Interior and exterior coverings

[Dewi]

Could I ask, has anyone ever lined the interior of their teardrop with fabric? I mean sort of padded fabric all the way round. If so, how have you found it, ie wear and tear, comfort, ease of cleaning?

Exterior wise, what is the best metal for covering the plywood frame? Aluminium, zinc, stainless steel? And what sort of gauge would you use?

Sorry if these are dumb questions or have been posted before, I'm very new at this and trying to get a feel for what materials I can use for my first build other than ply.

Cheers, Dewi

[Mark McD]

Dewi,
I've covered the inside of one camper with headliner material. It's the same material as found on the ceiling of cars.It's a fabric with a thin foam backing. It wears fine and as long as you don't smoke or cook inside the camper it lasts.

As for the exterior there are many choices. Many people use mill finish aluminum sheeting. Some people use a material called filon, which is used on commercially made campers/rv's, but it's pricey. Some people opt for the woody look and just cover their campers with epoxy resin or epoxy resin and fiberglass cloth, followed up by spar varnish, and let the wood sides show. (Epoxy is not uv resistant and needs to be protected with something that is). Some folks cover their campers with the type of aluminum siding found on old campers- check out Len's designs.This is what I'm covering my camper with- but not white- I'm going mill finish.
Check out the Hall of Fame section and you'll see many,many options for siding.
Also, use the forum search feature and look up "siding".