Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

First, thank you for all the great ideas and knowledge here. My head is spinning right now thinking about all this stuff. Ok on with the question:

I was reading the thread where people were attaching canvas to the outside of their TD with titebond II then painting over it. From the discussion, it sounds like the titebond II is very waterproof.

So, I was thinking outside of the box. What if you used wallpaper instead of canvas? Does titebond II dry clear? If so, I could probably put wallpaper on both sides of my foam and not have to do any interior decorating. If not, what kind of clear coat would work to protect the outside?

Not that I am opposed to covering it with canvas. Just thinking...and thinking....and thinking.....

Anyone with some extra titebond and some leftover wallpaper wanting to do some experiments?

this answer is from my experience only and from one friends experience only. i have found tb2 sometimes dries clear, not always. now a friend of mine, did tb2 over fabric (to protect a solar panel), hers did dry clear. so i think you would have to work with the amount of glue and water, to get a good mix for clear drying.

Not to forget ... the Canvas is the Strength of the Foamie ... Wall paper would work nicely Inside ... TB2 dries somewhat amber for me ... Elmers may dry clearer ...

is elmers waterproof? (sorry, but i am having a crs moment)

also, wouldn't wall papering be the same as using the brown bag cover? i know we discussed using the brown bag, or newspaper to cover.

Newspaper.... I will start saving the Sunday Funnies. That would look so cool!

Lowes has a wallpaper buying guide online:

Most stock wallpaper is vinyl. Look for paper with canvas or scrim backing for high moisture areas. That may be the way to go with the canvas backing.

I am thinking some sort of pattern on the outside and then luan for the roof (waterproofed with the 75/25 method) stained to give it a nice wood look. That would look very nice. If the titebond doesn't dry clear, I would probably test a few wallpapers and see which one looked the best after drying.

I don’t believe the Elmers white glue is waterproof , but it’s no problem Inside the trailer ... foamies never leak .... unless damaged of course ...

i would not use elmers on the outside. personally i wouldn't use elmers for the inside or outside. i seem to remember when i was starting to do the brown bag floor. the first way i did it was with elmers, and it dried, but then i went over the top of that with another glue/water mixture and it gummed up the elmers. i don't know, but i wouldn't use that one. that is just me, i have good results from tb, so i will stick with that.
now i have done some stuff with fabric and paper and poly, that dries clear.
just make sure you are waterproofed before hand and you should be ok. like in the joint areas.

I’m still thinking about a heavy grade of Kraft paper for the inside of my FS .. easy to cut/fit/glue (T2) and then paint/cover over it with anything i want ( What “She” wants )... so it would act as an inner skin (not that it’s necessary ) and provide a smooth base for the inner decor’ ... Then again , I’m using bead board which is Rougher than the Blu or Pink stuff ...

Don't know about the glue , I have never tried that kind of construction, yet. But I saw a teardrop that had the inside covered with road maps. It was really cool. The owner said whenever they had trouble sleeping they just studied the maps and planned a new trip.

Woodbutcher, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. I am going to steal that idea. for my TD. but with a purpose in mind: my big trip in 2015, I can put the out west maps on and use markers to route my trip and places I want to see and that would be so great!

Mary C.

Mary, Go for it! It was not my idea and I may use it some time myself. Some of the old vintage gas station maps have some interesting graphics. I often thought adding in some old camping or National Park brochures would add some interest. Have fun with decorating the trailer. A big part of these little trailers is how we personalize them.

WB, that’s SO TRUE !!! Underneath is just a Foam box on two wheels eh ? ... Given the infinite possibilities of theme and decor , it’s difficult deciding on which one to try ... which one we want others to view us as ( our projected image) sorta’ like getting a tat' , although it’s not permanent ..

The gist of the Foamie method, to my understanding, is
the "sock effect" - at least on the outside. That would
require a fabric of some kind - canvas and it's cohorts,
or fiberglass fabric - and a coating - glue/paint/resins/
[is epoxy the "best" ?]. These together form a membrane
["the sock"] of sorts that holds it all together ultimately.
I know there is papermache, but I'd think that it'd be better
to have the longer/stronger fabrics used outside and UV
protected, and paper/shorter fibers used on the inside,
if used.

I'd stay away from wallpaper as the 'fabric' covering needs
to be saturated to do its job. Wallpaper isn't saturated
when applied, just surface glued. There is still plenty of
opportunity for mildewing. To reiterate, It is only a surface covering,
it's not really integrated into the membrane like a saturated
fabric is. The 'fabric' needs to be saturated [and thusly integrated
into/with] with the coating/initial glue to form the membrane
structure that provides the water barrier and the "sock effect".

There are some plastic type coatings that also form a membrane,
[like urea(~to bedliner) and some polyurethane products, like
Foamcoat], by themselves, but they generally are more costly.

The canvas with the glue/paint is the old time technology that
still works for our application here - and the cheaper/lower cost
method.

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

Ok, that is what I was wondering. It's a good thing I don't have money saved up for this yet. I have changed my mind about so many things. In my head I have built about 10 different trailers (wood, foam, even cardboard), I still like the idea of the Sunday comics on the outside. The yellow from the TB2 would make it look old. Perhaps after a layer of cloth is down.