Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

rxberg wrote:[quote=

I'm wondering the same thing. My plan at this point is to make a gate drop bolt out of rebar, but I'm definitely open to suggestion.

By the way, my wife has been studying your build, likes it.

My wife is very visual whereas I am mentally visual.
Final construction will be 1x2 and 2x2, glued/screwed, faced with plywood depending on application.
I began preliminary layouts with the framing, temporary screws, foam, plywood to give conceptions, establish fair dimensions. The rear kitchen and the bed heights are predicated on the ice chest. Like the Benroy, the ice chest will be on drawer slides under the counter. There will be an upper row of cabinets over the counter, 2 drawers below.

The bed platform height is dictated by the ice chest height on a drawer. Top of bed ply at 18", mattress is 8" memory foam, cut a little longer than a short queen. Head of bed at wall will be a 6 gallon dsi water heater on drivers side. Over the axle or just in front of it will be 25-30 gallon water tank.
Set up that you can push mattress back for a lounge area which opens a 22"x34" additional floor area or a dinette for 2 if the weather is bad.
I wish the windows could be lower so as to have the screened area basicallt at head height, but then to low to see out of if standing. They will work though in that if you hear a noise outside, partially sitting up you can see right out to shoot.

Roof bows insulated inside of them.
Insulated roof bows.
6 bows, 5 cans non-bowing great stuff, plus misc gaps to use up last bit in cans.
I thought of doing a pvc pipe as a test, but why, when my ct had 1" holes drilled in two of the roof bows when they installed two lights. So I found a 3' section of vacumn line that fit over the straw of the foam can. I fed the hose down to the curve of the bow, started slowly filling and pulling hose back out. I can hear the foam in the tube, had empty screw holes ocassionally to gauge filling. Got to the center, reinserted hose to fill the other side of bow same way. It did not make it all the way down into the curve of the bow, so drilled a 5/16 hole there and fed the straw up and down to fill it.
Is it 100% foam filled? Doubtful, but only destructive testing would show. I would be satisfied with 50% filling rate, better than zero. Roof skin distortion? None as the foam is designed not to.
Clean up of straws and hose with acetone allows resuse of all. I still have 3 never used straws.

Hey now, that's not what we were discussing . At least from what I see you have steel framing and it looks like u or what ever term channel, not an aluminum tube.
Great that you've got it done and without distorted the roof.

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Nice job with the foam ... thanks for the explanation of how you did it.

I did end up with some goo here and there, but noticed as the day went on it slowly cured out. I had the same issue once insulating the lid of a cooler, But in the end it all solidified. It is messy.... and yes, I will do the hose channels also.
I put 3/8" lathing up on the roof today. Next will be running any wires up there. The latching gives me just enough headroom to add another layer of 1/2" iso foam, notched to go over the roof bows. I am trying to keep as much headroom as possible. FRP will cover the ceiling.

Thanks for the pictures and explain action of the foam filled structural tubing!

Thoughts on the foam.
I wanted to use clear plastic tubing, to see it flow better, it would not hang up as easy on a metal edge.
I would probably only fill each one in 3-6" increments, letting it expand more gradually, going from one to another, then starting all over.
I think that would solve 2 things.
More even fill.
Less "heat" or chemical reactions that would cut down on accumulation of goo. To much of this style foam in an enclosed tube does not provide even expansion.
Oh, wear a hat, it sucks to get a drip in your hair.

Completeing wiring. Infilling 1/2" polyiso between roof battens. Should end up with R9 insulation for 90% of roof.
Temp battery, fuse box set up for fan, light verifications.
Tending towards a pilot model Atwood water heater instead of DSI model. It is camping after all.

Ceiling is in, primed, 2 top coats.
Average of R-9 insulation for 85% of it, vapor barrier under the ply.
1/4" ply, lath strips 24" on center.
Lights come in Tuesday, install those, camp and fish the following weekend.

Busy day.
Up early, wife and I went smallmouth bass fishing in a local river. Hooked 2, landed one.
Next weekend is a trip with the trailer to the mountains for brook trount in small creeks.
Got more done than I imagined.
All wall wiring roughed in. Backing blocks are in. Vapor barrier under original ply is in. Added more screws for wall stabilty, they do the minimum. We looked at wall paneling and surprised me. Instead of birch bead board she wants to go with fir bead board, likes the grain better.
I had picked up in reading build journals this morning about using Henry's to help cut down on solar heat gain. After research I ended up buying Henry's 887HS as it is tecommended for RV's. One gallon did a 6x12 trailer roof, cutting it in to the edge of the roundover extrusion. There was some spots, possible pin holes in the original sealing that this stuff flowed into. Thick, nasty stuff but cleans up easy with mineral spirits. Quite a difference, I can see where it could get you a 20% decrease in heat gain. Heck, I will be happy for a 10* decrease. They recommend a 1/2" or longer nap roller. I used 3/8" based on this forum, 1/4" might be better.

It's amazing what a coat of paint can do. My trailer is white, but the roof is noticeably cooler to the touch than the walls.
And, I know nobody sees it, but it looks good too.
You sure didn't waste any time putting that trailer to work. That a boy. Any days you miss fishing, are days you never get back. Doing some nice work there.

McDave

McDave wrote:It's amazing what a coat of paint can do. My trailer is white, but the roof is noticeably cooler to the touch than the walls.
And, I know nobody sees it, but it looks good too.
You sure didn't waste any time putting that trailer to work. That a boy. Any days you miss fishing, are days you never get back. Doing some nice work there.

McDave

Typically I work on the trailer middle or late in the day when its to hot to fish or other physical activities.

Not a bad day. Woke up early, took the dog jogging.
Then decided to buy interior paneling since I knew what she wanted and I was prepped for it.
Side walls paneled.
Built rear dividing wall and paneled it on bed side.
Started framing up the bed/dinette.
Sold the teardrop supposedly. No guarantee till money in hand and title signed over.
Compared to building a teardrop, a cargo trailer is a piece of cake. Quick. Ive only had it 2 weeks now and it just flows.