Newb in Delavan, WI

[Mr. Lahey]

Hello all,

I would like to start off with a thank you to all for the huge quantity of great info here.
I have lurked here for quite some time and read for hours.

A week ago I took the leap and bought a TSC 5x8 utility trailer to use as a chassis. I have just this weekend started trying out a profile for the trailer body. A 10' Kenskill styled body is my plan.

Been using 1/4 OSB to plan it out. Have it screwed to the garage wall studs. Here it is after a day and a half of tweaking it. I still may rework it, but it's a fair start.

Here is my starting attempt. It's a bit tough to see it against my OSB garage wall background.

[Pmullen503]

That's a great idea to do a full size template like that. That would have helped me avoid a few problems on my build.

P.S. I'm a big TPB fan too.

[Vedette]

Plan looks Great!
Smart idea, and easy way to show the wife in terms of actual size.
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi

[pchast]

Good Idea...

You may want to lower the door a little in relation to the mattress
to protect your legs.

[Mr. Lahey]

Thanks for the compliments on my rough draft template. I'm sure I'll go through another roll of tape or two before I'm satisfied.

I'm not happy with door shape and will rework it. I'm aware of the leg over the door edge issue and will deal with that two fold. Thicker mattress and lower frame opening. Also going to rework interior cabinet sizes a bit too.

Planning a 3/4" plywood non insulated side wall build. I will pad and carpet interior side walls.
Insulate floor and roof. Going to skin exterior with aluminum.

Once I have the OSB profile how I like it I'll start a build thread and post it. I'm pretty stoked to get started. Sad thing is it will be at least a week until I can spend some time on it again.

[Backroads4me]

Greetings and welcome from another couple of Wisconsinites!

While it didn't bother my boyfriend Bob too much, that leg-over-door scenario was a real problem for me. I've got bad knees to begin with, and trying to get in/out of the trailer without getting pinched or bruised was awful. Mentioned it to the nice folks building my trailer and they came up with a solution for it. Put a thick piece of Styrofoam in the bottom of the trailer first, then the mattress. Problem solved! I like the fact that the mattress is up off the floor, don't have to worry about condensation and in case there ever was a leak the mattress wouldn't get wet. We actually did have a leaking 3 gallon water jug in the galley (somehow the bottom spigot got loose while in transit) and though some water seeped under the wall from galley to the sleeping area, that Styrofoam kept the mattress dry.

Maybe we'll see you on the teardrop trail some day!

[skinnedknuckles]

Welcome to the forum from just a few miles West of you in Janesville. Using the template and marking out your lines is exactly what I did . It sure made things easy then I used the template with a router to cut my sides out and wella 2 sides exactly the same. Good luck with your build and maybe we will see you out at one of the gatherings in our fine state. As you have already found out there is a wealth of information on this site to help you through your project
Paul