Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Hello,

Is half inch plywood strong enough for the sides of a 4ft high x 5ft wide x 10ft long body? There will be no frame work in the sides just the plywood.

Thanks for your help
Steve

Steve,

My 1947 Ken-Skill is made out of 1/2" plywood. No framework or insulation in the sides. It's held up for 57 years so far with no problem. It is 4x4x9.5 feet in size.

Of course there is a bulkhead at the rear for the kitchen and the shelves and cabinets on the inside also help to keep the sides together.

The doors are also made of 1/2" ply but they put an oak stiffener vertically between the window and door latch. This also acts as a handle to close the door.

I think a lot of trailers people are building are overbuilt for various reasons.

Nick.

My 2nd tear I'm using 1/2 sanded plywood.
The mini-hopper I built was with 3/4" all the way around. Top, Bottom, Sides, etc. Makes these trailer too heavy.

I'm going for two things this time. Light weight and price.

Bufordt

Nick,

got any pic's of how they did the doors on the tear?

Bufordt

Here's a picture of the inside of the door. The verticle piece is made out of 3/4" oak and has small indentations on each side at the middle to act as a handle.

Also on the hing side, 3 of the screws go all the way through the door and are fastened with nuts countersunk on the inside. The same method is used to attach the hinge to the body.

My 1955 Benroy was also made with 1/2" ply but they added an frame around the inside of the door and opening. This allowed the hinge to be mounted on edge of the door and body instead of on the outside.

Thanks alot

It will have a bulkhead which I failed to mention. Is the oak strip necessary to keep it from warping?

I can't get any 4x10 plywood around home that looks nice, I'm going to leave the wood showing on the inside and aluminum on the outside. I'm going to get a scarfing tool to epoxy some 4x8's together. The tool will only scarf up to 1/2 inch. I can order 4x10 plywood but it will cost over a hundred dollars a sheet plus over a hundred to ship it.


More adivice on this matter is very welcome!

I don't know that the strip is necessary but it certainly can't hurt and would be hard to add after the fact. I can take a picture from the end of the door so you can see the profile if you like. It tapers down at the ends and doesn't intrude on the interior space that you would notice.

On Ken-Skills, the sides are made from two pieces to get the length. The joint is at the rear where the kitchen cabinet would strengthen it and it won't be seen since the inside of the kitchen is skinned over in aluminum.

Nick.

That would be great nick!

A picture is worth a thousand words lol


steve

Steve, here is a shot of the brace from the side.

Thanks Nick

Thats a slick wat to do it!

Nick all this help with the pic's is great. Thanks. Could you take a pic of how they attached the doors. Outside hinge or inside hinge.

Bufordt

Here is the hinge. It is mounted to the outside surface of the trailer. It works fine but you have a lot of screw heads on the outside and before I added weatherstripping to the edge of the door, water and air could leak in through the hinge.

The Benroy system had the hinge screwed to the built-up edge of the door and sidewall and then they covered the hinge with vinyl upholstery material for waterproofing. They also put a rain gutter vertically in front of the door to stop water from getting to the hinge while driving. I don't have that trailer anymore so I can't get detail shots of it.

This is the Ken-Skill.

Stephen G. wrote:I can order 4x10 plywood but it will cost over a hundred dollars a sheet.

Stephen,
I inquired about getting something in a single sheet, to make my profile template that will be 10'-6" x 4'-6". I was told that I could special order a marine grade plywood that was 5' x 12'. (Cool)
Not Cool, 350.00 per sheet.
I opted for 3-5' x 5' sheets.

$350 a sheet????? Ouch...

I'll be butt jointing my sheets together for the Lil Diner... Each side will take 3 sheets... But it's $9.99 a sheet, or a whopping $29.97 for the whole side... A savings of $320.03 over the 5x12 marine plywood you priced out!!!

Mike...