Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I don't want to do the 3/4 ply swiss cheese method for my side panel framing, my plan is for a 5'X10' side walls, but finding or ripping good straight 1X2s ---forget it. I need a little help thinking this thru. My thought is to rip 1x2s (3/4 x 1 1/2) from 3/4" plywood for my side wall and roof framing material. Straight, no knots little or no warping. Well guys ...... HAVE I LOST MY MIND?

Mike

Hey Kid,

I was in the same boat with the waroed 1x2's. I just decided to by 1x12's and rip them down. The only catch is once they are ripped you need to use them cause they will start warping as well. Also if you use select pine in my opinion tends to be a straighter but a little more expensive. I don't know about using ply but I wouldn't do it. Just my 50 cents.

Michael

I just used 3/4 ply for my side walls but in the roof, I had some 11ply, 1/2" I ripped to 1.5" strips and glued 2 together to make a 1x1.5 rib...worked fine for me...I did turn them at roof joints(AL overlaps) so the line of screws went into the side instead of straight into the plys......
madjack

Ripping good quality plywood into 'studs' or other types of framing members has been done for decades in the boat building industry and I do it all the time on my trailer projects. The key words are 'good quality'.

The only problem is that 3/4" plywood isn't really 3/4". It's a little thinner and it makes it hard to insulate as 3/4" insulation is 3/4".

Bruce

bdosborn wrote:The only problem is that 3/4" plywood isn't really 3/4". It's a little thinner and it makes it hard to insulate as 3/4" insulation is 3/4".

That will be your only problem with using ply. In order to get true 3/4" thickness ply will have to buy hardwood veneer ply, which will end up costing you a lot of $$$. Non hardwood veneer plywood at 3/4" is actually 23/32". Structurally ply is fine for framing though.

I assume you're looking at firring strips from a big box store for the 1x2's? These are grade 3 lumber which you will most likely never find a straight, usable piece. Go with "select", it will be straight and have the dimensional size you need for the insulation.

I went with 1x2's and 2x2's and bought them from a lumber yard, not a big box store. Lumber yard's will almost always have a better quality product and you'll have more lumber to choose from to find the best pieces. Also for small stock like this I used an inside lumberyard, where the lumber is stored in a temperature and humidity controlled environment.

You'll pay a little bit more for select, but in my opinion, it's well worth it. It's important your framing be plumb, square and level, as any variances will only increase how much off square things are later in the build. It's a domino effect.

...ya might want to consider getting some 1x6 poplar and ripping it in half...much more stable than pine...it would cost a little more but may well be worth it...........
madjack

I used plywood "studs" in my second build.

It worked great, was much stronger, and was much cheaper then the alternatives I priced. I got 1/2" thick ply and ripped it down to strips of 1 1/2 to 2" to seam the sheets vertically and build up the wall as well as to frame the windows and door.

Its thickness matched the insulation I used after considering for the glue between the studs and the 1/4" skins. Total thickness of the walls was very close to 1".

plywood makes good 'stud' material as long as it's good plywood.. sheeting grade ply has poor glue lines and once it's cut into narrow strips the layers can delaminate very easily..

what may be better for you is to buy and rip LVLs.. (Laminated Veneer Lumber).. it's plywood except all the grain runs the same direction.. one readily available size is 1-3/4" thick by 8,10,12 etc.. you can rip 1-1/2" wide strips and the turn 90 degrees and rip in half, you'll get something close to 3/4" thick.. since this material is usually used for joists, beams, and headers, short lengths are not much value to anyone and cut offs in the 4-6 foot range can be had at lumber yards for cheap..

http://www.ufpi.com/product/lvl/index.htm

I was just thinking about asking the same thing. It seems like you could just use 1/2" insulation with the 23/33" multi-layer ply. I am probably doing 1/4" ply inside and out (thinnest avail. here) so I doubt the ~3/16" gap would matter, but if someone thinks it would please let me know.

hi im also doing this and will have 3/4 ply walls and 1/2" furring strips with 1/4" reflextik insulation in between and 1/2"solid birch panneling on both the interior and exterior. im doing a 5x5x10 size trailer. so far im in the drawing stage but hope to do it as soon as the snow melts. john

In a panel of two skins held apart by "studs" the strength comes from the two skins. The studs just need to remain intact and securely attached to the skins.

I've planed plywood in my planer just fine. Gluing strips together and planing the strips down gives one the ability to get whatever thickness is desired.

Cheers,

Gus

I have used Pine "Stair stock" in the past. Nice stuff with fewer knots and not as expensive as clear pine. It is already 1 1/2" thick so just rip it to whatever width you need. You will have to get this at a full service lumber yard.

The ripped plywood should be fine. I would use them on edge instead of on the flat but I guess to conserve space people use them on the flat. Personally I would have walls that have studs 1 1/2" thick and 3/4" wide like a 2 x 4 wall.

Check that, I just found 5mm birch last night. After hounding every cabinet grade wood supplier for 30 miles, it's at Lowes.
Still it seems like it's plenty stout, I doubt I would put a knee or elbow through it very easily. Also, if using a thick adhesive like liquid nails for the foam it might be nice to have a little wiggle room. I was reading Steve Fredrick's CD last night and he mentioned using a belt sander to level the foam out after installation, I wouldn't have to do that with 1/2" foam.

P.S. I hadn't read his plans for a long while, but after I did I wish I would have followed his path. The plans are really well thought out.