Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

by **daddiozz** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 10:37 pm

I got all my fittings at LOEWS...I"m not 100% sure what you are refering to....if its the piece I'm thinking of ..it has 2 slipjoint ends and one threaded(Female),.....just get yourself a threaded coupling (male) of the same size which has the slip joint on the opposite end and you should be in business...

by **Miriam C.** » Fri Aug 29, 2008 10:41 am

daddiozz wrote:I got all my fittings at LOEWS...I"m not 100% sure what you are refering to....if its the piece I'm thinking of ..it has 2 slipjoint ends and one threaded(Female),.....just get yourself a threaded coupling (male) of the same size which has the slip joint on the opposite end and you should be in business...

That makes more sense. Couldn't figure how why one was smaller...
Thank you! :thumbsup:

The website says they sell it but Lowes only had the one you are talking about.

by **oklahomajewel** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 7:36 pm

Thanks for an update..... I'm still following the build and have not ever really thought of building a 2nd one but this pvc build has my interest!

Have you done any insulation in the walls AND ceiling? And what is your interior skin? How will it be applied?

I'm curious if you're going to have ANY wood, such as a bulkhead wall or cabinets on the cabin or galley side???

:thumbsup:

by **daddiozz** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 7:24 am

nahhhh...probably not on the wood cabinets kinda takes away from the PVC concept ...dontcha think?The original idea was that this would be a multi-purpose vehicle (pt camper/utility trailer/airplane hauler )...i'm not real big on cooking when camping ,so see little need for a dedicated kitchen ...a 12 volt mini fridge a smallish PVC (what else?..lol) storage container and a mini coleman stove (gotta have my morning coffee) ...all fit in a relatively small area out of the way.....insulation will be bead board(styrofoam 3/4)... interior walls are corrugated (what else?)PVC panels...

..minimal 12 volt wiring ..2 plug-ins one for the fridge ,one for dvd player/cd-radio plus lights...i'll be using a recycled optima deep cycle marine battery for power.
...on my next build ,I'll probably substitute the PVC exterior panels out for another outdoor sign material aluminium/pvc-foam/aluminium* sandwich still using the pvc pipe frame ....or not.... :thinking:

by **daddiozz** » Sun Oct 12, 2008 12:34 pm

...been a while since I've posted last ....since the build on the TTT was finished sometime ago ...AND no one else seemed interested or had questions etc ,I've neglected posting anything new ...someone took issue with it and vandalised the curb side wall necessitating replacement...i decided to go ahead and replace both sides....the front ,roof and rear hatch are undamaged so why fix what aint broken?otherwise nothing else has been changed with it ....its been used several times for its intended purposes with no other issues. :worship:

by **Laredo** » Sun Oct 12, 2008 7:33 pm

I was hoping for finished pix, but didn't want to bug you.

by **DonK** » Mon Oct 20, 2008 10:29 pm

Daddiozz,

I'm very interested in your trailer. I've been exploring options for a very light trailer. I have a few questions:

What is the material you're using for the new sides? What thickness? Can you post a link to it?

How did you shim between the pipe and the wall? Is it needed with the new walls? Are the new walls rigid enough to attach only at the joints?

Have you made the doors and hatch watertight? How did you attach them to the frame?

Thanks for the great work you've done. It's really impressive.

Don

by **moreforles** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 4:25 pm

I thought of using pvc too, but wanted to use larger size for base and use it for water storage, while filling the upper sections with expandable foam to stiffen them up. Fill openings in the void with foam board and cover inside and outside with pvc sheets.

I think the pvc sheets are called builders board, but I haven't researched it farther as I decided to go with foam board construction instead, either pvc sheeting or 1/4 plywood inside and fiberglassing outside or maybe the pvc

still debating on the pvc tubing for water tanks thou... I have a large pc of 6 or 8 inch pvc that had been attached to the roof of a van I bought. its about 8' long with threaded cap on one side and duck taped on the other, I havn't measured, but looks larger than 6" though.

but water tanks are not an issue as I have plenty of choices, I just need to actually do so.... (decide)

by **daddiozz** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 2:27 am

The PVC sheets I used were similar in composition to vinyl siding,although they are thicker ,heavier and considerably stronger.The material "builders board " that I"m familar with is a composite of light weight wood fibers bonded to a styro foam like insulation material....not something I'd recommend as skins for a trailer.

by **daddiozz** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 11:12 pm

DonK wrote:Daddiozz,

I'm very interested in your trailer. I've been exploring options for a very light trailer. I have a few questions:

What is the material you're using for the new sides? What thickness? Can you post a link to it?

How did you shim between the pipe and the wall? Is it needed with the new walls? Are the new walls rigid enough to attach only at the joints?

Have you made the doors and hatch watertight? How did you attach them to the frame?

Thanks for the great work you've done. It's really impressive.

Don

Don,sorry its taken so long to reply.Frankly this is only the second time in as many days that I've been on here in recent months.I'll answer your questions in the order presented....1) the new siding was obtained from the same source as the original PVC panels ..a local sign shop.(franchised as "Signarama") www.signarama.com the thickness is appx 7 mm ..2) I attached the skins in the same fashion as the PVC sheets with "pop" rivets shimmed as necessary with scraps of the former pvc skins.My primary reason for building the trailer in the first place was as a utility trailer...
....while browsing the net looking for plans I happened upon this site and decided to modify my plans somewhat to include the trailer "pulling" extra duty as a part time camper.although it has been used that way a few times ,its primary duty has been as a utility trailer to haul my R/C airplanes in.When I re-skinned, I only installed a door (with window) on the curb side .The hatch seals are recycled door seals from a junked van.

by **moreforles** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 1:22 am

The boards I was referring to was about 1/4 to 1/2" thick, by 2' width and 5 or 6' long, a home remodeler was using it to make recessed basement window surrounds, figured if it was good enough to put in the ground, a little rain or snow shouldn't hurt it....

He told me it was solid pvc, and he also used 1x4 and 1x6 pvc board for trim too... I wonder if it could be used in place of lumber.....(naw, need something fo screws to bite and hold to for hinges and such)

by **daddiozz** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 2:06 am

moreforles wrote:The boards I was referring to was about 1/4 to 1/2" thick, by 2' width and 5 or 6' long, a home remodeler was using it to make recessed basement window surrounds, figured if it was good enough to put in the ground, a little rain or snow shouldn't hurt it....

He told me it was solid pvc, and he also used 1x4 and 1x6 pvc board for trim too... I wonder if it could be used in place of lumber.....(naw, need something fo screws to bite and hold to for hinges and such)

OK ,I think I know what you are talking about now...I haven't seen any PVC boards in those sizes ,although I have seen some Trim/moldings made of PVC ...Have't tried em.Saw em at Lowes...I've heard of deck boards going under the name "plastiwood"or something like that ...some chinese manufacturer I think...

by **bobhenry** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 4:45 am

moreforles wrote:. I wonder if it could be used in place of lumber.....(naw, need something fo screws to bite and hold to for hinges and such)

FYI many of the vinyl fence "boards" are slightly oversized and will accept nominal size lumber to be slipped in the void for extra stiffness when needed. Slip in the lumber apply and seal the endcaps and no one will ever know. Kinda defeats the weight purpose of this effort though :thinking:

by **daddiozz** » Fri Jan 01, 2010 12:40 pm

...One year later ....the question was raised for updates on the PVC TTT...hows the saying go...no news is good news ?...that about sums it up ....following the purchase of a more conventional teardrop,...the PVC TTT has reverted back to its original designed for purpose as a lightweight utility trailer ,...no new issues have occurred other than a few popped rivets that were easil;y replaced .There has been some fading from the sun on the roof,but no other issues .Its held up exceptionally well .We moved from Ga to WV this past summer ,the trailer saw a couple roundtrips as a utility trailer to that end as well as several side trips to different flying events we've attended locally The PVC TTT has appx 3500 miles under its tires....and still going strong.

Sorry ,album pics for the PVC TTT have been removed so that they wouldn't be confused with another trailer I'm presently trying to sell(yes you would think most folk would know better..)

by **vwbeamer** » Fri Jan 01, 2010 1:54 pm

Pictures would be nice, kinda makes the whole thread worthless without pictures...my .02

EDIT: don't mean to sound snotty, appreciate your efforts.

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