A couple of newbie questions.....

[les45]

Question 1: I see most people coating or covering the inside floor area under the mattress. Is there a reason why you wouldn't leave it bare so it can dry out if you do get any moisture (leakage or condensation) inside the cabin?

Question 2: I am looking at the manufactured doors from Vintage Technologies on ebay. I like the looks of the 26X32 and the extra structural strength it will give my 48" sidewalls (3/4" ply). Does anyone have any experience getting in and out of the 32" door vs. the taller 26X36 that is also available. I'm not looking to accommodate any more than my 5-10, 180lb frame.

Thanks in advance for any feedback. Great forum!

Larry S.
Aiken, S.C.

(p.s. - I took the first step today and ordered my NT 5X8 trailer; decided to go with a modified weekender style)

[DMcCam]

Hi Larry, Welcome to the fun! I'm still working on my build but I will be sealing the interior complete with varnish. Untreated wood is by nature designed to deteriorate if left to its own devises. Not to mention if you spill something bad on it unintentionally. My walls are 1" sandwich construction with door openings of 34" x 37" to make it as easy as possible to get in and out of the TD. High quality 3/4" plywood with the standard 1 1/2" sandwich roof construction will amaze you how strong it is. I guess I'd go as big as possible.

All the best,

Dave

[streetrod23]

I used poly urethane on mine, that way if water does comes in it won’t penetrate and wont need drying out. Hopefully just wiping out. Plywood should be sealed on both sides to prevent warping and you will definitely want to seal the underside. the water base flecto is easy to use and is very durable

[aggie79]

Larry,

I did as you asked about and left the interior side of my floor unfinished. I did cover it with those snap together exercise matts. My ceiling and interior sidewalls are also "breathable" with the thinking that any moisture that penetrated the exterior would have an easier way out.

Take care,
Tom

[nevadatear]

We put vinyl floor remnant on our floor. Realized I didn't want to scrap my hand along bare wood when I made the bed. It was covered with several coats of rustolium first.

[campmaster-k]

Mine is sealed everywhere. It is my opinion that the unsealed wood will take on moisture and swell when in a humid environment and shrink when it dries. This back a forth cycle will likely effect all the joints.

[David S]

Mine is plwood sealed with polyurathane for the afformentioned reasons and 1 other.Raw wood absorbs smells of all kinds and will eventually smell musty.
My door openings are 31"wx36"h and provide pleanty of room.Welcome and remember we want

[mike_c]

Regarding your floor, at the very least I think you should seal it to prevent moisture from swelling and contracting the wood too much. I'm gonna seal mine with poly-- I'm still building and the floor is unfinished currently-- then lay down a piece of vinyl flooring or something similar just to make a nice smooth, scuff resistant floor under the mattress. I'm also considering putting down a layer of very cheesy outdoor type carpet between the vinyl and the mattress-- the point of the carpet, which has a very short and stiff pile-- is to allow air to circulate under the mattress, thus limiting moisture accumulation and mildew. Don't know if that'll work as planned, but that's what we're thinking about.

I'm not building a standy/crouchy so I don't have any insights to offer about the door. Best of luck with your build!

--Mike C.

[grant whipp]

Obviously, Larry, there are a LOT of differing opinions out here! Here's my experience (28 years building teardrops, a couple of years building RVs before that, and 20-odd years building boats) ... even after cutting, drying/curing, and processing, wood is a living breathing entity ... its inherent nature is to absorb and then dissipate moisture (ambient or otherwise) ... when you completely seal wood, you prevent that inherent ability, which sometimes isn't all that bad ... but when that seal is compromised and moisture finds its way in, the rest of that "seal" keeps the moisture from getting out, and wood rot starts its ugly process. I paint my floors with a breathable latex paint ... other's experiences may/will vary ... ...

Re: door size: go as big as you can! With the radius corners of those doors, you will NOT be affecting the overall strength of your plywood walls!

Good luck, and as always ...

CHEERS!

[GuitarPhotog]

My floor is just painted plywood, and it has lasted approximately 65 years to date

It's completely covered by the mattress, so you can't see it and the trailer doesn't leak so there's no moisture down there.

I figure if it has lasted 65 years with just a coat of paint or three, I'm not going to worry about linoleum or laminate flooring. If you have so much moisture from condensation that it's an issue, you need to deal with your air circulation problems, not your flooring.

<Chas>

[DragonFire]

Mine is covered with rust shag carpet. No lie. It's dang cool, too!