Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

What does everyone use for the lining of their teardrops? I went to a few lumber places today and no one carries 1/8 inch plywood. Is 1/4 inch ply bendable enough? Is there other things that can be used? I found some thin panel that bends quite nice. But on the sticker it said not to use in high humidity.

This is the first thing that I have built since a pine wood derby car 25 years ago in Cub Scouts. It's not as pretty as most peoples on these pages. But I am proud of myself for getting this far. I used the Benroy plans as a starting point. I made a bunk for children instead of cabinets inside. There is just enough room for a queen size mattress.

Thanks for all the help so far.

Steven

Steven, keep looking and calling around, the 1/8” can be found.
Ira even found some.

http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=8119&highlight=larry

If all fails, make friends with your local small cabinet shop. They can order 1/8" of several wood species.

dave

...I would start looking around for small, locally owned lumber yards or as DW stated, make friends with a cabinet shop...we have a cabinet shop located behind our shop and we get most all of our ply products thru them...Baltic Birch in 5x5x1/8th, bendy ply and even 3/4 cabinet grade ply...most shops will either have it in stock or can place an order along with their regular order....
madjack

luan? I called a lumber yard and they told me that they had some luan. Is that the same thing as 1/8 ply? It was used for skinning doors. Was $11.00 for a 4x8 sheet. I didnt get to see it though. Wasnt sure if it was what I was looking for.

steven

Cheap 1/8" plywood usually works well. Try builders surplus/supply places.

Steve, that is PROBABLY just what you are looking for...LUAN has become a generally generic term for imported hardwoods(used to be for Philippine mahogany) Door skins are usually sold in 3'x7' sizes, if you find 'em in 4x8, that is even better.....
madjack

I also just found another lumber place in Ft. Myers that wasnt in the phone book that stocks 1/8 ply.

steven

I just got off the phone with HD. They all carry laun. They had a full palet of it. Just nobody in lumber can figure out where it is.
I looked for at least two hours yesterday and asked every lumber worker about 1/8 bendable ply. They all scratched their heads and said that they never saw or heard of such a thing. At least I know that they have it now.
Hope it doesn't take another two hours to locate it when I get there.

steven

Steven,
Bendy Birch is 1/4" unless I totally missed something. What you have to ask for is 1/8 Birch. That will get you a 4x8 sheet. If you ask for 1/8 Baltic Birch you will get 5x5 sheet. The Baltic bends real easy and makes a smooth bend. Real lumber co. can get it for you. Be careful of some of the luan vaneers. They crack pretty easy. Sometimes you just have to keep at them to get what you want.

...just to clarify...bendy ply and Luan are totally different products...bendy ply is a specialty product that will bend in a very tight radius in either the 8' length or the 4'width but not both...bendy ply also come in several thicknesses...not just 1/4" and quite often has a rough/open/porous grain to it making a smooth finish more difficult...Luan, (and other thin plys) will bend easier in the direction of WIDTH as opposed to LENGTH...
madjack

To add to Jack's post:

1) I used 4' by 8' bendy birch ply--had it shipped to Florida all the way from Massachusetts (www.boulterplywood.com). It bends the way you tell them you WANT it to bend, and since most of us want a 4 by 8 sheet to bend the long way, the 1/8" stuff can actually be rolled and placed in a mailing tube 4' high.

2) Boulter had it in 1/8" or 1/4". I used 1/4" for both the roof and cabin ceiling because they were out of 1/8", but 1/4" WON'T bend into a tube. So it was shipped flat to the Fedex station 20 plus miles from me because FedEx won't deliver like this to a residence. (I had to pick it up.)

This was done at a big loss to Boulter, because the guy was drunk, he knew I was also drunk, and he didn't want to deal with me any longer. My three sheets were sandwiched between two pieces of flakeboard, which I ALSO used for my build, so that was a bonus.

3) The 1/8" bendy is WAY bendy, and you don't have to go this thin. Tom S (Swenson) noted this for the piece he used for his cabin. It was too "wavy." The 1/4" will also bend to just about any imaginable radius.

4) If you're skinning with aluminum, painting or epoxying, just forget all of this crap and go with the cheaper Luan if you can find it in the size you need.

5) If you want to finish with spar urethane or other like I did for that nice birch grain, be aware that number 6 below may or may not be true:

6) My roof came out beautifully, but bent the OTHER way for the cabin ceiling--no.

So as Jack said above about the rough side, I think that only ONE side is rough. Remember that this bendy stuff is used to make all kinds of curved cabinet work where the OUTSIDE of the bend is meant to be visible. And I can't swear on this but I'm pretty sure that it only bends one way. I just don't remember. (So I think it only bends one way and I know it only bends in one direction.)

I'm also not sure if my cabin ceiling came out like sh** because I'm a shitty builder and I didn't sand well enough with the orbital and do everything properly for all of those coats--but this MAY be the case, since Tom's came out great finish-wise, athough he experienced that wavy problem from using 1/8".

Anyway, everything is fixable and doable, and all I did was wind up covering my cabin ceiling with tiki bamboo, which is what I should have done int he first place.

A HELL of a lot easier that all of that thaning and sanding.

Remember--style over substance.

I am only a beginner woodworker. This project is the first time that i have ever used a table saw, metal grinder, circular saw, jig saw. Well it was the first time that i ever really made anything out of wood. I am learning as i reach every step. I have already joined this site, a woodworking book club, subscribed to two different wood magaiznes to get more knowledge.
I have already decided to make my first trailer a very basic unit. One that serves the purpose to take the family camping. With plenty of room to store all the camping and fishing gear once the camping trip is over. I took the family tent camping over the weekend. I couldn't stop thinking how much more fun it would have been the the new trailer.
I would love to make an extravagant trailer as some of you have. And I will one day soon. I just don't have the woodworking knowledge yet. I can barely cut a straight line with a guide I still can't beleave that i have gotten this far.
My plans are to paint the entire trailer to hide some of the imperfections (cheap ply) and bad cutting. I will be using Pettit Easypoxy High Gloss Finish Polyurethane Topside Paint. Most likely in silver to match my truck. I will also be painting the entire inside white. So the cheap laun will most likely do. I would hate to buy expensive grain wood just to paint right over it.

steven

Steven,
Whether you paint, aluminum overlay or keep it a woody, everybody will tell you that the final product is only as good as the finishing. In otherwords you can be the lousiest woodworker but you take your time to sand and fill and sand and fill so that when you go to paint everything goes on smooth you will have an awesome looking trailer. If you look at Mary K's build this is also her first woodworking project.

Take your time and have fun