Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Hi folks,.

Hey, what would life be without problems, right? Well just in time, I have a problem. Dry mounting my walls, I discovered that my walls square up at the top to 5' and 1/8 inch wide...and the problem seems to be symmetrical.

Two questions: If I simply cut the roof spars to 5' and fit the walls to those at the top, would the 1/8" make that much difference in lining up the rest of the build? I can shim minor stuff in the bulkhead, cabinet frames etc. I am mainly concerned about doors and hatch....

Second question: If I really do need to get rid of those 1/16ths, then suggestions about how to do that would be appreciated. The walls as now intended will overlap the sides--and that is the dryfit that I am having the problems with.

I could get rid of the problem by mounting the base of the walls (3/4") ON the floor but would like to have the walls overlap the sides if possible.

Curse the 1/16th's!

Jim

the problem is the floor 5'0" and the walls. when set 90 degrees [plumb] are not parallel? so the width at the roof is 1/8" wider?

is the floor dead level? just like remodeling and boatbuilding, sometimes you need to toss out the bubble stick and make it right! and discrepancies need to be split, so you're 1/16" theory is on the right track. if each wall is 1/16" out of plumb [given a level floor] it's about 1/128" per foot of height which is only a pass or two with a block plane.

have you measured diagonals? they need to be equal if you're aiming at 90 degree intersections.

take it off the back side of the ply that mounts to the frame.1/16th of an inch would'nt take no time to get off whith a belt sander.just take your time and sand real careful.i would (personally) just cut the spars 5 foot and roll with it.

Jeez I am almost speechless.

Each wall is out 1/16"...................well I will be slung down and stomped!

Work that sloppy should not be tolerated imho. Where are the Teardrop police, there has been a violation of the anal retentive laws.

Ok Ok I'm kidding. Jim I guess you are building a really nice project and for that I can't be much help since I just wanted to go camping in something that made sense to me [ie: something smaller than that produced by Gargantua Motors] so I built mine like it was a little house on little wheels and used a lotta trim!

Sorry, this is no help unless you like trim.

Just couldn't resist, JG

I would measure the walls at the floor, and cut the spars to the same length.

You mention you are not quite perpendicular... Very few squares are true over a 4' length. So go with the numbers, and it should work out...

Mike...

P.S. Do you know how to measure diagonals with your tape? Double check the squareness with diagonals...

mikeschn wrote:I would measure the walls at the floor, and cut the spars to the same length.

You mention you are not quite perpendicular... Very few squares are true over a 4' length. So go with the numbers, and it should work out...

Mike...

P.S. Do you know how to measure diagonals with your tape? Double check the squareness with diagonals...

correct me if im wrong, i might of forgotten,
but isnt it 4ft one way,,,3ft the other way,,, and 5ft on the angle???
or 8-6-10,,
to be square?


johnp

You can also use the 3-4-5 rule too...

Yes, the 3-4-5 rule is dead nuts accurate.

Mike...

mikeschn wrote:Yes, the 3-4-5 rule is dead nuts accurate.

Mike...

...yep and physics, atmoshperic pressure or how you hold your mouth or the angle of your hat will have no effect...'course an inaccurate tape measure can drive ya nuts
madjack

A change in temp or humidity will change your numbers though... Be sure to make all your measurements within seconds of each other!

Mike...

mikeschn wrote:Yes, the 3-4-5 rule is dead nuts accurate.

Mike...

Huh. What is a 3-4-5 rule? And please no dead nuts.

Aunti M

...3-4-5 to find if a corner is at a perfect 90* angle, measure out one side 3', the other side out 4'...the straight line measurement between those two points will be 5'....3,4,5 inches will work as any thing that is a multipe, such as 6,8,10 or 12,16,20,
madjack

Miriam C. wrote:

mikeschn wrote:Yes, the 3-4-5 rule is dead nuts accurate.

Mike...

Huh. What is a 3-4-5 rule? And please no dead nuts.

Aunti M

Known as the The Pythagorean theorem, it is the ratio of a right angle triangle. ie: one corner is a perfect 90 degrees.

Since the formula is actually A(sqaured) + B(squared) = C(squared).

3 sqaured + 4 squared = 25, the square root of which is 5. (3-4-5)

There's a really good explanation on wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangle

This is the kind of math really useful for daily activities such as building stuff.

Theory, theory, theory, that's what you get with a bunch of physicists! <g>

Wait! There was one non-physicist/ mathematician! Yes! Thanks, chuckle... As soon as I have done the Pythagorean thingie, Ill just fire up the sander! <g>

Jim