Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I was looking at some build drawings and saw a reference to "FRP". What is that?

In my neck of the woods it usually means Fibreglass Reinforced Plastic. Covers a wide range of generic fibreglass/glassfibre products. hope this helps.....

I was lucky enough to find FRP at a local salvage yard from a shower enclosure company that had gone out of business. It was on rolls 6' 8'' wide by whatever length I wanted. My td is 5 X 10. I originally wanted it for the exterior sides and roof. The price was so good that I also got it for the interior floor and interior walls. All 6 surfaces for $ 108.00 dollars.
Larry

In my case it was fiberglass reinforced plywood salvaged from a wrecked box truck.


One piece material for a 9.5' X 54" side wall!

Mark

FRP is Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic, and it is what I skinned my roof with. HD and Lowe's stock it in white, but you can order it in a variety of colors. It is very flexible, and waterproof. I don't know how UV resistant it is, but my TD is stored inside, so I didn't give that a lot of thought.



CD

From the Crane website, formerly Kemlite, where Filon is produced...

Product Encyclopedia

frp, fiberglass reinforced plastic, is a composite made from fiberglass reinforcement in frp panela plastic (polymer) matrix. A construction analogy would be the steel reinforcing bars in a concrete matrix for highways.

By reinforcing the plastic matrix, a wide variety of physical strengths and properties can be designed into the frp composite. Additionally, the type and configuration of the reinforcement can be selected, along with the type of plastic and additives within the matrix. These variations allow an incredible range of strength and physical properties to be obtained. Frp composites can be developed specifically for the performance required versus traditional materials: wood, metal, ceramics, etc.

Engineers can design the frp composite to provide the needed characteristics, and avoid cost penalties of an over-engineered product.

mikeschn wrote:From the Crane website, formerly Kemlite, where Filon is produced...

Product Encyclopedia

frp, fiberglass reinforced plastic, is a composite made from fiberglass reinforcement in frp panela plastic (polymer) matrix. A construction analogy would be the steel reinforcing bars in a concrete matrix for highways.

By reinforcing the plastic matrix, a wide variety of physical strengths and properties can be designed into the frp composite. Additionally, the type and configuration of the reinforcement can be selected, along with the type of plastic and additives within the matrix. These variations allow an incredible range of strength and physical properties to be obtained. Frp composites can be developed specifically for the performance required versus traditional materials: wood, metal, ceramics, etc.

Engineers can design the frp composite to provide the needed characteristics, and avoid cost penalties of an over-engineered product.

Um, yeah, okay -- I considered all of that when I chose to use it on my TD. I was particularly taken by the molecular structure of the polymeric continuum in relation to the lateral stress characteristics. But, the isothermal parabolas are what really sold me.

I also liked the way it looked.

CD

Break out the high-tops . . . . .it's getting deep!!!

Laugh if you must but I have a sample of this on my desk at work.
What they are attempting to describe is a well finished polypropelene face on either side of what looks like soda straws packed inside for strength. It is a 3 x 5 sample and is impossible to bend or flex. It kinda reminds you of looking at the edge of cardboard. I keep thinking electrical chaseway when I stare at the little tubes in this product.

Thanks for all the info folks.

Above it was mentioned that this is carried by a place like Lowe's. I'll check it out.

One more question.... Is this glued on to the exterior of the plywood?

The big box stores carry the FRP in 4 X 8 sheets. It is pretty expensive but cheaper than aluminum by a long margin. They usually only carry the pebbled finish in my local stores. If you choose to paint it Krylon makes a paint for plastic surfaces called Krylon Fusion. The colors are somewhat limited but you get a nice bond. My wife did not like the shade of green Krylon Fushion came in so the Sherman Williams paint guy said a good latex outdoor paint will adhere nicely to the Krylon Fusion paint. I put a single coat of the Krylon Fusion and then two coats of the outdoor latex. The outdoor paint gives a nice UV protection. I have had my paint on for three years and am happy with the result. Lowes carries a mastic made for FRP. It is expensive but is what I used to bond to the walls. Some people on the forum just float the FRP with the trim molding holding it in place. FRP is hard to cut with a sabre saw. I used an electric shear that cuts it like butter and really makes the process easy
Larry

Woodstramp wrote:Thanks for all the info folks.

Above it was mentioned that this is carried by a place like Lowe's. I'll check it out.

One more question.... Is this glued on to the exterior of the plywood?

The Lowe's store near me has white and light beige in stock. My HD only had white in stock, but they got my color by special order in less than a week.It is where the other wall covering panels are.

If you are putting it over plywood, then you glue it on. Mine is attached straight to my roof spars, so some mechanical fastening was needed in addition to glue.

CD

bobhenry wrote:What they are attempting to describe is a well finished polypropelene face on either side of what looks like soda straws packed inside for strength. It is a 3 x 5 sample and is impossible to bend or flex. It kinda reminds you of looking at the edge of cardboard. I keep thinking electrical chaseway when I stare at the little tubes in this product.

I think I'm familiar with the product you are describing, Bob, but it's not a comparable product to the FRP panels sold in HD and L's. They are solid and don't have the soda-straw look on the edges. I've seen the product you describe used in mail collection boxes used by the postal service and yes, it's very strong, lightweight and durable.

StPatrón wrote:I think I'm familiar with the product you are describing, Bob, but it's not a comparable product to the FRP panels sold in HD and L's. They are solid and don't have the soda-straw look on the edges. I've seen the product you describe used in mail collection boxes used by the postal service and yes, it's very strong, lightweight and durable.

Gary -

Sounds like you're refering to coroplast: http://www.coroplast.com/ but it's not anywhere near as strong as what bobhenry is referring to.

GP: Can't tell if that's the same product USPS uses, doesn't appear in the photos to be of same thickness/strength. I'm familiar with Coroplast yard signs, much flimsier. Maybe it comes in a variety of thicknesses?

BobHenry: Do you have a picture of the product you're describing?

Maybe we have a new product suitable for lightweight construction.

I merely didn't want someone looking for that style of FRP panel construction when searching the box stores. Those trips can be frustrating enough.