Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I am new to this whole DIY TTT and especially foamies ! Fascinating and very low cost !! I am very "visually" oriented so pictures help a lot !

• Perhaps I missed it, but is there a "best practices" thread ?
• Does anyone bother using the the "heavy duty" foam board like Formular 250 instead of the 150 ?
• Mass produced TT have issues with leaks especially at the roof to wall joint. What techniques do you use to insure a good bond/seal ?
• Similar question regarding attaching the walls to the floor.
• Do you just make a small channel in the foam before the interior is applied to route wires ?
• Please provide some links for suppliers of exterior canvas and interior wall covering.
• What is the preferred finish coating ?

Has anyone "scaled up" a foamie to say 16+' ? Clearly you need some wall framing it just to hold interior cabinetry. A "walkable" roof is a another big step !

First....... Welcome.

leaks are less of an issue because we are wrapping everything in
exterior painted canvas.

I used more wood than I feel I really needed now that its completed
and had some use. I have no interest in a 'walkable roof'. Mine has
stood up to almost a foot of snow for me so far.

Wiz , you know , we’ve been working on that best practices idea for a long time now , just that everyone wants something different, and then it all gets complicated … So we’ve concentrated on Learning How best to build for our particular situation .. Using things we can find ( and afford) in our area . Some things become obvious … Wood rots , Foam don’t … It’s not going to blow up on the highway … and good building practices (and neatness) still count . Best make a plan to follow .. and even better to simulate a mock up of the area you want and sit in it (with all your stuff) for a while to determine if that indeed is what you want .. Like “camping in place “ …

Everything else has been discussed here already , a Lot , and most here are ready and willing to discuss it again , so be specific and you’ll get some specific responses… Otherwise , you’ll have to speed read "the Big thread" , become a Foamling …

May the Foam be with you !!!

I built a couple foam kayaks before building my teardrop so that I would be used to thinking and working with foam, before I built my big foamie.
I recommend doing the same to anyone else. (Google "sawfish kayak" )

There are good ideas, but everyone ends up doing it their own way. The amazing part being that there really isn't a wrong way (as long as you take precautions against foam eating ants, anyway )

Personally I edge glue 2" foam to the top of the floor for my wall/floor joint.
I drive small nails up through the plywood first, using the exposed ends to pin the foam in place for glueing.
To make the joint strong, I jack the finished tear up off the trailer frame, block it up on boards, then wrap the wall skins down under the floor about a foot.
This extra edge is fully glued, and it locKS the wall to the floor in compression.
Any mechanical fastening into foam will fail under tension, as foam is strong when pressed, but weak when pulled.

rowerwet wrote:I built a couple foam kayaks before building my teardrop so that I would be used to thinking and working with foam, before I built my big foamie.

I am very surprised you used plywood for the floor on your foamie build seeing as that is what killed the old pop-up.

I am thinking long and hard about using something else for the floor besides plywood. It you use C-channel or light weight I-beams and divide the whole chassis into no bigger than 2'x2' sections ad used something like Fosmular 600/1000 (so each 2'x2' foam square is supported on all 4 sides by a 2" piece of metal) I am hoping it is strong enough to hold 400-500 lbs.

If I have to use plywood, it will be MULTIPLE coats of The Mix, top bottom and sides.

Don't forget, the more sophisticated (a fancy word for complicated) you make your build in the name of "efficiency" or... whatever, the longer it will take to build and the more expensive it will be.

Trust me, after 6 years building with (more or less) this mind set I just wish I was done already. Of course I still want TPCE to come out just as I envision it, so it is a double edged sword I speak of; but what at first seems like a simple method is so often times complicated when multiplied many times. KISS (keep it simple stupid) is a good plan sometimes.

For anyone who has followed my build, it should be clear that I am not opposed to experimentation, complexity for the sake of meeting design goals (i.e. moderate weight, aesthetics, quality of build, weather proofing, etc.), nor making work to save weight in areas that don't compromise desired amenities; so I hope that my comments aren't taken as derogatory. It's just a vicious cycle sometimes when we break from more traditional build techniques (note that I did not say materials).

So yes, by all means (IMO), consider alternate, lighter more waterproof materials, but don't over complicate the method of construction. Short version, I don't see any benefit to 2x2 squares; the more monolithic, the lighter and stronger your floor will be. If it wasn't for the high cost of top grade materials (select straight grain knot free cedar, 1-1/2 thk blue foam, and 5mm marine grade Okoume plywood), I would have used fewer xmbrs, less blocking, and fewer separate panels to build my foam core floor. The extra pieces just add effort and time to the build.

Maybe an aluminum floor would be almost as light and more waterproof? Add a layer of foam above the aluminum (ala Alaska Teardrop's method) to break the thermal bridge of the aluminum and you get simple, waterproof and insulated for both sound and thermal energy.

Wiz, I get it !!! And by asking the right questions I think you already know the right answers …
You know , we’ve always considered this a “Thinking Man’s “ trailer , because YOU get to make all the decisions, choices , and level of involvement ($) .
Here, you’ll get many and varied opinions … that ALL work !!! … Everybody builds differently , but with a little reading , you’ll find several build things we all share …
Good Luck !!! Bone 4 Tuna !!! If you get stuck on a particular thing , there’s always somebody here to ask .


Ps. I think there’s been a 19’ Foamie already …it was nicely hand painted too .

theoldwizard1 wrote:

rowerwet wrote:I built a couple foam kayaks before building my teardrop so that I would be used to thinking and working with foam, before I built my big foamie.

I am very surprised you used plywood for the floor on your foamie build seeing as that is what killed the old pop-up.

I am thinking long and hard about using something else for the floor besides plywood. It you use C-channel or light weight I-beams and divide the whole chassis into no bigger than 2'x2' sections ad used something like Fosmular 600/1000 (so each 2'x2' foam square is supported on all 4 sides by a 2" piece of metal) I am hoping it is strong enough to hold 400-500 lbs.

If I have to use plywood, it will be MULTIPLE coats of The Mix, top bottom and sides.

The difference being the fabric skin.
Once the tear box was complete, I lifted it off the trailer frame, and set blocks under it so I could work under it easily.
It only needs a 4x4 between the frame and floor to do this.
Then I wrapped the sidewalls with canvas, wrapping the top over the roof almost a foot, and under the floor almost a foot.
All fully glued with TBII.
Before I started building, I also coatedon't the floor with deck sealer, except for the edges where the fabric would be stuck.
Theroof fabric went over the top and was left with the edges sticking out a little.
After I filled all of the canvas with paint, I used a razor blade to trim the edges of the roof fabric off flush with the sides.

After the paint cured I dropped the box back onto the frame and bolted it down.
I used a trolley jack and a rubber chock to lift and lower the body.
The floor plywood will only get damp if I tow it in the rain