1st Build, COMPLETING a 5'x8' Foamie Teardrop

[SummittDweller]

Hello TnTTT. SummittDweller here.

I'm the Iowan mentioned at the end (http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=58559&start=165#p1198829) of jseyfert3's thread which begins at http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=58559. I've purchased jseyfert3's project and spare parts with hopes of completing the build in the next month or two so I can get back to camping...I miss it.

About 13 years ago I bought a used pop-up camper and had fun putting a new canvas on it. My wife didn't care for it though so after only a couple of years "roughing it" we bought a new pickup and a used 25' fiver. I don't know how many miles we put on that rig but it got us to the Grand Canyon and back, Disney World and back, deep into the Rockies (more than once), and to numerous Geocaching events around the mid-west. It was a great ride.

I'm still active in Geocahing (I am one of the geocache reviewers for the state of Iowa) so I long to stop renting hotel rooms and get back to camping again. I've thought about building a tiny trailer for a number of years but never found the time to get started. A couple of years ago a geocacher I know gave me a set of plans for a teardrop trailer but neither he nor I ever got one started. With two kids in college and a full-time job (at one of those colleges) I just had too many other commitments, not to mention my seat on the local school board and all the volunteer work I do.

I'm a retired (early) Civil Engineer and used to do a lot of woodworking before my kids were born. I still have an extensive wood shop and have just been looking for an opportunity (and time) to get back into it. And along came jseyfert3 with just the kind of start I needed, I think.

If you followed the previous thread please feel free to follow along again. And please share some advice along the way! Like jseyfert3, I also own a DSLR so I'll try to chronicle the completion of this trailer in photos. I took a few last night in order to start drawing up some completion plans, and I'll try to post both the photos and plan here for starters.

Late this afternoon I cleared everything out of the TD and started construction with some demolition. Most of the OSB shelving and partitions in the "galley" of the TD detached during transport last week, and that's OK since I plan to configure things there differently anyway. So today I removed one leftover shelf that didn't fit my plan, and also removed the hardware left behind from some of the torn-away shelving.

My plan in the back is to build in shelving but make the bulk of it accessible from the interior, not from the rear. So there won't be a hinged galley opening...since I'm not likely to need that kind of storage anyway. This should allow me to use the foam that seyfert3 has already kerfed and shaped. The piece he was going to use for a galley door broke along one of the kerfs but that should be OK. I will reinforce it and skin over the whole rear end for strength. I plan to provide an opening, with a latchable door, at the base of the back so I can slide large objects like a mattress and camp stove inside. Above that the rearmost storage area will be accessible from the TD sides, probably using a pair of 10" diameter Gamma Seal bucket lids. In this compartment I'll store long, slender objects like my tent, camp chairs and umbrellas. The two forward storage areas in the rear will be accessible from the interior only.

I've also been thinking about how to reinforce some areas and how to add things like a door latch strike plate in the foam. So today I tested a theory by drilling a 7/8" hole (using a spade bit) in the profile of one foam scrap, to a depth of 3". I then applied some Gorilla Glue in the hole and inserted a 3/4" dowel. 4 hours later (maybe less) I had a solid wood surface embedded in the foam that was clearly strong enough to accept a wood screw. I was able to drill a hole in it and drive a screw with ease. The 'hole' affair is far stronger than the foam around it so I'm confident this technique can be used to join two pieces of foam, or to provide for something like a door latch strike plate.

So that's the plan. Photos and a rear-end profile drawing follow. Let me know what you think.

I used this photo to create my rear-end plan/profile drawing.

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View from the front left corner.

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My initial plan for the back-end of the TD.

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[KCStudly]

Welcome! You have got a great jump start there.

[KennethW]

The galley is the 2nd best part of a teardrop. Very little setting up or packing up to cook. But then you wouldn't miss what you never had.
With foam you can also glue on 1/4 pads to mount stuff.
Just my thoughts

[SummittDweller]

Thanks folks. I have a few questions right out of the gate, maybe someone has suggestions?

I'm not keen on skinning the interior with canvas. Thinking I'd rather just paint the existing surface or maybe a wood veneer. Anything to consider around that or any disadvantages to either approach? What is most common?

Assuming I don't cover it all, what does one do to fill interior holes, gouges, or scratches in the foam? Can it be sanded smooth without damaging the foam?

How about on the exterior? What would one use to fill holes and scratches in the foam, assuming it will be skinned later with canvas?

And what is typically done to conceal overlap/seams in the canvas? Can something be applied and feathered to eliminate obvious joints? Or should I just consider some clever striping of the paint to "hide" them?

Anybody got a good plan for a DIY door latch in a foamie? Or should I bite-the-bullet and consider something like https://www.amazon.com/Travel-Trailer-Lock-Polar-White/dp/B00B56OJHI?

Sorry for all the questions so early. Thanks all.

[alchemist77]

Now I'm watching the continuing build. Curious to see where you take this.

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[SummittDweller]

It's been a slow "trailer" week here, but I sill made a little progress, and I hope to do better tomorrow.

Managed to get my hitch receiver installed (complete with the required Iowa State University cover!) AND my trailer lights module and wiring. It works! I turned a 45-minute install into a 3-hour marathon (complete with one blown fuse) but it works!

[pchast]

[SummittDweller]

OK, so I got started on some bonafide construction today...and I enjoyed it. Started off later than I hoped and decided rather than cutting up a lot of 3/4" plywood I'd make a run to Menards for some supplies...came back with more than expected since today everything had an 11% rebate. Here's what I purchased:

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Started in earnest by leveling up the floor of the TD to give me a reference to work from. I spread the extra canvas over the top to let it dry for a week or so, and I stowed the extra foam board underneath.

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Not much to show here, but this is the first thing I've added to the TD after taking some stuff away.

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[SummittDweller]

Ok, now we're getting serious. I found the rear end of the TD wasn't quite square...probably to be expected when working with foam. So I took a minute and went hunting through some old tools my dad left me when he passed away in 2010. I've never used many of them because I've had a pretty complete shop for the past 30 years, but I sort of remembered seeing an old plumb line somewhere...and found it! Put it to use here to make sure the back side of my shelf aligns perfectly with the rear of the trailer bed. I think dad would be proud, and I know he would have loved working on this project.

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I wanted to get the locations for my rear storage covers (Gamma Seals) marked and since things aren't square I had to improvise. I positioned this where I wanted, drew in the circle (this is a 12" diameter but I might return it and go with a 10" as previously planned). Then I got out my laser level and put it to use so that I could transfer the position exactly from one side to the other.

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[SummittDweller]

Here I reversed the laser level, keeping it square to the frame, and transferred the center marking.

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With the rear shelf screwed into place and the forward, lower shelf also installed, the plan was to add a large 3/4" plywood panel to stiffen everything up. However, as you can see below, I didn't have enough 3/4" ply to do the trick without splicing, and I really didn't want to buy another sheet just for the small portion I would need to do this in one piece. I was also lamenting how much weight that 3/4" ply would add to the build.

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So I changed up my plans here and brought out the heavy artillery...my biscuit joiner. I used it to build three fourths of a rigid frame from 1x4 and 1x3 fir. The frame will take the place of this 3/4" panel and I'll leave it open for now for better access. When I do complete this partition I'll probably use 1/4" panel and make it removable to provide additional access to the rear shelf, if needed. The verticals in the frame will be screwed into the end grain of both the forward (two of them) and rear shelves so the whole affair should be nice and solid.

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I also pulled a couple of tricks here... I didn't have a single clamp long enough to pull the long member of the frame together so I screwed on a temporary cleat in the middle and used two clamps to pull the ends in tight while the glue sets. I also am positioning this frame inside the TD just below one of the seams in the rear of the roof. I'll reinforce that foam with a fir 1x3 and use the portion extending below the roof to tie into the frame. That should significantly stiffen and strengthen the roof too.

I've got a busy Sunday already planned, but I hope to get this frame installed and work on removing a portion of the OSB panel that jseyfert3 installed up front. I'm cutting openings in that OSB and will make another face frame to create a pair of open shelves up top.

[SummittDweller]

Trying this from my iPad using Tapatalk this morning. Didn't have a lot of time but I did manage to get the frame for the shelf supports installed. Made my first mistake when the first shelf hole I drilled missed the target, so I changed from inch and a half drywall screws to 3 inch to get things better support with one fastener only. It seems to have worked nicely.

Now if I could just figure out how to post the photo I took?

Me thinks I found it!



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[SummittDweller]

Got the face frame for the interior face of the shelving built. The glue is setting now. No photos though...ran out of time.

Anyway, I'm writing this note to myself... Tomorrow night I need to cut and install the uppermost shelf attaching it to the support frame pictured above, and the OSB. Once that OSB is stiffened by the shelf I need to cut two long openings leaving 1.5 inches along each of the four edges. The face frame I made tonight will then rest on the lip of the lower interior shelf and it will be glued and screwed to the remaining OSB to stiffen it back up.

[SummittDweller]

Got the interior face frame assembled and sanded and in position to mark some cut out locations in the OSB. That OSB seems pretty solid so the plan is to fasten the face frame to it and allow it to carry some of the SAG from the front of the lower shelf. Hoping to post a picture soon.



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[SummittDweller]

Just installed the uppermost shelf after providing some additional supports. I started to lose faith in the OSB panel that's glued in place because it's getting a little weaker all the time. So I decided to install the shelf to stiffen the OSB before surgery.



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[SummittDweller]

Hallelujah the patient survived thanks to the right tools for the job. I am not a fan of free hand cutting but this didn't go too badly. Now for a little face frame to support it and trim it up.



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