Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Hello building my first TD from desertteardrops.com (not sure if I like the plans very hard to see the photo copy plans in most photos and not overly detailed....) but I have read tons of info on here but what should I use for the outside I want wood sides and alum. Top. I will use pressure treated for the floor and sides all 3/4 but I want to look nice rich color when I stain it and protect it. What should I do/use to stain this (I want to see some wood grain) and protect for years to come. Thanks I'm sure this will be one of many! Thanks

Shane from maine

Hi Shane/ssagers,

Welcome to the forum. If you do a short self-introduction in the
Newbies section you'd probably get more exposure for your questions.

I would think twice - or more - about using pressure treated plywood
for your build - for a few reasons. First, the PT 3/4in ply I've run across
has been very rough and unattractive [you mentioned wanting to stain
for wood grain enhancement]. Even though it's supposed to have exterior
rated glues, I've had some delaminate on me. The main reason is that
you will not want to be exposed to the chemical off-gassing from it,
especially in a closed confined space that is the interior cabin space of a TD.
Even though the "new" PT wood is not supposed to be as "bad" as the "old"
PT wood, it is still not meant for direct human contact, especially continuously
breathing in the fumes. Hot temperatures would just intensify it. It'd be
better to use some of the other "regular" types of plywoods and to use one
of the various methods employed by builders on here to help protect it.

I'm not trying to be discouraging, just trying to give you a heads-up to avoid
any possible dangers or complications that the PT can entail. It'd be a shame to
spend the money, time and effort on a TD/TTT build and then not be able to use
it due to effects from the PT plywood. [As far as that goes, even some non-PT
plywoods, that use glues heavy on the formaldehyde side, can give you chemical
off-gassing problems - There is a thread in the Cargo Conversion section on this
problem currently.]

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

Doug hodder here has talked often about using anilyne (sp?) dyes instead of stain, may want to search about that. There was a recent one, in the last week.

ssagers wrote:Hello building my first TD from desertteardrops.com (not sure if I like the plans very hard to see the photo copy plans in most photos and not overly detailed....) but I have read tons of info on here but what should I use for the outside I want wood sides and alum. Top. I will use pressure treated for the floor and sides all 3/4 but I want to look nice rich color when I stain it and protect it. What should I do/use to stain this (I want to see some wood grain) and protect for years to come. Thanks I'm sure this will be one of many! Thanks

Shane from maine

I ordered a Template cut out and got the Desert teardrop plans (unexpectedly) as well. You are right, the general idea of the plans is ok but the copying quality is crap and plans a little vague.

To be honest I got more help off looking at the Hall of Fame at peoples builds here on tnttt. Then just pieced the rest together from ideas.

Also the Desert TD website build pictures helped me a lot more than the actual manual

http://www.desertteardrops.com/cs/cswindow.html

Got the link just from googling the site (wonder if they realise anyone can access it)

Just click on start at the bottom

Is it ok if I have pt for my deck if PT is a problem (I will not use pt for anything else after talking to you guys, thanks) I will make a better into post about my build ASAP. But my deck is down with my flooring and really do need the pt because I have used other ply woods on trailers here in maine and they don't last at all.

The very best choice is marine grade plywood, but more expensive. Pressure treated wood has problems as indicated it tends to be rough and the new ACQ treated lumber contains a very high level of copper to replace the arsenic. While this reduces the desired risk of poisoning, it does present a different, but very dangerous problem: increased levels of corrosion. The problem stems from copper's very high levels of conductivity. Simply put, ACQ-treated lumber is extremely corrosive to metal fasteners such as nails, screws, deck hangers, etc. Some of the AQC treated wood I have seen is wet and takes years to dry.

So should I try it now that they have changed it?

ssagers wrote:So should I try it now that they have changed it?

No. Read the post. What was said is that PT ply is a bad choice for the living space.

I did use 1/2 for the floor only. If you cover that with something (flooring) it will reduce what ever small amounts of fumes it might give off. I also have a false floor with foam between the two. Even a good coat of varnish will se it up. As for the sides I used 5/8 ply wall with 1/2 foam and finally a 1/4 birch for the inside. I skinned the outside in aluminium so I was not that worried about the look of the ply wood. As for the marine grad stuff, not to sure about it. I know my brother always had issues with it on his boat, but it could be just that it was a boat.

Hi Shane,

What specifically do you mean by 'your deck is down with your flooring' ?
That the floor platform has been framed and covered with PT plywood ?
Or do you have a finished floor as well on top of that ? - just trying to get
the specifics...

In my opinion, PT is still to be avoided, but you could probably get by
with a continuous type of flooring glued over the PT plywood as floor deck
as that'd act like a vapor barrier [if continuous vinyl for example]. I'd then
be sure to caulk the seam/juncture of the flooring and walls to prevent any fumes
leaking in from there. And if you decide to keep it as is and continue with
the build, just be aware of the corrosion problem that Shadow Catcher
has informed us of. I had forgotten about that aspect, but since he has
pointed it out, I do now recall hearing/reading something about that in
the past, so that just reinforces my bias against PT for a build. Just make
provisions to be able to inspect the attachments of the floor/body through
the PT to the frame for corrosion in the future. Depending on what the
state of your progress is, maybe you could use some type of sleeve to
protect any fasteners used to go through the PT attaching the floor unit
to the frame ?

I can understand your concern for longevity, given the Maine environmental
effects, but the underside can also be protected with an undercoating of a
roofing tar-like coating or even the new elastomeric coatings. The most
intriguing approach to me is using some of the new Ice-shield/flashing type
membranes for that purpose. [ http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=45873 ]
Just something to consider...

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

P.S. I just mentioned the above as a way to deal with the fact you already
have spent the $ and the time and effort to get the floor done. I still strongly
recommend not using any more PT elsewhere in the build.