Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I am getting to the point as to whether I need to use fiberglass tape & epoxy to cover the seams of the plywood sides on my build, or just use a fairing filler & epoxy on the seams.

My sidewalls are wood framing with 1/4" plywood covering the framing, inside and outside on the walls. The plywood is bonded to the frame with RAKA Epoxy.

My question: Is there any problems with just using a fairing filler & epoxy at the seams? Has anyone experienced any plywood seperation at seams with just using the Epoxy without the fiberglass tape.

I will be giving the outside plywood a coat of Epoxy before painting with polyurethane paint.

Terry, the tape would be stronger.... !!! Much Less chance of anything happening !!!

I agree the tape(cloth) gives it strength and a little flexibility. Its worth it.

I ordered 4 inch wide 6 oz @50 yrd roll fiberglass tape from RAKA for about $37.00 - best investment that I ever made for sealing and securing the seams. First i filled any gaps with a thin coat of body filler (bondo) sanded it down to contour the edges into a gentle curve (fiberglass tape does not like 90* angles). Then I rolled on a thin layer of epoxy to bed the tape in and rolled out any bubbles to "set" then while the epoxy was still wet - it wetted out the top of the tape with the roller. Note that I Pu the tape over the spots that i used filler on. . .When the first coat of epoxy cured - I sanded and feathered out the edges of the tape and applied a second coat to bury the seams. With a bit of practice, you can get it pretty smooth

Ive done a decent amount of fiberglassing on my boat last summer and they usually recomend fairing it out wide, but thats more for strength. Just lightly sand it to get it smooth and you will have a nice tight joint that "shouldnt" leak if ya did it right lol. When you do the fiberglassing pick a dry day. Most epoxy wont cure corectly if it gets damp (dew, rain etc)

best of luck to ya!

deryk

Thanks everyone!

I ordered a 50 yard roll of 1.5" 6 oz fiberglass tape and a 50 yard roll of 3" 10 oz fiberglass tape today from RAKA. They like the idea of sealing the seams with fiberglass tape and epoxy.