Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I have a couple of questions and a comment or two. I am really trying to keep my expenses down because I have to build two vehicle in the next 2 years.

Looking at the stabilizers I thought of using simple car jacks, the accordian type. I checked at the junkyard and was told they are $5.00 a piece.

The other question is can I use regular 3/4" thick board from Home Depot for the sides? I see people are also using certain types of wood for the cross braces, is regular pine from Home Depot ok?

I don't want to build a piece of junk but then again trying to keep cost low.

I am also still looking for a member near St. Louis. I talked to a member of my trike club (Brothers of the Third Wheel) he owns a salvage yard and said he has a couple of frames that they tore pop up campers from.

He has several if anyone is interested.

Deacon

I used 3/4" AC for the sides and used the 1X2X8' SPF (spruce,pine fir) that Home depot sells cause it was cheap, .75 each. I used the AC becuase it was seven ply and would stay straight and flat better, all plywood except marine grade uses pretty much the same glue so any plywood will work, even "exterior plywood" uses the same glue as "interior plywood"
The 1X2's worked great,I bought a bundle of 20 and most of them were pretty straight and had few knots but they are less than 3/4" thick so becarefull if you need them as a 3/4" spacer.
I ended up insulating my 3/4" plywood walls with some 3/4" foam insulation and had to add some furring strips to the 1X2's in order to make space for the foam. Aaron

If you are going to insulate...don't use the 3/4" material and go with a thinner skin both inside and out with some frame work between....If you aren't going to insulate, you can get away with 1/2" and if you want a nice looking interior, laminate up some 1/8" birch or whatever. It sort of depends on your camping environment... Either way, I would recommend insulating the ceiling and venting the roof....just my opinions however...Doug

I wasn't going to insulate mine at first,that is why I used 3/4" for the sides,after some thought I decided to insulate, I wish I would have used some 1/8th or 1/4" ply and framing now, But heck it will be really quite inside now!
I would do what Doug says, and definitely insulate the ceiling! Foam insulation is cheap and easy to do.
I didn't think 1/2" would be strong enough for the sides but after building I can see it would have worked fine, all the bulkheads and shelving and cabinets will keep the sides braced and straight.
Aaron

...we use 3/4 13ply cabinet grade ply for our sides and 1/2 11ply cabinet grade ply for all our floors, cabinets and bulheads...definitely insulate the ceiling and put a vent in it... we have rear stabilizers(best price new from Northern Tools) but have never used them...you don't walk around inna tear and you won't notice any other "athletic" activities you might indulge in(the neighbors might)...the main thing the stabilizers are for(for us) is if we camp on a site that is not level...if you have both a ceiling and and a ply roof, you can use most any wood for the spars as long as they aren't warped to begin with...pine and other soft woods will be more prone to warping in left by themselves for any period of time......
madjack

I would recommend that you insulate both the sides and the roof. Insulating the floor is not as important. Not only does insualtion help with hot and cold, but it really dampens sounds. I would recommend 1/4" outside, 3/4" framing (pine is fine or even white wood)and insulation, then 1/8'' inside. This should be plenty strong and still quite light. Make your bulkheads the same way except, use 1/8" on both sides with 3/4" framing and insulation.