Streched trailer... hogwash!

[Shrug53]

I have spent a lot of time reading while I have been laid up sick. There is now reason why you could not go several feet larger on your tear than the actual trailer. According to my "How To Build Trailers" book, many people use and unmodified model T frame which was only about 3.5 feet wide and just built a wooden frame on top of it. Many of these unit are still rolling around! I have a heavy duty 4x8.5 foot trailer and I am planning a 5x10 foot tear for it. According to everything I read in the books there is no reason why that should not be solid as heck! There are even plans for a 100% wooden trailer in my book. Heck 2 and 3 story house are made entirely of wood! Having all that steel to support a 1000 pound tear is just overkill. My floor will be a 1" thick frame sandwiched between 2 pieces of 1/2 plywood. When I gave the info to my brother (and engineering student) he told me that would support up to 1500 pounds just on a two foot overhang.
Anyway just my research and my opinion.

[McTeardrops]

The average two or three story home is never going to run through potholes at 45mph, or hit construction debris, or a tire carcase, or a big chunk of 4 x 4 at seventy, like my trailers have.

[Arne]

My gut feeling is overhang to the side, especially over 3-4" will eventually cause some floor sag. But, the front and rear walls may prevent this, given the box shape. I still would go with a frame as wide as the tear. Frong and back overhang are a different story, as the wall system will provide incredible strength in that direction....

And in high winds, I want the track as wide as practicable....

But, this is only my opinion......

[asianflava]

The average two or three story home is never going to run through potholes at 45mph, or hit construction debris, or a tire carcase, or a big chunk of 4 x 4 at seventy, like my trailers have.

When I used to install car stereo, we would run into installations where the person would household wiring and wire nuts. We would get a laugh out of it and tell them that we have to rewire their stereo. The main thing with automotive installs is vibration. The wire nuts could also fall off if it was put into a place where it was subject to a lot of vibration. The solid conductor wire used in house wiring could also break.

As far as what was previously posted, I agree. That 2story house would never make it down the road on a regular basis. (I say that because here in central TX it seems like they are always moving buildings). The nails would probably work themselves out of the wood due to the whole structure racking back and forth.

[Shrug53]

That still does not mean that wood is completely unusable. Again in the "How To Build Trailers" book there is one trailer which is all wood except for the hitch and axle.

[Woody]

I agree that the total use of wood is possible with the exception of the hitch and axle. It is the enginering that makes it possible. And the right choice of wood that would have the structural integrity to create a strong stable platform to build upon. The only thing I can see might be the additional weight consideration in the application due to larger structural members taking the shock of highspeed interstate driving compared to a light weight rigid metal frame. The teardrop shape for example is structurally very sound and would aid in the rigidity of the entire frame. It would concern me about the shock and vibration of traveling at normal highway speeds with the occasional pothole which have bent and or broken many a steel trailer componets, otherwise I think it is possible. Just my thought

Woody

[darkroomsource]

Of course would can handle potholes.
In an earthquake you're better off in a wood structure than a steel or brick one.
In an airplane, which flexes constantly, metal must be checked regularly for stress fractures, wood on the other hand will return to it's original shape as long as it is over-stressed.

If the wood structure is built correctly, it will be stronger (not necessarily more rigid), but will be more flexible and less likely to fracture, than metal.

[angib]

Of course a teardrop can be built entirely in wood - you just need to engineer your design to suit the materials. You can also build automobiles out of wood - here is the 1960s Marcos 1600/1800 that used a fiberglass skin over a plywood monocoque:

Click here for a bigger photo. Marcos did eventually switch to a steel tube chassis - citing 'customer resistance' as the reason.
For a car built entirely out of plywood, and designed specifically to travel on bad or non-existant roads, see the Africar:

Sadly this car never made it into production, but the body/chassis certainly wasn't the fault. You can read more about it here.
Andrew

[mikeschn]

Holy Smokes Andrew,

Should we all build wooden cars now to pull our wooden teardrops with? Have you started a new page yet for your wooden car designs?

Mike...

[angib]

You wanna see a wooden car, mista? If that Fredericks wasn't so intent on his quick 'n' dirty build techniques (strip wood, HAH!), you could have a real hairydynamic teardrop like this car:



More pics and description here and here. 100mpg and a measured Cd of 0.24 is not to be sniffed at, particularly by an amateur!
Andrew (the rarely on-topic)

[Scooter]

I love wood. It's one of the most versatile building materials on the face of the earth.

Airplanes are proof that if done properly, wood is an excellent material for many kinds of construction. Wood holds an advantage over many metals in that flexing (within design limits) will not fatigue the wood over time. With aluminum it will, and that's why it's inspected regularly for cracks and has a finite lifespan in that application.

Houses don't have to fly, so weight's not a concern. Big and bulky is the norm. I think that's why alot of folks don't understand the versatility of wood, they've only been exposed to the housebuilding side.

[angib]

Ahhhh, wood aeroplanes.... You'll want to start with the WWII Mosquito:

All wood, very fast, carried a ridiculously heavy bombload, was produced in both naval (yes, with tail-hook) and anti-tank versions. The later, like an early Warthog, had a 57mm cannon and it lost about 30knots airspeed each time the gun was fired - called the Tsetse (like a Mosqito, but with a bigger sting...)
Andrew the rambling reminiscer

[Shrug53]

Not to mention ships which made thier way around the world for 100's of years. Even early submarines (which incidentaly have been around since the 1500's) were made of wood.

[mikeschn]

Andrew,

Are you torn? Which page are you going to work on first, the wooden car page, or the wooden plane page?

Actually I'm hoping you come up with another new teardrop design soon. Maybe a winter teardrop? Bev is looking for something for cold weather camping... got any ideas?

I know that DanL has a winter teardrop of some kind in his mind too, as soon as he can find time to capture it on paper...

Mike...

[Norm]

Mike, anything more on the Winter Warrior?
Could it be made 5ft wide with the table attached to one wall and a single bench on the opposite wall? Your thoughts on this please.

Norm