Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I was think of using treated 2x4 for the floor frame and some pine 2x4 ripped to 1" for all the roof bows except the one for the hinge which I will use some type of hard wood. My tear is 60" wide. Will this pine do ok? I was trying to keep the cost down by staying away from using poplar, but I don't want my roof to sag.

If you do that you'll end up with boards that are 1" x 1 1/2". That seems plenty strong to me. Most folks use 3/4" x 1 1/2. As long as your pine is knot free, and you sight down the length of the board and put the bowed ends down, I don't think you'll have a problem with the roof.

Mike...

Cool, Thanks! Anyone else got ideas?

I'm using 1x2 clear pine (actual 3/4x1-1/2) but knot-free and straight.
A bit more expensive than #2SYP but not as much as poplar or hardwoods. Plan on white oak or doubled-up poplar for the hatch header. I think what you've planned is plenty. Somewhere here I saw a post with the builder sitting on his roof and a)he used 1-1/2 supports and b)he wasn't a small guy...

I used double 1 by 1-1/2"poplar for the roof on the stripper. Very strong, I can sit on top..no problem. On Mike's 'Diner, I'm using single 1 by 1-1/2" for the framing, also very strong! They are placed 12" on center, except for the top where the roof vent goes..14" there. I bought premiun pine for the job. No knots, very straight. Twice the cost of common pine, but, you only do it once!

Steve,

Is that a 1x you are using for the spars, which is actually 3/4" thick? Or did you buy some 4/4 pine?

Mike...

I use 5/4 yellow pine stair treads, ripped to 1 1/2". BYW 4/4 pine is called 5/4 five quarter

Len

Wow Len,

That's some pretty heavy spars... 1 1/4" wide by 1 1/2" high. You could put a gorilla up there an not have a problem!

Mike...

In this wacky world of ours 5/4 stock isn't 1-1/4" thick but rather 1" and in some instances will be found to be even a little under. Just as the measurements of 2x4s and 2x6s are. I can remember when 2x4s were 1-7/8"x 3-7/8" and then gradually they went down in size by an 1/8" at a time. Once upon a time people cut them and then planed them down to a 2x4 and gave you a good buy for your money. But it was before greed set in.

I can believe it. I havn't measured any 5/4 wood lately. I did go to to bottom of this page
http://www.dwpworks.com/export.htm
which says:

Lumber Terms
4/4" is pronounced 4 quarters.
4 quarters (4/4") = One inch (1") in board thickness
5 quarters (5/4") = an inch and a quarter (1¼" ") in board thickness
8 quarters (8/4") = Two inches (2") in board thickness

So the question is, are these nominal sizes? Or are these the sizes before drying? And do you knock off 1/4" for actual sizes? Who knows...

Mike...

If you go to a lumber dealer and mearuse their stock you'll see what is standard today. In 2x10s down thru 2x4s the 2 is usually 1-3/8" and the 4 is 3-3/8". In remodelling it isn't unusual to go into the studding of an older wall and have 3-7/8" studs. Then when you go to add on with today's material you have to shim the new studs by a half an inch to keep thing even. Also my garage built in the 50s has 1-7/8" x 3-7/8" studs that are perfectly straight, clear and defect free as are the 2x6s and 2x8s. Most of the building lumber today is very poor as well as undersized.

Yes, I am perfectly clear on the dimensional lumber. It's the 4/4 and 5/4 that I was questioning...

Mike...

Never mind, I found it...

Size Called 4/4" 5/4" 6/4" 8/4" 12/4" 16/4"
Actual Size 13/16" 1 1/16" 1 1/8" 1 3/4" 2 3/4" 3 3/4"

Mike

mikeschn wrote:Never mind, I found it...

Size Called 4/4" 5/4" 6/4" 8/4" 12/4" 16/4"
Actual Size 13/16" 1 1/16" 1 1/8" 1 3/4" 2 3/4" 3 3/4"

Mike

...unless you buy 5/4 at Menards, then it's 1 5/32". I just bought some.

mikeschn wrote:Steve,

Is that a 1x you are using for the spars, which is actually 3/4" thick? Or did you buy some 4/4 pine?

Mike...

1 by..nominal==3/4" actually..