Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Good to hear the "long term durability study" has gone well, avian feces notwithstanding !

Since we're using non-traditional combinations here, I'm thinking of other 'resins' that could be used. With the minimal roofing experience I have, it seems that glass is a common fiber to reinforce roofing compounds so it ought to work as a matrix to hold the stuff in place as long as it's runny enough to wet the cloth.

Not sure how to deal with the transition between glue walls and gbs roof (gooey black stuff) though. You'd need a mechanical joint, which may introduce more problems than any benefit you'd gain.

GPW. That weight issue will definitely stay in my head as I continue the build. Especially as I keep trying to pick up sheets of plywood. I used to be able to lift 1/2" sheets by myself without any problems, now it's a struggle. What the HELL???

Wobbly,

I used 1/2" ACX from our local lumber yard for the floor. I thought it would be better quality than orange box stuff but it seems about the same. Spent lots of time trying to get the panels to butt up squarely and evenly and I'm still not happy with the end result. I'm going to have to fiberglass and epoxy those joints to make them water tight. DAMN IT! I think the SIP panel would have been vastly superior but I also have height issues I'm dealing with. I can only be 6'6" tall and still clear my garage door, every inch is an issue. Because the wheels are inboard, I've got the bed platform about 10" higher than the trailer floor so it's already tall. I've got weight and height issues... HMMM sounds like me

As far as the roof, I am relying on the TB2 with a good coat of paint to keep things watertight. Having gained knowledge from people who have figured out the things ahead of me (GPW and Eaglesdare), I'm pretty confident in the TB2. As far as the kind of paint, I am thinking about marine topside paint but I think it might be overkill and way more expensive. If you put the word marine on it, it costs three times more. I'm leaning toward some good exterior gloss latex paint. but I'm not worried about water issues.

Good paint ??... testing many paints over the last 40+ years ... especially on murals, signs, objects D 'Art kept outside ... The best Latex HG house paint was good for about 10 years , constantly in the weather., if the object was sufficiently sealed /primed first.. I could never wait that long to re paint a trailer , getting tired of/bored with the old paint , much like a car ... 5 years would be a reasonable figure ...

We also found that the same paint on plywood , the ply would split under the paint and break the film ... cheap ply did this quicker .. But no ply on a Foamie (save the floor and there are other ways to do that too ) so NO Problems ...

Here's what I managed to get done over the last couple of weekends. I got the floor in, the wheel well pieces cut and the rear counter laid out and cut.

Here's the pics:


Here's the counter from the rear. It's kinda hard to tell but the green painters tape outlines the foam walls. White cooler will be on a slide out, under the sink for now, we're planning on a catch bucket for the sink drains and an area to store the stove. On the right hand side you can see the "beverage" center. The cube cooler, which will become a jockey box and the keg of homebrewed beer (hiding behind the cube and the water container) will be in a cabinet mounted on a slide. There will be an access door on the right hand side. The water container will be housed in the same cabinet but be mounted on a slide which opens toward the sinks. I may still go with a water system with a pump but for now we'll design in the water container. Mostly a $$ thing If I do, that space becomes a cabinet for storage. Unfortunately, I have to make that decision pretty quick. Once I get the bed platform in, there is no getting to that space without disassembling the platform or cutting an access hatch


Here's the front view. The wheel wells are the support for the bed platform. That platform will extend almost the entire length of the "Road Foamie" stopping at the front bulkhead. The area between the platform and the floor gives me lots of storage space and water tank space. We'll see.

For right now, everything is just leaning on everything else. Only the side of the wheel wells are attached to the floor. Getting everything assembled and attached will be my project during the week, but since I will be on a business trip for part of the week, we'll see how much I get done.

Looking Good !!!

Nice work tahoe. As far as paint, I used a high quality exterior house paint, satin finish, from Glidden and it looks great after the summer.

Pat G

Pat, that's good to know. I will probably go with a gloss finish but exterior latex sounds like a good idea to me!

wow, that is coming along really nicely!

as far as that water issue goes, if you are liberal with the tb2 you should have no problems right there. the primer on top and paint on top of that, seals the deal. there is no water going thru my stuff. i guarantee that one. the paint i used was normal paint from lowes. not sure how expensive it was. but i asked for exterior paint.

i have a strip of canvas (un pprimed and un painted on there right now) but it is covered with the tb2. stays dry.

you are already spending a fortune on tb2, why spend more on the paint. like gpw says, we all might be changing colors anyway. i know i am already planning a new color.

Keep going Mel... you're making good progress.

Mike...

Well I have proven again that I am my own worst critic. After thinking about that galley counter, I decided I needed to move the sink cutout about 3 1/2 inches to the left and cut the counter shorter by 2 inches to accommodate an insulation panel on the backside of the beverage center. I could have just left it as it was and used a thinner sheet of foam for insulation but NOOOOOOOOO. I couldn't leave good enough alone!!! I spent the little time I could spend on the road foamie recutting the counter So essentially no progress since the weekend. I should be able to spend some time on it during the next couple of days. Let's see if I can do it without undermining myself If I keep rethinking and recutting this project won't be very thrifty

Mel. all that cutting and re-cutting could lead to the first Swiss cheese Foamie ....

GPW wrote:Mel. all that cutting and re-cutting could lead to the first Swiss cheese Foamie ....

OMG.. that would be a funny theme. You could have real porthole windows and fake ones painted on with a mousie poking his head out of one. The foamie wouldn't have to be a wedge shape - my reverse TD from little guy would be a perfect shape LOLOLOL....



Hugs,
Ratkity

Rat , all joking aside , I Do like the shape of your TD ... I guess it tows easily (aerodynamic) ?? Makes sense really !!! Triangular -ish' just gotta' be STRONG !! Would make a Nice Big Foamie huh ? ...

I really like it - no galley! I always cook away from where I sleep. The only thing I've done is put the electric water kettle inside for some hot tea in the morning on really cold camping mornings (that would be on a camping trip sans (without) my 2 big golden doggies). Normally I just fix a thermos the night before if the dogs are with me.


Hugs,
Ratkity

edited to add: Tows like it's not even there. The Rav4 I pull with is a V6. Only see a difference in braking, but not by a whole bunch.

OK, running with that idea ...