Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

It's well below zero here in Minnesota today, so building a foamy is out of reach for a while. But I'm planning and acquiring parts for spring. If I believe in spring it will come right?

I'm thinking of building a 5ft wide foamy on an 8x4 HF Heavy Duty trailer. I already owned the trailer so it seemed like a natural choice.

Well I'm cheap as anybody when it comes right down to it, and a little while ago I found some RV windows on craigslist for $5. I figured only the little one would fit.

It's about 22x15 a perfectly respectable, if a bit dirty and slightly beat up, small sliding window. I am planning to clean it up and paint and tint it. I figured if I made support frame 1x3s probably, cut to fit around the window and it's curves and cut out a space in the foam like a hard point and gorilla glued in place before covering the walls that would probably hold it in. What do you think?

Well then the guy also had five other windows for $5 each or $20 for all 6. I didn't take them all in a bit of remarkable restraint. But they were huge. I took one of them figuring even if I decided to cut it apart and just use the tempered glass plates $5 was a great price. But then I got to thinking can I mount it? What would a 21.5" by 57.5" window look like in a teardrop? The answer is of course HUGE. I've been playing around in sketchup. Please ignore the hideous colors. I was trying to explain something to my loving partner who is dense about 3 dimensional things and the color made it clearer.


Is that the worst idea ever? I am only into the window for $5. But imagine all the ventilation. Would it be too heavy? It's just like the little one pictured above but huge.

Might make a Nice “picture window” ... to catch the spectacular views... Teardrop with a view ... 5 bucks for a window (any window) is hard to ignore ...

Gather/plan now , build when the weather is NICE... it’s more Fun that way !!!

Did you get the inner ring with the windows ?

I installed my windows inside the wood frame that Mike had previously made, and it worked out really well.
I wouldn't want to just mount the window in foam, esp a larger window...

More pics in my thread or alblum.



old window



Filled in the corners with foam, covered with canvas, and painted

tac422 wrote:Did you get the inner ring with the windows ?

Yes! They are attached, and a bit torn up, especially the smaller one but they are there, and just about exactly 2" deep. I have more pictures. I haven't put a lot of effort into figuring out if I can remove them, or replace them yet.

tac422 wrote:I installed my windows inside the wood frame that Mike had previously made, and it worked out really well.
I wouldn't want to just mount the window in foam, esp a larger window...

More pics in my thread or alblum.

AH HA! I knew I had seen somebody do it. I was pouring through threads again looking for it. That is pretty much what I was thinking about doing.

GPW wrote:Might make a Nice “picture window” ... to catch the spectacular views... Teardrop with a view ... 5 bucks for a window (any window) is hard to ignore ...

Gather/plan now , build when the weather is NICE... it’s more Fun that way !!!

That is what I was thinking. Also if I know I am going to fit something in I can plan for it rather than later lamenting that it won't work.

It is warmer now, like 4°F and snowing.

Laura

I used the inner rings that came with the window to mount it. Mine weren't wide enough so I spent some time finishing the cutout for the window and just used longer screws. Make sure you use that sticky putty like tape (butyl tape???) when you mount it to get a nice water tight seal!

We used the 3M 5200 Marine sealant to seal our windows ... Good stuff although now the windows are a permanent part of the trailer .. This stuff seals really well, although taking a week to fully cure... Already well tested in our almost daily downpours ...

Laura, I found a set of three used RV windows on Craigslist last year. (Even though I knew I wouldn't be building until this year.) Mine seemed like a deal but yours was practically free.

Laura (the other one)

Parts Salvage for Foamie’ use was one of the Main topics discussed from the beginning ... Basically ALL your materials , windows , hardware ,locks, etc. can be “gathered” long before the actual build... and sometimes for little or no cost (THRIFTY ) ... just for some searching around ... (scavenger hunt) ... Fun itself , in a way !!! Big savings as a result !!! And if you’re a good “gatherer” , you’ll likely have an excess of parts , allowing you to try different things and sizes during the build...better to find out, say if your window is too small from the beginning where it can be easily changed ... That and excess parts always get used on something else anyway ... sooner or later ...

I've been scavenging and buying parts for a while now. Got some RV stabilizers super cheap due to the package being opened and one of them looking a bit used.

I figure the more parts I have before I start construction the more I will know where to put everything when I do start. I think I will give using the GIANT window a try. Even though the interior trim is torn on both windows. Does anybody know if that's replaceable? Or worth the effort/cost. I don't have much in the windows obviously.. so I could spend a bit to improve that.

I've been thinking about canvas and canvas alternatives lately. I live very close to an outlet store for fabrics it's basically a warehouse as big as any home improvement store. They buy leftovers from clothing production runs and other sorts of production runs too. And sell it all pretty cheaply. What do people think about using denim to cover the outside? They have a roll that is 72" wide, as big around as a fridge. I would only have to buy what I need. I haven't found the canvas in there yet. I know I have seen it before but stuff moves around and I was on a mission last time I was in there. 60" wide flannel was $3.50/yd... and that was what I was after.

Denim!! My undereducated self thinks a good quality demin would work as well as canvas for structural integrity. As far as looks are concerned, I'd love a denim covered foamie. Is there something that could be applied that would dry clear, leaving the wonderful demin color & look?

Laura (who's always love blue jeans)

Denim ... COOL !!! Guess a good clear poly over that, something UV resistant or the denim might fade... ... You could do the inside in old blue jeans and leave the back pockets open to hold little things , like a flashlight , or reading glasses ...

I think denim would look cool! I think it should be pretty durable. I guess you could always paint it if you didn't like the color. We all paint the canvas. If in doubt buy some canvas and some of the denim and run some tests... That's how we got where we are today!

GPW wrote:Denim ... COOL !!! Guess a good clear poly over that, something UV resistant or the denim might fade... ... You could do the inside in old blue jeans and leave the back pockets open to hold little things , like a flashlight , or reading glasses ...

So you think if I put denim down with TB2 and then poly over it? I suppose that might work. I am sort of wondering what happens colorwise.

I was thinking of buliding a wee scaled down TD for the cargo trailer for my bike. Mostly as a sort of dog kennel on wheels for long bike rides. Removing all the internal framing really and using the kitchen hatch as the only opening, and putting screen windows in the side. I suppose that would be a fine test of denim. I figured it would be a good way to practice construction techniques on a size that will fit on a table in the house, in the probably 2.5 months between now and when the weather warms up enough for paint or glue outside.

Maybe I'll take some scraps and build identical boxes with denim and canvas. Do a little testing on them.

It may darken a bit , like Wet denim ...and then may dry lighter again ? ... A simple test would tell everything ... (We test Everything around here... we HAD to !!! .. too many non-believers in the early days ... )