Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Ok guys see if I can make this clear. On the trim around the perimeter .What kind of joint did you use between pieces.. Is it just a butt joint from one piece to the next or a lap joint .. Or some other method..

I used basically a butt joint...built the walls, and laid in the roof over them. Stuck wood-to-wood with thickened epoxy for that part. You can see in this pic how I left a little overlap that I trimmed off...



Rounded over the corners and laid a strip of fiberglass tape along all the joints for extra strength...



David

Reddiver wrote:Ok guys see if I can make this clear. On the trim around the perimeter .What kind of joint did you use between pieces.. Is it just a butt joint from one piece to the next or a lap joint .. Or some other method..

Do you mean the roof to the side joint or trim to the side?

I just put polyurethane glue on the top of the spars and on the edge of the 3/4" sidewalls, put 1/4" birch plywood over it, leaving it hang over the sides. then trim the excess with a trim router.

Just doing this alone, the trailer will be extremely rigid and strong - I'm not dissing the use of fiberglass, but just so you understand that it will be plenty strong regardless of the finnish you choose.

I put a spline between them as explained in this thread.

http://tnttt.com/viewto ... highlight=



http://good-times.webshots.com/album/561863206zUjBCf

Happy Trails

Len

Butt joint on the sides coated in epoxy and a scarf on top with heavy epoxy.

OK the roof is on the roof and sides epoxied . What I am talking about is the 1 to 1 1/2 trim around the perimeter of the roof line on the sides , that make it look like a Woodie. So when joining the trim pieces are they butt joined on the 1 1/2 side or lap joined , doweled, biscuit, lap . What kind of joint between trim pieces. Damn I talk better with a pencil wish I could do that.

Sounds like some used Butt joints, some used Biscuits, Lap joint would work too. whatever you feel comfortable with. Lap Joint throughout might be a challenge,

Epoxy is your friend

Mike

Yeah Mike I think your right I guess I will go with the spline. Thanks all for the help

I remember Leon's woodie build used a finger joint router bit to join the pieces together. At the time I was soaking up as much as I could to start my own build. I have seen Leon's TD up close, and just liked the looks of the joinery details. Good luck on making a decision.

assuming you're using plywood for the sides, it doesn't matter what you do.. it's just decoration for the most part. it used to matter because old coaches were made with frames and panels just like a door is now. the frame was the structure and the panels filled the holes (and added some strength) but now your structure is the plywood panel and the frame is just eye candy..

Reddiver wrote:OK the roof is on the roof and sides epoxied . What I am talking about is the 1 to 1 1/2 trim around the perimeter of the roof line on the sides , that make it look like a Woodie. So when joining the trim pieces are they butt joined on the 1 1/2 side or lap joined , doweled, biscuit, lap . What kind of joint between trim pieces. Damn I talk better with a pencil wish I could do that.

Here's how I did it. Hope it answers your question. The trim on the sides were shaped to follow the side profile. I sanded the top edge flush with the roof line. They were epoxied and screwed to the sides, and when dry, i removed the screws and filled the holes with dowels, and sanded flush. On the roof edge, I cut 1/8 strips out of 1x2's for the full length of the roof. I then epoxied three of them together along the edge, clamping every few inches. (Much easier bending 3 1/8 strips around a curve than a piece of 3/8 lumber). When dry, I removed the clamps and sanded the outside edge flush with the trim on the sides. No screws were used on the top trim, and it hides-seals the roof to side butt joint.