Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Looking at all the old time TD and TTTs...the common covering for many roofs was Masonite , covered with canvas..usually having a padding of some type between... The more I think about this , the more attractive the method becomes....Properly sealed , the roof would not only be attractive,easy to do,but would be easy to replace the canvas ,"down the road",and would offer some safety benefit from those falling limbs...
Anybody tried this ???
Some type of "padding" might be good for even an Aluminum roof ,providing a place for glue to adhere on each surface, the expansion and contraction would be handled in the padding,not the roof/aluminum glue join, resulting in better overall adhesion and not "floating"......
With any type of roof like this (or any other TD/TTT) Superior sealing of all parts would be mandatory...

I've never done this on a Tear...

But

Way back in the mid 60's My Scout troupe built a Canoe as a project. It was ribs, covered with Canvas and painted with Oil Based House paint.

It never leaked (unless we punctured the canvas).

Every 7-8 years it gets a new coat of paint and the boat is still around today and in use.

Canvas and Paint does work.

Happy Trails

Len

In the deep South, painted canvas has the unique ability to turn gray-green with mold in a few weeks when left outdoors. I did a test piece a couple of years ago. I too liked the look from the old days. I would bet there are some anti-fungal additives for the paint that would slow down the process.

This is a look I have been kicking around myself for a Woody roof. Many of the cars, especially woodies from the 20's - 40's had this type of roof. I have heard that they were canvas treated with heated oil and wax!



Now, I would not be foolish enough to brew such a concoction, much less camp in it.

I can't think of a way that canvas would really look right and hold up the way I would want (OK, what I really mean is very low maintenence), even though it would be garaged 99% of the time.

This leaves me to think about convertible top material, or vinyl like that found on tonneau covers for pick-ups.

Has anyone here used convertible top material? How did you do it if you did? GPW's way sems the most logical to me.

Ross Wade has done something similar with vinyl and padding on his Run lite.

I didn't use canvas or masonite, but did do a padded roof. I thought it turned out well.



It even matches the T.V. color.

GPW....what are your long term storage capabilities? If you want the "canvas" look, this might work for you. It's not waterproof, as it's a breathable material, however, I'd think if you applied it over a completely sealed substrate, it might give you the look you want. Probably not the best thing if you want to leave it uncovered all it's life. But a paint like Len mentioned might work on it also. Some of those "older school" techniques are the best. I'd think that any canvas is going to be a tough one as by design it's made to breathe. Custom automotive upholstery shops will also have a variety of colors for tonneau covers, UV resistant, padded, but it won't have a canvas look to it. Doug

http://www.sunbrella.com/na/en/default.pl?F=qa.htm

Not really going for the "look"....mainly the technique...Old School and proven....
With the myriad of new fabrics/coverings, there seem to be many possibilities... and all much better than a single layer....ever had a limb go through your trailer roof??? I had 10 of em'...barrier covering kept most from completely penetrating...
And there's always that floating aluminum thing... a compromise that I cannot readily accept...

Canvas over frame boatbuilders use a variety of sealers to waterproof the canvas: paints of various kinds, white roof sealer (like you would use on a mobile home, airplane 'dope', and others. I think the canvas over strip-built canoes generally use paint. There are plans on the 'net for a paper mache' canoe that uses varnish for sealer. If you're interested in these techniques search for boat/canoe/kayak websites. There's also a book by a guy named Putz that takes you step-by-step through building a skin-on-frame kayak. If you search for it, use 'putz walrus.'

Best,
Tom

well, on the trailer I drew up in google sketch-up, I'm hoping to use fabric and dope and have it come out way better then it did with canvas and dope.

How about something like fiberglass cloth instead of canvas for a roof ??? But no resin.. just apply the cloth over a freshly painted/sealed surface ,using the paint to adhere it, then fill and more paint...gotta' be strong ...we used that trick for many years on model planes , where weight and strength is always a consideration...