Lessons learned after replacing the sides of my teardrop

Anything to do with mechanical, construction etc

Lessons learned after replacing the sides of my teardrop

Postby woodywrkng » Tue Jun 09, 2020 8:12 pm

After completing my teardrop in 2013, I let it sit outside, always in the same spot. This would have been fine, if I hadn't used sheet laminate (Formica) for the sides. One side faded badly, and since there was a small galley leak, I decided to replace the vinyl with .032" aluminum. I learned a few things during the rebuild which you may find interesting. The two door skins show the fading.
162197

One the initial build I used Lexel, Vulkem polyurethane, and siliconized acrylic caulk. The first two between surfaces, with the latter added where the bead would show, since it's makes a much nicer bead than the other two. All of them performed perfectly. This time around I did without the Vulkem, using Lexel everywhere it wouldn't be seen. As with the original build, I dabbed Lexel under every screw head for the hinge and edge trim. The somewhat sloppy mess you can see in the lowest picture on the left, is Lexel I tried to smooth after it squirted out from under the hurricane hinge. Mineral oil on your finger helps a lot. The picture is the end result, with aluminum sides.
162199

When I first built the teardrop, wanting to be fancy, I cut the hurricane hinge to the same length as the body, and made these fancy little end caps. That may have been a mistake, since the leak I had was at one end of the hurricane hinge.
98882

This time I was wiser, and followed the traditional advice of leaving the hinge one inch longer on each side. To keep it from sliding when the hatch is open, I added the fender washer on each side. It's screwed to an aluminum block underneath. Another important thing I learned was to leave the edge molding vinyl trim caps off, to allow any water that get's below it to drain away. That may have caused my leak. Another result of leaving the caps off (except at the top of the hatch) was that water that pooled up on the roof, behind the hinge, now has a way to easily drain, without a cap being in the way.
162202162201162200

A difficult change I made was the edge trim over the sides of the galley hatch. That's the piece going up in all three photos above. My originals were the dead soft stuff from Grant Whipp, but this time I found trim with a longer skirt. 15/16ths I think, compared to 5/8th of an inch. The only kind I could locally obtain was painted black, and not the least bit soft of course. Long story short, each piece needed 20+ minutes of annealing with a MAPP torch to soften it up enough to bend at a 3 foot radius. Then, to make matters worse, the only way I could get the black paint off was with a wire wheel, so those pieces now have a different look to them. However, the longer skirt on the edge completely covers up the hatch side weather strip, which the older edge did not. Also, instead of rivets securing the edge trip to the hatch, I used Chicago nuts, sometimes called sex nuts, which worked perfectly, and allowing me to recess the heads, providing a flat surface to stick the weather strip.
User avatar
woodywrkng
Silver Donating Member
 
Posts: 104
Images: 35
Joined: Sun Apr 22, 2012 3:54 pm
Location: DeSoto, Wisconsin

Re: Lessons learned after replacing the sides of my teardrop

Postby Pmullen503 » Wed Jun 10, 2020 5:26 am

I'm curious how the formica held up besides the fading. Was the surface degrading are getting brittle?
Pmullen503
1000 Club
1000 Club
 
Posts: 1103
Images: 67
Joined: Sun Nov 23, 2014 1:33 pm
Location: Fond du Lac, WI

Re: Lessons learned after replacing the sides of my teardrop

Postby noseoil » Wed Jun 10, 2020 6:21 am

Formica, like any plastic, has an inherent defect when exposed to UV light. It will weaken, become brittle & eventually crack, chip or peel if left outside long enough. It's designed to be used as an interior kitchen counter surface, not an exterior one. That's why aluminum is better as an outside surface exposed to the elements.

You wouldn't want a kitchen counter made out of aluminum (acids from citrus fruits, onions, etc.) as it's not the right material. But outside on your airplane, camper or RV it's great.

Concrete makes a dandy kitchen counter, but it's a bit heavy for a camper shell...
Build log: viewtopic.php?f=50&t=60248
The time you spend planning is more important than the time you spend building.........

137905
User avatar
noseoil
1000 Club
1000 Club
 
Posts: 1820
Images: 669
Joined: Sun Apr 27, 2014 8:46 am
Location: Raton, New Mexico, living the good life!
Top

Re: Lessons learned after replacing the sides of my teardrop

Postby tony.latham » Wed Jun 10, 2020 8:02 am

Thanks for posting this.

:thumbsup:

T
User avatar
tony.latham
Gold Donating Member
 
Posts: 6880
Images: 17
Joined: Mon Jul 08, 2013 4:03 pm
Location: Middle of Idaho on the edge of nowhere
Top

Re: Lessons learned after replacing the sides of my teardrop

Postby woodywrkng » Wed Jun 10, 2020 2:25 pm

The Formica held up very well. The sun damaged side seemed to be no different from the good side, other than being faded. I came very close to just replacing the sun damaged side with another sheet of laminate, since in some ways it's better than aluminum. It was very easy to keep clean, hand prints don't show, was quite abrasion resistant, and it truly looked no different on the good side after 6 years. It compares very favorably to the aluminum on the front, top, and rear, which is oxidized and stained in areas. In the end I just decided not to fight the elements for something that really did look unique. Nobody was able to guess what the sides were made of until I told them.

Yeah, I know it wasn't made to be outdoors. I was wrong to not take better care of it with respect to the sun, but it seems like it faded all at once. One year it was fine, the next it was faded.
User avatar
woodywrkng
Silver Donating Member
 
Posts: 104
Images: 35
Joined: Sun Apr 22, 2012 3:54 pm
Location: DeSoto, Wisconsin
Top

Re: Lessons learned after replacing the sides of my teardrop

Postby Pmullen503 » Wed Jun 10, 2020 3:09 pm

I suppose that being on the sides it got less intense sun than it would on the roof. Was Formica used on the roof as well?
Pmullen503
1000 Club
1000 Club
 
Posts: 1103
Images: 67
Joined: Sun Nov 23, 2014 1:33 pm
Location: Fond du Lac, WI
Top

Re: Lessons learned after replacing the sides of my teardrop

Postby halfdome, Danny » Wed Jun 10, 2020 5:03 pm

A friend had his teardrop clad in cherry plastic laminate and one side faded.
It’s always garaged but wasn’t aware the sunlight coming through a window would fade it that much over several years.
UV light fades lots of things.
My Purple Heart tool box is brown from shop fluorescent lights along with clear finished red oak cabinets.
:D Danny
ImageImage
"Conditions are never just right. People who delay action until all factors are favorable do nothing". William Feather
Don't accept "It's Good Enough" build to the best of your abilities.
Image
Teardroppers Of Oregon & WashingtonImage
User avatar
halfdome, Danny
*Happy Camper
 
Posts: 5882
Images: 252
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2005 11:02 pm
Location: Washington , Pew-al-up
Top

Re: Lessons learned after replacing the sides of my teardrop

Postby bdosborn » Wed Jun 10, 2020 5:53 pm

Sex nuts!?!? Well I had to Google that!



Oh, that's what those are called. What do you know..

Bruce
2009 6.5'X11' TTT - Boxcar
All it takes is a speck of faith and a few kilowatts of sweat and grace.
Image
Boxcar Build
aVANger Build
User avatar
bdosborn
Donating Member
 
Posts: 5492
Images: 767
Joined: Wed May 05, 2004 11:10 pm
Location: CO, Littleton
Top

Re: Lessons learned after replacing the sides of my teardrop

Postby Tom&Shelly » Wed Jun 10, 2020 7:03 pm

bdosborn wrote:Sex nuts!?!? Well I had to Google that!



Oh, that's what those are called. What do you know..

Bruce


I never knew they were called that. Guess I should have though: Got a couple from somewhere 15 years ago, threw them in a parts drawer, and now it's full of 'em! :thinking:

Tom
172912 170466
Tom&Shelly
Palladium Donating Member
 
Posts: 2180
Images: 1903
Joined: Tue Sep 05, 2017 3:27 pm
Location: Upstate New York/New Mexico
Top

Re: Lessons learned after replacing the sides of my teardrop

Postby woodywrkng » Fri Jun 12, 2020 9:32 am

Pmullen503 - The formica was only on the sides. The top (front and rear of course) was / is .040 aluminum as I recall. Yeah, I wasn't foolish enough to use it on the roof, but I figured the sides would be ok.
User avatar
woodywrkng
Silver Donating Member
 
Posts: 104
Images: 35
Joined: Sun Apr 22, 2012 3:54 pm
Location: DeSoto, Wisconsin
Top


Return to Teardrop Construction Tips & Techniques

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 12 guests