Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

How does everyone transition from one 4x8 sheet to another on the inside of their teardrop? I could not find 5ft wide luan. I like the wood look so I don't want to paint either.

Glue 3" strips on the back side connecting the three 4x5 panels to made a 5x12 panel worked for me.

might i suggest vertical battens on 16" or 24" centers, which would cover the seams

you can create them from contrasting or complimentary wood, finished naturally

some big box stores carry prefinished batten material in 8' lengths

or you can rip battens from the same material as the wall panel

OR you could rip them from the wall panel material and cover/wrap them with your accent/curtain fabric(s)

running vertical seams would increase your expense butt not by much(1 or 2 sheets maybe)

just an old man's 2¢ worth this morning

sw

What the other guys said.

And if you want to get fancy you can make a scarf joint.

El_Ducko wrote:How does everyone transition from one 4x8 sheet to another on the inside of their teardrop? I could not find 5ft wide luan. I like the wood look so I don't want to paint either.

I originally skinned the outside of mine with 4 x 8 Luan. I have the same dimensions as you. It was hell bending that stuff. In my build journal/gallery I have some pictures showing what I had to do to join the two pieces and bend them around the curve. It was a nightmare.


After four years, the joints where the two pieces were joined started to pop open and it was ugly as hell. Also water started to get into the wood. I just got done tearing off the outer skin. I got something plywood from Home Depot to redo it and it bends so much easier than Luan. I'm still going to have the issue of trying to connect two pieces of plywood and have them bend around the curve without breaking apart or having a funny flat spot.

Now for the next problem. Where do you get 5 foot wide aluminum? If you want to skin the entire top with one un-seamed piece of aluminum, it's probably going to be hard to get. I haven't been able to find it yet. I am thinking about getting some kind of white vinyl that is 5 feet wide in a big roll that I can skin with. That would probably be a lot easier to work with.

I am really starting to wish I had just done mine 4 feet wide. It would've been so much easier.

I'd call a lumber yard, (not a box store) and see if they can't get you sheets of 5x5' 1/8" Baltic birch. Luan is a generic term for stuff that's meant for interior doors. I'm not impressed with it. Some of it is quite junky–especially the stuff Iv'e seen in Lowe's and Home Depot. Baltic birch is really great stuff.

For joining my ceilings, I butt the two pieces of BB ply and then glue a 4" strip over the seam using TB2. (Lots of weight on the strip while it glues.) When you install it, you should try and get the seam as close to a flat spot as possible. But it works great.

T

tony.latham wrote:I'd call a lumber yard, (not a box store) and see if they can't get you sheets of 5x5' 1/8" Baltic birch. Luan is a generic term for stuff that's meant for interior doors. I'm not impressed with it. Some of it is quite junky–especially the stuff Iv'e seen in Lowe's and Home Depot. Baltic birch is really great stuff.

For joining my ceilings, I butt the two pieces of BB ply and then glue a 4" strip over the seam using TB2. (Lots of weight on the strip while it glues.) When you install it, you should try and get the seam as close to a flat spot as possible. But it works great.

T

Awesome. Thanks for the quick reply!

Got my 1/8 baltic birch on order! Unfortunately, my camper is 5 feet wide so to cover the 16 feet, I have to order 4 sheets! If it was only 4 feet wide, it would only need 2. Lots of scraps for sure. But hey, it's worth it. Plus, I think it will bend easier from the 4 foot side rather than the 8 foot side.

Hey...whatever it takes to have a sweet ass camper!

wingloader wrote:Got my 1/8 baltic birch on order! Unfortunately, my camper is 5 feet wide so to cover the 16 feet, I have to order 4 sheets! If it was only 4 feet wide, it would only need 2. Lots of scraps for sure. But hey, it's worth it. Plus, I think it will bend easier from the 4 foot side rather than the 8 foot side.

Hey...whatever it takes to have a sweet ass camper!

You'll love that stuff. But remember, it wants to bend one direction, and not so much the other.

How much a sheet?

T

tony.latham wrote:How much a sheet?

I didn't even ask. I don't want to know.

just curious...does it bend easier lengthwise or width wise? I'm going to be cutting off 3 feet from each sheet and only getting 4 feet of coverage per sheet as I go up and around. (I have plans for the scraps so they aren't going to go to waste) I guess either way, it has to be easier to bend than the luan (underlayment) ply. As you can see by the pics above it was almost dangerous whilst bending it because the force needed was pretty hefty.

I did the inside (headliner) with the same material. It is also starting to bow out at the seam. I am going to have to put a 1" square steel tube as a spar to hold down the inner skin. There is only 1.25 inches of space for a spar and oak wouldn't even be strong enough to push down the bowing joint. Gawd. If I had 3 grand, I'd just start over. Knowing what I know now, it would be so much better.

It can actually be ordered/made to bend either way.

Hey Tony, I found it is $15 per sheet so my fears have been vanquished. At that price, I'll join a couple pieces together.

It's been years since I was on this forum. It feels good to be back here with y'all!

just curious...does it bend easier lengthwise or width wise?

Well.... the stuff I use comes in 5x5' sheets.... It really wants to bend one way but not so much the other....

Tony

YEA!!! My baltic birch came on Friday. It is 5 X 5!!!!!!!

I didn't know that all Baltic Birch plywood comes 5 x 5 :-)

This stuff bends so nicely, I was jumping up and down. I made my entire family come out and look at how easily I can bend it.

OMG. Thanks for the advice to get this plywood. FYI, it was $15 a sheet. That's half the cost of a piece of luan plywood in the box store.