Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

So I am new here and plan on building a squaretop camper. Looking for advice and any suggestions

I plan on building a frame.
5x12 2x3 .120 steel frame outside and 2x2 x.120 in the middle every two feet.
flexiride axle

then I will build the main shell out of 1x1 steel. inside 1/8th wood and on the outside 1/2" wood. sandwiched between will be foam sheet insulation.

plan on buying doors and rear hatch from challanger doors.

out of the 12 feet starting from the back
just shy of 2 feet of galley
then 8 feet of living space
front 2 feet will story the diesel heater and electrical items(batteries etc)

I plan on poly the exterior then monstaline the whole thing. thinking alum trim on the outside for looks but hopefully the monstaliner will seal all the edges from water.

thoughts ? ideas? issues?

thank you

Sounds like you may be overbuilding it. Rose has 3/4” sides. At the time I built her, I could only get 4x10 sheets in 3/4 or 1/4. She’s 1,500# when loaded. Looking back over 11 years with her, I believe she’d be totally adequate with 1/4” skins.

Wellcraft290 wrote:So I am new here and plan on building a squaretop camper. Looking for advice and any suggestions

I plan on building a frame.
5x12 2x3 .120 steel frame outside and 2x2 x.120 in the middle every two feet.
flexiride axle

then I will build the main shell out of 1x1 steel. inside 1/8th wood and on the outside 1/2" wood. sandwiched between will be foam sheet insulation.

plan on buying doors and rear hatch from challanger doors.

out of the 12 feet starting from the back
just shy of 2 feet of galley
then 8 feet of living space
front 2 feet will story the diesel heater and electrical items(batteries etc)

I plan on poly the exterior then monstaline the whole thing. thinking alum trim on the outside for looks but hopefully the monstaliner will seal all the edges from water.

thoughts ? ideas? issues?

thank you

You don’t need all those crossmembers on the chassis. Weight will sneak up and bite you.

I like Monstaliner. You can check out my build log and read my experience with it. But think of it as a high grade textured paint. Don’t count on it to seal seams.

Tony


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Ok thank you on the skins. Maybe just do 1/2" on the back and front to better support the hatch.

and how would you seal the seams with monstaliner? obvisiously want it water tight lol

and how would you seal the seams with monstaliner?

That stuff is a great paint*, not a sealant. I would suggest you fiberglass the cabin using epoxy resin, and then sand and prime first.



Fiberglass the walls flat on the bench. It's not a big learning curve. Youtube it.

Tony

*And it's not cheap. You need two gallons.

tony.latham wrote:
Fiberglass the walls flat on the bench. It's not a big learning curve. Youtube it.

Tony

*And it's not cheap. You need two gallons.

Concur on the flat surface. Also on cost. I built a stitch and glue kayak last year. I bought more than one gallon of 5:1 epoxy at $125 a gallon.

Also on the cost. I bought more than one gallon of 5:1 epoxy at $125 a gallon.

My bad. I was referring to the cost of Monstaliner. $400 for a two-gallon kit if I recall correctly.

Tony

Make sure your walls fit under the 5' Plywood on the roof!

1"X 2" tubing is a good one to grab for the plywood joint's you will be making!

(Polyurethane) Caulk then 3 coats of Exterior polyurethane then Monstraliner.
Was the answer at the phone number I called.

ugh probably be just over 5' wide on roof. was planning on laying the plywood "sideways" so had two seams.
caulk, bondo wood fill, fiberglass then most likely monstaline the whole thing. but now if I am going to fiberglass maybe just gelcoat paint which should be a lot cheaper.

Wellcraft290 wrote:ugh probably be just over 5' wide on roof. was planning on laying the plywood "sideways" so had two seams.

It's worth the effort to me, Queen size bed is a must! 60 + inside but it is so much more work then just going with the 5' & For a radius in the front over 5' the seams are compounded at least I couldn't figure another way to do it. That's not sayin much

Wellcraft290 wrote:ugh probably be just over 5' wide on roof. was planning on laying the plywood "sideways" so had two seams.
caulk, bondo wood fill, fiberglass then most likely monstaline the whole thing. but now if I am going to fiberglass maybe just gelcoat paint which should be a lot cheaper.

I did exactly the same thing. The cabin on Rose is 60.5 inches wide outside. I laid 1/8” birch ply sideways and used several sheets of 4x8.

So I am new here and plan on building a squaretop camper. Looking for advice and any suggestions...

It's those front and rear angles on the roof where I would suggest you fiberglass. Me? I'd glass the entire cabin but for sure those joints.

Tony

definately plan on fiberglassing the whole body for strength and to better waterproof.