Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I knew that sooner or later, I'd have to tackle a job I'd been putting off. Today seemed like the right time, so I did it. And, after I finished, I needed a bath in mineral spirits.

That job was applying the roofing coating to the underside of the cabin, to coat the insulation to help keep out moisture and protect the foam from damage. The plywood floor was undercoated before I put it on the frame, but the insulation wasn't added until after the cabin was on.

I raised the trailer a little by pulling it up onto some blocks, but it was still a chore to lie on my back and swab it on with a paint brush. It wouldn't have been so bad if it just went onto the insulation, but a lot of it went onto me. Even though I wore a stocking cap most of the time, I still got some in my hair. Luckily, it is kept brush cut and needed trimming anyway.

I got it all on after letting the can sit in the sun for a while to loosen it up so it would brush on. I had to use paint thinner to wipe the stuff off my skin, arms, hands, and even my chest. It dripped some and got on the old tee shirt I was wearing, soacking through and sticking to the skin in a place or two. Now that hurts when you peel the stuck shirt of a tender area. Needless to say, the tee shirt is in the trash can and I've had a shower.

I knew it would be a really nasty job so I turned mine on it's side. Yours would be kinda big to do this though.

Did mine first , when it was just a floor and frame .... later touch-ups were EASY !!!! Recommended here !!!!!! that's how I knew...

Before I even thought about anything I grabbed the base ply and tarred it up. I only had to do a couple of touch ups once it was screwed to the frame/chassis.
I suppose, living down here, you get used to thinking upside down

Cheers
Paul

Roofing tar is one of the first steps in the build process for me!!!



Mike...

didn't this melt the foam insulation?

I gave mine about 5 coats of CPES and then 3 coats of Rustoleum gray paint. Worked great and not messy. We'll see how it holds up

Jay, The water based tar will not melt the foam insulation. I can't comment on the turpentine based one, though.

Cheers
Paul

I undercoated my floor too, before it went onto the frame. But, the insulation didn't get added until after the floor was down. I guess I could have gotten some help to tip the frame and floor up on it's side to put on the insluation and coat it, but I didn't. I waited until after I had started construciton on the cabin to add the foam to the underside of the floor. Then, I decided I'd need to undercoat the foam too. Sooner or later, it meant getting underneath to do it. Live and learn.

Jay, the rubberized roofing tar that I used had no effect on the edges of the foam that were exposed. The flat surfaces are covered in the silver paper. My coating sure wasn't water based. I took paint thinner to get it off my hands.

does everyone do it this way? i would think rocks from the road would puncture the silver paper and enable water to saturate the foam.

Saturate the foam through some rock holes ????? You'd have to park it in a stream ....Even in our excess humidity , foam stays dry .... (on land)

Jay, I think you're doing what we are all guilty of. Creating problems before they actually exist Take the advice given here and use it at your own discretion. If you do not agree with something then do not do it.
"KISS" Not getting friendly just suggesting you keep it simple.

Cheers
Paul

I don't consider getting holes from rocks very likely anyway. With wheels outside the body, they won't throw rocks up at the floor, and the wheels of the two vehicle are too far forward to do it either. I'm more worried about rocks being thrown up by the tow vehicle and hitting the front of the trailer. I haven't put splash guards on the truck yet to prevent that from happening, but, plan to install some.

There are spray undercoatings available. I use them to touch up my tear.

Just don't spray up wind (that goes with a lot of things)...... I would not do a whole tear with it, but one can will do 4+ sq. feet.... which is good enough for minor jobs...