Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Yep I was pissed.

I'm thinking about cutting a hole with a holesaw, and just plugging it with a round plug. Would that be too obvious?

Would some kind of decoration be better? What if I cut a teardrop out of 1/8" plywood, and engraved our names on it, and glued it over the hole?

Mike...

MIke,

Doesn't look that bad. Can you use something thin to put the material back in place?? I know it will not be perfect. Just get it back as close as possible. Get another piece of ply that matches and sand it a bunch (catching the dust in the bag of course) Use the dust and some glue to make a paste that is thick and patch over the hole. When drie, sand smooth! Just like repairing drywall!!!

Mike,

Get someone to carve you a big flower, or something else you might like. Place a piece of sandpaper on the surface of the hatch and sand the applique to meet the radius. Then glue it in place. No one will know about the hole but you!

Mike , I do custom leather work . Want a custom made ,hand tolled leather patch ? Your name & Chell and a Teardrop tooled in maybe ? Maybe the year the TD was made ? Maybe a 6" x 4 " ?

Boodro,

Food for thought. I'll keep that in mind!

Mike..

Mike,
what about a decorative inlay? maybe supporting a utility hook or a small light?

mikeschn wrote:

Just wondering about the struts; I thought I read somewhere (here) that the piston assembly (top part in pic) should be on the bottom...........


So if the seals ever leak (if they are on the bottom) they won't leak into the galley.

Ken,

I installed them that way, so that rain wouldn't get into the end of the struts...

If I'm wrong, someone had better tell me quick... I'd hate to have a million people build the ultralight with the struts facing the wrong way...

Mike...

I think (don't qoute me.........) that I remember Grant mentioning it in a post.....

and I always thought they went the way Mike has them.....Keeps the seals lubricated.

Here is what Grant Whipp recommended for mounting gas springs:

"Most galley lids are 44-48" hinge-to-threshold, and here is the mounting that has worked for me for nearly 20 years:
Pivot point on the lid - 5" down the rib from the hinge
Pivot point on the wall - approx. 17-1/2" down the galley wall from the hinge, and in just enough to clear the lid framing.
I build a fairly light weight lid, and on a 4' wide teardrop I typically use 45-55# gas struts, 18 to 18-1/2" long in the open position. Most retail outfits will let you exchange for a heavier set if you need to.

One other thing to keep in mind if using gas struts is to keep the gas cylinder on the down side. When the seals fail (and they WILL fail), nasty fluid leaks out, and if that cylinder is on the up side, that fluid will run down the rod and drip all over your counter-top - better to keep the it contained on the prop as best as you can."

I've drawn this out and I hope Grant will confirm this is what he meant!



Grant's origonal post in full is here.

Andrew

angib wrote:Here is what Grant Whipp recommended for mounting gas springs:

"Most galley lids are 44-48" hinge-to-threshold, and here is the mounting that has worked for me for nearly 20 years:
Pivot point on the lid - 5" down the rib from the hinge
Pivot point on the wall - approx. 17-1/2" down the galley wall from the hinge, and in just enough to clear the lid framing.
I build a fairly light weight lid, and on a 4' wide teardrop I typically use 45-55# gas struts, 18 to 18-1/2" long in the open position. Most retail outfits will let you exchange for a heavier set if you need to.




Grant's origonal post in full is here.

Andrew

Ok I'm drumming up and old old thread about struts as I'm about to mount them.
I see in the picture above the strut is mounted 5" from the hinge on the lid side and on the pic below it's closer on the galley side.
My hatch when weighed today was 38lb when it's done I figure closer to 45lb and it's 6 '3" wide and probably about 5+ feet from hinge to tip mesured along the curve.
Which would be best for this size a hatch or would both work fine?
In the picks I also see 17 1/2" from hinge to end of strut is this a straight line figure?

Hey mike, you could put this over the hole in your hatch

http://www.customgassprings.com/faq.htm

mikeschn wrote:Ken,

I installed them that way, so that rain wouldn't get into the end of the struts...

If I'm wrong, someone had better tell me quick... I'd hate to have a million people build the ultralight with the struts facing the wrong way...

Mike...

emiller wrote:http://www.customgassprings.com/faq.htm

mikeschn wrote:Ken,

I installed them that way, so that rain wouldn't get into the end of the struts...

If I'm wrong, someone had better tell me quick... I'd hate to have a million people build the ultralight with the struts facing the wrong way...

Mike...

I couldn't get the link to work