Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

AVOID THE HASSLE OF RE-DOING YOUR BUILD:

I just spent the better part of a week camped out at the lake helping my good friend re-do the exterior of his teardrop. It's made of wood and the top surface warped, cracked, separated and exfoliated making it one giant leak in the rain. He got some bad advice about materials here on these boards a few years back.



The prep time was long. We had to sand, scrape and pick out paint, old resin and the worst: silicon caulking.

We rolled on a thick sealer coat of epoxy resin on the bare wood which was absorbed deep into the soft wood. Then we laid fiberglass cloth over the roof and rolled two coats of epoxy resin on top. It's now ready for painting with epoxy paint. This roof will not come apart again, nor will it leak for years living outside only.

If you want your trailer to last and stay structurally tight, either cover the roof with aluminum sheet or use fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin covered with epoxy paint. Anything less is novice and impermanent. And frankly, aluminum sheet is better and ultimately less labor and expense!

Prem

Prem wrote:AVOID THE HASSLE OF RE-DOING YOUR BUILD:

I just spent the better part of a week camped out at the lake helping my good friend re-do the exterior of his teardrop. It's made of wood and the top surface warped, cracked, separated and exfoliated making it one giant leak in the rain. He got some bad advice about materials here on these boards a few years back.
Prem

Wow. This is just begging for specifics so to not be repeated by others. With the added benefit of collective experience as well as "collective corrections" on any posting here, I'm confused as to how a miscue of that magnitude got by? Sorry to hear that but good to know he has a friend like you to help out.
Scott G.

...or possibly ignored the advice of more knowledgeable members and went with what they thought to be a better(read cheaper) way...has happened many times in the past...you absolutely need a solid membrane finish for the roof if you want it to last and Aluminum, resin and cloth, FRP or EDPM are about the only real choices...paint or varnish by themselves will never hold up on a TD roof no matter how well they may work on your house!!!!!!!!!!!
madjack

I think he built with bendy ply. I don't know how he tried to protect the bendy ply from the elements.

Mike...

...paint or varnish by themselves will never hold up on a TD roof no matter how well they may work on your house!!!!!!!!!!!

That's right. Nor will polyester resin or epoxy resin by themselves without fiberglass cloth and an opaque paint over them.

Prem

Mike,

Correct you are. Bendy ply for the roof and interior grade hardwood plywood for the sides (which has cracked also). It all had a couple coats of epoxy resin (no cloth) and a couple of coats of varnish over that. The UV still got through the aging varnish and yellowed, then cracked the epoxy. Opaque epoxy paint over epoxy and fiberglass would have made for a much longer lived roof and sides. Now it has that on the roof.
___________________________________________________________

An additional note to others building or re-working in wood or plywood: The toughest glue in the world is epoxy resin mixed with chopped fiberglass fibers (available from marine suppliers). Second best is Gorilla glue. Weakest: Water-based white, yellow or brown glue, all brands.

What's the toughest plywood for trailer sides and flat roofs? By far, I prefer MDO (Medium Density Overlay) plywood. The overlay is a dense Kraft paper, which is almost as tough as fiberglass cloth the way they glue it on under compression at the factory. It comes in 1-side or 2-side paper overlay. My favorite is 2-side 3/8" MDO shop grade. Lots of veneers, so it doesn't bend or warp! Voids are almost non-existent. (Fill with Bondo or epoxy.) I have a raw piece that I used as a walkway in the mud for a year and then leaned up against my storage shed for 3 years in the heat, rain and freezing. It hasn't cracked or delaminated yet. Look no farther. And it's startlingly inexpensive at $15 per 4x8 sheet. Go figger.

I cut my pieces then lay them out flat on saw horses and epoxy fiberglass them, including the finish coat of resin which I sand lightly for painting. I later fiberglass tape and epoxy the seams once in place. I also glue and screw a 5-6 inch wide strip of plywood on the back side to fully mate the joining sheets. All plywood edges get resin also.

Final note: Epoxy sticks to cured Bondo and all other cured polyester resin. But Bondo and other polyester resin won't stick to cured epoxy. (The amines in the epoxy catalyst come to the surface and are waxy.) My favorite epoxy brand by far: Evercoat. One-to-one resin-to-hardener ratio for best mixing accuracy. $46 per 2-pint pack.

Aluminum sheet is cheaper and more durable! And an all-aluminum cargo trailer...well...that would just be too practical.

Prem

You can finish it however you want if you keep it inside when not in use. I've owned four boats, and I'm building my second TD. If it stays out in the weather all the time, it's going to pay a price. Period.

If the only time your TD is in the weather is when you go camping, and you clean it up when you get home and put it inside, then you won't have to refinish it in a year or two.

If you plan to leave it outside, use outdoor-tough materials, keep it out of the direct sunlight, and wash and wax it regularly.

So, build it for outside storage, and still have to work on it all the time, or build it the way you want, and store it inside.

BTW, the same is true for cars, to a lesser extent. Leave them outside, and they will not look as good in a year or two as they would they do if you put them in the garage when you aren't driving them. My car is five years old and looks like a new car.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

<stepping off soapbox>

CD

Casey,

True.

(Wish I had four free garages for my vehicles.)

Prem

Is that Guys TD? Sure is purty! Sorry bout the roof. Mine did it because I just didn't realize I was getting an indoor panel instead of a ply. You have to be careful with what you get. I fixed it with Epoxy resin on mine and Varnish over it. Going for vinyl when I get the time and money.

Guy wrote:
Bendy Ply has really turned out to be a problem and I would never use it again in a build. It all depends on what type of finish you intend. Finishing with epoxy and then poly made for constant refinishing since the bendy is constantly shifting and therefore cracking since it has little integral strength along the bend direction. Making your regular plywood conform to the curves, using some of the methods discussed on other threads on this forum would be much better in the long run and also save you a lot of money.

Guy was right when he wrote this in 2008, and the latest data proves once again, those of us that thought bendy ply wasn't a good exterior product were correct, of course there are always the exceptions. Sorry for all Guy's difficulties, but his roof should last a good long while now. As for wood exteriors on trailers... the key is quality materials to start with and timely preventative maintenance. Nice photo of the TD4Vets

Auntie M and Steve,

You should see his tow vehicle now. WOW. 2009 Toyota Avalon convertible, opalescent white with a camel tone top. Luscious. Babe magnet at Costco.

Prem

Prem, I beg to differ about Gorilla glue being the second best glue. That statement is too general. I am an avid woodworker and every one of several woodworking magazine tests that I have read have found polyurethane glues to be inferior for bonding wood to wood compared to PVA. Gorilla glue has good gap filling ability but loses strength when there is a gap. It also takes stain well but a well clamped glue-line with a yellow woodworker's glue (PVA) is darn near invisible anyway (especially if one has done a good job of matching grain). Polyurethane glues may be better as a waterproof glue but I have not seen a comparison between same and the new yellow woodworker's glues such as Titebond III. In some situations I find the difference in open time to be an advantage. In general though I'll take Titebond II or III any time.

Best,
Tom

Prem wrote:Casey,

True.

(Wish I had four free garages for my vehicles.)

Prem

If one has no choice but to leave a vehicle outdoors, then regular cleaning and waxing (or other protective coating) is essential.

UV rays from the sun are devastating. A good wax-like product will work like a sunscreen to reduce the harmful effects of UV. It won't eliminate it, but will slow down the damage.

And, waxes-coatings make water bead up and roll off. But, the car/camper/boat still needs to be washed on a regular basis, because dirt on the surface will hold moisture and work against the wax-coating.

MaryK built a nice shelter for her woody TD. It shades the TD, and the side walls are made to keep rain and sunlight out, but allow air to blow through.

Even with a shelter like MaryK's, the TD needs to be washed and dried on a regular basis. A good coat of wax won't hurt, either.

Bottom line, the best thing is to keep 'em inside. If that is not an option, then you just have to put in the effort to keep the car/camper/boat clean and as well protected as possible.

CD

I would think that a sunbrella fabric teardrop cover would also help!



Mike...

Tom,

Moisture penetration.

Prem