Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I'm getting started on a 36' gooseneck conversion. The walls need to be replaced, they had too many holes in them, dents and markings from loading. I'm wanting to have a cabin like interior with wood plank style walls. I was at Lowes looking at different options and came across a soft light weight wood called white wood. It's 1" x 12" x 16' and only about $8 a board.
Has anyone used this type of wood?
Is there any particular wood that should be used?

Thanks for the help,

Frank

White wood is a generic catch-all term for a variety of species. Might be poplar, pine, etc.

Why not use plywood or a paneling of some sort? YOu can cover more quickly and it's likely to be lighter too.

Tom

The reason I want to use the plank style is because I want it to be like a cabin on the inside. I've seen this in the high end horse trailer LQ and really like it. The weight is something I've thought about. This white wood is really light weight and it comes in 6" x 16' pieces which would make installing it quick. Really, I'm more worried about how it will take the stain.

Treeview wrote:White wood is a generic catch-all term for a variety of species. Might be poplar, pine, etc.

Why not use plywood or a paneling of some sort? YOu can cover more quickly and it's likely to be lighter too.

Tom

I'm guessing it's pine, I've been pulling bent nails for over sixty years and have never heard the term. I think Tom is right. Look at panelling or perhaps even 1/4" subfloor plywood. At my lumberyard, it's cheaper, solid core and has a more varied grain that 1/4" AC fir plywood. Plus it's made for moist installations.

If you go with 3/4" dimensional lumber, even with that truck you're using, it's going to feel like you're pulling a load of lumber.

T

I hadn't heard the term "white wood" before yesterday at the hardware store.
When it comes to the weight of the trailer with the wood, i don't want to feel like I'm hauling a load of wood. That's why I'm interested in this stuff. It's extremely light weight, I was really surprised when I picked a piece up at how light it was. As far as the weight goes, it doesn't seem like it would be any heavier than the typical 4x8 plywood that's used in trailers.

station29 wrote:I hadn't heard the term "white wood" before yesterday at the hardware store.
When it comes to the weight of the trailer with the wood, i don't want to feel like I'm hauling a load of wood. That's why I'm interested in this stuff. It's extremely light weight, I was really surprised when I picked a piece up at how light it was. As far as the weight goes, it doesn't seem like it would be any heavier than the typical 4x8 plywood that's used in trailers.

You're probably right about that. That's why I suggested 1/4' (subfloor) plywood. What I didn't say, is that I'd use 3/4" firing strips and foam underneath it. The same with the suggestion on the paneling. The sliders and side walls are made out of the subfloor plywood:


Using dimensional lumber such as this "white wood", you're going to have a joint every few inches that is going to expand and contract with the changes in humidity. To get around this, you might have to shiplap the boards or get it tongue and grooved.

T

Will you get expansion/contraction even if I conditioned and sealed the wood? I looked at tongue and groove and it seemed pretty heavy, I liked the way it looked though.
Thanks for the response everyone!

Frank

There is the question of whether or not the interior plywood was a component of the structural design. Or not. The cargo trailer manufacturers I asked told me that it was; it stiffened up the walls. Boards of any kind will not do that unless run at a diagonal. Just something to think about and maybe to query the manufacturer on.

The really great looking paneling I used and a lot of others on here used is 38.00 a sheet from lowes I think it looks great and you can't beat the look of a finished product.
I was going to do the whole trailer but I also like the look of carpet on the walls so I used the paneling on the ceiling and I found a large roll of tan high quality carpet being closed out and I glued it to the walls,.
for sure you want to take down the plywood insulate it and put the plywood back up and then cover it with what you like.

Around here, "white wood" is usually some form of poplar. If you use it and want to stain it, I strongly recommend staining it only after using a wood conditioner, because poplar tends to be blotchy after staining. Or, at least run some good tests on the wood. You would also need to apply some sort of sealer/poly to protect the walls from marring. Other than that, I wouldn't have any qualms about using it.

I has thought about using this tongue and groove slats. But I am going to install my walls to be removable for whatever reason that I might want to get behind them. I think I will go with very thin paneling.

I've usually heard the term 'white wood' used synonymously with 'SPF' which is an industry designation for generic softwoods. The letters stand for 'spruce/pine/fir.' The pine would pine other than yellow pine and the fir other than red fir.

If you want a cabin type look, how about double-beaded plywood or T & G double-beaded paneling? The plywood is 1/4" and available in knotty pine or paint-grade (poplar.) The paneling is knotty pine and comes in 1/4" x 3.5" x 8' strips packaged in multiple square foot bundles. I don't remember the amount in the packages.

Best,
Tom

I've seen the term 'white wood' used for finger jointed and edge glued mixed wood, that was then primed.
Can you better define what you were looking at please?

What you get when whitewood is on the menu varies with location.

Generally where I am in the west it is a softwood. It is called whitewood so they can throw whatever is cheap and available in the bin and not be concerned with naming the species correctly. Species can and will vary with each delivery. In the east where hardwoods outnumber the softwoods it can more often be some whiteish hardwood.

So the real answer to what is whitewood is, it depends.

Sounds similar to here, Forrest reds is the generic name for what could be a mix of up to 20 species!