Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

So everything is getting coated with epoxy I am just wondering if I should use TB3 to glue my 1x2s to my 1/2 in ply? Its just faster and easier and probably cheaper. Maybe I should just suck it up and use the epoxy its just cold and I know will take like 12 hours to cure lol.

for epoxy guleing the 1x2 to ply should I thicken with sawdust or thin to soak a bit deeper?

It’s hard to beat wood glue for glueing wood.

If you do use epoxy as a glue, paint on straight epoxy first and then a layer of thickened epoxy. And don’t squeeze it out with clamps or screws like you would using Titebond.

You can use wood floor for thickening epoxy but not sawdust. I forget what the thickening agent I bought from Raka is called but it’s cheap. Fumed silica or something like that.

Tony

No doubt about it epoxy is a super adhesive but in a lot of construction not necessary or efficient. Time being a factor does
enter into the project process and that being said epoxy uses a lot of it to mix and cure. Also in some areas that I deemed
necessary I used a lot of Loctite PL3x. It has some flexibility and gap filling characteristics. Curing time is not as long as epoxy and easy to apply with caulk gun. Now for the titebond 3 I used a lot of it, probably close to a couple of gallons. Yes it
does hold well and you pull wood apart in splinters trying to separate. It is strong and adequate for much of the trailer.

So with my stick framing what do yall suggest I was thinking TB3 or PL and then filleting with epoxy like on a boat?

Girvin where exactly do you want to fillet in your process with the stick built? Where walls meet floor or where your cross members contact the roof or ceiling ? What do you have planned for your stick building process. (i.e.) I cored my walls 1/2 ply outside 3/4 inside poplar core with sheet foam insulation and 1/4 ply inside wall . Cross members inside roof front to back where 1 1/2 x 2.0 also insulated with sheet foam.

girvin wrote:So with my stick framing what do yall suggest I was thinking TB3 or PL and then filleting with epoxy like on a boat?

As long as you support your plywood edges with blocking, you don’t need to fillet.

Tony


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My construction is ac cabinet grade 1/2 ply then framing whitch is the ply laminated to make 1x2 and some 1x2 pine. Then in the gap xps pink foam board 1" then interior wall is frp or at least that is my plan. Epoxy interior and fiberglass epoxy exterior where the ends of the plywood meets(floors ceiling ect). I was using epoxy with chop stand and cabosil and using TB3 on all the 1x2 to wall connections. I am open to any suggestions before I start sticking things together.

I would say for the majority here keeping a sealed unit from water intrusion is probably at the top of the list . Nobody wants to be damp and soggy on there camping adventure. That being said for the home builder there is a lot of attention payed to sealing as best we can against it. There was during my build process a learning curve . I mean as I built I had to say to my self this is sealed enough and on with the show. I would say seal it but don't over build it. I don't know how to better say it . You could use fillets for strength and sealing and probably will where you deem necessary but don't over use that feature to the point of no return. If you where to take apart some of these commercial built units and look at them closely, they are week in different areas and can be improved upon by the home builder that may want to spend a little more time . Structurally on the trailer I feel that fillets aren't needed but in your case with the fiber glassing and inside corners you may have to . Now i have used 45 degree gussets on my cross members. One on each side they where glued with tb3 and tacked in with brad nailer. The ends of the cross members where glued with tb3 and the 2 screws where sunk into the ends from exterior wall. I kept my walls square with cut outs from forward nose of trailer and made myself a jig to keep cross members square and even with top - it worked well. This whole post may be way off from what you where originally aiming for.

Great yeah I am trying to use 0 fasteners except attaching it to the trailer. I have made right agle cut outs as a jig like you did. I think I will use the TB on the 1x2 to wall structure

when mating perfectly fitted wooden parts(not end to end) TB III does a very good job when firm pressure is applied during the curing process

to avoid starving the joint bond dampen both surfaces w/ water(spritz or rag) apply TB III to both surfaces and screw/nail or weight the joint until the glue has cured

TB III shrinks and is drawn into the fibers of the wood w/ no gap filling qualities whatsoever

Pl-Premium 3x expands during cure and can be used to bond surfaces not quite perfect due to this feature

PL-Premium 3x joints need to be screwed/nailed or tightly clamped to prevent the expansion from distorting the shape desired/positioning

water/dampness accelerates the cure of PL-Premium 3x and allows the adhesive to penetrate the fibers better so dampening both surfaces w/ a rag or spritzer will improve your bond

epoxy is best used on dry joints

apply a coating of unthickened pox to both surfaces to prevent starving the joint and appy thickened pox to both surfaces for bonding

epoxy works best when not screwed/nailed/clamped so tight as to squeeze all the pox from the joint(called starving)

epoxy can be thickened w/ wood flour(essentially very fine sanding dust NOT actual saw dust which is much coarser) or any of several commercially created thickening agents(check w/ your epoxy brand experts/info sheets)

irregular gaps of up to 1/4" can be filled safely and effectively w/ thickened epoxy while still creating a sound joint that exceeds the strength of the wood itself

when coating surfaces of your structure some folks insist on using unthickened epoxy and some use thinned epoxy

many/most epoxy manufacturers do not recommend thinning their products so check with your brand experts/info sheets

there is a growing contingency(me incuded for some projects including small boats made from big box store pywood) that is beginning to use slightly(<10%) thinned TB III to coat plywood surfaces prior to painting to prevent checking just like the folks coating plywood w/ pox

some are claiming TB III coating to be successful for over 10 years and counting(i can only claim 2 Years so far and still counting)

if you intend to fiberglass bedded in epoxy any surface then only epoxy should be used anywhere the glass will come in contact w/ the joint or coated surfaces

one element of using P-Premium 3x that i have personally encountered is that the ooze from joints remains somewhat pliable and bubbly and so far i haven't been able to create a perfectly smooth fillet like can be done with epoxy YET

TB III doesn't play well with the act of filleting due to it's shrinking characteristic

just this old man's personal experiences here based on boat building over a lifetime

sw

Thanks that is great stuff I think I should be good with the proccess I described unless someone sees something wrong then let me know please

swoody126 wrote:just this old man's personal experiences here based on boat building over a lifetime
sw

Thanks for taking the time to share Cut and pasted in a gluing fie!