Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I'm interested in building a Benroy from the plans here on this website. I'm curious as to the durability of a wood trailer over time. Any problems with the wood deteriorating or plywood delaminating? Does a painted trailer require lots of ongoing maintenance?

Donkro, as I always say, "Wood is good". However unless you plan to keep it indoors when not in use, I strongly suggest a more durable material to be exposed to the elements. Of course you can fiberglass the exterior wood panels, which would last a whole lot longer than my varnished exterior. Aluminum or FRP is probably the most durable, it all depends how much time, effort and money you want to spend on protecting it from the elements. Water is the enemy of all teardrop owners and probably causes more problems than any other factor. I am sure you will get plenty of suggestions from others here on the board.

Just my two cents.........from a woody owner, who keeps it sheltered from the rain, snow, sleet, ice and the infernal So Calif sunshine :-)

Roly

Wood boats hold up ok - but they require maintenance.......

All depends on how you take care of it. Some materials are more tolerant of you neglecting them.

Mark

The only problems I've seen with older trailers have been caused by water getting in. So, keep the water out. I used CPES on my tear, which is a clear penetrating epoxy sealer. It does not just lay on the surface, but is thin and penetrates the wood. When used, the tear becomes almost one homogeneous piece of wood. I then used uniflex 255 on it, which is a 2 part epoxy coating. I would be hard pressed to find a better system to use to create an incredibly durable exterior on a tear (except for metal, which can have its own seam problems).

Having said all of the above, my next tear will probably not be coated with the uniflex 255. It gets dirty easy (I used white) and is hard to clean. But I definitely will use the cpes, but will probably use a marine paint as the top coat for a nicer finish.

So, build it right and it will last until you want to build another one..

Arne wrote:
So, build it right and it will last until you want to build another one..

So your saying that it wil only last a little while?
Brwbier

donkro,

When I built my teardrop, I knew the problem was water getting into the wood, so I did what I thought was best and varnished everything before I covered it with aluminum. At the time, I did not know about CPES (wish I had). When I installed the aluminum, I sealed all of the seams and all of the screw holes with silicone RTV. The first time I used the trailer I found some leaks around the door and the windows, but those have been resolved. Anyway, after two years of use, I have seen no deterioration of the wood in any way (as Steve knocks on wood). The aluminum has it's own problems and is not the abosulute end all in coverings IMHO, but I wanted my TD to have the traditional aluminum look. If I were to ever build another, it would probably be covered with the RV fiberglass siding.

Arne wrote: So, build it right and it will last until you want to build another one..

So your saying that it wil only last a little while?
Brwbier

--------------------

Exactly, after you build your next one, the chickens can live in #1... believe me, I've seen it happen..

HEY!!! Your house is made out of wood. How long does it last??

Look around you. Telephone poles last for decades or longer, in horrible weather. How? They get wet, but they dry out. Lots of other examples.

Putting aluminum on top of wood does not guarantee no damage to the wood. If there is a leak anywhere (look at travel trailers) there will be trouble.

Watch the edges of plywood. They are really vulnerable.

Can you build a wood trailer and have it maintaince free? Probably not. But at least the damage should be aparent. It seems that a bit of annual maintenance is necessary on almost anything -- including your new Caddy.

dave

The worst enemy for any trailer, is trapped water. If it gets wet and dries out, it is no where near as bad as getting wet and staying wet... so as mentioned, be sure those ply edges are well sealed.

I agree, Arne.

Putting an aluminum skin does not gurantee water will not be trapped. Neither does paint, for that matter.

Maintenance is life. Even my beautiful wife needs a bit now and again.

dave

dwgriff1 wrote:I agree, Arne.

Putting an aluminum skin does not gurantee water will not be trapped. Neither does paint, for that matter.

Maintenance is life. Even my beautiful wife needs a bit now and again.

dave

Women are High Maintenance compared to a teardrop......

dwgriff1 wrote:Maintenance is life. Even my beautiful wife needs a bit now and again.

It'll cost you 100 bucks to have me NOT blow this post up to a 3' by 4' poster and send to her.

Women are High Maintenance compared to a teardrop...... Laughing
--
I tried putting Shirley out under the carport one time.. she didn't think it was as funny as I did.... she can be kind of a sour puss sometimes.

Ira wrote:

dwgriff1 wrote:Maintenance is life. Even my beautiful wife needs a bit now and again.

It'll cost you 100 bucks to have me NOT blow this post up to a 3' by 4' poster and send to her.

We've been married 50 years, and she will be OK. And, she has been low maintainance wife (but not zero by any means).

Sorta like my Tiny1 trailer.

Sorry for the business offer Ira. Not this time.

dave