Michael's Teardrop Build

[messenger14]

Metalhead-

I don't know if you plan on fiberglassing the walls but barrier coating with epoxy (5 coats of just epoxy) gives a super smooth finish which will be great for painting. I found that the fiberglass cloth wasn't necessary on the walls as I was not looking for strength since I have 3/4". If you're using 1/4" walls or less I would definitely use fiberglass cloth (6oz or heavier) to give you a good amount of strength, rigidity, and abrasion resistance. Just a thought.

Also, what are your plans for your roof?

Will you be painting the shell?

I plan on using the 1/8" for the roof with the fiberglass cloth/epoxy on top of that. I'm planning on checking to see if Poole lumber can get some 1/2" ply in 4x8 as well and if so may skip out on using the cloth on the sides- if that turns out to be more cost effective than the 1/4 and cloth coating- and only worry about using cloth on the seams.

Yeah, I haven't shopped around yet for my 1/8" ply but you may also want to check with Abita Lumber. They have a pretty nice supply of plywood.

[messenger14]

Metalhead- check out this video. This reaffirmed my decision on using 1/8" ply with 6oz fiberglass cloth for the roof:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt6p46UPmBE

[Metalhead]

I went with the 15amp. This will run into a surge protector (not really sure if that's the best way to do it but I should work for me and be the simplest.)

.....


What's the benefit of using 30amp?

After doing some research and $$ crunching I think I'm going to go with something similar to the WFCO power centerhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004LF13GA/ref=mp_s_a_1_fkmr1_2?qid=1412127409&sr=8-2-fkmr1&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70. If you plan on doing a battery tender and fuse block scenario it only comes out a few bucks more. At least it was only a few bucks more for my scenario.

The only reason to go 30 amp is if you need it i.e. have enough items that would require up to 30 amps.

Edit: I had previously thought I would need a 30 amp and got curious about my amp draw and looked at the ac I was going to use. Only about 5 amps whereas I had wrote down 25 previously . Not sure where I got that from now. It looks like I may be able to go with the 15amp.

[messenger14]

Metalhead,
If you go with 1/2" ply for your sides you may not have to use cloth. Just to give you an idea of cost I purchased 7 yds x 60" cloth from www.raka.com and paid around $50. It takes a little more epoxy to wet it out since it's a heavier cloth but it does wet out very nicely.

Check out this guy's website: http://www.overlandtrailer.com/home/body-external/
Mark used 1/2" BCX pine with only 3 coats of epoxy on the side walls with no cloth and the paint laid down very nicely and looks pretty sharp!

IMHO, 1/2" walls framed with 1x3s and an interior wall skin will be pretty sturdy as is. The cloth will definitely help but will run you an extra $50 or so. If you can spare $50 I'd say go with the cloth. It won't hurt and will only strengthen your build.

[Metalhead]

That's a good point Michael and would probably save a little time and probably a bit of hassle.

[messenger14]

What a beautiful weekend in South Louisiana! I was able to get a good amount of work done on the TD.

Completed:
1) Interior roof (1/8" ply). I cut the pieces to length then joined them together with a little PL Premium.
2) Stapled roof to spars...easier than I thought it would be!
3) Installed A/C electrical receptacle.
4) Cut opening for Fantastic Vent Fan (I highly recommend using a router with a trim bit! This was incredibly easy.
5) Installed rear trailer stabilizer jacks ($50 from Amazon)

[Metalhead]

Looking great man!

[messenger14]

Looking great man!

Thanks, man. It's actually starting to take shape and look like something usable

[messenger14]

So as I mentioned in an earlier post, I was able to get a pretty good amount of work done on the TD. There were some pretty good lessons learned:

1. First of all, when working with plywood as thin as 1/8" one needs to be very careful. While moving the sheet of ply I accidentally dropped it on the corner (from less than 4" high) and completely damaged the corner of the wood. There are three very thing sheets running at 90 degrees to each other and all three layers were chewed up.

2) When stapling the roof always start at the bottom and work your way up and towards the back.

3) Never use a manual hand staple gun... They SUCK! I wasted enough staples to fill a bucket! I went to Home Depot and purchased an electric staple gun for around $40. It is well worth it, although for the exterior roof I will have to use a pneumatic stapler so I can use a slightly heavier gauge staple.

4) When doing lap joints on plywood I find that construction adhesive (PL Premium) works better than a thinner wood glue such as Tite-bond. The thinner glues absorb into the wood more which I don't like.

[messenger14]

Another hot weekend here in the 'dirty south'...no worries though. Here's what went down:

1) I decided to go with the extruded polystyrene foam insulation. It was pretty easy to cut using a sharp utility knife.
2) The wiring for my 12volt appliances was ran through the roof.
3) 1/8" ply roof stapled and glued

I was able to do more and will elaborate in another post.

[messenger14]

We're finally beginning to cool down with the much welcomed cold fronts that we've been having lately... which means I've been able to make some pretty good progress on the TD.

I was able to safely install the 1/8" ply roof and fasten it with 18 ga staples and a little PL Premium. I've seen people fasten their roofs using screws but I think that's a bad idea if you're using 1/8" ply. The reason: 1/8" ply is so thin and flimsy that a screw driven and counter-sunk will basically have nothing to hold. Staples work great because a) their fast and strong, b) they can be driven with enough pressure to counter-sink into the wood, and c) they can be driven deep into the ceiling spars.

This past weekend I was able to completely fiberglass and epoxy the roof. I decided to go with 10oz fiberglass cloth as opposed to the 6oz that I previously had intended to use. I felt that 10oz cloth gave me the strength and rigidity that I needed to safely protect the flimsy 1/8" ply. However, I found that 10oz cloth is much harder to "wet out" than 6oz, which means, using more expensive epoxy and taking more care to wet out and not "starve" the cloth. All in all, I am happy with the 10oz and the way I see it, take time and spend a little more $ to protect your investment.

After the cloth was wet out I proceeded to do a re-coat every 2-3hrs. In all, I put about 4 coats on. Here's what I learned: 1) if you heat up your resin/ hardener with either a heat lamp or space heater, it will become less viscous, making the epoxy easier to spread and wet out fiberglass cloth. 2) folding 10oz cloth over edges even rounded to 1/4" is very difficult (I decided not to fold over the cloth, I may use thinner cloth as a tape on the edges. 3) if you use a brush to coat epoxy on a vertical surface, make sure to not put it on too think as it will begin to run and drip.

All in all, I'm satisfied with the way the fiberglassing came out. I will spot check the roof for any inconsistencies and re-apply epoxy where needed today before the final cure take place.


I used RAKA epoxy with the non-blush hardener.






Here is the seam between the wall and roof in which the 10oz cloth would not wrap around. I think if I epoxy the hell out of the seam it should work fine and be nice and water tight.





This is the Blue Sea fuse block which will run my 12V accessories

[tony.latham]

If you decide to glass/epoxy your seams, take a read on this thread:

viewtopic.php?t=34887&p=633840

Scroll down to Larry C's instruction on how to make your own bias cut tape. I followed his instructions and it works great. You'll still need a radius for your layup but this'll get you headed in a direction that's not out of the old TV series, Mission Impossible.


Tony

[messenger14]

Working with fiberglass and epoxy has definitely been a learning experience. I have mentioned in my previous posts about different weights of fiberglass cloth and how the heavier weights are certainly harder to wet out. Something I learned to make wetting out cloth easier is to heat up the resin and hardener in order to make the components less viscous. This truly helps to thin it out and makes spreading much easier.

After the epoxy cured on the front of my build, I noticed that it wasn't as smooth (like glass) as the flat surfaces such as on the roof. Epoxy will self-level and I think that the vertical surfaces will not have this smooth surface as gravity will act on the epoxy and cause it to sag as it cures. One solution I have found was to go extra thin on the coats of epoxy that are vertical. This thinner layer will hold better to the surface and will not be as likely to run.

Here is a link I found very interesting that others may also take something from:
http://www.clcboats.com/shoptips/epoxy_ ... epoxy.html

[messenger14]

So, it's been a while since I last posted. Here's what I've completed in the last few weeks:

1) Fiberglass done!
2) Primed shell with Interlux Pre-kote (2 coats). This was done per directions on the can.
3) 3 coats Interlux Brightside Hatteras Off--white 1990. This was also applied per directions on the can. I thinned the paint ~ 7% with Interlux 333 brushing liquid and rolled and tipped it. It went on pretty easy.
4) The interior has been completed. I used carpet on the floor and just painted the walls and ceiling with Behr indoor latex paint.
5) The door and window were installed. The window trim ring was a bugger getting to fit but it went in after a little coaxing.

The hatch is the next big step.















Tracing the rear radius for the hatch ribs

[KCStudly]

Looking good!