Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Hi All,

Although I am not planning to build a tear drop, this is the best forum for small trailer builders I have found. I am working on a design to build a folding hardwall trailer that will fit in in a 4x8x3 box on a standard folding trailer like the Benroy design. I will post some preliminary drawings soon but my initiial question is I am planning to build the walls out of 1/8" plywood sandwiching foam paneling with a lightweight framing as required. My question is what type of glue will bond foam to plywood which will allow the foam to give rigidity to the plywood? I am looking for a lightweight solution but want to stick with wood for the initial build.

Thanks.

Boffingham

I have also posted an initial design to my photo album.

Hello B...,

This will be a really cool build!



I'm looking forward to the beginning of its construction. As far as glue, I used PL Premium. It is quite viscous, so I used a notched trowel to spread it out some along with pressure on the plywood from a laminate roller.

I believe Titebond II and III would work, too, but they don't have the open/working time that PL Premium does.

Take care,
Tom

Hi Tom,

Thanks for your reply, I am currently working on the design (everything needs to fold!) and will build some test panels over the next few months. Hopefully full construction will begin in the Spring when the weather improves here in Ottawa. I am hoping the insulation panels, if placed snugly within the framing and glued well, will add rigidity, insulation and soundproofing to the walls.

Cheers,

Barry

Hi boffingham,

In the "Big Thread" [Thrifty Alternatives...] in the Foamie section,
forum member linuxxmanxxx, on pg 192, 4th entry down,
in suggestion 4, says he has found that 3M's
30NF contact cement is the best he has found for adhering foam to wood
paneling and aluminum etc.. [He has a couple other entries about it as
well on pages before and after pg 192 if I recall correctly.]

http://tnttt.com/viewto ... start=2865

linuxxmanxxx is starting a nontradional TD business and is using the 30NF
in building them. There are a couple other later posts by others about
places to procure it etc.

'Hope it helps.

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

I have posted another pic with some descriptions.



Comments Welcome!

I think the critical thing here is not the overall design, but the detail design of each joint - there are some details that look impossible to me, but maybe you have some really clever ideas to make them work in almost no space.

angib wrote:the critical thing here is....the detail design of each joint

+1.......but I like the idea a lot

Hi Boffingham,

Here's a link to a really ingenious French folding caravan, the Rapido, built
from the 1960s to late 1980s I believe. Some versions even have a kitchen
and porta-potty. This is not like most "folding caravans" that are more like
a popup tent trailer,but with hard walls.

This is a totally folding unit. For travel, the body is @ 34in high by just shy
of 5ft wide and just shy of 8ft long [all real dimensions are metric ya
know] It unfolds to @ 8ft by 11ft8in floor size [didn't notice an opened
interior height measurement].

From what I can see, it is made of what looks like @ 1/2 inch plywood panels
[or maybe something lighter] covered on both sides with some kind
of, possibly, frp sheets with perimeter aluminum extrusions holding them
all together and they also form the interlocking hinging and connecting
hardware.

Here's a Briitish web site on them as an introduction:

http://www.originalrapido.co.uk/

Here's a German individual's web site:

http://www.alfred-johannes.de/06-05-2_rapido_record.htm

Here's a great French web site with great amounts of good info. Look
at all the links within the text and the rest. You can also download a pdf
of an owners manual! - In French, but it's full of great pics.

http://pliante-rapido.com/start.htm

I use Google Chrome as a browser, and it automatically asks if you want
to translate non-English language web sites. Do that, and the info is there
although maybe in a bit of scrambled English - but still plenty usable.

I think looking at these, and really studying the French web site would
really help you in the design and then build.

Hope these are a help.

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo