Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I am using 3/4" plywood sides, and want them to come down level with the bottom of the chassis tubing (so that the chassis is hidden from the side elevation). The chassis tubing is 2' x 1' x 1/8" RHS (box tubing). I want to fix the ply direct to the vertical face of the chassis with Sikaflex and a lot of self drilling metal thread screws, and clad with aluminum sheet. The front and rear bulkheads will be fixed to the floor which is 3/4" ply as well. This is my idea at this stage, has anyone done this before or is it a good or bad idea? Please give me some guidence.
Thx

I had the same idea when I built my trailer, but folks on this board cautioned me against it because all of the weight of the walls and roof would be attached to the side of the frame and would shear.

My solution, since the objective was the appearance of the frame being covered, was to put the plywood on top of the frame, and run the aluminum down over the side of the frame. It has worked out fine, and there are pictures in my gallery.

Once you put in your interior baseboard framing and glue/screw it in real good, the weight of the walls now sit on the top of the wood frame, and not on the side.

I happened to have little tabs that stuck out about 1" on the sides and were 3" long. There are four - two per side. This provided a little "shelf" for the plywood to sit on. I then used lots of construction adhesive and six carriage bolts through the frame to hold it in place. The shelves will eliminate any fear of the walls failing from shear and the construction adhesive will hold tight to the frame. The carriage bolts are just in case.

SteveH wrote:but folks on this board cautioned me against it because all of the weight of the walls and roof would be attached to the side of the frame and would shear.

And I believe folks said that because they were thinking about building a house, not a trailer.

The valuable statement from one of those folks you mention would have been "I did it that way and it failed". But I don't remember seeing that and it would sure have got my attention if I had.

However I did see quite a bit of "I'm doing it this way, so everything else must be wrong". I personally don't find this argument half as convincing.

Andrew (ducking and nonchalantly sauntering toward cover...)

Andrew (ducking and nonchalantly sauntering toward cover...)

angib wrote:
Andrew (ducking and nonchalantly sauntering toward cover...)

Are we looking for a way to test teardrops to their limit... ?

I'm sure we can find a way... who's got some dynamite?

Mike...

P.S. Not into such violent testing? Ok,... who's got some gas...?

mikeschn wrote:

angib wrote:
Andrew (ducking and nonchalantly sauntering toward cover...)

Are we looking for a way to test teardrops to their limit... ?

I'm sure we can find a way... who's got some dynamite?

Mike...

P.S. Not into such violent testing? Ok,... who's got some gas...?

Ouch!!! What's the story behind that fire, Mike?

Thanks for the input guys, I will stick to plan "A", and secure the sides as I had envisioned. These forums are a wealth of info, I am a sidevalve Ford nut and I have learnt heaps off the relevant forums about them, and it looks like it will be the same here.
Once again thanks.
40deluxecoupe.

That's a mockup that someone built, and set on fire that friday night as part of the planned activities. I can only imagine what the message was!!!

Mike...

angib wrote:

SteveH wrote:but folks on this board cautioned me against it because all of the weight of the walls and roof would be attached to the side of the frame and would shear.

And I believe folks said that because they were thinking about building a house, not a trailer.

The valuable statement from one of those folks you mention would have been "I did it that way and it failed". But I don't remember seeing that and it would sure have got my attention if I had.

However I did see quite a bit of "I'm doing it this way, so everything else must be wrong". I personally don't find this argument half as convincing.

Andrew (ducking and nonchalantly sauntering toward cover...)

You simply can't MATCH the British wit! It's so effective--yet polite.

...40deluxe, I am attaching my sides in a similar manner, remember to PREDRILL your plywood(with next size up drill) or the screws after drilling thru the ply and in the process of drilling thru the metal, the thread portion will grip the ply attempting to push it away from the metal and causing possible delamination of the ply, also be cautious of metal shavings catching between the frame and the side
madjack