Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I am thinking of making my tear out of 3/4 plywood. I don't need the insulation where I will be camping, any suggestions? I will be doing the standard tear design.... What about the roof? What should I go with? (1/2 1/4 should I do the double layered or single layer?) I was leaning towards the two layer roof so I could run my electric through it? Any and all suggestions would be GREAT thanks !!!! This will be my first tear and probably my last so I want to get it right! Oh yea I am a newbie.

Thanks Jason

Jason,

The original teardrops used 3/4" walls and a double layered roof with insulation. I think that's perfectly acceptable.

Mike...

Welcome aboard Jason...on the roof...if you are going to paint it or finish it off like a Woody, 1/4" ought to be plenty. If you are going to skin it in aluminum...you can go with 1/8" under the aluminum...I think if you go much heavier than 1/4" you are going to have a tough time bending it and the spring back will want to tear out screws or cause divots in it, if you are building a traditional tear. The radius adds a lot of strength to the material. I'd also make sure that you either mark/ or take dimensions where you are running your electrical, so that when you do install the roof you don't shoot a screw into a wire. Thats a tough fix afterwards...Have fun with your build... Doug

belive it or not my tear's both of them were 1/2 ply walls no insulation the first had 2inch insul roof,made it cool here in summer in 42 centagrade out west lot more work compared to the second which has just 1/4 ply roof .full sun at 36 cent was good but warm to the touch.
the way i covered the full five feet wide gave an over lap so as to seal the joints and to touch this overlap on the same day was cooler inside but only by a few degrees i recon i will find a tree most of the time or put up the future Batwing annex and all will be apples.
mind you if thee is 2ft snow outside that may be a whole lot different.

Thanks guys for every thing! Any help you can give my will be greatly appreciated! I have not Bought a thing yet to start my tear but as soon as I do I will be asking all kinds of questions.

Thanks again Jason!

Actually, Jason ...

... most of the original, commercially produced teardrops of the '40s & '50s were made with 1/2" walls (a couple as light as 3/8", but they had additional framing 'round the doors, windows, and galley wall edges), and no insulation was pretty standard.

I don't think there's anything wrong with 3/4" ply. walls (other that a little weight gain) - they're quite a bit stiffer, and they're only marginally better environmentally.

Depending on which profile/design you choose, I'd recommend no more than 1/4" outer sheathing for the roof (preferrably in two 1/8" layers), 3/4" x 1" to 1-1/2" roof beams on edge (minimum! I use 1" thick by 1-1/2" across ...) doubled at the galley lid hinge and any "seam" of roof/ceiling panels, with 1/8" ceiling sheathing/paneling. Insulation? You betcha ... ... ...!

No doubt you'll be getting lots of other suggestions, but I believe in KISS: Keep It Strong & Simple! Whatever you decide, Good Luck on your build, and in the meantime ...

CHEERS!

Grant

Jason- You should make your way up to the Spring Tear-Up at Fish Creek Pond (June 15-18 ) and check out some TD's up close. Plenty of friendly folks to answer all of your questions.
There is also the NYS Tear Jerkers Gathering at Watkins Glen the weekend of June 1st.

Trust me, Grant's right!!! Using the 3/4" is so much simpler and easier and speeds up your build considerably not to mention ending a great deal of aggravation in the process.

Rick that sounds fun. I might be able to make the one in Watkins Glen is it at clute park?

Jason, It's in the State Park in the Mohawk Village loop.

Rick...See you there!

Hey Kirkman;
Check out my album...I struggled with the same question of whether to go with sandwich walls or single layer plywood. I went with single layer 3/4" plywood after talking to SierraJack. The walls are super strong, no issues there at all. I don't think the wall insulation is ever going to be missed.
The roof on my TD is 1 1/2" spars with 1/8" FRP panels on each side with styrofoam between the spars.
I more or less stuck to the Generic Benroy plans...but made some changes as I went long.
Good Luck
MrBuzz

Kirk...

Go with thinner ply, frame and insulate.

More work, yeah--but more benefits.