Al. Skinning the sides before cutting out the door?

[John T3]

I am mindful of the xlent advice given by you teardrop masters about working as much as possible in the horizontal. Keeping this in mind I plan to completely finish the sidewalls (plywood, studs, insulation, wiring channels, paneling, and.. aluminum siding?) before taking them off the sawhorses. A buddy of mine thinks I should do all this and then cut out the doors. I dunno.. any advice out there? Has anyone tried this before?

[madjack]

John, the problem would be attaching the sides to the trailer and securing the roof stringers...these are problems that could be worked out...attaching the sides...you could use cleats inside and some SS screws with SS cup washers outside...that would give a riveted appearance...the stringers could be done similarly or use a hanger to mount them...also you would need to be dead on with your framing for the doors and such, 'cause ya ain't gonna have much "opps" room...with much careful planning and forethought, I don't see why not...that is one of the great things about these trailers...you can doit your way....
madjack

p.s. if ya did it thataway you might also want to check out adhesives like SikaFlex 252/552 (along with the cleats) instead of the SS screw/washer set up

p.p.s. the panel will be what thickness...like an inch anna quarter??? Cutting all the way thru this for a door and keeping the cut square/plumb will be a bit tricky...especially for any curves in the door

[John T3]

Thanks Madjack! Your advice saved me hours of frustration, I'm sure. I planned to use those little 2 x 2 joist hangars for the roof and adhesives everywhere I possibly could, but you nailed down the obvious! I AM the Shakiest Jigsaw in the West I still think I might apply the Al. siding after the basic framing is done, but not before I cut out the door and use the more standard approach to building that. Okay, I guess I'll go down to the garage and cut out a door out of my plywood sides. I'm feeling lucky...