Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I have stolen so many ideas from everyone here (thank you!) I thought perhaps that these photos might be of use to someone currently building a tear or in the planning stage.

Building wooden fenders is much like building a tear, just on a smaller scale.

Cut the sides out using a pattern then clamp/screw together and sand to the same profile.

Cut some spars for the width you will need.
should look something like this.

I used survey stakes for my spars because I have a ton of them but anything will work.
Here is the backside of the fender......note I need a spacer to get the fender to sit flat against the trailer wall and the frame....


I then bent some 1/4" luan for the top. here is the rough fit.


this would be a good time to check everything for fit.
I applied epoxy fillets to the inside edge and applied bondo to the holes on top and then primed it with oil primer.

next step was to apply spray automotive undercoat to the inside.
tape off what you dont want over spray on and have at it.
one can did both of these large fender.


next step was to apply 3 coats of finish paint.

I then cut my "spears" out of wood and finished those seperate.


it looks like then when finished.....


Its hard to see in the last photo but I used some left over vinyl upolstery welt in between the fenders and the tear body.

hope that this gives someone some ideas for their build.
And sorry for the long post but I know how Madjack "loves da pics".

Walter

...thanks for the pics...it's not just me...we all luv da pics ...bt the way, that is a real slick fender
madjack

looks good Walter .... how are they attached to the tear? Any concern if someone sits or stands on them as far as attachment strength?

Jim

HORRIBLE job, Walter.

When I finish mine in 2008, I'll show you how it's done.

The fenders are great! I just need to what brand of leveling jacks you are using.

I'm impressed Walter... those look good. Got a close up picture of the vinyl welting?

Mike...

I like them too!

Makes me wish my trailer needed fenders

Rob

zapj wrote:looks good Walter .... how are they attached to the tear? Any concern if someone sits or stands on them as far as attachment strength?

Jim

Jim,
I have angle brackets coming out of the frame which the fenders bolt to and also have the top of the fenders bolted to the walls of the tear. But if someone were to sit on them it would be a problem. The fenders are only 1/4" plywood. Probably not strong enough for my fat butt. But the fugly metal fenders that were on the trailer wouldnt hold me either.

I used left over materials to build my fenders. If starting from scratch I might do it different.

Walter

mikeschn wrote:I'm impressed Walter... those look good. Got a close up picture of the vinyl welting?

Mike...

Mike,
this is where I purchased my welt. There is a ton of colors available and its dirt cheap. (my kinda price).

http://store.yahoo.com/yourautotrim-sto ... andy4.html

It was for some customizing on the inside of my PT Cruiser and I have a bunch left over.
It was the right color and the right shape so I slobbed it on the fenders to help with the fender gap.
It is often used on boat seat cushions I think. I guess it's intended use is for where the seams meet in upolstery work, like an edge.
I used it cause I have about 10 yards of it left over.

Walter

I tried to find welt at a local fabric chain store and they didn't have it. I know I bought it years ago in a fabric store. Thanks for the link. I will still try to first find it locally, as the shipping cost via UPS is 3 times the price of the welt. I want it, but not if .40 per yard welt ends up costing me 1.60 a yard. I can always put a bead of sealant around the edge where it joins.

Nice work Walter. I built my own fenders too. As your pictures show, home built fenders can really give a teardrop that one-of-a-kind look! More builders could go this route and save some money rather than settling for stock fenders. This method is especially useful for the smaller 12" tires because the fenders can be sized to whatever width you'd like. George.

Georgeandpat wrote:Nice work Walter. :thumbsup: I built my own fenders too. As your pictures show, home built fenders can really give a teardrop that one-of-a-kind look! More builders could go this route and save some money rather than settling for stock fenders. This method is especially useful for the smaller 12" tires because the fenders can be sized to whatever width you'd like. George.

George,
I just couldnt bear to put on the flat top fenders that came with the trailer. At first I was going to use them but I wasnt happy with the look.
I wanted "Fins and Spears"!!
I built my fenders out of left overs from the tear.
If the trailer came with round fenders I would have built my wooden fenders around those, using the steel fender as a liner. But the flat tops wouldnt fit into my weird shaped wooden fenders.
I plan on changing the lights and also adding "trucker girl" mudflaps for the total tacky look.

Walter

cracker39 wrote:I tried to find welt at a local fabric chain store and they didn't have it. I know I bought it years ago in a fabric store. Thanks for the link. I will still try to first find it locally, as the shipping cost via UPS is 3 times the price of the welt. I want it, but not if .40 per yard welt ends up costing me 1.60 a yard. I can always put a bead of sealant around the edge where it joins.

Dale,
I used mine to fill the gap between the fender and the wall. Didnt see the need to seal it with caulk as it is painted on the back too. It seems that no matter how much I sanded the gap was always variable. I had (and still do) the welt left over from a car project.
I know what you mean about the shipping though. But I bet its less than 10 bucks when its all said and done.

Walter

The total price with UPS shipping would be $7.95...$2.00 for the welt and the rest shipping and handling. They have mail shipment, but won't list a price for the postage until it ships.

I also thought custom fenders to match the shape of my trailer would look good, and they turned out even better than I hoped for. I had lots of help with comments from members to help decide on the final design. I posted this link to my fender album in another topic on fenders. It how has the finished fender photo in it.

Well, I stained MINE this weekend, and since my genitals throbbed with every brush stroke because of whatever it is I have going on down there, this was not an easy task.

So I figured I'd post this here instead of starting a new thread, since the subject is indeed wooden fenders.

I used Miniwax Provincial Pine, because after testing 6 stains, I basically gave up. I don't LOVE this color, but it's by far the best I tested to bring out the grain. Of course, the luan tops and ply sides take it differently, but that's to be expected.

The results are a fairly deep brown color. (Sorry, no pics yet. Remember that bad groin?) I now want to protect it with something that will give me the BRIGHTEST gloss possible. Is this epoxy, spar varnish or urethane? The edges will have thin, light strip molding to contrast. (I was considering using rope to match the rest of the TD, but I just don't know.)

Finally, with the above 3 choices of protective material, if I DON'T like the way it comes out, can I just say the heck with it and paint over them?

One more note:

For some strange reason that I'm sure someone here understands, there are two or three dime-sized spots in the side ply where the stain just didn't absorb, and looks a lot lighter than the rest. Like it's a mistake.

The only thing I can think of is that it has something to do with the glue they use to make the ply. I'll deal with this when I get there, probaby adding one of my wacky theme things to hide it.