Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Can someone point me to info in the Forum on bending the door T-moulding to tight radiuses without crimping? What is the trick?

Thanks,
Kevin

Hi, Kevin!

You've got to trim the door-side lip of the T-Molding down to about 1/8" all the way through the curve ... looks best if you can taper/feather the leading & trailing edges nicely. Don't get in a hurry ... go slow and steady when bending the molding 'round the curve ... you might want to stop and drop a screw in now and then ...

You might also notice that this series shows kind of a "quick'n'dirty" method with the leading & trailing edges near the curve (acceptable and still attractive) ... but if you really want that trimming to disappear, make long smooth tapers that are several inches long.

















Hope this edit works ... ...

Looks like it did ... for the most part ... can't figure out why pic #2 and #5 aren't showing up ... didn't when I made this post to the Teardrop Talk 'Board, too ...? Oh well ... I think you can figure it out!

CHEERS!

Grant

Grant,

Can we see the photos too?

Mike...

mikeschn wrote:Grant,

Can we see the photos too?

Mike...

What he said!

Kevin, check your PM.

Miriam C. wrote:

mikeschn wrote:Grant,

Can we see the photos too?

Mike...

What he said!

Yeah, me too...............ummmmmmmmmmm...........what they said

Cheers
Paul

Uh, Grant, you didn't mention that part. I want pictures too.

If you were to buy the "t" molding that is dead soft , it bends with no problem..Mike

mike pari wrote:If you were to buy the "t" molding that is dead soft , it bends with no problem..Mike

Even without the third leg being cut

mike pari wrote:If you were to buy the "t" molding that is dead soft , it bends with no problem ...

You should probably add "IF you get the 3/4" dead-soft T-Molding and IF the radius you want it to go around isn't any less than what you'll find on the bottom corners of the KIT or KenSkill teardrops' doors." Any tighter than that and even your dead-soft 3/4" T will have to have the inside flange relieved. Been there, done that ... many, many years ago ...

I prefer the 1" T-Molding as it gives you better coverage of the gap between the door and the door opening, and 1/2" wide weather seals are much easier to source than 3/8" wide seals. I don't often put the radius on the lower corners of my doors, but when I do, I don't mind the extra work to relieve that inner flange so I can keep that better coverage. Your preferences, and results, might be different ...

CHEERS!

Grant

Thank You Grant. The photos are great. This is my 2nd build and this time I went with doors similar to the Camp Inn design. I like all those rounded corners but they are a bit tricky to work with for the average builder. Thanks.
Kevin

If you haven't noticed, I edited my first post to this thread to include the photos I mentioned ... ... ...

CHEERS!

Grant

Looks like someone got it. Great tutorial and pictures.
Thanks!

Grant, we had done similar on our build but that is a great set of pics, detailing how to doit
madjack

am researching this site in preparation to building a teardrop.
I have a few questions.

1- Float the alum. roof skin??? Why not glue it? Is there a problem with glueing it?

2- Bending and sealing the wall to roof joint. I have seen different techniques to bend this angle
A- Use dead soft aluminum. What is that and where can you get it? Is it not very soft and more succeptable to damage?
B- Heating with a torch to bend. Doe this damage or alter the finish of the aluminum?
C- Cutting the width of one side of the 90 degree angle to bend tight to the radius. This seems a bit extreme, I understand the principle as you cannot bend something on edge, but how does this look? Is it watertight? Is this a common practice? I did see one picture, it looked like a 1/2 to 3/4 wide angle ended up being 1/4 inch in width.

3- I also had a question about sealing the same roof to sidewall joint on a wood version of a teardrop. What is the technique there?

4- Another option I was considering was aluminum on the roof and wood sides. Any ideas there?

Thanks GP