Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

My friend was lucky enough to find some filon really cheap for his build, this is not the case for me.

Another friend just used latex exterior paint on his walls and luan top (his will be stored inside)

I would like to see if going above and beyond is worth it.

What about the newer decking products that creates the thicker paint and extra protection?
I have read it would be a weight increase, but that is minimal. I have also seen someone comment about the lack of experience with it withstanding wind speeds while traveling (honestly, doubt that would be an issue). However, I am not an expert and this would be the first time I have seen it used personally.

What are your thoughts? What are some alternatives? Or is exterior paint good enough?
My worries/concerns are outside storage (with a cover or tarp), I want this to last. I dont have the garage space.

http://www.menards.com/main/p-144445307 ... 1512653060

Thanks in advance.

What are your thoughts?

I wouldn't want to use my teardrop as an experiment. A chunk of wood treated and left in the back yard for five years or ten years, sure, but not my 'drop. I've seen one deck with that stuff that was peeling off and the owner was upset. It was probably a cleaning issue.

If it were me, and i was going to paint a wooden teardrop, I'd give it two coats of Raka thin (non-blush) epoxy followed by a marine paint. The other option I might consider is several back-to-back coats of The Mix followed by the marine paint. (And I'd run over it with a scotch pad on a random orbital sander before the paint.)

There's a teardrop on this forum that was done by fiberglass/epoxying the outside and then covering with a bright yellow bedliner. His forum moniker is escaping me right now but that's another option. I suspect it's bulletproof from a weather perspective.

My house is sheathed in T-111 plywood siding and painted with latex. It's got issues and every summer I scrape, prime, and paint another section.

Tony

Had not thought about bed liner paint yet.

What does aluminum siding roughly cost?

Jharris1385 wrote:Had not thought about bed liner paint yet.

What does aluminum siding roughly cost?

The last 5 x 10' I did was $370 plus trim.

T

I suggest http://www.monstaliner.com/
Dan

Thank you for the info, I had not heard of that company before. Seems pretty good, after reading your build thread.

What are your thoughts or have you heard of people using: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Rust-Oleum-1g ... d/17203476

There is a store nearby that buys out other stores and they currently have a couple kits like this in the $40-50 range.

I'll give my advise but I'm no more expert than the rest. I painted my tear with oil base paint. I worked with boats in the 60's and 70's and all marine paint was oil base. I used thinned polyurethane over all the wood for a penetrant. Next was a high bond primer, solvent base not water. Next was rustoleum. I'm not fond of the rustoleum but it was solvent paint. The roof was suspect after sitting tarped outside all winter. I bought solvent based elastomeric roof coating and painted (glopped) a couple of coats on top. The roof coating is the whitest most reflective stuff you can imagine. Possibly better than insulation for keeping cool in the sun.



After thoughts. Water based roof coating is less expensive and would have worked fine. Latex trim paint or enamel would be okay for the final coat as I believe it will stretch with the wood. When using the initial penetrant, pay extra attention to any seams/joints and let the penetrant run into the cracks. The bottom edge of any plywood should be staturated with penetrant because water will run down and hang there to wick up into the wood. Caulk every seam and joint and everywhere water will sit. I found a white urethane caulk at Lowes. Use PL brand construction adhesive to glue the wood together. It is strong and waterproof and any squeeze out can be tooled with your finger as a caulk.

My trailer started as a cheap fast build so the materials are basic and it looks like a restoration. If you are a woodworker and keep your trailer inside only part of this rant is applicable.

Tom

All great info, thank you.

What my friends have done was use KILLZ for the primer and then exterior paint over it. Does this sound good? We are by no means experts and my friends first build was sold within a year of use, so we dont have any prolonged experience.

Jharris1385 wrote:All great info, thank you.

What my friends have done was use KILLZ for the primer and then exterior paint over it. Does this sound good? We are by no means experts and my friends first build was sold within a year of use, so we dont have any prolonged experience.

Just make sure the primer and paint are compatible. But seal everything first with either marine epoxy of "The Mix." You'll have to google around the forum for The Mix.

T

He bought one of those plans a couple years back.

Here is a summary of what he did with his first build.

Tar-asphalt paint on bottom
Roofing/flashing caulk around the rim
Killz first
Then an exterior paint
Finished with a room trim with vinyl insert for the seams.

3/4 ply ABX on the sides
Luan on the top


On another note:
Would truck bed liner/ decking/ and the brands listed here interfere with the depth of the 3/4 trim ring for the door? tape off the edge and let the door's seal take of it?

What are your thoughts or have you heard of people using: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Rust-Oleum-1g ... d/17203476

I used something like that for the bottom of the floor, after I covered it in fiberglass cloth and epoxy, but for the top I wouldn't use it. It has rubber crumbs in it and would be hard to keep clean. The Monstaliner does not have any rubber crumbs in it and it is a two part paint which is much more durable. If you are trying to keep cost down then several have used the mix or CPES or epoxy to seal from water and painted with roller using several coats Rustoleum or one part boat paint. Sanding in between coats to make it smooth if desired.

Cheapest option is seal for water protection and paint with house paint. No one best way, all depends on skills, personal preference, desired looks, money, and desired longevity. Checkout all of the builds in the Hall of fame and you will get a sense of what will work for you.

I stayed away from Aluminum due to the vast amounts of hail we get in Colorado, so my chosen method gave me the look I wanted with the long planned life, but wasn't cheap. The Monstaliner is easy to power wash after a camping trip, doesn't chip (worked so good I skipped the diamond plate I had planned on front and around the bottom edges, also saved some weight) and it can be easily waxed as it is a light orange peel type texture.

Dan

I also wanted a quick build. Did it under a maple tree. Used paint. Frank Bear of vintage technologies recommended Sherman Williams Sher-Cryl. One part acrylic commercial paint. Told me it would be seen as fiberglass. First person to ask if it was fiberglass was the dmv inspector. Tintable. Any color you want.
It is holding up very well and if needed there is still 1/4 gallon left. Used it on the ceiling inside to brighten up and side benefit no fumes. Wife happy.
MHO

I used rustoleum oil based paint thinned and with some boiled linseed oil. Multiple coats with sanding between coats. Very happy with finish. Only time will tell, but garaged when not in use. Like a wooden boat. I'm sure it will need attention from time to time but it's a labor of love for me.

I'm still in the planning stages, but at this point I think I'm going to use paint over the plywood skins. One of the following products:
http://protective.sherwin-williams.com/ ... oduct-6795
or
http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeown ... 1131783261
I plan to keep my teardrop trailer in a barn when I'm not camping in it.

I didn't much research, I just used premium coatings on 3/8" CDX plwood-
My 2 step exterior finish weathered an entire summer of SW Florida rain and sun with no issues. No peeling and no plywood delam and no leaks.
My Weekender is now in the garage, but I really didn't plan on doing a 50" rainy season test this summer.

Valspar paint has a test facility in nearby Ft Myers, where they put their coatings on 12" square pieces of wood and then they spray all kinds of water on them-salt water, too. They evaluate all their exterior paints and stains at this facility. Since we receive over 50 weeks of sunshine, 100 days of 90 degree Plus temps and 50 " of rain, one season of testing is like 2 years of weather up north. My materials came from Lowes-- Olympic Woodland oil stain and premium Valspar exterior latex paint over that. I conducted a test to make sure the paint adhered to the stained wood. It's an unconventional approach for an exterior finish, but it has been tested and it passed muster.