Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Now then , it seems our testing of PMF left outside is complete ... It's been ~ 10 years now with the FS sitting outside all the time through Hot summers and Rainy winters, hurricanes , and the constant Humidity of our area. And after this time I'm seeing some deterioration of the PMF . Not a total failure but some small spots of rot starting to show ( and leak ) ... which will require patching ... Had it been kept in a covered shelter of sorts I believe it would still be fine ...
The foam and woodworks are still fine , so now we have the option of just patching the Trailer , or even re-covering it .. Likely we will just put a few patches on and continue the test ...
The other option is to construct a new smaller trailer , since our needs have changed over the years ...

My vote goes to a new trailer build

For now , we're just going to repair the FoamStream ... ...A matter of cost and Time .
And if it came down to it , The FS is still in good shape and a total re-canvassing wouldn't be that difficult ..

I doubt that most RVs could stand ten years outside with no maintenance and not leak.

Pmullen503 wrote:I doubt that most RVs could stand ten years outside with no maintenance and not leak.

You're certainly right about the quality of mass-produced RVs. And Glen lives in a jungle--so to speak.

Tony

We had a Jayco , outside , didn't last the warranty period. ... Jayco blamed us for leaving it outside ... Didn't honor the warranty (typical) ... I'm completely Happy with the 10 years on the FS ...
It is a Jungle here ...

In ten years , including the reflooring a few years back , The FS has cost me less than $2000, That's $200 per year ... very affordable ...
The patching won't cost me a thing but a little time , as I still have some Gripper and canvas.. ( As an Artist , I always have Canvas around )

Yesterday my Helper and I went in the FS and removed a number of moldy pillows and some carpet . Some of the front wall had mold on it too ... We threw the pillows away . And will have to remove the chipboard wall covers on the front for replacement ... All caused by a leak in the canvas covering on the nose ... Something we " should" have repaired earlier ... ...

Lesson learned .... Don't let your maintenance get ahead of you ... Even a little leak is still a leak ... And of course I blame myself ...

And will have to remove the chipboard wall covers...

Is that OSB and would you use it again?

Tony

Tony , no worries , Chipboard !! Waterproofed ... Thy can be cleaned up , or easily replaced ... No OSB...save a round piece on the floor in front , well treated with the Mix and that was fine ... Here's a couple pics of the rot ... Note this is after 10+ years living outside ... in out warm Humid climate ... Not bad really , a couple patches and some mold remediation and we're good again ...

Well with more Spring deluge on the way I did the right thing and taped over the obvious holes ...till we can get some patches on it ... Am I upset ? No, I'm Happy it lasted this long out in the worst conditions... Over Ten years outside ... And my Jayco didn't last a year outside ... I think this was a success... Had I Stored it under a shelter or garage , it still would be perfect .. ( maybe Dusty )

Love that Gorilla Tape ...

The remarkable thing to me is the trailer , having gone through many Hurricanes ,Storms . etc. never blew over... Gotta' be the rounded top ...The trailer was empty.

Thinking the next one will have a round top too ... Just smaller so it will fit in the garage .. Testing's over !!! PMF has proven itself to me ...

GPW wrote: Testing's over !!! PMF has proven itself to me ...

Sounds like good service life for your PMF. Would you be kind enough to point to a topic with your build recipe or briefly mention the foam covering schedule?
lumberyard XPS I assume?
thanks

After you first built it,did you repaint it at anytime in the last ten years?