Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

by **Signman** » Sun Mar 25, 2007 7:40 pm

Hello people, I have the Desert Teardrop plans. I am having a little diffuculty understanding the hatch plans. Especially the part about sealing the hatch. Do the sidewalls need to be trimmed in the hatch area to allow for weather stripping, or, what exactly is going on there? Sorry, but the plans are a little vague for a moron like myself. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Darrel

by **madjack** » Sun Mar 25, 2007 10:23 pm

Darrel, I can't address the D/T plans directly BUT normally the sidewall is notched to accommodate the seal and any trim you may have...somewhere in the neighborhood of 3/8th of an inch but this will vary according to what trim/seal you use so you will have to figure the final number for yourself......
madjack

by **Signman** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 7:48 pm

Thanks Madjack, I'm hoping I can do that somehow with a router. The cuts that I made with my sabre saw were not that good. The blade seemed to wander quite a bit. Thanks for the info.

Darrel

by **madjack** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 7:50 pm

Sm, the best way to doit with a router onnan already built wall is to use a daddo bit to make the first cut and then a bearing bit to finish it out.........
madjack

by **Sierrajack** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 8:19 pm

I would highly recommend that you take the Desert plans and use them to line your birdcage. The Generic Benroy Plans and asking questions will usually get you out of trouble and headed in the correct direction.
:picklejuice:

by **Signman** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 8:35 pm

Sierrajack, I agree with you 100%.

by **Signman** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 8:40 pm

Thanks again Madjack. I will try that.

Darrel

by **fornesto** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 10:13 am

Sierrajack wrote:I would highly recommend that you take the Desert plans and use them to line your birdcage. The Generic Benroy Plans and asking questions will usually get you out of trouble and headed in the correct direction.

ditto

by **Signman** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 11:42 am

I'm glad it's not just me that thinks those plans are not the greatest. I was beginning to wonder if I was a complete idiot.

by **Leon** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 2:59 pm

I had a set of those plans and lost them years ago.....
No great loss

by **Aaron Coffee** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 7:01 pm

I used desert teardrop plans, my hatch sits within the walls and the skin is the same width as the body(extends beyond the ribs of the hatch)I have waether seal mounted on the lip that is formed from the over lap. Hope that helps. Will try to get pics tomorrow.
After having seen what is available for free and just by asking on this forum, I see how lacking desert teardrop plans are.

by **Signman** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 5:21 am

Aaron, Thanks. Did you have to notch the plywood sides for the weather seal?

Thanks,
Darrel

by **Aaron Coffee** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 5:16 pm

No, i didn't notch the wall for seal clearance, If I get off of work early tomorrow will try to get some pics.
Aaron

by **Denny Unfried** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 5:34 pm

If you can find one of the old style hurricane hinges with 1/4" offset you don't need to notch the sides but I don't think anyone handles them anymore. Another option would be to use the new style hinge along with a spacer between it and the roof which would eliminate the need for notching. You can find flat aluminum stock of various thicknesses at most home centers.

by **Signman** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 9:03 pm

Denny, Thanks for writing. I just bought my hurricane hinge yesterday, and it has the offset. At the time that I ordered it, I wasn't even aware that I would be able to do away with notching the sidewalls. Thanks for helping. Darrel

Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Question about Desert Teardrop Hatch

Question about Desert Teardrop Hatch

Hatch on desert teardrop

DT hatch

Who is online