Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I am at the point where I can finish the inside walls, and I'm looking for opinions. These will be cosmetic only, not structural: my outside walls are 1/2-inch plywood, with 3/4-inch framing (1x4s) glued and screwed to it (I did it this way because my tests showed this to be stronger than 3/4-inch ply, and the configuration allowed me to put rigid insulation between the framing).

I need to cover the inside walls with something, and though I have ideas, I wanna see if anyone else has done something similar. I like the ideas of finished wall panels, though I'm not thrilled with the options I'm seeing: white beadboard, cheesy fake brick, etc. The other option would be to use thin plywood, like lauan, and then paint it -- I wanted a prefinished panel so I wouldn't have to bother with painting, but if the prefinished panels don't thrill me, I may go the lauan route.

What did you all use? And the big question: do you like it? Am I overthinking this? Do any of you who used a panel to cover the inside walls and ceiling have any thoughts, or regrets, or wish you did anything differently?

The best answer will win the West Philly lottery: I'll send you a dollar a year for a million years. Thanks for reading.

Some smaller lumber yard still carry paneling or the nrp non reinforced plastic which is frp without fiberglass embedded and massively lighter which Lowe's carries.

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I went with 1/4" thick tongue and groove cedar panels for the walls, and 3/16" birch plywood for the ceiling. Here's a shot of the interior almost done (I hadn't yet tacked pine strips over the joints in the ceiling panels in this photo). I've been very happy with how it turned out, and the cedar is very lightweight, maybe even more so than pine plywood would have been. It also smells amazing and repels insects.

We used 4 x 8 sheets of prefinished 1/4 inch maple plywood.
It's gorgeous, and the finish is incredibly hard and durable. Maybe because it's put on in a factory. Semi gloss, hard as nails.
I just checked the price, $60 a sheet at Woodwerks https://www.thisiswoodworking.com/wp-co ... e_List.pdf

Here is what I used, sourced from my local Home Depot.

lfhoward wrote:I went with 1/4" thick tongue and groove cedar panels for the walls, and 3/16" birch plywood for the ceiling. Here's a shot of the interior almost done (I hadn't yet tacked pine strips over the joints in the ceiling panels in this photo). I've been very happy with how it turned out, and the cedar is very lightweight, maybe even more so than pine plywood would have been. It also smells amazing and repels insects.
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That does make one sweet looking interior!

Ooh, I like the cedar panels! I never would have thought of that.

Thank you!

I used click lock engineered flooring. Looks great but it's heavier than you need.

If you have 3/4" framing & a 1/2" exterior wall panel, you're already overweight as far as what you need for strength. Not saying it's wrong, just too heavy for what is actually necessary for structural strength & a box that's this small. We went with 1/8" interior & 1/8" exterior panels on a 3/4" skeletonized wall & it's plenty strong enough. There's no flex, bend or problems with this construction type. Just remember to include the "hard points" for attaching lights, speakers, clothes hooks, etc. before you button up the outside walls. Glue & small pins for alignment will make it amazingly strong with 1/8" panels.

noseoil wrote:If you have 3/4" framing & a 1/2" exterior wall panel, you're already overweight as far as what you need for strength. Not saying it's wrong, just too heavy for what is actually necessary for structural strength & a box that's this small.

I realize that. I overbuilt this intentionally, because I want the camper to last, and also because weight is not an issue: my trailer (NT 5x8) is rated to 1,700 pounds, and our tow vehicle, a 2005 Suburban, can tow something like 8,000 pounds. I figured if the trailer could handle the weight, and the two vehicle could handle the weight, why not make it as sturdy as possible? I don't see the downside. I think my finished trailer is going to weigh somewhere in the 800 pound range, though I haven't weighed it yet (I will when it's done).

Plus, overbuilding stuff is what I do.

I think my finished trailer is going to weigh somewhere in the 800 pound range...

How big is your camper? You may be a bit on the optimistic side. I think most builders end up with a much heavier trailer than expected.



Tony

Probably around 1300 is more realistic.
Steve

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linuxmanxxx wrote:Probably around 1300 is more realistic.
Steve

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That would make me happy, actually. That would give me a decent amount of wiggle room to use the camper as a cargo carrier.

This is already a very old topic and if it is relevant to you then if you don't like white beadboard or fake brick, using thin plywood like lauan and painting, it could be a great alternative. It gives you more flexibility to customize the look to your taste. Don't worry about overthinking it – it's your space, and you want to be happy with the end result. Here are some more options for paneling walls (https://www.floorstowalls.co.uk/collections/wall-panels). I hope you find something good here.

rogercampos wrote:This is already a very old topic and if it is relevant to you then if you don't like white beadboard or fake brick, using thin plywood like lauan and painting, it could be a great alternative. It gives you more flexibility to customize the look to your taste. Don't worry about overthinking it – it's your space, and you want to be happy with the end result.

True, don't overthink it. Fake brick would be an unusual choice for a teardrop for anyone but an AI!

Five days later, the AI, allegedly from Chicago, adds a link to a wall panel company in Great Britain. One would need only three or four panels for a tear, but Man, those shipping costs!

Tom