Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

OK Folks.....need some advice....am building a Generic Benroy and need to source the proper material for the top skins.
Plan to heavily coat with CPES then Interlux primer and marine paint....planned all along to use two layers of 1/8th in Birch untill I discovered I had committed a major mistake in the planning stages of my build. The overall width of my build is 62"......and therby is the problem..... 5 x 5 Baltic Birch won't work !
Have called several of the Woodworkers Supply houses here in St. Louis and cannot get 4 x 8 sheets of 1/8th Birch in veneer core. the only thing they carry is MDF with Birch veneer.
What's the consensus....would MDF bend around the 19in radius of the Gen Ben ?.....I also could have got 1/8th Luan, but the folks at the supply houses think it would not be prober for my application.

DO NOT...I repeat, DO NOT use MDF for anything that might see weather/water/etc...the only suggestion I can offer is to find some 4x8x1/8th birch ply paneling...cut it 62"s long and turn side ways...you will havvta have a wide spar at the joint to fasten both pieces to...I found some fairly decent 1/8th all wood, all birch paneling at Lowe's for around 16 bux a sheet and used it for my hatch skin...if you look carefully at the bottom side, you can find some with a decent "show" look to it...I use AL for the top and don't use any underlayment on the cabin section, just "float" it over the ribs...
madjack

p.s. exposed to weather as you are wanting, I am not sure how appropriate this material would be since it is an indoor paneling...although, I have it covered in Al, the edges are somewhat exposed and I have not had any problems with it...if you should decide to go this way, be sure it is well sealed/encapsulated.........mj

The stuff I got was a Birch veneer over a white substrate...I had hundreds of cracks and splits after sitting a couple of months under a tarp....Now I epoxied this and it has held up really well.... All those cracks blend in with the trim...

If you epoxy really careful a paneling will work...Hard to find Birch plywood. If you are painting why worry about the type?

Nothing wrong with 1/8 Luan....... I have a small piece that has been sitting outside all summer painted with exterior latex paint on one side, and still has not cracked split or delaminated. Can't say the same with the baltic birch on the roof of my tear-- even tho it was covered with epoxy and varnish it still started to split. I had to sand off the varnish and fiberglass the roof. and reepoxy. Also, unless you plan to dance a jig on top of your tear, there is no reason to put two layers of 1/8 on top. I put birch on my roof because I wanted the color, but if you are going to paint use the Luan. It wouldn't hurt to fiberglass before you paint as well. Not really that much extra work for your piece of mind.

Hey

So far here in Newport News, VA, I have not been able to find anything in 1/8" ply. With my ben-roy (6X10x5), has anyone used 1/4" 3 layer ply which is BC one sided exterior. I figure if I could wet it, then it might bend, the front of which is fairly tight curve?

Pete Wilson

kenaum wrote:Have called several of the Woodworkers Supply houses here in St. Louis and cannot get 4 x 8 sheets of 1/8th Birch in veneer core.

Try this.

http://www.wicksaircraft.com/catalog/pr ... index.html

23 miles outside of st. louis.

Try Johnson's workbench. I believe they ship nationally, and have tons of varieties of ply in stock. I got most of my ply from them and was quite happy.

www.theworkbench.com

You can try Yukon Lumber off of 22nd Street in Norfolk, VA. They have just about everything. Just used them to get the wood for the basket weave dance floors us parents installed at my daughters dance studio.

http://www.woodnshop.com/Hardwood/Birch_Plywoodr.htm

The Wood shop in ST. Louis has Birch but be sure it is plywood. Might be what I got.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=&q=Plyw ... 3&ie=UTF-8

Also if you ship try Bolter Plywood
http://www.boulterplywood.com/

You can even get Marine ply from them at 1/8". Be careful with Bendy Birch. We have had a couple of folks with cracks and checks with it too...

Oh Yeah, check with your cabinet shops too..

pete.wilson wrote:Hey

So far here in Newport News, VA, I have not been able to find anything in 1/8" ply. With my ben-roy (6X10x5), has anyone used 1/4" 3 layer ply which is BC one sided exterior. I figure if I could wet it, then it might bend, the front of which is fairly tight curve?

Pete Wilson

Pete, Waterfront Lumber in Newport News has 1/8" thick sheets of luan plywood, 4' x 8'.

Well....alittle persistance paid off ! .....I found 1/8th 8 x 4 veneer core Birch @ $30.00 a sheet at Fehlig Bros Lumber here in St Louis ......what I seem to be hearing is that the demand for it is so low, that most suppliers are dropping it in favor of MDF with Birch veneer......Thanks to everyone for their suggestions !
A word to the wise....if at all possible, keep the overall width of your build at 60" !!!!!

Hey

Thanks for the help on the local lumber establishments.

Pete Wilson