Cubby Builders

[BILLYL]

TOM-

I thought about the same thing. What kind of material will you use as the underlayment and how much and what type of material will you use for the fiberglass

Thanks
BILL

[TomS]

Tom,

I researched and considered using Filon, but because of the sizes of pieces I needed, there was going to be so much waste that the cost was too high.

I'm sorry, I wasn't clear in my response. I meant epoxy and fiberglass cloth - not fiberglass reinforced panels. I figure, if it''ll keep water out of boats, it will keep it out of my trailer.

I also considered Filon and dropped the idea due to cost.

[BILLYL]

TOM-

I thought about the same thing. What kind of material will you use as the underlayment and how much and what type of material will you use for the fiberglass

Thanks
BILL

[TomS]

TOM-

I thought about the same thing. What kind of material will you use as the underlayment and how much and what type of material will you use for the fiberglass

Thanks
BILL

The sides will be 3/8 ACX. I'll probably use 1/8 hardboard for the roof.

This project will be the first time that I'll work with fiberglass and epoxy. I haven't made any decisions on exactly which epoxy system I'm going to use. I'm a long, long way from that stage. I've been told that the cost to do fiberglass and epoxy is about the same as aluminum. Maybe cheaper for me since I'm doing a 5 foot wide trailer.

My reasons for choosing fiberglass / epoxy over aluminum are:

1. 5' wide aluminum sheets are tough to find.

2. It eliminates problem with aluminum and plywood having different thermal expansion rates.

3. Fiberglass is easily painted.

4. I was concerned with water getting under the aluminum due to leaks and/or condensation and rotting out my walls.

Steve Wolverton has a lots of experience working with the stuff. His build page http://www.stevewolverton.com/teardrop.html shows how he used it on his project.

[kuffelcreek]

Well Guys, here's your chance.

I'm going through the Cubby plans while upgrading to Adobe Acrobat 7.0 and trying to fix any bugs or inconsistancies. If you have any gripes besides those posted here, let me know and I'll be sure to include them.

To solve the mystery of why I put 1-1/2" spars on the shopping list instead of 1-1/4" is because I was afraid someone would go into Home Depot and ask for the 1-1/4" wide stock, and the kid would answer "lady, they don't make 1-1/4" wide stock!" The 1-1/2" stock on the list was for both the sidewall framing and the spars (which had to be ripped down to 1-1/4").

Oh well, these are the kind of things I'm trying to fix, so feel free to flail away on me and I'll do my best to include everything. Thank you all so much for your kind comments, it's kind of like walking into your own funeral and hearing what everybody's saying about you. I hope you all send brag photos.

Kevin Hauser
Kuffel Creek Press

[toypusher]

Kevin,

I have not started my Cubby yet, but it was pointed out to me that the overall length of the framing for the floor does not account for the 14 degree cut after it is constructed. Not a major thing, but you might want to look at it.

Kerry

[toypusher]

Kevin,

Sorry , I forgot the most important thing - GREAT PLANS . Thanks

Kerry

[mikeschn]

Kevin Hauser
Kuffel Creek Press

Well look who finally decided to come and pay a visit... Mr Cubby himself!!! Welcome Kevin!

Hey, long ago and far away I asked if you were ever going to do another set of plans, and you said something like, after the house was done. So is the house done? Are you ready to crank out plans like our world famous Angib?

Mike...

[BILLYL]

KEVIN-

Thanks for the opportunity.

First as mentioned - good plans.

Some changes I would suggest are:

1. In the Material Lists - please reference what the materials are used for. Kind of a cross walk from the list to the construction section.

2. The length of the frame - required me to go back to my trig functions and dust of my HP 12C and work out the math. (Need to add another 1/2 inch to the 93 7/8)

There maybe others - but I am in the early part of the construction - taking a week by week build theme.

Thanks again

BILL

[angib]

This project will be the first time that I'll work with fiberglass and epoxy.
<snip>
Steve Wolverton has a lots of experience working with the stuff.

And I'll second something that Steve makes clear on his web site - you do realise how much work will be required to get the fiberglass surface smooth, don't you?

If you don't mind the cloth weave showing, plus the occasional epoxy drip or run that you missed, then it's no problem. But if you are expecting to get anywhere near an auto body standard in less than many full days of work, filling and sanding (and then filling and sanding some more), you may be disappointed......

Just my twopennyworth (currently down from its high of 3.9 cents US to 3.7).

Andrew

[TonyCooper]

Kevin,

The inconsistencies I have found are minor compared to the enormous value of the plans. I would not have even thought to consider 1/3 of all the interactions and steps you bring out in trying to build my teardrop without your guide. I'm really quite pleased with the plans overall quality. Correcting or clarifying passages only make your product better.

Just so you see what you are working with from a clientele perspective,
I've never attempted to build anything out of wood before. I'm generally competent with most handiman tasks but I'm certainly not a carpenter or cabinet maker.

I read and reread your manual and then go out and stumble across the steps... and finally get it reasonably correct. Just last week I built the galley lower cabinet frame face.... was proud of myself... put it in place and found I had built it backwards! Ice box was supposed to be on the left but was on the right! YIKES!

I need steps spelled out in english with lots of pictures. No building jargon specific stuff for me! In the few places where you use general carpentry or cabinetry terms I've had to look them up in the dictionary or research the web to understand the meaning. What the &*^% is a cleat? Or a runner? I thought cleats were on football players shoes!

I'm showing my ignorance here but that's what you are up against!

Bottomline: You did a marvelous job on the guide... you shared your knowledge and are helping me make my tear... and you made a few dollars (and saved me a few) to boot! We all win and I'm one happy camper!

Signed: One grateful and very satisfied customer.

[kuffelcreek]

Thanks guys.

Sorry I haven't written before, but I don't get out much. I'm knee-deep in house building still- an 800 sq. ft. granny flat out back that Marty's mom will live into match our 1925 bungalow. I'm building it by myself evenings and weekends (o.k., I do get help from my long-suffering wife who seems to end up with all the rotten jobs). This is our third straight year of construction and we're tired of it. I'm getting ready to drywall next week, so it'll be another 4-6 months before I'm a free man again and can get back to camping and trailer-building.

By the way, if anybody needs immediate help on their Comet/Cubby project, feel free to email me at [email protected]

Thanks again for your kind comments.<img src=http://www.kuffelcreek.com/housew13.jpg>
www.kuffelcreek.com/sierra_project.htm

[exminnesotaboy]

Kevin,
I would agree with Tony above that some of the construction terms used were unknown to me and I had to look them up.

One thing that I really liked in your FAQ's is that you didn't hide the fact that you need some experience/general construction knowledge to make this work.

I am only about halfway through the project and one thing is for sure - there is NO WAY I would have been able to do this without your plans - money well spent!

By the way, great stone work on the porch of the house - I know it is a lot of work, but the end result will clearly make it worth while

[exminnesotaboy]

oh, and back to toypushers original questions about building the cubby.... I don't classify these are "bugs" or "fixes" to Kevins plans, but these two things made contruction a little easier for me:
- I cut the plywood sides and the aluminum all in one shot instead of cutting the aluminum once the sides are up(took this from Tony Coopers build page). Maybe I am not far enough along to see if this could cause a problem later, but it just made sense to me.
- I ran the flexible PVC conduit and all underside electrical wiring before I put the wood floor frame down. It was just easier to work from the top than from underneath - especially since I had to diagnose a pesky ground problem with the trailer wiring

[TomS]

If you don't mind the cloth weave showing, plus the occasional epoxy drip or run that you missed, then it's no problem. But if you are expecting to get anywhere near an auto body standard in less than many full days of work, filling and sanding (and then filling and sanding some more), you may be disappointed......

Just my twopennyworth (currently down from its high of 3.9 cents US to 3.7).

Hmmm, sounds like I'd better make friends with my sander. We'll be spending lots of time together this summer. I also assume that I'll have to wear respritory protection when sanding the fiberglass to keep from inhaling harmful fibers. I can deal with that.

What I'm after is a durable weatherprooof finish for my tear that will accept paint. I don't have a garage. My trailer will live outsiide 365 days a year, including New England winters. It doesn't have to have a mirror finsh. As long as I can get it reasonably smooth so that it doesn't come out look like crapola when I paint it.

I'll probably start off by glassing the doors before I dive in and do the main trailer body. If glassing the the doors proves too problematic, I can always switch to plan B and use aluminum for that canned ham look.