Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I buy it locally for 12 bucks for a 4X8 sheet. That thickness is 4 mm, it also comes in 2 mm for about 8 bucks a sheet. The best place to find it is at sign shops.

Spadinator wrote:I buy it locally for 12 bucks for a 4X8 sheet.

Hey--that price is RIGHT!

Seems to me you'd need a double-decker system. The largest panel size you can use is 3'9" high (that will fit across the teardrop inside) by about 3' wide (that will fit vertically through the teardrop door). I know the inside of the teardrop is bigger than that, but I don't think you'll get anything much bigger through the door.

So a three-panel assembly is going to make three sides of a space 3' square. Stack another one on top and you've got any height you want up to 7'6". Add a separate roof panel, and possibly a separate modesty panel that covers the gap from the ground to the bottom of the teardrop sidewall, and you've got a fully enclosed coffin, er, space.

I reckon the walls wouldn't be strong enough unless the foam is maybe 2" thick - that would make the folded stack 16" thick, which is perfectly reasonable. To stop the foam getting punctured, I think I would skin it with Coroplast (same trade name in the US?), the thin ultra-light double-walled plastic used for making signs.

It would be convenient if the folding joints between the panels would fold both ways (so the three-panel assembly can be folded up in a 'Z' shape) and they need to be very low stress - I don't think I could come up with a way of sticking piano hinge on the foam, as the hinge would just snap off, taking a little bit of foam with it.

I suggest the old-fashioned fabric hinge - this folds both ways, is super light and spreads its load over as large an area as you like. This is also exactly the sort of hinge that used to be used on movable draught/privacy screens just like Bledsoe posted.

It is made from, say, 3" wide strips of material that are stuck onto the opposite sides of adjacent panels over a length of, say, 3". Next to the first strip is another strip stuck the other way around. This diagram (looking down from on top) shows the first strip on the left in red and the second on the right in blue:



You could even make the hinge out of duct tape alone, although you would have to carefully stick two pieces of tape sticky-face-to-sticky-face (that's not going to line up every time, is it?) with the overlap in the middle of the joint - you can't use one piece of tape as it has to stick on opposite sides of itself to the two panels.

To stick the roof panel on, I would use Velcro, though it would need to be carefully thought out, as there's a risk the Velcro would be stronger than the foam!

Them's me first thoughts.

Gan canny
Andrew

How about making 1 X 2 frames and covering with a fabric. Now you have me thinking. How about wooden frames with sleeves sewn like big tubes. You put the frame together and slip the fabric over it like a big sock. you could make it any color you like, change it when you want and wash it when it gets dirty.

Scott F.

Ira wrote:We don't have a Menard's down here, but that Coroplast/Correx sounds like real interesting stuff.

Ira-

If you cant locate it locally:

http://tinyurl.com/83a6w

I used this for large, cheap window glazing on our sunporch.

It's been up 6 years and still looks great!

Bet ya could even paint it with some of those plastic paints that come in a spray can!

Cheers,

Coop

powderburn wrote:

s4son wrote:How about making 1 X 2 frames and covering with a fabric. Now you have me thinking. How about wooden frames with sleeves sewn like big tubes. You put the frame together and slip the fabric over it like a big sock. you could make it any color you like, change it when you want and wash it when it gets dirty.

Scott F.

Here you go s4son

Already built and ready to go.Just add your own cloth and you can corral yourself right in.
http://www.mytscstore.com/detail.asp?pc ... uctID=9383

That's what I'm talkin bout!! I don't think they'll fit through the door of my trailer. Maybe just tie them on top....

Scott F.

Still thinkin

angib wrote:Seems to me you'd need a double-decker system. The largest panel size you can use is 3'9" high (that will fit across the teardrop inside) by about 3' wide (that will fit vertically through the teardrop door). I know the inside of the teardrop is bigger than that, but I don't think you'll get anything much bigger through the door.

A 2' wide by 6' panel won't fit?

coroplast should work. I built a hunting blind out of it once (used lots of old vote for... signs really cheap, free) of course I did build a 2x2 frame and nailed the coro to it but it still should work, you just might have to double or triple up on the corners. I have seen it used many times for green houses too. You could use the coro and piano hinge you just need to sandwich the coro between the hinge and a peice of aluminum flat stock then drill holes and use nuts and bolts. I would think it would make a pretty strong corner once set at 90*, maybe need something to lock it in that position too. good luck Ira.

Ira, getting back to your first post, why not a lightweight removable cap for the truck? I once made one for my first Nissan pickup. It was just like all of my projects (boat, trailer, etc.), just spruce framing and 1/4" luan on the outside. I didn't even cover the inside, but you could insulate and add an inside skin. The contstruction is just the same as for a TD. Use TD door construction techniques, and add a galley type hinge. My shell had a side and top curvature that matched the truck, so there was no broken lines from the windshield to the back of the shell. I put nearly full-length plexiglass side windows (non-opening) on it. I could lift it off and on by myself. Besides, IMHO, a truck without a topper is only half a truck. The topper on my current truck was bought for my first one back in '88, and it still looks like a new one (it was repainted once to match my current '00 model) below.

Dale, the topper just seems like too much of a project--and doesn't give you a true extra room.

A room to make doody in, to sleep in, and once every 3 months, maybe get intimate with my wife.

And let's not forget the air conditioning effect--which I'm sure I'll be able to enjoy more times than getting intimate with my wife.

I mean, just LOOK at me! What woman could RESIST!?

Ira wrote: and once every 3 months, maybe get intimate with my wife.

Ira-

Every 3 months!

YOU are a lucky man

Cheers,

Coop

goldcoop wrote:Every 3 months!

YOU are a lucky man

I lied. It's probably more like 6.

Ira wrote:A 2' wide by 6' panel won't fit?

Even if you keep the width down to 2', I doubt it. You need to get some big bits of cardboard and try them to see what will fit. Making a cardboard mock-up of the coffin, er, enclosed space would be good too, to see if it's as big and useful as you want it to be.

Andrew

Hey Ira, I am in the process of making a room. I am using 3/4 pvc & I bought 6'x8' blue tarps. I plan on making the pvc frame to fit the tarp panels. I will use tarp clips to hold the tarp on the bottom & velcro on the corners so I can roll up the side & the door. The roof will have a bowed piece of pvc length ways So water will not collect on top. The frame will be a cube & be movable around the campsite if I need to, or staked in one spot for stability.I will post some pics this weekend when I start on it.SO far the cost is 4 tarps 2.27 each, 14 pieces of 3/4x 10' 1.59 each,plus all the 3 way elbow fittings& t fittingsI will get Friday. They are very cheap . Just a thought. See ya.

Thanks, Boo. I'd like to see some shots.

I know the PVC route is a good way to go--just trying to think outside the box a little.

And Andrew, I'm gonna rough-frame a 2' by 6' frame out of 1 by 2s to check if it will fit in the cabin. You're probably right, but it won't take me long to check it like this.