Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Metal is probably my weakest knowledge point so I definitely need to ask the forum experts:

Thinking outadabox, today, I purchased some 1/2" galvanized hardware cloth (wire ga. screen) to use as lightweight protection for my 5x8' trailer undercarriage insulation. (I don't want to have to crawl underneath this thing to replace road-tattered styrofoam. Galvanized hardware cloth weighs less than half the equivalent of 1/8" plywood and is tougher.)

But, as I was driving home, I came up with some second thoughts and questions:

- Am I asking for rust problems without knowing it?
- Will it be okay, resting on my powder coated chassis cross beams? (It'll be attached to the subfloor and the subfloor, to the chassis.)
- Are there any special precautions I should take, such as painting the hardware cloth before I attach the subfloor and all to the chassis?


Thanks!
Sharon

What I would do is build the subfloor before installing it to the frame. Then apply the styrofoam sheeting to the road side of the subfloor. I would then liberally coat the styrofoam with a water based udercoating paint such as the following http://www.jcwhitney.com/WATER-BASED-UNDERCOATING/GP_2000792_N_111+10212+600021250_10112.jcw.

Its important that you use a water based undercoating as a solvent based undercoating would dissolve the styrofoam!

Then I would attach the galvanized cloth on top of the wet undercoat, and spread another layer overtop of the uncoated galvanized cloth.

Once dry, I would attach to your frame. You should have no problems with rust with either the frame or galvanized cloth.

In general, it is difficult to get coatings to stick to galvanized metal as the white rust (zinc oxide) prevents direct contact of the paint to the metal surface. Since this is a woven cloth material, the holes in the screen will act as your adhesion points for the coating to adhere to so you should not have any problems.

Hi, DMC:
I saw a phone# on the bottom of a Rustoleum can and called them about it. Although not as detailed as your response, they said pretty much the same thing, that oil-based products will react with the zinc and flake off. (Good to know!)

I'm not worried about waterproofing as the bottom of the subfloor is already coated with 3+ applications of water-proof epoxy. I will be attaching the styrofoam-protecting hardware cloth with deck screws, inserted into large washers and the insulation will rest on all that. Since the chassis and hardware cloth will work together without major problems, maybe paint would be an unecessary overkill?

Thanks for your reply!

I will throw this out and I am sure there reasons not to want to do this but here goes.

I had 2 little annoying bumps at the wheel wells 1 1/2 inch tall so I simply laid down 2 layers of 3/4 blue ridged foam cutting around the bumps then covered the entire floor , wheel wells and all with a layer of 7/16 osb cut to fit. No fastners no glue just gravity. Insulation was completed in less than an hour.

my 2 cents worth

Thanks, Bob.

I will save that idea to use when I build my friend's TD. Her chassis frame is very small so I think I will need to build over the wheels for hers.

Regards,
Sharon

S. Heisley wrote:I will be attaching the styrofoam-protecting hardware cloth with deck screws, inserted into large washers and the insulation will rest on all that. Since the chassis and hardware cloth will work together without major problems, maybe paint would be an unecessary overkill?

:

Just make sure you use galvanized screws and washers when you attach the screen to your chassis. If you use brass or aluminum, the metals can react with each other and rust away.

My opinion might be totally off base here but it seems everything will bounce an vibrate on a td. The screen will be rubbing on the frame and paint won't change that. Might just wear a hole in the screen but might make a place for rust to form. You might only put it where there is not frame in pieces.

I noticed yesterday while at HomeDepot that they now make plastic hardware cloth.

Who knew?

Just make sure you use galvanized screws and washers when you attach the screen to your chassis. If you use brass or aluminum, the metals can react with each other and rust away.

Good Point! Thanks!

The screen will be rubbing on the frame and paint won't change that. Might just wear a hole in the screen but might make a place for rust to form. You might only put it where there is not frame in pieces.

Yes, metal rubbing metal was one of the things I was concerned about.

I noticed yesterday while at HomeDepot that they now make plastic hardware cloth.

Thanks, I have some of the plastic stuff in my garden. It rips too easily. I already have the metal stuff and can't take it back as it was a special cut and price.

The styrofoam is in place and I'm planning to install the hardware cloth tomorrow. I'm not certain I can find a way to avoid the cross beams of the chassis; but, I'll sleep on it tonight and maybe I'll wake in the morning with the answer!

Thanks, all, for your advice and suggestions!
Sharon

what about just using a sheet of 1/8th covered in the goop instead?

Hi, looped:
1/8" plywood to cover a 5X8 trailer weighs approximately 17 lbs and is easily smashed when a road projectile hits it. The equivalent 1/2" ga. hardware cloth weighs 7 lbs and is stronger, fighting off road debris more efficiently. It also allows drying air to circulate better. I just wish I had thought of it sooner, before I had put three coats of water-proof epoxy on the subfloor. I'm tenacious. I'll figure it out and post my results soon.

Okay, I'm feeling a bit smug right now; so, if you're going to burst my big-headed bubble, please be kind about it. (Seriously, if you do see something wrong, I've only finished the first section....)

I carved spaces to fit 2/3's of the diameter of my Ga. fender washers and just deep enough so they won't touch the metal chassis. Then, I supplemented those attachments with a bit of Ga. metal plumbers tape. Everywhere else that I used washers had good contact with the hardware cloth and won't touch the chassis.

http://tnttt.com/album_ ... c_id=39637

(This is the first time I've tried imbedding a picture, so if it doesn't work, the picture is in my album.)

The carved areas won't hurt the structure any as the dark strips that I carved are in the spacers used to make the deck fit without dipping on the metal cross-bars. (The metal cross bars are soldered inside the frame sides, making those parts lower. ) Of course, hindsight is a beautiful thing and, if I had thought of it, I would have fitted the Styrofoam and run the hardware cloth under those wooden spacers. Alas, the wooden spacers had already been PL-glued and three coats of epoxy had been applied by then. FYI: The Styrofoam has been painted with external water-based paint to protect it from petroleum products that might splash up in rainy conditions.

Thanks,
Sharon

I'm with Bob on this....it's a whole lot easier to just put some insulation on the floor interior rather than attaching from the underside. You don't lose that much headroom and after all, you've got plenty of insulation in a mattress anyway, plus a whole lot less work and worry. In my case I just flopped a piece of indoor/outdoor carpet over it prior to installing your mattress. Other opinions may vary. Doug

Hi, Doug:

It's probably time for me to start a build thread except I'm not certain how to do it....Still gotta figure it out...soon.

I'm building a TTT, half-standy, sort of a boxter design with a front lifting roof section that lifts like the old VW campers did. My drawings are pencil sketches. (The plans have been reviewed by a friend/expert who deemed them "do-able".) I haven't put any drawings in my album because, when I tried, they came out so light I could hardly see them. Maybe if I go over the lines with a pen..... Anyway, they are ratty-looking when compared to some of the CAD ones I see on the forum.

I purchased Kevin's Kuffel Creek plans just so I'd have some kind of build instructions to help me. Reading through the How-to CD, the Styrofoam was installed on the underside with fender washers holding it in. That's why I did it the way I did. But, I tend to over-do some things...just part of my nature, I guess....

Anyway, this is a long way of saying "no carpet" and the mattress is a part of a dinette design.

Thanks for your input!
Sharon

Yup...any standy sort of thing and this won't work....Doug