"TrailTop" modular trailer building components

[unclemark]

I've read perhaps 2/3ds of the thread and looked at most of the pictures. I really like the potential of the fiberglass components. That said, I have a whole lot of probably low-value ideas to share as A) someone who has never built a camper or even tried B) a guy making only his second post here despite being a member for two years C) the owner of a used popup camper, a 1995 Viking, since May, when I apparently put my teardrop dreams on ice. So here goes:
-- Your radiuses probably wouldn't lure me in as a teardrop customer because I want a classic teardrop if I have a teardrop at all. Yeah, I know it's kind of a feminine look, but I'm wanting something my DW can't resist.
-- But, if I ever had to replace a popup roof, I'd be looking real hard at your corner pieces.
-- Back to my first comment: Corvettes are made of fiberglass. Over the past two years as I've gazed in awe over various camper designs on this forum and attempted to click and drag a few of my own, I've been struck by the limitations of non-molded surfaces and wondered what kind of trippy shapes could be created using fiberglass. Fenders are often the most shapely pieces on even the most carefully drawn teardrops. Up close, your components are very cool to look at. But as they come together in trailers, the final vehicle shapes are not the sorts of shapes that keep me coming back to this forum. Instead, they're the kind of shape that I feel like I've "settled for" by purchasing a popup.
-- OK, but maybe all that wouldn't matter if I was balancing cost and time and DW and I were really itching to create something without investing 3-5 years and $5,000. So take the criticisms for the uninformed mumblings that they truly are.
-- I hope these comments are constructive, and if no humility is detectable within them I apologize. Your skills are, of course, amazing and worthy of respect, and your generosity in sharing your ideas is inspiring and appreciated. Now I'll put my skills on display and see if I can link to my idea of a classic teardrop shape.

teardrop shape2 by civilact, on Flickr

Edit: Full disclosure was intended but neglected. This shape comes from the Arial lower case letter "a," so it's probably copyrighted by someone and is intended here as an example rather than a template.

[unclemark]

On further reflection, I wonder whether this concept could compete with canvas replacement on a popup camper. A popup without slides or canvas is basically a tub. Eventually the canvas wears out and requires replacement. Moreover, the built-in crap in a popup tub is mostly useless. We only use the table outside, not inside. The storage cabinets require us to stand on our heads to see inside them. The sink is a joke and basically worthless. We always cook outside. When the canvas wears out I could be in the mood to gut and and rebuild, placing one bed in the "tub" and ditching the cabinets, dinette, and vanity or whatever that thing is with a sink on top. Your fiberglass pieces look like a viable concept for a full conversion to a hardsided trailer. As stated above, it might not provide the exact teardrop shape I'd dream of. But, it would be closer to a teardrop than the popup is currently.

What do you think? Could a gutted popup be a platform for this concept? Could the cost get close to the $920 canvas replacement price?

[jscherb]

On further reflection, I wonder whether this concept could compete with canvas replacement on a popup camper. A popup without slides or canvas is basically a tub. Eventually the canvas wears out and requires replacement. Moreover, the built-in crap in a popup tub is mostly useless. We only use the table outside, not inside. The storage cabinets require us to stand on our heads to see inside them. The sink is a joke and basically worthless. We always cook outside. When the canvas wears out I could be in the mood to gut and and rebuild, placing one bed in the "tub" and ditching the cabinets, dinette, and vanity or whatever that thing is with a sink on top. Your fiberglass pieces look like a viable concept for a full conversion to a hardsided trailer. As stated above, it might not provide the exact teardrop shape I'd dream of. But, it would be closer to a teardrop than the popup is currently.

What do you think? Could a gutted popup be a platform for this concept? Could the cost get close to the $920 canvas replacement price?

Yes, you could build a TrailTop top to replace the top half of a popup - what type of popup camper are we talking about? If you can tell me a make/model or post a photo I can try to do a concept drawing for you.

[unclemark]

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1410957436.552894.jpg (99.75 KiB) Viewed 2626 times

1995 Viking SP175. 103 inch box length. Thanks!

[jscherb]

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1410957436.552894.jpg

1995 Viking SP175. 103 inch box length. Thanks!

How about something like this? Your photo was of the side without the door so that's what I drew on; the other side would have a door, and you could do a traditional teardrop-style galley in the back.

[unclemark]

Love it, but DW will insist on teal

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1410966618.493129.jpg (103.44 KiB) Viewed 2661 times

[jscherb]

Love it, but DW will insist on teal

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1410966618.493129.jpg

Ok we definitely want to keep DW happy...

[unclemark]

Nice. This would be fun to do.

[jscherb]

A couple of weeks ago I posted an idea for a new TrailTop corner piece to make it easy to build covers and toppers for trailers with square corners, such as military trailers. I showed this pair of photos when I first wrote about the square corner, it shows the current round corner and a drawing of what the square corner would look like:



Yesterday I made up a prototype of the square corner piece.



This corner piece would use the same straight edge pieces as the other TrailTop parts, with those it would go together like this to make a cover for a square-cornered trailer:





So a cover for a military trailer could be built just like this one, except for the corners:



Here's a few concept drawings of a cover made using this part...

Unpainted:



Painted:

[jscherb]

A few weeks ago I tested Olympic Rescue IT! acrylic deck resurfacer as a possible coating for TrailTop trailer covers and trailer floors. I was impressed enough with it to decide to finish my trailer cover in it, and I began the work the other day. When I first assembled the cover, I attached the plywood to the frame with screws, so the first thing I needed to do was to remove the plywood and bond it to the frame - I used epoxy for the wood-fiberglass bonds, and Titebond wood glue for the wood-wood bonds (epoxy would have worked fine for all the bonds but it's way more expensive than Titebond, and Titebond does a great job bonding wood to wood). I reinstalled all the screws as well.

Then I sealed all of the wood on the underside with two coats of polyurethane, and once that dried, I installed the weatherseal. Here's the finished underside with the weatherseal in place:



Next I'll can flip it over and do a little sanding and filler work on the joints and countersunk screw heads. Then I'll prime it (Rescue It! doesn't stick to bare fiberglass), and when that's dry I'll roll on the Rescue It! I'll post more photos as I make progress, probably will be a few days until I get back to it.

[jscherb]

I filled the countersunk screw holes and any panel gaps and sanded everything, then applied a coat of black automotive epoxy primer with a roller. Epoxy primer sticks to pretty much everything, and provides a great base for subsequent layers of finish to adhere to. Since the Rescue IT! doesn't stick to bare fiberglass, this step is necessary; it also serves to seal the top side of the plywood. Then I applied two coats of Rescue IT!. This photo was taken after the second coat of Rescue IT! It goes on very heavy and with a nice texture; it dries to a matte finish.

[Crew Dawg Dave]

Here's what my sewing room looks like, I've got a large sunlit worktable and a very large floor area for laying out and marking material.

Hi Jeff... I have been lurking here on tnttt and expedition portal forums and really like your concepts. About your sewing area, my mom used to sew curtain for people and she used large boards set on saw horses, The boards were covered in a canvas type material that had padding under it. she would starch the canvas so material slide easily.

Dave

[Crew Dawg Dave]

After I posted those camo-themed teardrop concepts yesterday, someone said the drawings made them want to do a "sawtooth" in "ACU" (army combat uniform) camo. A few weeks back I did few concept drawings for someone who wondered if they could do something similar to the design for the Sawtooth XL, so I did some variations on that; here's one of the TrailTop variants in ACU...

Jeff it appears you are very busy!! When you have a moment could you do a concept base on the Trail Dog. The changes are to the rear of the trailer. I would like a vertical hinged door (90 at the top) and reduce the lower angle "distance" to about 18 inches (60-30). I hope this is clear. Thanks again for all the ideas and I really hope someone does pick up your idea for manufacture!

Dave

[jscherb]

n lurking here on tnttt and expedition portal forums and really like your concepts. About your sewing area, my mom used to sew curtain for people and she used large boards set on saw horses, The boards were covered in a canvas type material that had padding under it. she would starch the canvas so material slide easily.

Dave

Dave,
Thanks, that's a good idea. Since the photo was taken, I've replaced the two small tables with a large 6'-long folding table so now I've got a lot more room for large panels. I'm about to sew a very large project, it's related to this thread so I'll post about it when I get started.
Jeff

[jscherb]

Jeff it appears you are very busy!! When you have a moment could you do a concept base on the Trail Dog. The changes are to the rear of the trailer. I would like a vertical hinged door (90 at the top) and reduce the lower angle "distance" to about 18 inches (60-30). I hope this is clear. Thanks again for all the ideas and I really hope someone does pick up your idea for manufacture!

Dave

Dave,
Is this what you mean? I didn't put a rear door in because I wasn't sure if you wanted it hinged at the top like a hatch or at the side like a barn door.