Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

by **dwgriff1** » Wed Dec 13, 2006 10:38 pm

Arne,

There you go being too ambitious again. Get a tall drink and a comfortable chair and spend as long as it takes to figure the easiest way.

Someone once said (shucks, it might have been me) that lazines is the mother of all inventions.

dave

by **reiltear** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 12:57 pm

Hi there!

Dave, first, thanks a million for your e-mails a week and a half ago and the prefinishing tip in this thread.

Second, what type of joinery did you use on your frame? Mortise and tenon, bisquits, half-lap, glue and screws or a mix? If a mix, what and where did you use? What species of wood did you use for the ribs?

It seems that you used four-quarter material for them(ribs). I'm not a structural engineer but I would be afraid to put something that thin into a frame.

I hope this is not too many questions at once.

Thank you!

Happy holidays to everyone! :tipsy:

Ilya

by **dwgriff1** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 2:01 pm

I like mortise and tennon, and use it as much as practical. I have a dedicated mortiser and a shop made tennoner that work well.

The pan on my build was stub mortise and tennon (not unlike a cabinet door), but I used a lot of construction adhesive, half a gallon of Titebond II, and a bucket of screws and bolts.

The sides are bolted to the frame (I thought that might be a weak point), but the ribs are screwed to the sides.

I don't own a pocket screw setup, or I might have used it some.

The pan, which is what I think you are asking about) has Oak on the sides and down the middle with Fir ribs. Think of that hollow core door. Except when I am sleeping in it, there is no weight in the center. The weight is in the rear, under the galley and there is a lot of structure there.

Right now Tiny1 is in my shop getting the tongue remodeled. I want it a bit longer, and raised a bit, so the trailer will pull level.

That help?

dave

by **Guy** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 2:08 pm

Dear Reitear,

For some finely finished panels you might wish to look at marine balsa composite panels with a foam core.

check out http://www.Worldpanel.com or
http://www.dialgroup.com. You can probably do much better on the prices listed so just take in the information for knowledge not cost.

by **Jiminsav** » Mon Dec 18, 2006 9:52 pm

well, I see how you guys are..don't even tell him about my frameless trailer..fine..bee like that.

by **dwgriff1** » Mon Dec 18, 2006 11:50 pm

Looks good Jim. Nice frame. Plenty of strength, and probably a good bit lighter. I wonder if one could build a suitable frame using steel studs mostly?

I am not much of a purist, I just know more about wood. Heaven help us all if I were a welder!! I'd have a 5 by 8 that weighed about a ton and a half!

dave

by **Arne** » Tue Dec 19, 2006 5:42 am

Jiminsav, what a great idea.... I'm thinking.... again..

by **Geron** » Tue Dec 19, 2006 5:58 am

Jiminsav wrote:well, I see how you guys are..don't even tell him about my frameless trailer..fine..bee like that.

Jim,

Whared ju fin 'em 'air axuls?

Have to be from the south to read that. Jim'll have no problem -- Savannah :lol:

geron

Edited:
Reminds me of a trip we took to Lancaster Penn. I'm a hat fan so I wanted one of the Amish straw hats. Saw an Amish kid in Wally World with his straw hat on, walked up to him and asked, "Where could I find a hat like that? He points to the hat on his head and says, "Right here."

Gave him the dirty look every smart aleck teen deserves and rephrased my question.

by **Jiminsav** » Tue Dec 19, 2006 7:38 am

Geron, them there axles were ordered special from Dexter Axle, it took my buddy in the truck bidness 4 months to get the ball rolling, and the nice engineer lady at Dexter still made me do a shop drawling to show them what I wanted.

by **angib** » Tue Dec 19, 2006 10:10 am

http://www.etrailerpart.com/halftorsionaxles.htm - if you want the Flexiride equivalent, but they don't have the big brackets as used on a full axle.

Andrew

by **Geron** » Tue Dec 19, 2006 4:25 pm

Just called the guy at etrailers -- Great guy, very helpful. Wanted to talk half torsion axles.

Knew what a teardrop was and recommended the 1400 lb half torsion axles.

Said the 2000 lb would be overkill and the trailer at 1000 lbs might not even "work" the axles making for a very stiff ride. Seems I recall that this forum recommends the 2000 lb axles. Now I'm confused. Would, from your experience, disagree with the guy at etrailer.com?

I'm probably going with the generic Ben Roy which should weigh in around 1000 lbs. maybe less with no frame.

Also:
I have a set of hubs but they are 1" outside and 1 1/16" etrailer part # L0545lb1E inside bearings --have to go to 3500 lb axle before these hubs fit :cry:

I'll have to order hubs with 1" inside and outside bearings.

These hubs came off my Aliner when I put brakes on it. Anyone need as set?

Geron

by **asianflava** » Tue Dec 19, 2006 5:47 pm

Geron wrote:. Seems I recall that this forum recommends the 2000 lb axles. Now I'm confused. Would, from your experience, disagree with the guy at etrailer.com?

Yes, I'd disagree if you are talking about a 5X10 teardrop. You could get away with less capacity if you are talking about a 4X10 though.

by **angib** » Tue Dec 19, 2006 6:32 pm

If I remember rightly, Cary from Camp-Inn said he reckoned the 'sweet spot' for the Flexiride started at half the rated load, below which they could be harsh.

So the answer, as ever, depends on how heavily you intend to build the trailer!

Andrew

by **Geron** » Tue Dec 19, 2006 7:08 pm

angib wrote:If I remember rightly, Cary from Camp-Inn said he reckoned the 'sweet spot' for the Flexiride started at half the rated load, below which they could be harsh.

So the answer, as ever, depends on how heavily you intend to build the trailer!

Andrew

Excellent! Thanks.

by **Juneaudave** » Tue Dec 19, 2006 7:47 pm

Did anyone notice that there is a "Frameless trailer book" on Ebay now? Frameless

Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Frameless construction

Look at marine balsa

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