Hi, I'm Lucas from Rochester NY. I'm going to be building my first teardrop but I have pretty fair construction skills and a lot of tools. Cost right now is a bit of a factor as I'd like to keep it affordable but not crappy looking. I've been doing hours and hours of teardrop research online and came across this forum. I've been ready everything I can find and many of the posts on this site.
I'm 28, married and unemployed at the moment, but I have a small Ebay business to stay busy. Except now I have a teardrop building itch. My wife is a lab tech at the University of Rochester and will be going to Grad school there starting in the summer for teaching biology. I have multiple degrees, two Associates and a technical certification.
I'm planning on building a Benroy and want it 5' wide but the cheapest trailer I've found is from TCS 5.5'x7' for $550. Its a new trailer apparently. The Red trailer 5x8 is cheaper but with shipping ends up being more. Besides the TCS trailer is fully welded and rates at 2000lbs. So basically I'd prefer to buy a welded trailer locally because shipping always makes the others more. Except I must consider the infamous Harbor freight 4x8. We have two stores locally and I have a 15% off coupon. Makes the total for the light trailer with 8" tires $183.60 after taxes. I guess I've decided to make my 5' wide teardrop on this 4' wide trailer just because of the price and this is my first. I've read two "blogs" I guess they are, about people doing this exact same thing. So we'll see how it goes. Anyone advise against it? I feel I can make it work without too much problem.
My next large dilema is the skin. The Rot-Doctor in the plans from Mike Schneider, and used by others, seems good but I priced it out and it was like $200. Rustoleum has some epoxy sealer that is cheaper and would probably work good, but I think I'll just use spar varnish and leave the sides wood. This leaves my roof which for looks I'd like nice shiny aluminum or something white.
As a side note I looked into Structoglas which they sell at the homecenters. I also read the thread on here where its mentioned being used. It comes in 7 colors, smooth and textured finishes but the home centers only carrying the textured, at least in my area. $29.97 for a sheet of white at Lowes. Both types being easy to clean but it is not recommended you turn the textured backwards to get the smooth underside. Which I thought of doing. Also its designed to be a non-adherable surface so painting isn't recommended either. They installed structoglas in the pizza shop I used to work at and it was very durable and easy to clean but grease and dirt did eventually build up in the texture so I'd prefer smooth. But now the problem. It is in fact not UV resistant and the manufacturer says: "Structoglas wall panels are made for interior use ... When the panels are used outdoors, after a period of time they tend to break down and chalk." Maybe you could coat with a UV protector. Not sure the UV protecting wax someone mentioned in the posting would be good enough. If it is someone please let me know but I'll have to look into that.
Anyways so for a skin I guess there is aluminum, filon, epoxy, or PVC. Among other less durable or advisable options I suppose. Like latex or the structoglas. I read a blog where someone used PVC and didn't recommend it because it was hard to get smooth or something. Plus I haven't seen much info on it. I thought the highend epoxy was pricey and maybe won't look as good as some of the other materials. Although I haven't seen a homemade teardrop in person. I'm guessing filon is expensive too and I havent found any prices on it yet. If I can find a local aluminum supplier I want to use one large sheet for my roof and leave the sides a nice stained and sealed birch.
So my question is where do I find the aluminum? I've seen the suggestions in this forum, most or all being in WA, OR, or CA I think. We New Yorkers must be boring and when using the internet for info I often find stuff from other states. So I'd like to ask where to begin searching for the aluminum. Whats its called and whats its used for? Roofing applications? Should I search for metal fabrication in the phone book or call some welding supply stores? Maybe industirial building supply? Does anyone have some experience mail ordering the aluminum and whats the price? I'm willing to pay to make my TD nice but not sure at this point if I want to shell out $500 whampa for it.
A couple more questions. What is a hurricane hinge? Does it have springy characteristics so you don't have to use those air supports like in a car hatchback? And does anyone know where to get a pre-fab door small enough to work in a Benroy and to fit nicely with the 3/4" plywood? I've seen plans on Ebay using them but I don't want to spend $30 for plans to find out where they bought the doors.
Many many thanks in advance for any information and hopefully I can pick peoples brains for more. Thanks
Lucas