Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

This might be a stupid question from a noob, but having marine experience and being a boat owner, I haven't seen much on using marine grade materials. It seems if you can use 5mm marine grade plywood to skin a boat, why not a camper, and glass the outside or is this overkill?

froggy, the main issues are costs associated with anything labeled "marine"...your tear is not going to be sitting in water so why spend the money, when there are alternatives, which will work as well and be less expensive...having said that, there is no reason why you couldn't, since one of the great joys of these little campers is the fact you are building it, so build it to suit your tastes and needs........
madjack

It sure couldn't hurt. I didn't use marine plywood but I used all Stainless steel fixtures because we take it to the beach alot. The ones I couldn't get in stainless are already showing it after 2 years.

I'm a big fan of marine grade materials given the harsh weather here in Juneau. The real factor is cost and durability over time. IMHO...a well built trailer is going to last a long, long time...if you use better materials, the maintenance will be less and it will stay good looking longer.

madjack wrote:froggy, the main issues are costs associated with anything labeled "marine"...your tear is not going to be sitting in water so why spend the money, when there are alternatives, which will work as well and be less expensive...

You have a point, since it can run up to $100 a sheet, depending upon the thickness...

It's about the trade-offs and determining what is right for you

A void free sheet of 1088 Okoume is superior in strenght to the same thickness sheet of ABX Fir plywood.

The 1088 Okoume will be 3-4X the cost of the ABX Fir

The 1088 Okoume weighs about 30% less than the same thickness sheet of Fir. You can save additional weigh because thinner material is neccessay for achieving similar strenght

Okoume is more stable and has less tendency to crack/check over time. I have an unsealed Okoume test panel with Durabak on one side. Its been through many wet/dry cycles with no checking. A similar Fir panel would have cracks in it.

Final there is appearance if you're doing a clear finish.

If you have not guessed, I prefer to build with marine grade 1088 Okoume.

Marine Grade ply is pricey, but a joy to work with. I used 3/4 inch Okamie finished clear.

If you aren't doing a strip sided woody, I'd recommend it. It's void free, antifungicidal glue and it takes on dye beautifully. I laminated it to 1/2" ACX...worked great, used epoxy. Another advantage is that a marine ply has thicker plys than a veneered plywood, less chance of sanding through the veneer. I don't use it full thickness for the walls...just laminate up a top skin of it. You don't really need 3/4" of it, just the top, go thin on the marine stuff. I also don't use cloth on it, just epoxy coating and auto clear. If you know how, it can also be bleached out to a blond appearance like the blond Chris Crafts rather than the red mahogany. Doug