Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Ok the rookie mistake i made and alot of people make is having a 5 foot wide floor and then when attaching the walls put it on the outside of the floor. this leads to the roof needing to be 61 to 63 inches wide and the 5x5 plywood is 60 inches. so we are short a couple of inches.

So looking at chunky monkey build and was thinking what if we staggered teh side to side seams as well as the joint. using 1/8th inch butt it up against one wall then lay down a thin strip to fill the gap. then you add teh second layer of 1/8th inch butt it up against the other wall covering the first seam. although you would have another thin strip on the other side. hope this is a clear as georgia mud.

Do a fiberglass tape to hide and protect teh strips.

Hi Forrest,
If your roof is a structural panel type construction (1/8" ply headliner, 1 1/2" spars with rigid insulation and 1/8" ply outer sheathing), you can add a row of 3/4" spacers or nailing blocks between your spars following your roof profile where the 1/8" ply sheet meets the little 1/8" ply strips, then glue the ply down with stables to hold it, you won't need the other layer of 1/8". After filling and sanding flush the roof will be plenty strong, especially if you skin it with aluminum. I couldn't believe how strong the roof becomes with this construction technique. If on the other hand your roof is the open beam type where the spars are open inside and the roof layer is only supported by the spars, I'd definitely use your technique.

Cheers,

Dave

Ok got the idea and i would defintaly do a healiner. so would you use bondo then on teh outer edges? and then tape.

What i did was i bought 4x8 sheets and then cut them down to fit the roof. if i ever do this again i am making a few changes to make life a little easier.

Forrest747 wrote:Ok got the idea and i would defintaly do a healiner. so would you use bondo then on teh outer edges? and then tape.

Hi Forrest,

You wouldn't need anything more than regular wood putty to fill in the gaps and staple depressions. That's what I did and it worked well. The aluminum will span most minor flaws unless you use really thin stuff under .040. My roof is .063 and ridiculously rigid. If you were to paint the exterior instead of aluminum, bondo and sanding would work fine. I'm not sure what you mean by using tape; fiberglass perhaps?

Forrest747 wrote:What i did was i bought 4x8 sheets and then cut them down to fit the roof. if i ever do this again i am making a few changes to make life a little easier.

Man, that had to be tough bending against the bias.

All the best,

Dave

Yes i was talking fiberglass tape. i still need to figure out how to make the tape edge disappear. always got something to learn.
well the roof is 3/4 inch and thank goodness its a flat roof. great deal on the plywood from HD just would of cost me the same if i had gone 1/4inch from plywood supplier. live and learn. my trailer was painted and not ready to put alum on yet.

Hi Forrest, Your build looks great man! Are you going to stay with the red paint look or add aluminum over? The anodized aluminum is good for low maintenance.

Sweet build sir,

Dave

Thanks for the compilment, yours looks great as well wish i had those wood working skills
Going to stay with the red. I am enjoying it at the moment.

Was asking about if i do another i will make sure that i put teh walls at 5 feet, will make life so much easier. think abouthow many hours sanding and getting it right. didnt really know much when i started this and the next one will be better and hopefully lighter.