Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I'm wondering what you folks thought of using a full sheet 5'x 10' of 1/2" moisture resistant MDF for the floor I'm Planning to build the wood floor frame from 1 1/2" x 2" (ripped from 2 x stock) with crossmembers @ 30" o.c. when it comes time to fasten the floor frame to the trailer I'm thinking of predrilling the floor frame, and using 1/4-20 heavy duty self drilling/tapping flathead screws counter sunk into the MDF. Then some sort of floor covering? How am I doing?

5' x 10'.... SWEET!!!! I don't see why it wouldn't work if you seal it good. 30" centers seems a little far apart to me. You may get more flex than you would feel comfortable with....

I'm not real familar with MDF. For example, I didn't know they had a moisture resistant version of it.

I used regular MDF to make a CNC router. I remember it being really heavy. And it sagged really easy.

Weight is never a good thing in a travel trailer.

And with 30" on center, you are bound to get some sag. Maybe even lots of sag!

What's the matter with 1/2" birch?



Mike...

Birch is my first choice, but I just don't like the seam. It means I need a crossmember under it. I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel, I like all the things I see here. I'll change the trailer 2"x2" 1/8 sq. tube and add another crossmember so they will be 24" o.c. but now the plywood doesn't break over a crossmember? What say you? Walt

I wouldn't use MDF anywhere it has even the slightest remote possibility of getting moisture, it turns into sawdust.
Even moist air causes it to sag over time.

Walt, my answer would be...ABSOLUTELY NOT...MDF, is not meant to be anywhere, it could contact water, has very little structural integrity and has a tendency to crack and break and crumble...DON'T USE IT for floor or walls...JMNSHO.........
madjack

Not so humble?

madjack wrote:Walt, my answer would be...ABSOLUTELY NOT...MDF, is not meant to be anywhere, it could contact water, has very little structural integrity and has a tendency to crack and break and crumble...DON'T USE IT for floor or walls...JMNSHO.........
madjack

mikeschn wrote:Not so humble?

madjack wrote:Walt, my answer would be...ABSOLUTELY NOT...MDF, is not meant to be anywhere, it could contact water, has very little structural integrity and has a tendency to crack and break and crumble...DON'T USE IT for floor or walls...JMNSHO.........
madjack

...yep...a term I reserve for my soapbox...never been too humble about the validity(my perception) of my opinions...
madjack

Then, you're the man!!!

Mike...

Of course we Yurpeens may get different stuff from you Merkans, but I would rate moisture-resistant MDF as being entirely suitable to be carried from the car to the house on a rainy day.

As long as you don't want to use it straight away.

And you park close to the house.

And it's not raining too hard.

Am I making my point clear?

Andrew

Thanks much to all of you. It's a pleasure to see how succinctly you gentlemen have been able to make your point. I just have an aversion to using birch then covering it up. so I'll change my const. method and finish the birch with poly.

He IS succinct, isn't he!

And depending on what you are building, you may always see the floor.



Mike...

Walt,

It's the last letter that's throwing a monkey wrench into your gears. Try MDO.

MDF - Medium Density Fiberboard. Kind of like a nice grade of particleboard; it has its uses, probably all of them indoors as other have said.

MDO - Medium Density Overlay. Used in the outdoor sign industry. This is a nice plywood that has been coated on one or both sides with a phenolic resin and paper and is quite weatherproof when painted. The paper hides much of the grain of the wood and basically eliminates the checking that happens when you just paint plywood and leave it outdoors. The raw edges of the panel still will need to be sealed. Certainly worth thinking about, and it is available in 1/2" sheets 60"x120". Not cheap, but much more weather resistant than standard plywood. Weight is about the same. if not lighter, than regular ply. The panels that I have looked at were Douglas fir with the overlay on both sides. These panels laid flat with little to no warping. Find a supplier and take a look at the stuff.

http://www.alumapanel.com/view_product.cfm?step=1&lines_ID=310&name=MDO%20Good%202%20Side

If I'm not mistaken this is the material that Doug Hodder used for the sidewalls of his latest creation.

Bruce

Thanks alot, I didn't realize that MDO cam 5' x 10'. I just wanted one full sheet across the floor(anal I guess). I'll check with my supplier. It will be interesting to see how much he wants for it. Thanks again.


Walt

I did use the MDO, but I also routed a groove and splined it to get the size I wanted. Only got the 4x8 sheets. For a floor, it works great with the seam, but I've done ply floors with splined seams on all my tears, just run a piece of glass tape over it on the underneath...I had good luck with the MDO on the sides with a seam in it also...just requires some time to make it look pretty. Doug