Campground Buggy Trike

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Today I went at it and did some "cardboard moulding" to create a suitable cover for the buggy.
First I built a frame that had the same measurements as the top of the buggy and added in a piece of fiberglas rod from a kiddy bike flag to create a counter curve in the middle. I did this to avoid water poodles building up on the cover...
IMG_20210723_122422591_HDR.jpg

IMG_20210723_123543185_HDR.jpg

I had three sheets of 80x100cm 1mm cardboard ready. Before putting them on the frame I made them soaking wet. Like this the become somewhat moldable, but one has to be very carefull, as they also rip apart very easy. This fact will come in handy later on in the progress.
So here the first layer of wet cardboard is on the frame. You can already see, that the rear corners will give me some (expected) trouble...
IMG_20210723_125425758_HDR.jpg

While I let the cardboard dry a bit, I made this little ply wedges from some leftover scraps.
IMG_20210723_131158195.jpg

The wedges will give me some nice fins on the trunk cover. It's a 50ties something buggy, so it needs fins! ;)
IMG_20210723_131906384.jpg

IMG_20210723_131901471_HDR.jpg

With the fins in place I gave the first layer of carboard a coat of thinned glue and then applied the second layer of cardboard.
IMG_20210723_135530507.jpg

A little bit of ripping and molding later it looks like this:
IMG_20210723_141704475.jpg

And the final layer of cardboard is one:
IMG_20210723_144012116.jpg

Now I will have to let it sit there and dry. The weather is nice and warm, so this should be ready to finish up by tomorrow...
 
Today I went at it and did some "cardboard moulding" to create a suitable cover for the buggy.
First I built a frame that had the same measurements as the top of the buggy and added in a piece of fiberglas rod from a kiddy bike flag to create a counter curve in the middle. I did this to avoid water poodles building up on the cover...
View attachment 165590
View attachment 165591
I had three sheets of 80x100cm 1mm cardboard ready. Before putting them on the frame I made them soaking wet. Like this the become somewhat moldable, but one has to be very carefull, as they also rip apart very easy. This fact will come in handy later on in the progress.
So here the first layer of wet cardboard is on the frame. You can already see, that the rear corners will give me some (expected) trouble...
View attachment 165592
While I let the cardboard dry a bit, I made this little ply wedges from some leftover scraps.
View attachment 165593
The wedges will give me some nice fins on the trunk cover. It's a 50ties something buggy, so it needs fins! ;)
View attachment 165595
View attachment 165594
With the fins in place I gave the first layer of carboard a coat of thinned glue and then applied the second layer of cardboard.
View attachment 165596
A little bit of ripping and molding later it looks like this:
View attachment 165597
And the final layer of cardboard is one:
View attachment 165598
Now I will have to let it sit there and dry. The weather is nice and warm, so this should be ready to finish up by tomorrow...
Very cool. I learned something new today!!
 
Ok, I might need to wait another day or so...
The cardboard is still very wet, but while drying it already builds up a nice tension on the surface...
IMG_20210724_103101359.jpg

And I got mail yesterday. Some of these might end up on the trunk, but I haven't decided yet which and where...
IMG_20210723_185244245.jpg
 
Did a 20km shakedown ride through the Berlin-Kladow countryside, mostly on unpaved road and dirt tracks. Sometimes it was a little difficult due to low ground clearance, but it worked...
IMG_20210724_130635538_HDR.jpg

Screenshot_20210724-150919.png

Now we are off to the lake.
IMG_20210724_153330223_HDR.jpg
 
Made it up to 120 grain and applied a first coat of wood sealant.
IMG_20210726_130333773.jpg

Right in time before the next enforced break:
IMG_20210726_131528368.jpg

The little drainage channel on the right is from yesterdays thunderstorm


 
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While the filler was drying, I started to work on the trunk cover.
First I had to release it from it's moulding frame, test fit looks ok.
IMG_20210726_160223866.jpg

Next I needed to cut off the excess cardboard. I will need to take care of the gaps on the edges later.
IMG_20210726_164703279.jpg

It fits!
IMG_20210726_164908079.jpg

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IMG_20210726_164923775.jpg

IMG_20210726_164933946.jpg
 
Today I gave the buggy a light sanding with 180 grit and started with grey primer. The one can was all I had and it wasn't enough, so I had to use some leftover white to finish the job...
IMG_20210727_130559416_HDR.jpg

The cardboard rear will need some more sanding and primer later
IMG_20210727_130606696_HDR.jpg

The inside will only get a light coat of white.
IMG_20210727_131159007.jpg

IMG_20210727_132534512.jpg

It appears that I might need to order some more paint... 🤨
 
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That buggy is a work of rolling art!
Nice work on the cover too. It will be 'convertible' , correct? So if for some reason the buggy-back trunk looks better for photos with the cover off, it would be no problem.
 
That buggy is a work of rolling art!
Nice work on the cover too. It will be 'convertible' , correct? So if for some reason the buggy-back trunk looks better for photos with the cover off, it would be no problem.
Thank you for the compliment!
Yes, the cover will be detachable. And as I just realized, that I barely have enough paint to finish the buggy off, the cover will have to wait and might not make it into the finished thread... 🙄
 
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The time I had to wait inbetween coats I used to tye in the fork a bit better to match the trunk...
Before:
IMG_20210728_110910823.jpg

Inbetween (used a bit if tomato paste to keep the original rust spots..):
IMG_20210728_114719769.jpg

IMG_20210728_114715758_HDR.jpg

IMG_20210728_115047411_HDR.jpg

After:
IMG_20210728_122815292.jpg

IMG_20210728_122801902.jpg
 

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