Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Hi,
I getting close to road worthy but have a situation that could be troublesome in the future. Plus it just doesn't lol very good.
My galley hatch was built in the standard way. The plywood ribs were cut to match the wall curve. It fit nicely before I skinned and attached it. I notched the wall to make room for the trim and weather stripping.
But now that everything is attached, I find that the bottom foot if the hatch on both sides is about a half inch from meeting the weather stripping.
I shaved off a bit if the hatch footer piece but there was no change.

Any ideas on how to fix this? Or will I need to just source some extra thick weather stripping?




Thanks

Wow, I had not thought about the wood shifting, I just thought the hurricane hinge edge was not attached correctly. Your idea does make sense as the tail end of the trailer has been up against the garage door since I started this a year ago. I may have to rebuild the hatch now. I don't have the template anymore though.

Hi Danny,
Reading through your reply again (was in a meeting the first time I read it

Sadly, My only parking/storage place is the garage. I am not sure but my ribs are either 1/2 or 3/4 Baltic birch. I think they are 1/2 since I glued ribs together for extra strength too. At least 2" wide.

I wonder if Clamping would work. Would it just bounce back over time?

I am planning to use it for my US roadtrip this summer starting June 1, Hence my hesitation to rebuild the hatch with that goal looming. I definitely have other projects to keep me busy while I wait to see if the straps work.

Don

Was wondering if this is a common issue. I thought I bought good lumber. I stopped by Lowes tonight to get a piece of 3/4 plywood since it wasn't raining but wanted to get more info on if the thickness matters, type. Lowes had oak and maple but no birch. Maybe I'll get a weather break on Saturday for a crosscut or compton visit.

An engineering friend of mine thought that maybe steel cable tighteners might help it to keep shape. Seem like overkill and probably not doable with the curve.

Don

Springback??

Nobody wrote:Springback??

This is what my initial thoughts were. Seems like you need a gusset of some type, to resist the forces of the skin (the luan I am presuming) and the aluminum from bowing outward and pulling the curve out of the hatch.

Alternatively, I have seen a piece of thick (1/8) aluminum used on the end of the last spar on each side of the hatch, to reinforce it and help to eliminate the springback.

Not saying I'm right here, just thinking out loud.

Your ribs are 2" wide laminated plywood. But how deep are they? That's where the strength is.

T

I cut my ribs out of 12" deep 1 3/4" thick Timberstrand engineered lumber . Here is a pic of two of the four ribs.




WE laugh at spring back.

Did you build the hatch in place and it changed, or did you skin off the camper and it didn't fit once you put it back on?

I am in the same school of thought as Tony, I made my hatch ribs 3 inches deep (or was it 3-1/2? ), from 1x (3/4 thk) miter joined Red Grandis boards skinned with 5mm Okoume ply.

I have seen a little movement over time during the build but that seems to be the cantilevered edge of the ply skin more so than the structure, and only a scant 1/16 inch or so, depending on the weather (mostly dry work shop, humidity ranging between 30's in the winter and high 90's in the summer).

Are you sure it is an issue of warping and not trying to over compress the seal? If you did not allow enough gap for the seal I could see that holding the hatch up. Rule of thumb is to plan for 2/3 to 1/2 of the seals free height when compressed. In other words if your seal is 3/4 inch thick, its compressed height should be from 1/2 to 3/8 inch thick.

When I built my TD I wasn't too worried about keeping weight down. I figured I'd end up with 1K# plus & my 'ready for travel/camping' weight is about 1150# give or take a few. I cut my 'ribs' from 3/4" cabinet grade (11 plies) Birch plywood. There are 6 ribs, 3/4" wide, 2" deep (actually finished depth was closer to 1 7/8"). I used a 1x3" oak 'header' at upper side (where the 'Better than Hurricane' hinge fastened), rabbeted into the ribs, & 1x2" spruce 'butted' into the ribs at bottom, & a single course of 1/2" soacers between the ribs, midway down, pocket holes & glued. Buttressed the 2 middle ribs at location of 'T' handle, & where the license plate bracket/light would be located. Clamped it in place for a 'dry fit', then assembled it on the bench with glue & screws. Assembled the doors at same time. After the glue dried I clamped it back in place on the TD & stapled/glued the 1/8" Luan to the ribs before adding the 0.040" aluminum outer skin & trim. We've towed the TD more'n 25K miles over the past 9+ years & never had a problem with 'warping/springback'. After a couple of years I did 'skin' the inner side of the hatch with 1/8" pre-finished beadboard. My hatch is kinda heavy, swing weight is probably 30-35#, & I use hinged 3/4"x 1 1/2" oak strips as props. It has worked great for us for more'n 9yrs. Actually I'm pretty sure I 'dry' assembled it while clamped to the TD, & merely re-assembled it with screws'n glue on the bench...