slopes on each end will be bias cut.  Bias cut (threads are 45 degree angle to the slope) will help it "fit right" or fit tight on the compound curve.  I learned this in a formal manner reading an engineering book of all places.

[newoodguy78]

That's definitely a work of art. 

[SwampDonkey]

Just check'n in. Awesome!

[DMcCoy]

A bit of an update...
I've started finishing the inside.  The upper wall will have a paint-able surface.  The black blotches you see on the siding is automotive body filler, over fiberglass window screen, over knots.  I didn't use lumber with dry or dead knots but I'm concerned that even the live knots with vibrations make shake loose so hopefully this is preventative.  I also decided to insulate.  A few black wrought iron coat hooks will get added. 


 
Left side seat, storage under accessible by lifting the not yet done cushion and removing a lid.


 
A couple of doors needed on the under couch/bed storage.  The larger opening will hold a cooler of shoes or both.  The whole forward section has countersunk lift off lids.


 



Lots more work to do yet...

[Jeff]

I actually did, just shake my head as I slowly mouthed the word "wow". Wow.

[petefrom bearswamp]

Absolutely gorgeous.
Your craftsmanship is beyond reproach.
I suppose however that in view of the forest pest renaming you may have to call it a Vardo sponge wagon.

[DMcCoy]

Thanks Jeff!  It's been an interesting project so far, after the roof it feels like I'm on the down slope for some reason.  Lots of cutting and fitting.  It's different,  one friend will show up to see it and then the next time I get a carload, they are strangely quiet, a few questions but mostly looking but not talking. 
My 2 year project allowance will expire this fall, it might take another full winter. Already have a list for staying overnight in it.   I rather flippantly promised my wife if it's too much of a bother to go camping with it I would buy her a travel trailer.  She gave me one of those wife looks the other day and told me she is holding me to that.. :-\

[DMcCoy]

Okay Pete! Thanks for the kind words!
I was wondering how long that would take...  
I'm sadly PC under-developed according to my kids. :D
I will not be burning any books!  This has to stop somewhere.