Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

hello,

I am building my tear on an old popup trailer, ive got a couple questions, please chime in on any. thanks in advance for your help.

insulate the walls or dont (whats lighter)?

ideas for building windows with plexi or lexan.

if i use 2ft in back for galley, then the next 4 ft for bed/table conversion, what should i use the front 4 ft for? i do have a baby.

randy

more questions,

does anyone build the tear body, then put in a bed, then use the thing before putting in cabinets, using the time to figure out exactly what you want in the way of cabinets?

any ways to keep the tear light.

thanks

Randy the extra 4' can be used for a porta crib and the porta potty. You won't really end up with 4 feet though. You have to take off for wall thickness and space around the bed and stuff.

I cut my own wall studs and roof spars. I put 1" insulation with 3/8" ply outside and 1/8" inside. The roof is 1 1/2" insulation with 1/8" ceiling and roof. I use birch for the roof and ceiling because it bends easier and looks nice.

Enjoy

thank you mariam,

what is the advantage of using birch plywood over using cheap construction grade plywood if i am painting inside and out??

randy

Randy,

Birch plywood is smoother so you won't have to sand forever to get a smooth finish. If you are going to fill with epoxy or some other filler the go with the construction grade plywood.

just my wooden nickel

You can do construction grade. It really depends on what you want for a finish. If you want a rougher finish, and some do, that will work fine. If you want a finish like your walls at home, then you need something smoother to begin with. (sanding will wear you out and give you really great arms).

A warning---some of the plywood you get at HD and other box stores will drop it's veneer the minute you cut it. Check the edges and try not to get made in china.

You can get AC plywood and it will have a clear sanded side that will work. Honestly my choices here were birch and oak. I like the birch so I spent weeks trying to get the lumber yard to do it right. It was worth it.

You can also build of construction grade and skin over it with something you really like. Just check out your options in your area.

confused yet

mrrwt wrote:more questions,

does anyone build the tear body, then put in a bed, then use the thing before putting in cabinets, using the time to figure out exactly what you want in the way of cabinets?

any ways to keep the tear light.

thanks

Yes, to that. I also built on a Pop up frame of course it's anything but lite.
I have a gathering in about 22 days and I'll have the outside done but no cabinet work or windows I'll put them in later. I guess the up side to that is it gives me more chance to steal I mean barrow ideas.

mrrwt wrote:insulate the walls or dont (whats lighter)?
randy

The weight of the insulation is so small that it shouldn't be a factor. If you like to sleep at night with out being too cold or hot, I would insulate.

I guesss by insulate or not, I meant, should I use 3/4 plywood or should I do the 1/4 outside, 3/4 frame with insulation, 1/4 inside? Thinking about it, i cant figure out what would be lighter or what would be stronger.

Another question.

If i put a plexi window in the roof, what is the biggest you would recomend before i lose strength?

thanks for everyones input.

Randy

Randy, many people on this forum go with 1/4" ply on the outside, 3/4" frame with insulation inside the wall, 1/8" plywood on the interior of the TD and 1-1/2" insulation in the roof. This seems to have a very good price/performance/ease-of-build ratio. That's the route I'll take, once I put my frame together.

As far as your "skylight" goes, quite a few people leave 14-1/4"-square openings in the roof for their "Fantastic" fans and if you find Joanne's Desert Dawg, she put in a window which is almost the full width of her TTT. I guess it will depend on the strength of the window frame. The TD itself shoud be rigid enough to support almost anything(window-wise) if constructed well.

Hope this helps.

Ilya

Thank you,

I think i will do the 1/8 - 3/4 frame/insulation - 1/4 walls, and then 1/8 - 1 1/2 spare/insulation - 1/4 top,

what is common for the floor?

I see some people use 2x4 subframe and some people use 1x2 and some people just put their plywood on top of the metal.

any suggestions for keeping it light?

Here is a picture of where I am at so far. let me know what you think. I have more pictures in my gallery.

That looks almost like my 5x8 frame. I put down a thin galvanized sheet steel ( a couple pieces of old steel swimming pool wall ) To protect from rocks and wet them a layer of 3/4" foam for insulation and sound deadening then 3/4 plywood floor ( I should have used 1/2" ) Bolted thru floor and frame on each corner of the two sheets. I let the deck extend beyond the steel by 1 1/2" and screwed on a 2x4 rim all the way around under the deck and my outer skin will fasten to this 2x4 "nailer" while my 3/4" spacer and inner ply will be 4 1/4 " shorter and will rest on the deck. I see no need for a 2x? sub deck you have good support with the frame members.

Have fun I am !

mrrwt wrote:what is common for the floor?

I see some people use 2x4 subframe and some people use 1x2 and some people just put their plywood on top of the metal.

any suggestions for keeping it light?

Boy that frame looks almost like mine. I used an old popup
I went with 3/4 right to the frame I figured that's how the popup was built I tore apart so it can't be to wrong. I'm not sure if it was correct or not I guess we'll see in a few weeks when I have to take to the road for the first time for a gathering.

Gee that looks so familiar. It has bigger wheels though. What size are the wheels?

Floor: 1/4" ply with evil black, smelly goop. 1x2 framing, 3/4 insulation and 1/4 top is common. Really you can get away with 1/8 on the bottom.

Truthfully---almost anything works.