Did these trailers ever exist?

[teardrop_focus]

MushCreek

That's a neat-looking trailer. It would be fantastic if someone would build one for real.

caseydog

Did any of you Californians make it to the Travel Trailer exhibition at the Petersen Museum a few months back?

No, dammit, and there's no excuse for it. I live 30 mins away, if that...

Wish'd I'd known.

The Petersen has had travel trailer exhibits before, but the last one I went to had more of the mid-century modern thing as the theme. I was just stunned, and this was way before I was infected with teardrop fever.

I know that birch will line my lil' cocoon.

48Rob

This is an old car that I once owned...

That's a Model A speedster... very cool!

[MushCreek]

Being a former boat builder, it really wouldn't be a big deal to make a mold for a cabin like that. I'd probably make it two pieces, with a seam down the middle, which could be covered with molding. If I thought I could sell a couple shells, I'd do it! The tricky part would be finishing the interior, though. To do it right, you'd want a molded inner liner, too, like a boat, but of course, that would entail another set of molds. I'll draw up a prototype at work tomorrow.

[stomperxj]

I tried throwing this thing into Autocad and playing with it some. After about 45 minutes all those compound curves started to make my brain itch and I quit... Very cool shape though. I like it...

[grant whipp]

Y'All are fergittin' strip-buildin' outta wood ... ya know, like canoes & kayaks! Build yerself some formers outta plywood, figuring 1-1/2" to 2" of wall & celing thickness ... then go to town on the outer skin of 3/8" thick by 1-1/2" wide cedar/mahogany/spruce or whatever strips, shapin' as you go ... when the outer skin is done, 'glass it over with 'glass cloth & epoxy. Now, go inside & run all yer wirin', plumbin', etc., and start layin' in scored sheets of foam for insulation. Follow that with an inside skin of of 3/8" thick by 1-1/2" wide cedar/mahogany/spruce or whatever strips, and just seal with epoxy or clear poly. You could even do some curved & sculpted interior walls in the same manner.

No, not particularly easy ... nor quick, by any means ... but not particularly hard, either. They do it with boats all the time ... ...

CHEERS!

Grant

[BobR]

I was shooting a car there when the exhibition was in place...

http://www.petersen.org/default.cfm?docid=1066

Why, did it try to mug you?

[MushCreek]

Okay, kids, here ya go. I don't think regular strip planking would work- the curves are pretty sharp. More like molded plywood, I think. Mine looks much pointier in the back than the model. I didn't put windows in yet- my CAD was sweating bullets just trying to do this much. Lots of wasted space, and a real bear to build a liner in- let's do it!

[Alleged User]

Sort of reminiscent of this design...

[teardrop_focus]

Okay, kids, here ya go.

Nice, Jay!

Can you round the fenders? Take the harder edges off and make them appear more like the diecast?

Just curious...

[kennyrayandersen]

You know this is one of them think that are cool, but not so practical – Like a pyramid-shaped hotel – it looks really cool, until you realize that the volume is only 1/3 base times the height and you can’t stuff so many guests in it. Likewise, it looks like with all of the ‘cool’ shaping you are also (especially in the galley) losing some serious space. Don’t get me wrong it’s cool and good liking, but the is a ‘price’ for the cool-factor

[jdarkoregon]

<img src="http://www.auburntrailercollection.org/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/hollywoodnomad.jpg">

Tell me about "molded plywood" PLEASE. how different is it from stripbuilding?john

[MushCreek]

Oh- I know it's not a very practical shape- that's half the fun! I could reduce the size of the roof radius, as well as the floor radius in the back to gain interior space.

I'm not exactly sure how molded plywood was done back in the day. In the 50's, there were a number of boat builders, like Penn Yan and Wolverine that built round chined runabouts out of molded plywood. The plywood was usually 3 layers. The strips came off of the keel on a 45 degree angle, with each layer being laid 90 degrees to the previous layer. The smaller boats were 3 ply, and only totaled about 1/4" thick, but due to being glued around compound curves, it was very strong. Toward the end of the 50's, everyone went over to fiberglass, and that was that. What I don't know is how they spiled the planks without incurring a ton of labor. Spiling is the process of making the planks narrower as they come together. If you were to plank a bowl, for instance, the planks would taper down to a point where the planks met in the center. Perhaps they created full sized patterns for each plank?

Strip planking, on the other hand, is a single layer of narrow strips edge glued together. Some are tongue and groove; some have a concave and concave radius on the edges to allow going around curves. If the radii are very tight, strip planks would have to be steamed to bend that tight.

[cuyeda]

Here are some pics of an interior of a Hollywood Nomad I took a few months ago. I try not to post large pictures, but I thought this thread would be interested. It would really tough to do compound curves made of steel.





One of the neat trivias of this trailer... comes with a bathtub.

Check out the crank window.

[doug hodder]

Hre ya go John....this is what I was referring to in construction technique. Doug

http://www.glen-l.com/methods/methdpw.html

[teardrop_focus]

Outstanding! Thanks, Sno0pDougieDoug-u-lation!

I'm even more pumped about building this plywood monocoque, wheeled-vehicle known as a teardrop trailer... if you knew how much of an incurable gearhead I am... if you knew how important it is to me that the structure be really rigid but also quite light in weight... the following quote from Doug's above-posted link is fantastic news! I really did not know this:

Plywood is also, pound for pound, stronger than steel.

Yeah, BUDDY! That's what I'm talkin' 'bout.


(Sure, aluminum is even lighter, but, hey... what can you do. I'm not an aircraft builder. I also wish to remain true to the homebuilt tears of the late '30s... 650 lb, 3/4 ply... one planset even spec'd "imitation leather" for the exterior covering! I'm going alum sheet, though.)

*goes right back to reading that link*

[MushCreek]

I just read an article about molded plywood from the 1950's. Molds were constructed of wood, steel, or concrete. The strips were carefully fitted to one another, although production jobs, such as boats, had templates for each strip. The strips were laid over the outside of a male mold, or inside of a female mold, and stapled to stay put. The glue was a phenolic resin that cured at high temperature. A rubber bag was then put over the plywood, and pressurized to 40-80 psi with steam. The heat cured the glue, and the bag compressed everything into place. Nowadays, you would use a vacuum bag, and glue it up with epoxy. And that, class, ends today's lecture on molded plywood