Bug Control

The Bug at the Lake Seminole Rest Area on I-10 near Tallahassee.
I recently did a four-day trip to South Georgia and back. Spent three nights in The Bug. It was wonderful.

We Don't Like Bugs

We have been very fortunate thus far. Our few real uses of The Bug have been pretty bug-free. Insects have pretty much left us alone. But we know that can't continue forever. Sooner or later, we're going to attempt camping in an area with invasive insects. We need to account for that.

The Full Report

I have been contemplating this for quite some time. The one problem that kept holding me up was the spring assist on the rear gate. It's a typical coil spring on a long axle that spans the width of the trailer. There is a drum on either end of the axle, and steel cables run from them to attachment points on the gate.

The spring, axle and drums are inside the trailer. The cables, when extended, are outside. That means simply enclosing the end of the trailer can't work. The cable has to have a way out. There has to be a transition of some kind for the cable to pass through. One that will keep bugs out while letting the cable do its job.

Door Sweep

The solution comes in the form of a brush. It's a door sweep in real life, but I'm re-purposing it to become my cable transition. I cut it in half and face the two halves with the tips of the brush touching each other. This forms a nice bug-tight brushy slot for the cable to pass through. It is free to move up and down as the geometry of the system requires.

But That's Not All...

Maybe you've seen the advertisements for a screen door that closes itself after you pass through effortlessly. They sell for abut $15.00 at Home Depot in As Seen On TV packaging. I bought one, even though I had my doubts. Turns out it actually works. I had to severely modify it to fit the side door on The Bug, but once it was in place, it works great. I'm shocked, and pleased.

Another Detail

There was one more thing (isn't there always?) that I wanted to round out our emergency bug-out plan. In the event we had to bug out, and should we find ourselves in a situation where we could not access shore power, I wanted a small propane fueled generator to run the air conditioner overnight.

I imagined the two of us along with three cats inside that small trailer trying to sleep on a hot and humid rainy August night with no A/C. No. I don't think that's going to work at all. I needed to do something about that.

I found this small but adequate Westinghouse brand on Home Depot dot com and ordered it. Turns out it fit like a glove into the one storage space I had left. Right up there by the Bluetti power center. That works! Push comes to shove, it will also recharge the Bluetti in a serious pinch.

Interesting tidbit: the little inverter generator is designed in the US and built in Vietnam. I was surprised by that.

Road Trip Test

I recently returned from a four-day trip in The Bug. About five hours of road time each way and three nights of camping in The Bug gave me a real sense of confidence that the design and implementation are both solid. Everything performed flawlessly. I continue to be very pleased with the way this project has worked out.

And now, no bugs in The Bug!

A Gallery of Bug Control Efforts

This is where we left off. Fully functional, but rather exposed in the rear. The lift-assist spring and its associated cable pose a problem. They are both inside and outside. There needs to be some kind of bug-resistant transition. I need to frame up a wall with a door opening for a screen door. It has to be easily removeable for service. So far so good. Here's the door opening. Those two panels are in slots on the outside and have three screws on the inside. Strong and simple to remove. Originally there was a gate extension that formed a small ramp for loading stuff. I don't need that, but I do need the piano hinge for my door. Win-win! I purchased a pocket screw jig kit for the task of constructing a light and strong screen door. It is the perfect tool for the job. And here's the door underway. The dark piece of wood has been in my family for decades. We've used it for all sorts of supporting roles. Now it's the star. Some paint, some screen, some screen mold, some screws and boom! Done. This is my solution for the gate cable transition problem. Two pieces of brush door sweep with the bristles meeting in the center. Perfect! It is a beautiful thing when the parts come together in such a good way. I flattened and bent a piece of EMT to make the bar handle. It is very handy. That might be punny. This small dual-fuel generator fits here like I had planned it. Maybe I did. OK. I didn't, but I could have. But I didn't. I've been using that tarp for shade for literally decades. Now it keeps the proud tradition going in style. In actual use, the deck is level, not slanted. I modified a $14.00 magnetic screen from Home Depot to fit this door. It's great, actually. Not only does it keep the bugs at bay, but it makes it just a bit harder to see straight into the Bug.

The Bug is well-proven to be a thing that works.

link to home page

links

social

--> -->