Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Anyone go this route? I'm thinking of installing it over my epoxied wood TD. http://carwrapsupplier.com/services/pro ... ing-films/

I'm thinking of using it over my FRP skin.

How smooth and eve is your surface?
I've seen a few cars and you can see paint chips under the wrap

A few people have gone to their local sign shops and received quotes ranging from 500-$1000+. They vinyl has a limited lifespan, depending on storage and its exposure to sunlight. Stored outside, only expect 3-5 years. Stored inside it could last a few more years. After that? Good luck removing it.

Not saying it won't work, but for the cost vs. expected lifespan its probably not worth it to the average builder. If you were using it to advertise a teardrop related business? Then yeah, I could see it being worth it.

Party poopers I'm going to do it! Looks like the material can be had for a couple hundred. http://carwrapsupplier.com/services/pro ... ing-films/
If I can figure out how to post pics here I'll post up.

Thanks for the link!
I wonder just how "easy" it is to apply.....might have to get a sample

daddytall wrote:Party poopers I'm going to do it! Looks like the material can be had for a couple hundred. http://carwrapsupplier.com/services/pro ... ing-films/
If I can figure out how to post pics here I'll post up.

Not trying to be a party pooper! Just wanted you to be aware of what you're getting yourself into.

We've applied vinyl to two teardrops already.
However, large sections will need two to three people to apply the vinyl. Also note that the surface must be smooth for the vinyl to properly adhere. We applied the vinyl over a painted fiberglass resin coated luan panel. Any seams, runs, streaks, etc, WILL telegraph through. I have left mine outside for three year so far and no sign of wear. The vinyl does make it easy to clean. Unless you have some outdoor sign / vinyl experience, I would recommend against it. We used Avery 900 Ultimate 2 mil Cast Vinyl ( Use cast vinyl vs calendared vinyl) Opaque it has 9 Year outdoor life. we got it on 4 ft wide rolls We used three colors on the Texas trailer. We used white on the top in insure water resistance. Be warned - red's fade faster than any other color!

I'm a GC so I *think* I can pull off the install. My 16 yo boy and I are building this together, so taking on the wrap job will be a lesson, hopefully a lesson in success. It's luan skinned and will get epoxy coated, body work, prime, paint and finally a wrap. I've painted cars before, so we are "going for it". Did I mention diamond plate flames and 48x48" skylight? Now where is that damn pic button?

One alternative is custom or not so custom graphics, less expensive The process.

daddytall wrote:I'm a GC so I *think* I can pull off the install. My 16 yo boy and I are building this together, so taking on the wrap job will be a lesson, hopefully a lesson in success. It's luan skinned and will get epoxy coated, body work, prime, paint and finally a wrap. I've painted cars before, so we are "going for it". Did I mention diamond plate flames and 48x48" skylight? Now where is that damn pic button?

Lesson learned: If you are really going for it - the epoxy coating is enough, the paint really isn't necessary if you are going to wrap the entire camper (or just paint what is not being covered)

Hit reply,
just below this window I'm typing in is an "options" tab,

next to it is "upload attachment"

What is a GC? Glue Chemist....

starleen2 wrote:

daddytall wrote:I'm a GC so I *think* I can pull off the install. My 16 yo boy and I are building this together, so taking on the wrap job will be a lesson, hopefully a lesson in success. It's luan skinned and will get epoxy coated, body work, prime, paint and finally a wrap. I've painted cars before, so we are "going for it". Did I mention diamond plate flames and 48x48" skylight? Now where is that damn pic button?

Lesson learned: If you are really going for it - the epoxy coating is enough, the paint really isn't necessary if you are going to wrap the entire camper (or just paint what is not being covered)

Editing myself - if you are going the epoxy route: most epoxies do not have a UV inhibitor built in. So painting is required over all epoxy surfaces to reduce UV penetration. Check to see if your epoxy is UV protected. On my builds, I used inexpensive poly resin. Poly resin (Fiberglass resin) is UV resistant and does not need painting over, thus being overlaid with out paint.

One thing most videos do not mention is to spray the adhesive side as well as the surface with a light mist of soapy water solution (usually about three drops of soap per quart will do) this will prevent the vinyl from sticking to itself. Large sheets tend to do this when peeling the back to do the initial lay down. The soapy solution keeps this from happening. Without it, the sheets will crease when stuck together and that section will be ruined. It also helps with the placement of vinyl. Then use a rubber (NOT PLASTIC!) squeegee to work out any air bubbles and water solution. Ideally you should be doing this as you go along, laying down the vinyl.

starleen2 wrote:

starleen2 wrote:
Lesson learned: If you are really going for it - the epoxy coating is enough, the paint really isn't necessary if you are going to wrap the entire camper (or just paint what is not being covered)

One thing most videos do not mention is to spray the adhesive side as well as the surface with a light mist of soapy water solution (usually about three drops of soap per quart will do) this will prevent the vinyl from sticking to itself.

Interesting. The stuff I'm looking at in the links above is put on dry with heat. It talks about it being embossed to let the air bubbles escape. I haven't seen the soapy bubble stuff yet in my research.

I know that painting isn't required, but we will do it anyhow since I have all the tools, except for a spray booth. Like I said, it's a father son project. We will paint and wrap the trailer so my sn can get a feel for both.

Every time I try to load pics here it tells me it was an invalid file. Do I need to resize the photos? How do I resize? I know some of you are thinking "how is this guy going to wrap his TD when he can't even figure out how to post pics!

We were going to wrap our new tow truck cab. We were told it would last about five years and would become permanent. The paint finish under the wrap would also be damaged at that point. They said if we changed it yearly or at best every other year we could keep paint under the wrap.
I have seen clear masks on the front of cars after a few years that looked like dried lake bed in the desert. I think the cost benefit is questionable until they improve it.

Any update daddytall? I'd love to see it and know how the install went.