I need some direction

[flyguide]

So 3 years ago I buy a 2008 6 wide sport from a guy in the Catskills. Good price and I have used it alot because I go fishing all over the place. Took the front end of trailer and instead of loading Quads on it I fastened some old Job boxes that I had and filled them with the stuff I need camping and fishing, it worked very well. Since I have owned this trailer I have small leaks and have patched all as I found them.

Last weekend went to Salem Mass. and stayed a week. When I arrived home i found that one of the walls had separated from the floor and rear wall. So I go to fix it and the more I delve the more rotten stuff I find. Long story short, I went down to the metal frame.

I have been on this site for some years and have watched builds from a distances and now must start my own.

I need some direction!

[David S]

Do you like the profile,size etc, of what you have?
If so just use the old parts for patterns and put it back together.
Use one of the sides as a pattern,fasten it to the new pc of plywood,use a router with a guide bit and cut the new pc.
You have all the parts,trim,galley hinge,etc,if you make exact copies of everything you can rebuild her.
Just make sure you seal the top at the wall better than it was.
you know where go if you have questions

[booyah]

Looks like you have a frame, doors, hinges, and all the hard parts. Sounds like its a build to me!

Build it how you want it now, rather than how it was. I bet you can think of a few things you've wanted over the years that shouldnt be too hard to incorporate.

If you build it... You will love it!

[flyguide]

The design was poor. There was no framing just two pieces of plywood screwed to the steel frame. The hatch has to be redone because of poor quality. Hinge stood so high a puddle formed behind it.
Can i purchase 6.5 ft Aluminum? Or will I purchase 4X8 and piece it together? I was a Contractor and Firefighter, i'm now retired. I have the knowledge and time to build it. its finishing that the hard part.

[booyah]

I dont have an answer for you on the aluminum, I finished mine with wood, epoxy, fiberglass tape on all the seams/edges and the house paint.

From what I understand that should be waterproof as long as nothing major hits it (major enough to break epoxy'd wood) and should look nice as long as the paint lasts, then I can srape/sand it off and repaint.

I looked at aluminum, but was worried about the idea of water getting underneath and starting things rotting. With epoxy, it really cant get "underneath" unless it get there from the inside.

[GPW]

Fly , we’ve heard that ROT story all too often and experienced first hand how quickly a commercial trailer can turn into oatmeal ... So you may want to check out the foamie’ section , where we waterproof wood and make trailers that don’t Rot ...

[noseoil]

I'm having trouble finding 5' wide stuff for my build, but I will get something which works. There's a way around it for the 6' wide stuff. There are plenty of builds out there with seams in the roof which don't leak. Some of them were built after WWII out of aluminum aircraft skin material and are still as good as the day they were made. Butyl rubber tape (& now the newer adhesive tapes from 3M & boat-building caulks) work very well to seal & glue stuff together. I would never rely on just the glue for a seam on the roof, but with screws or rivets, there's no problem with a seam if it's done properly.

Do your layout on a sheet of cardboard that's big enough for a full scale drawing, plan out what you'll need for comfort, then do the build. As was already said, you have a lot of the major stuff now to work with, so it's just the idea of mapping out what you want to "new" trailer to be, then doing it. You have a nice frame & lots of hardware, make something that's yours! With the platform you have, a 6' X 10' would be plenty big enough for a full galley, large bed & some storage inside.

LED lighting is pretty reasonable now to buy & run. It doesn't take a large battery or solar panel to keep things charged up and topped off if it's in the design. What about a propane bottle in the front to run a stove for your fish-fry off to the side when in camp?

It's not a problem, it's an opportunity to make something which is better than before & has more comfort. I say just do it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuXxy8cjZQA

[dales133]

Yea as noseoil said dont stress about sheet width.
Im doing my front/roof in 3 sheets mostly because i got them for a song but secondly because its so hard to find anything wide enough.
Screwed and glued joins on spars arnt going anywhere if cares taken installing them.
Im using painted canvas under tbe skin as extra insurance so even if the seams leak its watertight.

[flyguide]

Thank you all for the encouragement. This week I installed a floor still figuring out the shape,sides and hatch details.

[KCStudly]

To repeat often heard advice on here: Try large truck repair shops for wide format aluminum skins. They use it for walls and roof lining on large box trucks and semi trailer vans. 102 inch by any length you want is common and it usually has at least one side white. Just have to ask them to be careful to tape the edges before rolling it up, otherwise it can get scratched up in transport.

[flyguide]

Truck Supply!!! Yes of course. Thank you for steering me straight. I have so for only located 4X8 sheets.
I
m going to the General discussion site and ask many questions Thanks again.

[flyguide]

What is the advantage or disadvantage of 3/4 plywood walls or 1/2 plywood with studs and interior sheathing?
I have seen many different ways of making hatches. Some notched some not. Whats the difference? Is there a ready made hatch that doesn't leak and can lay on a 45 degree angle
Are Square Drops Any better than Rounded? Seems to me I can get better seals with a square drop?
This week I built the floor it is 6 wide by 7 long. Frame with two coats of that nasty roof tar,3/4 ply floor and congoleum on top.

[KCStudly]

Is your bed up off the floor in the curvy part of your walls? Otherwise 7 ft floor seems kind of short to me (6 ft tall, plus pillow and a little room to stretch).

The advantage to a curved roof structure is the inherent strength of the arched shape and the ability to omit seams. A curved surface brings depth to the shape that adds rigidity.

That being said, plenty of simple, angular profiles have been quite successful. Build what you want, but don't be afraid of curves; they're not as difficult as they look, provided you don't go too tight on your radii and use thin enough ply. Even 5 mm ply can get down close to 13-1/2 inches radius w/o steaming (tho I had a little blowout in one spot). There are lots of examples of 1/8 inch, sometimes applied in multiple layers, going much tighter.

If you are not insulating and just want to build fast, simple 3/4 inch ply walls are okay (I guess ), but if you want the thermal (both hot and cold) and sound insulating properties, it makes more sense to take the time and build lighter with thinner skins using stick built frames or skeleton ply cores. Now there is a whole debate on what thickness outer skin makes sense. If you are off road a lot and concerned about puncture resistance from branches and brush you may want to consider 1/4 inch as the minimum (glued to the foam and frame). Most people agree that thicker is just added weight, but there are some guys that consider themselves hardcore wheelers who won't go less than 1/2 inch (seems excess for most usage to me). Street only builders have often said that they wished they had used only a single layer of 1/8, both inside and out. Consider thinner ply with aluminum rock guards in susceptible areas.

Most of my build is 5 mm, except the tongue box floor and galley counter top are 1/2 inch. I did a composite floor, hybrid foamie walls, cabinet and shelf floors, ceiling and hatch inner skins, all using good 5 mm ply.

[flyguide]

I love this place. Thanks for the advise. I can also run the wiring through the walls.
One of my friends has told me to start a build page this way more eyes and more advise.

[KCStudly]

Best advice I can give is to read a lot of the build threads here; read the construction techniques thread and stickies. There is a ton of info in this site that it is a shame to make the same mistakes that all of the combined efforts here have "been there and done that", "here's what worked for me and what did not, and why".

If you just rush thru your rebuild without taking advantage of this great resource, you are bound to relive at least some of the mistakes.