"TrailTop" modular trailer building components

[jscherb]

Another detail I did today...



If you can't spot it in the photo above, here's a close-up .

[jscherb]

A few final shots of the tilt-up camper with a tow vehicle...

[rebapuck]

It just gets better and better. You are thinking of details that most do not.

[jscherb]

Someone asked me how I would attach a rear awning if I were to sew one, and I never showed that detail so here it is. I attached the top of the end canvas with twist-lock fasteners rather than ordinary snaps, because twist locks can accommodate two pieces of canvas on a single fastener. That means the an awning can attach in front of the main canvas as shown below. And the awning would also fold back for stowing just like the rest of the canvas.

[elweevdm]

Hi there.

I am very interested in your corner rails. Are they available for sale somewhere? I am also very interested in the clam shell products.

Thanks.

Elwee

[jscherb]

Hi there.

I am very interested in your corner rails. Are they available for sale somewhere? I am also very interested in the clam shell products.

Thanks.

Elwee

The TrailTop System parts are not yet available.

Thanks for your interest.

[jscherb]

Over the course of this project, I've gotten lots of input on the types of trailers and campers people would like to build, and from that input I've posted many design concepts that could be built with TrailTop System parts. Some of these designs are built on a Dinoot/Jeep-tub trailer base, while some are built directly on a frame, perhaps an inexpensive Harbor Freight frame. Below are some of the many design concepts shown in the thread over the course of this project.

Now that I've finished my TrailTop proof-of-concept builds, I'd like to ask you for a little more input:

If you're considering building a trailer and/or camper and you had access to TrailTop parts, what type of trailer or camper would you build with those parts? Would it be any of the designs below? A variation on something below? Something competely different? If you wouldn't consider using TrailTop parts, why not?

Your input will help me determine if I should bother licensing the TrailTop system to one or more of the companies that have expressed interest in bringing it to market or if I should just declare this project finished and move on to my next project.

Thank you very much for your input.











PS: I've also shown a number of pickup cap designs based on TrailTop parts but for space reasons I haven't shown them above.

[SeaFlea]

Jeff,

Thanks for the reply! Nice touch on the TradeMark... Tuckin' the sidewalls up into the top clam shell is very nice as well!!
Now I need to find my "drool bib"!!

Charlie

[djb_rh]

I'm more of a toyhauler guy than teardrop guy. In my perfect world, I'd build a rectangular box with a rear gate that was just tall enough to fit two motorcycles inside. Then it would have a top that elevates straight up (not tip) with four soft sides to make it comfortable standing height. It would have tip-out bunks (singles) on both sides. And be long enough to have a wet bathroom in the front (so just one small room with toilet and shower together) and a small cabinetry setup with sink.

I'd probably build the entire structure myself, but would use the Trailtop parts for all the corners and edges. Point of the pop-up roof would simply be to keep the aero wind load down, as well as weight.


--Donnie

[WoodSmith]

I think that it would depend on price, but I would seriously consider 8, 10 and 11. I would like to see the galley door part get made, but I like the angular lines of the escape pods.

Glen

[jscherb]

You may have noticed that I never painted the TrailTop cover for the yellow trailer. In all the photos the fiberglass is still white, and the plywood center panel is sort of off-white, but that's because plywood I bought was pre-primed.



Painting it hasn't been important to finishing the proof-of-concept build so far, but lately I've been needing the garage space so I've wanted to leave it outside overnight. But I don't want to leave the unprotected wood outside, so I've been thinking I should either remove the cover or paint it.

I've been thinking of doing a proof-of-concept on the painting too - I'm intrigued by the modern "deck coating" products on the market - Olympic Rescue It, Rustolem Restore and Home Depot's Behr Deckover are a few of the type. All of these are thick, water-based acrylics that apply with a roller or brush and leave a textured finish, not unlike automotive bedliner products. The manufacturers say they're good for up to 10 years on a deck. Online reviews are not quite so glowing, with many saying their decks are peeling after the first winter. It's hard to believe these products would still be on the market if they were as bad as some of the reviews say, so I think it's worth some testing. A trailer top would probably have less abuse than a deck; after all a trailer could be garaged or covered with a tarp outside in the winter, so these products could work better on a trailer than on old, mildewed, pressure-treated, contaminated decks.

These products are about 1/3 to 1/4 the price of automotive bedliner, and they're tintable at no extra cost, so if it worked well on a trailer it could be a cost-effective, attractive and easy-to-apply finish.

The other day I was in Lowes and on their "mis-tint" table there was a gallon of Olympic Rescue It, tinted in a chocolate brown, which would go nicely with the yellow trailer and the tan tilt-up canvas, and it was at a cheep mis-tint price, so I bought it to experiment with.

I made up a plywood and a fiberglass test panel. I primed half of each with epoxy primer, which sticks to everything, and I'm brushing the recommended two coats of Rescue It on. The reason for the primer is that I suspect there may be an adhesion issue between the acrylic and the fiberglass, so the epoxy should provide a better base for the acrylic to adhere to.



I'll let these dry over the long weekend, the Rescue It instructions say to wait 48 hours, and then I'll see how it's sticking.

[jscherb]

Before the long weekend I posted about testing Olympic RescueIt deck coating. I left it to dry all weekend and this morning I tried a scratch test to see how it adheres.

The panel at left is plywood. Part of it I primed, you can see the gray sticking out, and part of it came with a thin wash of primer from the store. I wasn't able to scratch the coating off anywhere.

The panel at right is fiberglass. Where I primed, I wasn't able to scratch off the coating. Where I applied the coating to bare fiberglass, I was able to scratch it off.

There are some brush marks on both samples, I expect when applied with a roller the finish would be very uniform.



I'm very impressed with the hardness and toughness of the finish. Based on this quick test, I plan to finish the TrailTop hard cover with it. I'll use some filler on any gaps that exist between the plywood and the fiberglass parts, and then I'll do two coats of primer followed by two coats of RescueIt. It'll be about two weeks before I can get to it, when I do it I'll post photos.

[jscherb]

Luckily, the brown color I found on the Lowes mis-tint table complements both the yellow tub and the tan fabric well, and also made the gallon of RescueIt half price .

[kirkman]

Well did you paint it yet?

[jscherb]

Well did you paint it yet?

Not yet - in my last post I said it would take me about two weeks to get to it, that's because the day after I made the post I took off in the Jeep for Colorado to do about a week of off-roading. I'm on the way back now, so I'll be able to get to the painting next week.