5x8 Teardrop Newbie Build

[cothurnal]

My husband and I are on a time crunch to build our first trailer (at least to the point of basic functionality) in 6 working days (3 weekends). We leave for a 2 week road trip on July 19th and we began our build on June 28th.

Once we return, we'll upgrade the finishes, add interior storage, clad the roof in aluminum and run electrical.

As the build has been primarily by my husband, I'll most likely have to add the details of what we used after the fact. He's been a little bit too busy to give me the play by play.


Day 1/2:
Assembled the base, coated underside with black goo, insulated, cut the sides


The Workshop


The base. 5'x8' utility trailer from Lowe's. 350lbs, rated for 1650lbs


Smelly and mysterious black goo that I can't recall the name of.

Day 3:
Sides up, cross beams installed, trial & error with window & door fitting. Parked for the week in a garage.. didn't take 15 tries to back it in.. nope..


Sides up


Bracing/cross beams


Back up attempt 12

Day 4:
Framing, insulation, interior skin


Framing & insulation


Lead hand


Does it fit?


Fun with routers

Day 5:
Interior skin continued, exterior skin and a few pieces of broken plywood.


Safety officer


Troubleshooting the skin


Almost sealed up, how do we hatch?




We have one more full day to finish it (this Saturday). We have to build the hatch, trim/seal the inside, finish the roof skin and we are still in debate on how to seal the roof. Our roofing experts tell us to apply peel & stick underlayment that has a 6 month UV rating before cladding the roof in aluminum when we return from our trip. I'm not sure that I've seen anyone use it but they are adamant it's the best way to go. We may also clad the sides.

http://www.interwrap.com/Titanium/psu_30_main.html

[drhill]

wow, you have done allot of work in 5 days!

That roof underlay material would be heavy and unattractive for sure. I've used the IKO Armourguard which is a similar product for its intended purpose on roofs under shingles but I wouldn't consider using it on a teardrop roof. Just over 20 years ago I used some Ducan Deckmaster vinyl on a an upper level deck. It is off a bedroom and doesn't get much traffic but does get year round exposure to the sun and weather. It is still in good condition. I think this may make a good product to cover the roof of a trailer and could be permanent. Comes in 6' wide rolls and is sold by the foot at Rona and Home Depot etc.

http://www.rona.ca/en/dek-mastertm-viny ... e-88815020

Your build is looking great!

Don

BTW - it would be great to hear if somebody has used this or a similar vinyl product on a teardrop roof.

[cothurnal]

Don,

I'm not sure if we're efficient or really good at cutting corners. It seems like we're slapping it together at record speed.

I'm not too keen on our roof saying TITANIUM PSU30 five hundred times in bright red until we get the aluminum on in a few weeks, either haha. The roofers just want to make sure that we apply an underlayment to prevent condensation from forming under the aluminum which makes sense to me but there must be a middle ground.

My husband just wants to use Black Knight Clear Patch (http://www.homedepot.ca/product/black-knight-clear-roof-patch/901762) but I don't think that will hold up against UV for very long and we would still have to apply an underlayment on top of it before installing the aluminum. I'll look into your suggestion.

Kayla

[gcardogm]

Good morning: Nice Build

I have a couple of questions, did you remove the wire mesh from the bottom of the trailer?

How's the trailer holding up?

What's your reasoning for leaving the rails on trailer?

Thanks

George