Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I'm considering wood, not aluminum for the exterior.

1. If I use a design that requires a seam across the side wall or top will a butt joint be OK with a frame member behind it for support?

2. Do I need to fill the seam with something?

3. Will I get a waterproof exterior with just epoxy (no glass) or one of the high end paints mentioned on the forum covering the seam?

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I'm not new to wood working. I can light a campfire on the first try.

Syekick wrote:I'm considering wood, not aluminum for the exterior.

1. If I use a design that requires a seam across the side wall or top will a butt joint be OK with a frame member behind it for support?

If you make your joint over a framing member, it should work well.

Syekick wrote:2. Do I need to fill the seam with something?
3. Will I get a waterproof exterior with just epoxy (no glass) or one of the high end paints mentioned on the forum covering the seam?

I would fill the joint with epoxy, and cover the joint with 'glass. If you don't bond the joint some how, You'll run the risk of the joint moving, and producing a crack in the finish. You wouldn't have to do the whole panel, just any seams. You can cover with a urethane or epoxy paint...Should look great!!

Your local hobby shop that sells Radio Control Airplane stuff will have the tape/cloth you need in small enough quantities. We use it for wing center sections and such. You can get some epoxy there too.

ALAN GEDDES wrote:Your local hobby shop that sells Radio Control Airplane stuff will have the tape/cloth you need in small enough quantities. We use it for wing center sections and such. You can get some epoxy there too.

Poifect!! Just make the joint, smooth it out, and paint it!!

I agree with Steve. I've done a lot of epoxy work also. I would back up the joint with some sort of backer and I would thicken the epoxy so that it would stay in place until it cures. This would also allow you to check for good squeeze out on the epoxy, an easy check to make sure you got a good bond. If you are thinking about automotive type polyurethane paint, you will need to coat out all the wood with epoxy, at least enough so that you are happy with what will be the finish. The top coat is only as good as the prep work under it. Auto paints need to bond to something like epoxy,or in the case of a car, primer, it won't work on wood alone. Doug Hodder