Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Well, I finally took delivery of my 6*12 Cargo Trailer after almost 5 months and will start the build this week. I plan to use this thread to document the build and help others if I can or to ask questions myself. I will be taking lots of pictures as usual. This time, I will be making short videos of major items as I do them.. like Insulation, Electrical, Solar, Plumbing... etc..

Here are a few pics and a starter video I just made.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUMO21FIvJ0

Nice looking trailer there. Integrated tounge... a Must have !

I am somewhat envious of that flat front. While my "V" does add a bit more room, if I had a flat front, I would have built an aluminum Triangle shaped "Storage Garage" on the tongue, giving the look of a "V" Nose, but adding the external storage I wish I had now. One certainly can go as high as desired with such a concept.. I'd put a single full height door on the passenger side with perhaps only a cubby door down low on the other for the generator location. Aluminum shelves would fill the height.

Generator, Propane, Fuel Storage, Furnace, Air Conditioner... NO END to the stuff one could fit in there. And, being truly separate from the trailer interior, no fumes, Dirt, Etc. inside.

Instead, I have been racking my brain on exactly what I can build to enclose a box that would give me the space I need that both looks good and functions on this "V" front......

Maybe I too need a new trailer project already ?

I just wasn't feeling the V this time for the reasons you mentioned.

I want tongue storage that will hold propane and allow me to use the generator while secured in an enclosure on the tongue and store some basic tools.

I am learning to weld, so it will be custom.




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Help! The plywood is not being held on with screws. They appear to be đriven in.

I know others have experienced this
What is the best and easiest way to remove them? They appear to have screw heads, but do not unscrew.

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4-1/2" Grinder. You have to gouge into the wood to remove the head. Then pry off the walls. PITA. When the wood is off, you will be able to see if you can remove the stumps with a vice grip or just grind them off flush with a cutoff wheel.

Oh.. too... I saw a guy use a really small hole saw with no center drill. Drilled around the heads, then removed the walls leaving the pin and wood behind. I think those are hardened nails actually, and they dont even chisel off easily.

Small Hole saw! But there is a trick. First, with the hole saw make a hole in a 1 X 2 or 3 or 1 1/2. Make the 1X about a foot long. Remove the drill bit from the the saw. Center the hole you made in the 1x over the nail/screw, press tightly against the wall and use it as a guide to start the hole saw cutting. Cut around all the screws, remove the board but leave the nails and wood plug. After insulating put the wall board back on over the same nail and wood plug. Screw to studs with new metal screws and you're done! If the guide board wants to slide around as you start cutting, you can run some small screws through the board till just a tiny sharp tip pokes out, providing some extra traction. Hope this makes sense.

Edit: Haha Just read Grummy's post to the end. What he said!

yep, what he said^ worked like a charm for me

Thanks guys. Going to give it a try today. I want to get the plywood off. I am anxious to get leak checks done and get started on windows and etc..

I will get all of the stuff requiring cutting or drilling into the exterior before I insulate and put that wood back up.

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Just saw this sticker near back door. Lol!!!

They cover all their bases!!



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flboy, Howdy;

Good to see you found something to keep ya from playin' inna street. chucklin.

Thought you'd have specified the use of "real" screws. That's Ok, you'll do just fine.
After all ain't yer first go-round, right?

Lookin forward to followin along.

hank

Thanks Hank!

Disappointed they used steel nails and now the extra work to remove panels, but pleasantly surprised that the studs appear to be 1in x1.5 in tube which is better than I expected. Trailer is very robust at 16inches on center for studs.









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So the plywood appears to be 3/8 inch plywood. I cannot see where it is adding structurally and with 1*1.5 inch studs 16 inches on center and also given trailer is only 12ft.. I may not put this back up. Will probably just panel over insulation. May change my mind as paneling would be easier to install over plywood.

Would you put the plywood back up if it was so thin? Thoughts?






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With the cost of lumber and wood up 300% just in the last 100 days, you might want to be gentle with what you remove.

With my build, weight watching was the number one initial concern. My walls were 3/8" Dri-Deck material.... or whatever they are calling that new wood product they use on the floor. It looked and smelled the very same as the floor, only thinner.

The thing was, it was WAY HEAVIER than I wanted. Having built many, many van, trailer and truck interiors over my lifetime, I set out to find my favorite wall material.. what they used to call LUAN. I had to travel to find it as most places no longer carry it. Their replacement.. 1/4" "Plywood" is heavier and less flexible than actual Luan which tends to have a softer core than traditional plywoods. I did take a square foot of both materials and weighed them... But I think I wrote their weights on the squares and not sure where I put them ! Considerably lighter though.

1/4" Luan (4-6mm) is plenty for sidewalls as long as you fully work out where you will be hanging any heavier things in the interior down the road.

What you already have though with your load capacity is probably just fine. In my case, I upholster the walls, a thin layer of foam, then cloth or vinyl to suit artistic design goals. I'm not a fan of just a cold painted (or aluminum skinned) interior that echos like a cave. The foam can be as minimal as 1/8 to 1/4, which under a textile adds insulation and noise control while looking great.

Oh, don't worry.. this will be repurposed at a minimum. I have all sorts of uses for it. My point is that if I was going to panel anyhow, why not just do it right over the bare studs and save the wood for something else.

I am not so concerned about weight, although I desire it to be as light as possible. Just see no purpose for the wood on the walls if I am going to panel anyhow given it is so thin anyhow.

That is further down the build in any case. I have time to ponder it.

I have plenty of weight capacity.. but have no intention of using it to the max..I was more interested in it being able to take some offroad abuse.. which I expect this one will see. Pulling it with an F250 like that's not overkill too. Lol

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Took me about 7 hours of hard work with a few breaks and lunch, but it is done! Steel nails are evil I tell you!

Tomorrow my goal is to get the 1.5x1 inch tube steel I will need to frame the two windows. If I get it, I will start framing the two windows. If not, I may climb up on the roof and start replacing the stock vent with Fantastic Fan and the start fixing the wiring correctly. We'll see.





So far, mechanically, this trailer is sound.. built strong, good materials and welding.

Wiring is poor and this is why you need to pull walls off to correct or be prepared to rewire in a few years.

Tail light ground just a bare wire pinched with a screw into plywood.



Hot wire ran through hole drilled in stud with visible burrs. Yes, I'd have been blowing headlight fuses after a while when insulation wore thin.




All wire connections are just quick connects. Will work for a while. I intend to solder it all..especially wire connections to electric brakes.




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