Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Hey guys. getting ready to start building my camper. but i dont have enough money to get the bed sealer for the exterior yet. how can i CHEAPLY seal the outside good enough temporarily till i can save up for the rhino liner exterior i plan on doing.

ps i'd like to stay away from the blue tarps

That is something I would ask the Rhino liner dealer........

Most blue tarps leak a little anyway. There is always the option of using those really inexpensive drop cloths. They are clear plastic, and don't leak at all unless you poke a hole in them.

wow big lightning out there right now.

ya plastic could be an option.

the roof will lay over the walls so the joints will be on the sides, I wonder if i just painted the whole thing after i was done if that'd be enough of a sealant until I got the thing rhino lined. it'd look better in my yard then a big project with plastic over it

I will be using waterproof glue on the whole thing anyhow. what do you think

My only concern with the paint is whether the rhino would stick to whatever paint you choose, household, or exterior latex would probably be a bad choice.

Another option would be epoxy resin, or polyester resin, both of which could be rolled on. You would have to sand them right before applying the rhino, but the rhino should have not trouble sticking to either. How long is your estimate to when you can afford the rhino?

it' cost about a month of rent it looks like. if i did math right im at about 260 to 300 sq feet of area on the outside of my camper.

a gallon of DIY'er bed liner does aprox 65 sq ft at 129 per gallon for white

black is close to half the price as white though. but a black camper would be a heat sink in the summer eh

I don't want to sound like a broken record but the mobile home roof coat " Polar seal" I slopped on my motorcycle tear is on its 3rd year in the side yard in full weather 24-7 and looks as good as the day I coated it. I am sure it can be tinted just like any latex paint and may be a poor mans alternative. I priced rhino lining, shop installed, here and they were out of their minds $$$$$$$$. The polar seal dries to a dustless dull finish and I suspect the interfacial adhesion to a top coating would be good. Coat a test panel and ask the shop to squirt it as a test and toss it in the yard for a few weeks and see what happens.

ya the rhino liner shops think they are spraying gold heh.

i'd definently go with the DIY stuff.

another thing im thinking is the 65sq ft is probably ment for thick coats for truck beds to be durable etc. i dont have to go so thick with mine..

parnold wrote:Another option would be epoxy resin, or polyester resin, both of which could be rolled on. You would have to sand them right before applying the rhino, but the rhino should have not trouble sticking to either. How long is your estimate to when you can afford the rhino?

Wouldn't that be expensive in itself?
Lou

Wouldn't that be expensive in itself?

I'm not sure what retail pricing is on resin, probably in the 50.00 a gallon range. I've got two coats on my tear (4x8) and have used just over a half gallon so far

Epoxy resin is very expensive.

so maybe now im rethinking my idea of rhino liner, to get a tuff as nails never need to recoat solution. i could paint the whole thing white and then put polyurethane resin over it?

Not exactly.

Neither polyester resin, or epoxy resin have any uv protection. They must be topcoated, which is why I asked how long til you get the rhino. A few weeks or so would be no problem.

I am coating my entire tear in polyester resin, and then will topcoat (paint) it with an automotive acrylic enamel paint. If you have any automotive paint places near you, it might be worth a trip to see if they have any mistakes that they want to sell cheap. I ran a store like that for years, and my guys were always screwing up mixes. You may get a gallon of paint for a song and a dance that way.

I am using acrylic enamel because it's one stage (as opposed to basecoat/clearcoat) which is considered two stage. You can also use a synthetic enamel, or a urethane, which both are one stage.

I'm not so sure how a latex paint would stick to the resin. At the very least you would have to scuff (sand with 80 grit) the resin to give the latex something to bite into.

I think if you browse more threads, you will find several builders that have simply coated their trailers in a good quality exterior latex paint. That would be the least expensive option of all!

I was not planning on using a trim of any sort on the edges where the roof meets the walls etc with rhino liner.

would i have too with just painted.

If you are anything like me, then the junction of roof and walls is not perfect and there are slight gaps here and there. I am filling mine with automotive body filler, and the resin will seal the deal. If you are going to use household type exterior latex, you should probably seal the joint of roof/wall with a good exterior sealer, like what you would use to seal windows with.

If you think about how often you paint a house, and how small a tear is, exterior latex is really an attractive alternative. If you have to repaint once every 5 years.. so what.. it's a one day project at most.

I work at a warehouse where we sell autobody repair materials, and a lot of the stuff I am using was free or extremely cheap, and I like the thought of my tear being painted to match my car.

titebond III was on my list of things to use to fasten the roof to the sidewalls along with screws.

the body filler you talk about would that be Bondo?