Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Has anyone considered using Unistrut for the framing of a tear (or other) cabin? It seems to me that if you have straight lines like a Weekender, Unistrut might make a good frame. It's very strong and perfectly straight.

My dad is an electrician, so he has this stuff kicking around all the time. He uses it for all kinds of structural applications. I don't know what it costs, but there are many sizes and the fasteners would make assembly simple.

Any thoughts on this or other similar materials?

Frames need the most strength top and bottom, with a web support in between. this usually takes the shape of a tube, C channel.

I don't know the thickness of that type of material, but, people have used wood, who knows?

If I had a lot of it lying around, I might try an inverted U on the top of another U on the bottom (forming a rectangular x-section), and embed it into the tear body. It has to be held together for strength, whether by the ply wall, or welding the seam between the two pieces..

Heh heh heh, Unistrut. We have a joke about the stuff at work, They love the Unistrut. It's because they make just about everything out of it.

I'm intimately familiar with it, but I don't think you need it for the cabin framing.

unistrut isn't for structural support, it's to hook things to a structure., therefor, I'd be leery of using it for a frame., and it rusts rather quickly.

Kendorf, now... that's another story

Jiminsav wrote:unistrut isn't for structural support, it's to hook things to a structure., therefor, I'd be leery of using it for a frame., and it rusts rather quickly.

I'd say it's at least as strong as the 1" square tubing people have used for their structural support. I would imagine it would also be as strong as a piece of wood with the same dimensions. Their website gives structural specs, and the vertical limit is 3,000 lbs. on the 1.25 inch size. Plus I'd guess it's nearly twice as thick as the tubing people have used.

My thought is that it could be easily fastened together (the manufacturer makes fasteners), and it would be uniform and perfectly straight every time. No warpy or twisty. I don't know about the rusting, but it's used in all kinds of electrical applications, indoor and out. My dad made a cargo carrier for his van with it.

It may not be the most practical material, but if it's cheap (which I don't know) and plentiful, it might be a suitable choice. Of course, it would unusable for curves.

Steve_Cox wrote:Kendorf, now... that's another story

I didn't know what Kendorf is, so I looked it up. It looks like the same stuff as Unistrut.

I couldn't make the photo post, so here's a link:
http://s7d3.scene7.com/is/image/ThomasBetts/b903hs10_kd1?$datasheet_500$

I'd stay away from it myself. It will bend under stress and all of the brackets are attached with coarse thread bolts that will not stay tighten if there is any flexing of the joint, with the vibration of a trailer I think you'd be asking for trouble.

Besides that, it is really heavy. We use it a work all the time. I built a 20' x 30' Home Show booth using Unistrut as the framework and the set-up crew curses me every February when we have to erect it. Buff

Perhaps, only way is test it...... a lot of small campers/foldables of east german,danish,norwegian,etc. used only a 2" - 2 1/2" thinwall tube, to the hitch..

I checked into this a couple of years ago intending to build a frame. The Tech guy said if you kept it small. The flex over 10 feet might allow too much movement going on bumpy roads. That is the condensed version. You can get electroplated and it will hold up. Another trailer came up so i didn't do it.

Might revisit it soon. My opinion is if you can get it real cheap and use a stick frame or 3/4" for the floor it will be find. Be sure to attach it really well, especially at the axles.

My thought was only for framing inside the cabin instead of studs and spars.

I was not talking about using it for the trailer frame.