Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I've pretty much decided to go with acrylic (Plexiglass) over polycarbonate (Lexan) for my home made windows. But I have questions.

1. What thickness should I use? A common size is .1 inches. I need to buy some anyway for a couple very large (over 1.5x6.5 feet) picture frames and my local Ace Hardware can get me Plaskolite brand sheets in 4x8 but there is a minimum purchase of five at 4'x8'x.100".
http://www.google.com/products?q=Plaskolite+48+96

2. Would a diamond tile wet table saw (with or without the wet) work well to cut it? I've found it handy for cutting other small plastic and aluminum items without water and the plastic tended to melt but I was still successful.

I plan on building non-opening windows. They will have two panes with a gap between large enough for some type of blinds between. At least that's the plan. I've also considered round windows with polarized panes and the inside pane would rotate allowing it to totally black out. I cannot find a cheap source of polarized sheets in a size big enough for windows.

So far, I have done a lot of research and picked up a HF trailer. a lot of stuff in the garage is listed on Craigslist to make room for (and fund) this project. Currently I have over $800 in the fund and the trailer is already purchased.

you can cut it with any wood cutting blade. the less teeth the better. you'd be better off using glass though.

.100" is slightly thicker than 1/16 of an inch. Not very thick. Plus you do not need any where close to 5 sheets. For $300 you should be able to buy new rv windows for your trailer. With a little bit of looking you could find used rv windows for a lot less. If you really want to build your own windows than you should be able to find plexiglass at the big box stores already in stock for less than $300. Not sure how big your windows will be though.

Dan

Do I NEED five sheets? No. But I do need one sheet to build a picture frame. Ever go to a framing shop to have something framed? I have something to frame that is 18.5x75" and I have not found a shop yet that can frame something that big. They want well over $100 each without glass and they don't have the glass that big. So, when I saw that Ace Hardware had sheets available for order and I could get them for $250 for five sheets, I realized even if I have to buy five, I can build the frames for less than a shop and have four sheets left over.

Since I want double pane windows, my plans might burn up two sheets. That would leave me with two for other projects.

I have a tendency to overdo things. I have hanging on my wall a framed fortune from a fortune cookie. I framed it in between two layers of 30x36" glass with slotted poplar on the top and bottom and copper pipe on the sides. A rope feeds through it all to hold it together and hang it. The fortune reads "You and your wife will be happy in your life together." We got it two days after we started dating when we went out for lunch.

Souble pane? Do you have a method to get a perfect seal and flood the space with inert gas? If air gets in, so does moisture and then you get condensation, alga, mold, etc. If you want the insulation value; make one pane like a storm window; removable for cleaning.

The double pane is more for protection of the blinds between the panes than for insulation. I play around with microcontrollers and robotics and I am considering using RC servos to control blinds located between the panes. I expect the walls (sandwich style) will be at least an inch thick.

Windows will be built and most hardware, lights, etc purchased before I even buy the wood for the walls. I want everything planned out so I don't have to rebuild before I even finish. (yeah, I know. "good luck with that")

There are several aircraft that use round polarized panes in the windows to provide darkening/sunscreen capability. I know that some versions of the King Air have these windows. I would bet that they would be expensive though, even as salvage. I was actually considering something like this in my build (assuming I can find the parts at a reasonable price.)

As far as the double pane issue is concerned I agree with Ageless ... as long as one pane or the other was removable for cleaning, I would think that the condensation/cleaning issues could be dealt with. I also would describe them more as "storm windows" than as "double pane."

Oh, and to answer the other question; whenever I get a window broken, I replace with 3/32 (0.093") Lexan. You can scribe and break it cleanly. It flexes so no breakage issues.

I used 1/8" lexan on the gypsy trailer fixed windows. Mounted them in a table saw kerf 3/4" deep. Used several coats of CPES on the frames to waterproof the wood and a small bead of silicone in the slot to prevent leaks.
The windows on the front of the trailer have withstood driving rain at 65 MPH with no leaks so far. You can see them flex a little at that speed and above though.

I guess I should have mentioned I plan on making the inside window not too hard to remove to be able to repair the shade if needed. I wasn't thinking of something as easy as a storm window, but at least as easy as removing a few trim screws.

My garage got a little more empty and my teardrop fund got $100 richer thanks to Craigslist this afternoon. You cannot see it in this picture, but in the back below the Clifford pinata, there is a stack of red painted HF steel waiting to be assembled in some "not by the instructions" manner. Just about everything on and under that white table is to be sold on Craigslist, including the table.