Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

The idea has been promoted several times now about using cabinets as Internal bracing for foam walls and roofs , etc. Becoming a structural element of the whole uni- body cabin , contributing not only utilitarian storage and added strength, but good looks and style too.

We’ve heard a lot of talk about this but seen nothing pointed out specifically as the intention , nor any novel designs or drawings of these multipurpose cabinets, bed, closets , walls , arches,fixtures etc. Every inner part can have two functions ... Thing is to also make it look Good ... For example a foam composite roof brace can also be disguised as a modernistic "Light Bar “ ...... even incorporating arches ? ... plenty of things to think about ... and Everybody is encouraged to get involved.
Maybe we should start with a simple cabinet ??? ... perhaps one with a pull out drawer of some kind for the plastic forks and spoons ...space underneath for the cooler ... Any ideas ... ???

Check out Steve Wolverton's Puffin. It was built out of 3/8 ply and all supports were either cabinets, bathroom walls, or bed supports. you should be able to replace ply with foam maybe even thinner foam.

gary

My shower walls were built using the foam/luan sandwich system. Very light, quite stong.

Gary, that Puffin has always been a favorite since the first time I saw it in the HoF..

Bob, Foam and thin plywood is a "sure thing"... ultra strong ... We first thought the easiest way to reinforce a wall was to add a thin wainscoting halfway up ( looks traditional , imparts great strength to the floor to wall join. )

Here’s just a rough sketch of one idea , an extreme example of how cabinets ,light duty shelves ,and the arch could possibly be used for internal bracing ... Just an idea !!! All Foam , plus a bit of hybrid skinning in places for utilitarian strength ... Just crumbs for thought ... I know youse’ guys will come up with some better ideas !!!

Internal bracing by cabinets, walls, etc, is a great idea especially if you are going loger or building a standie.

How would you join the foam to the wall and then cover it, just wondering out the order of the process. would you skin the inside of your walls first or do the interior foam work glued to the foam walls/roof then skin it all?

I installed my shelves and bulkhead using dadoes. Makes for a lot stronger attachment point, 3 sides instead of 1. Plus, the shelves will share the weight on the walls instead of on a glue point to the walls.

DADOES !!! Great if you have the tools for that ... What about if we don’t have the luxury of a dado saw or router ??? ( Guess we’d better get one eh ? ) If dadoes work for the cab to wall join , then it should also work well for cabinet assembly ... Could always just butt Glue on cabinets solid to walls and floors , and roof and use “reinforcing strips” to blend into the wall ... always a good use for them eh !!! Works on the Outside so ... Maybe all this "cabinet work" should be started first and then the outside added to it , like the Wooden TD builders do ... Start inside , build out ...

Lo’ .. Maybe skin everything First and work from there ... Slots , tabs etc, wold have to allow for the added skin thickness whether it be bedsheet , decorative fabric, painted chipboard or plywood of some sort ..

Glen a wire cutter like your could be made to fit the shape. That foam company we talked about in the big thread sold a cutter they called a router


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Bonnie that’s true huh !!! ... It’s odd that here there seems to be a reluctance to using a hot wire cutter , which is a Super way of cutting foam , and not messy at all except for the fumes... In the old days before foam came in thin sheets (FFF) , Everybody had a hot wire set up ... ( the RC airplane guys were hot wiring foam back in the early 70’s , nothing new )

This is one of the "core" ideas in my design. ( sorry, sorry, couldn't resist)

The bed platform is ply, as is the structure forming the galley area. I see now that the galley will need some form of perimeter framing to give enough rigidity to the whole thing and provide support to the "lid" There are thin arches running forward from the galley, and side rails alongside the bed, (extends under when in gets in front of the A frame) to a backrest/headboard type assembly in front. A cut out light ply "space frame" side panel to support the foam wall and door frame. Some boxing in front of the wheel arch to give a footwell. I figure to use some thin bendable ply as the basis of the roof panel with the foam/fibreglass over. As I said in my own thread, the whole thing then gets fibreglassed, and the very light frame bolted and bonded onto it, probably using wood struts embedded in key places.

In my head, this sort of follows the basis of Colin Chapman's early Lotus designs. The first Elan had an X frame backbone design that the fibreglass body was bolted to, though in the original, it seems the body didn't impart much strength. My thought is that the shell and interior frame results in very light, but rigid structure. Additional benefit is that the whole thing is pretty much wrapped in foam, which will help with insulation.

All of my walls bulkheads and shelves were put in with Dadoes as well. They're all 1-inch foam. I made a cutter from a solder gun and some 12ga copper wire. Guides made from scraps of 1x4.

They really stiffened things up, and made things feel quite solid especially before most the trailer was canvased. I canvased them as well.

There’s so many different ways of using inner structures for support ... Egg crates for example ... the inner structure supporting walls and roof .. not adding much weight ...
.. Just incorporating little bits here and there can add tremendous inner strength .. Using these shapes for utilitarian purposes makes every part useful ... and not just a brace ( but a brace disguised )

One other point might be made for keeping the structures/bracing low would be of the most benefit ( floor wall junction) ... Avoiding a lot of excess weight at the roof ... The roof doesn’t need that much bracing , unless you’re going to dance on it ...

Here’s a quick sketch indicating where the most stress is on a trailer . Unlike a triangle , with a square , you can apply pressure to any two diagonal points and the box will collapse ... Adding diagonal cross braces or a “wall “ prevents the flexing ...and subsequent collapse.. We know “cabinets” benches, beds , etc can provide this bracing