BUILD STAGE I: RUST REPAIR
In the last eleven months, Olivia and I have taken a hard look at what we will need out of the Troopy as we look toward traveling full time in the future. Our primary goal is to get the vehicle to the million-mile mark, 700,000 miles to go. This goal will be the base from which we make each decision throughout the build. If a product or modification doesn't have the durability to make a significant dent on our mileage quota, we will do our best to find a better option. The next objective is to get this build done properly the first time. Cutting corners in an attempt to finish sooner is only going to cost more time and money in the long run.
Ergonomics and necessity will also be two of our guidelines. We want to build a vehicle that has enough features to maintain comfortable living, but avoid unnecessary accessories. There are a lot of cool gadgets on the market for the Troop Carrier platform, so I might struggle a little. Every dollar we spend though, is going to be a financial setback, limiting the amount of money we are able to save for travel.
In our time on the road, we have identified the areas in need of improvements and the modifications we would like to make: Improved sound deadening, repair rust patches, build kitchenette and storage bench, fix A/C & HVAC ducting, swap suspension, strengthen pop-top, and reduce dust infiltration. Essentially, increase comfort and replace deteriorated components.
The first step in the process was to strip the entire interior floor of the vehicle and remove the Noico adhesive sound deadening mat. Before starting this project, a butyl sound mat like Noico or Dynamat is what we had been planning to use to insulate the Troop Carrier. After seeing what this cheaper product had deteriorated into though, we were hesitant. Thankfully, we received a recommendation from Tim and Kelsey of @dirtsunrise for Lizard Skin insulation. Both of their products are a spray on application that doesn’t suffer from any of the issues the Noico did.
Removing the old sound control mat was a slow and messy process. None of the methods we tried worked well and it was obvious this was a part of the process we would just have to grit our teeth and get through. (If you end up doing this job yourself, multiple people recommended using dry ice to freeze the butyl. Apparently it will just pop off then). By the time we had gotten the vehicle cleaned out, it was apparent there was far more rust than we had expected.
Numerous pinholes were found throughout the rear half of the cargo area and the center had a large section of heavy pitting. There were also two spots of corrosion that had eaten through the floor and begun decomposing a crossmember. These two areas were the ones I was most concerned about. Rusty crossmembers can easily necessitate more extensive repairs.
At this point, it was time for me to begin learning to weld. Thankfully, my parents have a shop with a welder and live less than an hour away. I spent two evenings at their shop practicing before diving into the real challenge. The welding itself wasn’t too difficult to learn, but the thin 18 gauge sheet metal wasn’t particularly tolerant of mistakes. Leaving the welder in one section for too long would cause a large area of molten metal to fall onto the ground. Backfilling that new hole required a careful touch as to not make that hole even bigger. Excessive heat build up on longer welds would cause the metal to warp if I wasn’t careful. This required me to work efficiently and take brakes on the bigger sections.
When it comes to cutting chunks out of your prized vehicle, I don’t know that you will ever feel great about it. The rust might be bad, but not so much that it can’t be made worse by limited abilities. I thought about this along each step of the process, careful to ensure it led to a higher attention to detail rather than paralysis. The first cut was the most difficult, to fix the hole I had to make it bigger. If I wasn’t able to complete the repair then I would be worse off than when I began.
My heart was racing from just before the first cut to the end of the first weld. As I lifted my visor up to see a solid bead, my anxiety was replaced with a sense of fulfilment. Now I had to do it twenty more times without cutting corners. The scent of heavy metals hung heavy in my nostrils, but the hours flew by as I cut, shaped, and patched each hole. Looking back on this moment, it will likely be the most satisfying process of the entire build. Watching the patchwork of sheet metal transform into a cohesive repair will be burned in my memory for some time to come.
It took two full days to remedy every bit of rusty floor pan I could get to. Once the holes had been patched, I applied a rust inhibitor and primer to the bare steel. After a thorough cleaning we would be ready for the application of the Lizard Skin acoustic and thermal insulation. What had started out as a daunting task was now finished. When this all kicked off I had tried to outsource the work, but the prices were either too high or people refused to take on the job. Doing it myself was the only viable option and honestly, I can’t imagine having missed out on this experience.
