Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

For anyone interested, I just posted 3 photos of the interior so far, in my album. I spent a ton of time trying to work out the galley layout. Hopefully I'll get that done this coming week. Keep on building guys/ gals! and remember, post your shop photos in the contest thread in the Notices Section.
http://tnttt.com/viewto ... 11&start=0

Deadline for entering is WED. 10 PM PST. Doug Hodder

Doug, under one of your pictures it says you put 3 coats of epoxy on the sides. I'm still learning what types of materials people use to cover wood. Did you use glass cloth too or just epoxy resin?

By the way you're making good progress and it looks real good.

No glass cloth, dyed the mohogany and rolled West System epoxy using #207 hardener, it's UV resistant. It will get another 2 coats, with sanding inbetween. All the maple framing that will go on the exterior of the trailer will be prefinished so that all I need to do is install it, seal the bung plugs over the screws and clear coat with automotive polyurethane. I've had really good results on my boats using this technique. Exterior framing is going to be one of the last things I do. George, thanks for posting your shop photos, looks like you have all sorts of toys! Doug Hodder

doug hodder wrote:George, thanks for posting your shop photos, looks like you have all sorts of toys! Doug Hodder

The toys and tools are a lifetime's collection and the fruits of my labor. We have a pretty frugal lifestyle and Sue understands that I love to work on things. She appreciates that my shop brings me lots of satisfaction and accepts my hobbies. Plus whenever something breaks I'm usually able to fix it so she likes that too.

Doug, in your opinion, what are the advantages/disadvantages of using just epoxy like you did compared to using epoxy and glass cloth like Steve F does? I plan to make my sides using a 1/4" ply outer skin, a layer of 3/4" styrene insulation then a 1/4" or 1/8" interior wall. This will have a structural skeleton of 1 x 2 probably. The one thing I've got to consider is that in order to get the size I need I will have to piece the outer skin together with 2 vertical seams that I'm going to try to make invisible.

I was able to just use the resin as the total thickness of my walls is 1". 1/2" plywood core, 1/4" marine grade mohogany exterior, 1/4" birch interior plywood. I like things bullet proof. I use cloth on the hulls of my boats, but not on the top decks as that is what most people look at. I can wet out cloth really well, but the webbing is still visible when you look for it. Since I was only doing flat sides, and the strength was going to be there without cloth that's the way I went. Cloth does add a lot of $ to the project and some time. On something like a boat hull or a kayak that is going to take a beating it is necessary. Trying to make 2 vertical seams might be a challenge to make invisible. If you are lucky enough you might find plywood with the veneer cut out of the same log, and the grain will blend well. It's tough to do. I had to opt for a diamond effect on the sides of my boat. I couldn't hide the difference, so I capitalized on it. There were some comments on another thread about the strength gained by glassing with cloth on plywood. It does add to puncture resistance but I don't know how much strength it would add to a flat piece of material. Boat, Kayak hulls have curved surfaces which really add to the strength. Check with www.westsystems.com for specific info.

I use the 'glass cloth because, I assemble the wall sheets from pieces of ply. I feel that the joints need to be reinforced, for handling, and to prevent the joint from "printing" through the final finish after use for a while.
My joints cannot be felt...you can see them, obviously, but I don't expect to ever feel them, or have them break!
Glass does add about 150 bucks beyond just epoxy. I figure, if I'm doin' it, do it well, do it once..

Thanks guys. Good info to help me make decisions. I'm sure I'll have more questions as things progress.

I've got a very unique wall construction design in mind but I'm not going to throw it out for scrutiny until I think it thru a little more. I'll probalby make a miniature test piece first and show you then. I've got some .090" thick scrap plywood from work to practice with.