by JaggedEdges » Sat Mar 25, 2017 10:17 am
If you've got a trailer for camping, you want to tow it frequently, and if it starts raining on a Sunday, when you've got to be back at work Monday morning, you're going to tow it in the rain. Hence, any skinning method you use, you want to be water tight, not just from rain falling in predictable straightish lines from vertically above, but from water and air pressure driven spray from all directions. Watch in the car when you're driving in the rain, there's drops running UP your windshield and side windows in places right?
As angib used to say, water has such a magnetic attraction for bedding, it will run uphill to get to it... It will, really, on tow it's air pressure driven, if you've got a skin or window or roof to wall join in front that's only weather resistant by virtue of the fact that it's got the higher piece overlapping the lower piece, then driving into rain and spray, it will get through.
Tiny houses may "get away" with this because A) they are towed seldom and B) you might be able to pick your weather for a relocation, and you probably should.
Therefore, if you're determined to build a small trailer with it ....
It is likely to be superflously heavy compared to other methods, on small trailers you can "deal" with this, but as soon as you start going much past 12ft, the weight will really build up on you.
Either, build a water tight skin, then add siding over it to suit your cosmetic preference, knowing that it's dead weight and being okay with it. Or, select the thinnest, clearest boards, no knots whatsoever, use a glue with great spacefilling properties, and lay up a panel, clamped together while setting, such that each tongue and groove is sealed and a strong mechanical joint, and then use this as if it was a plywood panel as outer skin, sealing all fastener holes and coating it with a superior grade clear finish, like a clear epoxy resin.... or spar varnish if you really want to redo it every 3 years.
Personally, I have been contemplating use of tongue and groove 1/4" cedar closet lining, made up into a panel for the interior of my build, this because cedar will be about same weight as 1/4" ply when panelised, and will have natural insect/rodent/rot repellance, and the sealing/knottiness is not a problem for the interior wall. Also should look nice, so partially a cosmetic consideration. Also an economical consideration because it can be as cheap per unit area as the cheap 1/4" ply, where the cheap ply might be composed core garbage, so you'd want to spend more to do it in ply.
Jack of all trades, Doctor of rocket surgery and fellow of the noble college of shadetree meddlers. "in argentum tenax vinculum speramus"