Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

okay.... the spars seem to be straight and level.... I have screwed them on but haven't glued them at the ends yet.

I happened to measure between the first and second one, at the head of the tear and is s about 1/4 " off..... Is this going to reek havoc later when puttingon the skins?

I didn't measure between all the others.

Thanks ! my buiilding partner Phil is on vacation this week but I'm trudging along....

Julie

Glad to see that your making progress on your build

I obsessed about this kind of stuff for the longest time. I bought a laser to verify my findings. In the end, I decided to open up my "manufacturing tolerances". If you know it is there, you can compensate for it. If it is just the spars, it will probably only affect the ceiling and roof sheeting, weather or not the edge of the ply will hit the spar. If you use a wide enough spar, it will give you a lot more wiggle room.

I hope being off a 1/4" is okay, I'm a 1/4" off on both sides.


Julie, you're moving along nicely. Keep it up!

Scott F.

Julie, look at it this way. The spars are only there to hold the sides together and give some support for the roof. The only spar that really matters is the one common to your galley hatch hinge.

Have a good day.

Julie, I've been reading and re-reading your post. Are you seeing the 1/4" difference looking ACROSS the top, standing from the side or are you standing in the front and looking at them?

Jeff, thanks ... I meant to clarify that.

Standing at the tongue, looking at the second and third spar starting up from the tongue end. I'm measuring from the same place onthe left side and it's like 11 " apart ... then over on the right side same place it's like 10.75" ..... It is good with the level , and looks right when I spot it , looking back and eyeballing it with all the other spars.

All my spars are 1x2" , doubled up almost every other one. And btw, the one for where the galley hinge will be is actually a 2x2 solid, not two glued together.

Nothings perfect, huh?

oklahomajewel wrote:Nothings perfect, huh?

Nope, I wouldn't worry about it. With 1X2's glued together you've got some "fudge" room to work with. Only you will know about the 1/4".

Juli
Tear looks great. I don't think it will matter if the spar isn't where two panels meet or you are extremely picky about your screws being perfectly level across the top.

Miriam

I agree with Miriam, if it isn't where two pieces meet it should be OK.

Like I used to tell my dear departed Dad, the Old Fart, "we're not building a watch here".

But let's try to stay within 1/4".......

Way to go!!


Ed

EZ wrote:I agree with Miriam, if it isn't where two pieces meet it should be OK.

Like I used to tell my dear departed Dad, the Old Fart, "we're not building a watch here".

But let's try to stay within 1/4".......

Way to go!!


Ed

My carpenter dad, now gone, reminded me to "work smart, don't work hard!"

Yep, 'smarter, not harder'!

July, take a straight edge of some sort and good length (18-24"); a right angle would be fine or a woodman's ruler. Take it along the side and see if there is some gap between it and the side. This will be the wave. Do the same to your Honda. Don't be surprised at what you'll see to what you thought was straight.....

If your gap is up along the edge, probably not a big deal. You are going to be running some kind of edging to compensate between the top and sides, so this will work as the 'cover'.