Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Newby here - please be kind.
And a chick, so thinking more about the external look atm than the how to actually make it.
I live in Australia. Although it snows in bits, I'm not planning on camping there when it does.
Heat, rain and wind are the biggest things I think I will need to overcome.
I've seen some gorgeous profiles and many seem to have aluminum skins. Does that get really hot?
What other ideas would experienced people give to a newbie on her first build please?

I went with aluminum due to weather/heat related considerations. We live in the desert here (Tucson, Arizona) & have similar temperatures to deal with yearly. The aluminum was just a logical choice, since it's all about the heat here & very little about the cold. The sun is brutal on finishes here, fiberglass or wood aren't as durable as metal. "Diamond plate" is useful for back roads & gravel for trim & wear plates, so that's why we went with an aluminum skin. Buy once, cry once....

I used brilliant white paint on my econo build. I coated the roof with white elastomeric roof coating. White reflects heat so much that opening up my camper on a black top driveway in full summer sun is like going into a basement! Well, it is cooler than the driveway.

Tt

I'm certain that my aluminum helps keep the heat down when the sun is baking––but it's best to find a shady spot. And its even better to have a fairly high-volume fan with large windows to keep the air moving when it's hot.



Tony

Welcome to the forum Ozichick.

I can't speak to aluminum skins, but I can tell you that Tony is a crackerjack photographer; great pic Tony!

So was the question whether the inside of the TD would heat up in the sun, or if the skin exterior surface would get too hot to touch? A well insulated TD will help with the former. White, mill finish, or polished should help with the later; although noseoil's green is relatively dark and we have not heard him complaining. What say you noseoil?

No doubt about it, the green color does absorb heat, but we have insulation & a fan, with air conditioning if necessary. The top is still mill-finish aluminum like Tony's, but with the heat we have here in the desert, shade & airflow is the only way to keep cool. When it's over 100 outside, it's just hot inside, no matter what you do, so air conditioning is the best option for us. The AC we use (5,000 BTU window unit) will cool the interior off in 20 minutes, no matter how hot it gets outside.

Shade & elevation is the only way to camp in the summer!

noseoil wrote:No doubt about it, the green color does absorb heat, but we have insulation & a fan, with air conditioning if necessary. The top is still mill-finish aluminum like Tony's, but with the heat we have here in the desert, shade & airflow is the only way to keep cool. When it's over 100 outside, it's just hot inside, no matter what you do, so air conditioning is the best option for us. The AC we use (5,000 BTU window unit) will cool the interior off in 20 minutes, no matter how hot it gets outside.

Shade & elevation is the only way to camp in the summer!

The problem I see with teardrops utilizing painted aluminum is this: "Hey, nice camper. Where'd ya git it?" or "Sweet looking trailer. Looks expensive." Or maybe, "What is this thing, did you build it yourself? Mind if I look inside?" (You really want to spend your day giving teardrop tours?)

It's great camping with Tim and his wife, 'cause nobody bothers us with silly teardrop questions. "Is that tin can for hauling extra Spam?" When you camp with them, it's like being invisible. Add's to the serenity of the trip.



Tony

I love the look and durability of unpainted aluminum roofs but it's one of the worst materials to use if you want a "cool roof".

Cool Roof Rating Council Linky

Here's a link showing the Solar Reflectivity Index (SRI) of various roofing materials. Do some comparisons and you'll find that metallic colored metal has a low SRI (low = lower performing). At my first teardrop gathering I felt an aluminum and a filon roof while the trailers were in full sun. There was an amazing difference with the aluminum being scorching hot while the filon was just warm.

Bruce

Has anyone tried using composite sign panels like this with aluminium outer skins sandwiching a low-density polyethelene core? I was thinking about trying it with polyurethane foam insulation for the build I'm planning. I saw it used on a tiny house and it looked good.

http://www.ullrich.com.au/rolled/signbo ... panels.php

Chris H. wrote:Has anyone tried using composite sign panels like this with aluminium outer skins sandwiching a low-density polyethelene core? I was thinking about trying it with polyurethane foam insulation for the build I'm planning. I saw it used on a tiny house and it looked good.

http://www.ullrich.com.au/rolled/signbo ... panels.php

That is what I am using for mine. Roof and exterior wall skins.

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bobwhite215 wrote:

Chris H. wrote:Has anyone tried using composite sign panels like this with aluminium outer skins sandwiching a low-density polyethelene core? I was thinking about trying it with polyurethane foam insulation for the build I'm planning. I saw it used on a tiny house and it looked good.

http://www.ullrich.com.au/rolled/signbo ... panels.php

That is what I am using for mine. Roof and exterior wall skins.

Sent from my SM-T817V using Tapatalk

Sent from my SM-T817V using Tapatalk

Just read your build thread bobwhite215, looking good so far.

Thank you all for your comments. Greatly appreciated.

Sheddie in NZ used composite aluminum.