Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I saw that stuff I was talkign about at lowes today. Its called fiberglass walling , im not sure if its water proof. Its very light weight, kinda like luan, but it has a textured outside that looks really good. Im hoping that it is water proof, it looks really nice. I cnat find it on the lowes site , so maybe someone here can help out. The onlt proble was that it was 31 bucks a sheet

Also, I saw what luan was for the first time today , wow that stuff is flimsy, i guess a bunch of 2x2s will sure it up

1/4 luan walls and roof, 1/2 flor. what ya think?

Jeeper92 wrote:
1/4 luan walls and roof, 1/2 floor. what ya think?

You want regular outdoor/marine grade ply for your walls--not luan. And their thickness depends on whether you're framing or going with solid walls. (And the reason you won't see this stuff on their web site is because they don't ship it.)

1/4 for the roof is fine, as long as you're skinning with aluminum. If you're just painting or varnishing it, luan isn't the best material to use here.

And for your floor, 1/2" may or may not be okay, depending on how you're doing your wood floor frame, how you're bracing it. I can't recall what I used, but I think even for the standard Cubby plan--4 by 8 TD on a 4 by 8 HF trailer...it specified 3/4".

Again, I don't remember for sure, but I know you plan to build out a foot out/over all around the 4 by 8 HF for a 5 by 10, so my guess is unless you want to frame the crap out of it, every 10" or so, you would want to go thicker than 1/2" on the floor.

there are two people on this board who have built extremely nice trailers on 4x8 and they built out over the trailer. I appreciate your concern but let it go. The front and the back are going to be angled like the weekender. I have spoken to mike about the luan stuff and he didnt seem too concerned about the things you are pointing out. Its seems to me that people over build these things , from my perspective anyway

jeeper92,

2 things

1. in defense of Ira, you asked the question what do you think and Ira gave you his thoughts. Everybody will give thoughts and opinions and that is exactly what they are. Yes people tend to overbuild on somethings because they do not want to redo it later.

2. What are you using the trailer for street only or off-road, If is both then build towards off-road. How are you going to finish it(woody, aluminum, fiberglass, paint, etc)

If you are only using it on the street then 1/2" for the bottom and 1/4 for the sides(assumption is you are sandwich construction for sides)and roof are fine.

If you are using it for off-road, you might want to re-think the sides due to the abuse they could take(rocks, trees, bushes) unless you are going to fiberglass or skin with aluminum.

Just my 2 cents take it or leave it.

I think another name is FRP... fiberglass replacement panel. A friend built a tear style usin' this. Worked well but he keeps it covered when not in use. But on my weekender I used 3/4 ply and painted. Look at this way how many wood buildings do you see rottin' down. Good wood,good primer and good paint will work and easy to maintain.

I really do welcome all the input, but this is the second time Ive told him what im doing, and i said i appreciated his input but to let it go. There are plenty of people on this board that have built out over their trailer. THats it its done lets move on. I apologize for coming off that way.

Its going to be used to house my family and myself when we go camping. I will ditch teh traielr and take my jeep off roading.

weasel-Has he had any problems with FRP? If I use it I will have to piece it together , 4x8 pieces arent big enough to cover the trailer. any suggestions? I was thinking maybe some aluminum strips glued over where the piece meet.I like your weekender by the way.

Jeeper, I suggest you have a look at Larry Sorrrensen's offroader if you want to know how to build a good and strong TD. I copied his ideas and have bashed it around outback Australia for a year now, with no damage done. I contacted Larry and Di before I built and asked for permission to do so.
http://outbackteardrop.com/

Cheers
Paul

thanks but im not building an off road camper. Most of the places i go have camping near the trails, no sense lugging the thing through the trails

Jeeper92 wrote:thanks but im not building an off road camper. Most of the places i go have camping near the trails, no sense lugging the thing through the trails

I agree that you will be fine with 1/4" but the luan here will de-laminate in a heart beat. Especially the stuff at Lowes and Home Depot. I went with baltic birch because it was 5' high and I pieced it in the middle. Much nicer stuff. You have to watch for patches though. Little footballs won't show if you are skinning over it.

My roof is 1/8" birch and so is the ceiling with 1 1/2" insulation between. The inside panels are 5x5x 1/8" Baltic Birch again because it is taller.

My point is use what best suits your build and your pocket book. Besides you can always come back and build an off road later.

When i do this i join the luan together then frame out the sides then attach them to teh floor?

It sounds like Jeeper wants to build it as cheaply as possible . . . . if he considers $31 a sheet for 4 X 8 fiberglass sheets expensive

I've built things from 1/4 inch luan before and even soaking both sides in a hundred dollars worth of epoxy, it comes apart - I value my construction time too much to use luan as a 'substitute' for plywood just to save a few bucks

I also agree that I would make the floor from 3/4ths exterior grade at a minimum, laminated to 2 X 4's or 2 X3's if you're extending put past the frame 6 inches on both sides . . . . Remember that the floor is supporting the entire shell of the trailer because the frame isn't under the exterior walls - Even just for driving down the freeway, you want something sturdy enough so that it's not constantly flexing . . . . or your whole house of cards will eventually disasemble itself

Building it strong enough in the first place only costs about half what rebuilding it later is going to cost you - Not to mention the frustration of doing it twice

Don

yes, I wantt o do it as cheaply as possible, there is something wrong with that? If you are saying no to luan, what are you suggesting? 1/4 ply?
thanks for the input

Jeeper92 wrote:I saw that stuff I was talkign about at lowes today. Its called fiberglass walling , im not sure if its water proof. Its very light weight, kinda like luan, but it has a textured outside that looks really good. Im hoping that it is water proof, it looks really nice. I cnat find it on the lowes site , so maybe someone here can help out. The onlt proble was that it was 31 bucks a sheet

Also, I saw what luan was for the first time today , wow that stuff is flimsy, i guess a bunch of 2x2s will sure it up

1/4 luan walls and roof, 1/2 flor. what ya think?

Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic (FRP) Wall Panels are ideal for any area that will be exposed to a great deal of moisture. The problem is they are not rated for exterior use.
They are not rated for structural use just like Gypsum (drywall) board. They also are not UV resistive. That does not mean you can’t use it in an exterior application. It just that you have to protect the surface from UV with some coating like paint / spar varnish some thing. The biggest problem that I can think of it’s not rigid to multi direction movement like plywood is. So it may deform or delaminate in the type of movement a trailer is exposed to. If screwed down and not epoxy glued the screws will pull through the panel.
As for Luan take a look at the edge of the panel! Most of the Luan, big box stores sell, have a very thin out side sheet of wood. All wood is pores. The sheets of wood in Luan are glued with exterior glues but water will get through the pores and the wood will pull apart from the glue. So you need to fill the pores before finishing or you take the risk of delaminating. Some people have successfully made boats from Luan so it can be used, just takes more time in prep work.

Chuck

I was going to use the frp on top of the luan or 1/4 plywood, im not sure yet. I was going to back the luan with 2X2s then brace it up from the inside with all of the shelving and storage I am going to have

Jeeper92 wrote:I was going to use the frp on top of the luan or 1/4 plywood, im not sure yet. I was going to back the luan with 2X2s then brace it up from the inside with all of the shelving and storage I am going to have

B C X fir plywood has a heavy outer ply and if you are going to cover it anyway, it only costs a little more than Luan. It’s made for exterior use. As for bending it, some shallow saw cuts on the inside will help make the curve. Then why not use 4oz fiberglass cloth and epoxy? The FRP has to cost the same as fiber-glassing it and you will still have to UV protect it any way.

Chuck