Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

What are your thoughts on using 1/8'" hardboard for the roof if you epoxy it and is covered with alum? Does hardboard take epoxy well? I know everyone's thoughts are differant, but would like to know. Thanks

I just floated my aluminum without wood of any kind. It is over my framing and insulation,

Don't quote me on this but hardboard (Masonite) is probably much more vulnerable to water damage, less resistant to punctures/damage, heavier than plywood of a similar thickness, and more difficult to bend and more brittle than plywood of a similar thickness.

Why do you want to use it?

Cheers, Gus

Thanks for the responses. I'm not crazy about using hardboard for anything,but I didn't know if it was any better if you glassed over it. I can get it free but free is not always good.

I use Masonite on all my builds. It is a touch heavier but you can tie it in a Knot without breaking.

I don't know about being more vulnerable to water, but that shouldn't matter. Anything that gets wet is Vulnerable.

And your sheathing shouldn't get wet!

Happy Trails

Len

I haven't dealt with Masonite for several years, but there used to be two types, the typical "construction" type that you find on a lot of interior paneling, and the "tempered" type that was red in color and had virtually waterproof glue holding it together. Many many years ago, I used tons of tempered masonite as the basis for "plugs" or masters for fiberglass molds and, as Len said, I could warp it into some pretty complex shapes. It took the fiberglass well and produced excellent results, so I have no doubts that it would also work favorably with epoxy. And, lest we forget, many many of the trailers that were built just before and during WWII were covered with tempered masonite, and a surprising amount of them have survived up through today.

Without a doubt, there are better products out there for us to choose from, but it ultimately boils down to what we can afford at the time and what we are comfortable working with ... if Masonite (particularly tempered Masonite) fits in your budget & comfort zone, then by all means use it ... but we should always choose the best possible products we can afford, especially if we expect our projects to last more than a couple of years.

Good luck, and as always ...

CHEERS!

I used 1/4" masonite on the teardrop and I used 2 layers of 1/8" baltic birch plywood on the Boxcar. The masonite worked better than the plywood when bending around a curve. It's very strong, I don't think its any weaker than plywood and it's certainly better than the chinese luan from the home center. Gorilla glue doesn't stick to it very well so make sure you attach it with lots of mechanical fasteners and not just glue. I sealed mine with spar urethane (just in case) but you've got bigger problems than the masonite being damaged if water gets under the skin.



There are people that are very vocal about not using masonite but I've never seen a post where somebody used it and had problems later.

Bruce

Thanks everyone. I only want to do this once. I may stick to plywood.