Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Just to show you I am not imagining things, here is the 1946 article showing the All Wood Trailer.

http://www.forgottenclassics.com/downlo ... railer.zip

Schrug,,the only problem I see in building an all wood tear/trailer is the wood used in it,,the wood that was available in the 40's was strong due to the closeness of the growth rings (old growth wood),,the stuff you get today has no where the strength as wood then,,the growth rings are wide and there fore have little strength or the ability to hold a screw without stripping out,,if you build with todays wood based on a 1946 plan and use their dimensions of wood members I really think you are asking for some trouble,,with modern glues and fasteners you may be OK but I wouldnt bet my insurance policy on it pulling one down the road,,If you are contemplating building an all wood trailer I would definately suggest using something other than pine,,just a po boys 2 cents worth,,,

chip

You could always use old wood to build it.

The 2x4s that my 1925 house is built out of are way different than ones you get today. For one thing they are really 2" x 4" in dimension. The wood is very hard, hard to drive a nail or screw into. Time to shop for old wood.

There is someone making an all wood teardrop. Maybe it was on the other forum that I saw it.

Nick.

Nick,

Are you thinking of Jiminsav? He's building an all wood trailer with structural beams...

Mike...

Here's another approach to an all wood trailer:

http://www.westsystem.com/ewmag/22/staudacher.html

The wood used is high cost plywood, and it's pretty thin. The epoxy resin used to bond the wood with 'glass cloth is also rather expensive, but it is a technique suitable for one off work.

The trailer ends up with a wooden look, but there's enough resin and cloth that I'm not sure it meets the criteria of being an "all wood" trailer.

Has anyone here built a trailer using materials similar to the West System, perhaps just on the body?

-Scott

I haven't built a trailer body with epoxy/plywood (well, actually, I haven't built a trailer body...) but I have built a boat with it. The boat has only plywood (virtually no framing) and is joined with filled epoxy (no glass tape) and details are here: The Scow
As the boat has done a lot of miles on the roof of a car, I'm very confident that it would be a fine technique for a trailer. But the epoxy isn't cheap and I think much cheaper polyester/glass tape method would work fine.
Andrew

I think I would agree about the old wood. I've wondered too about how people like the all wood ones they've made. And if this 50 yr old house, and the 25 yr old upstairs portion is still standing, and all made of wood, then will an occasionally used TD stand up as well?

Just wondering.... I don't have a ton of money and wanting to do as much work as I could myself, I think I'd have an easier time using wood.

Julie

oklahomajewel wrote:I think I'd have an easier time using wood.

Julie,

I don't think an all-wood trailer should ever be chosen assuming it was going to be easier. If it's going to be safe, it will be a lot more complex than a wood body on a metal chassis. The chassis can be simplified quite a lot if you build the body as a strong unit - I'll suggest the chassis off my own Superleggera design as an example, though that does still need some welding. Mike has a bolt-together frame design though the thread this link points to hasn't got as much info as I remember - MIKE - where is the better info?

Andrew

Oh no no no.... really, I meant building the teardrop out of wood but using a 5x8 trailer! I just meant getting the trailer, tongue, chassis whatever (see I'd HAVE to buy that! haha) but then from there using good 3/4 plywood for the base, floor, walls, etc,....
DEFINITELY not a wood chassis!!!

See? this is why I need plans! haha.... I'm handy and could do most of the work, even if I don't call something the right name but DO build it the right way.

I am soon to be divorced and have joked with a friend of mine that I need to date an electrician, then a carpenter and then a pilot ( for a vacation!) ... now? maybe I need to date a Teardrop Master !!!!!


Julie
in Oklahoma

Julie,

The trailers that are being discussed here on the forum are mostly steel trailer frames and then wooden bodies. Most people have skinned their trailers with metal or other waterproof materials, but it's not chiseled in stone to be a requirement. There are a lot of all wood (excluding the trailer frame) tears out there. Just keep asking questions. You'll find out all you need to know to build a trailer here on the forum.

Julie,, sounds like you are on the right track ,, just dont get caught up in the "over-build" syndrom that a lot of folks (including me) seem to do,, acquire stable frame, and build a good solid wood tear on top and secure the two together well and you have a solid uni-body unit that will survive most conditions and give ya a bunch of years of pleasure,,

being single also, sounds like I need to date an interior decorator, a good cook, etc etc,,,,,

keep us up on your success on putting a tardrop together,,, and as always take a lots of pictures,, we loves us some pictures

chipper

I've used the West System on my boats and on my tear with great success...I did however only use the top coat epoxy on top of the marine grade mohogany, no cloth....At that point I had the structure built into the trailer and only used the epoxy for the top coats, use #207 hardener....It does have to be sealed to protect against UV...You can use varnish...will require annual maintenance...I shot mine in auto clear coat...What's nice is that I can wash and wax it and still have a super finish..just like doing the car!
Hey Andrew...how about a stitch and glue tear???? .....Doug

doug hodder wrote:Hey Andrew...how about a stitch and glue tear????

Well, both the original Trailerboat and the new Dink Carrier designs on my web site would be easiest to build using stitch and glue construction - of course they could be built in framed plywood like a 60s ply boat, but that's much harder.

I recently saw a 30+ year old dinghy that had to be condemmed because the transom plywood had rotted out - interesting because it was built using polyester resin and glass tape. It's a shame no-one thought to soak the ply in polyester as we now do with epoxy. Epoxy is better but I am really not convinced that it is needed in many, many applications outside of race boats and aeroplanes.

On the subject of wood trailers, we should add a link to epoxy-plywood reace car trailer on the Gougeon Brothers web site - a good demonstration of what plywood can do.

Andrew