Introducing... The Road Toad!

[R Keller]

Every day more or less. That includes lots of sitting around gazing into the distance and thinking about things. Of course, that contemplation has paid off since I haven't had too many things that I wished I would have done differently (I could do things a lot faster and easier the second time around though)... other than not starting the project in the first place. !!! But I'm sure we've all been there at some stage during our projects.

I don't get too much done during the week. Mostly weekends really. During the week I try to catch up on odds and ends, and try to finish the previous weekend's goals. Seems like I need a huge uninterrupted block of time to really get anything accomplished at all.

Rik

[Lefty Lucy]

So, the hatch on the Road Toad will extend farther back from the end than a teardrop shape will. Is that more shelter or more ducking?

[R Keller]

I'd say more shelter. Don't know about the ducking issue compared to a teardrop. But since the hinge is at the full height of the trailer (about 5'3" from the ground), the hatch is not in the way at all when opened. I'm 6'2" and it's not an issue. Will post hatch photos soon...

Rik

[tdthinker]

How do you make the curv in the front if you make the toad just out of wood?

[R Keller]

Um, pretty much like everyone else I guess: bent plywood. The 5/32" Finland Birch stuff that I used bent easily around the 14" front radius (bent with grain parallel). It even bent pretty well around the 5" radius at the front of the tongue box, but I did have to use a closer spacing between the screws on the side that clamped it down while the epoxy cured.

While most of the roof was constructed with separate flat panels with 1.5" insulation, I built the front curve in place and used two 3/4" sheets of the Dow Styrofoam. They were much happier taking the 14" radius than a single sheet of 1.5", which would snap.

One trick that I got from this board was to glue the stringers down onto the inside plywood first. Then I bent the whole thing into place and screwed through the side walls into the stringers. Then epoxied the insulation and outer plywood.

Rik

[tdthinker]

Thanks, I wanted to use the finland birch, can you tell me where to get it? We have a menards and lowes and a few other places but I would like to know. If you will will you please tell me how much it aprox. cost a sheet, you can send that to me in a private message if you want. There are two road toads that have really inspired me on this forum and one is yours. bye and thanks for the info.

[R Keller]

As shown on my website, The Finland Birch plywood is from MacBeath Hardwoods. http://www.macbeath.com/. You could do a search on-line to try to find someone that carries it locally. Best bet is to check with a specialty lumber company rather than a big box hardware store. You could call up MacBeath to get the latest prices for comparision purposes. Depends on what thickness you want and the quantity you order.

Finland Birch is constructed with exterior-grade glues, as compared to Baltic Birch, which has interior grade glues. Finland Birch, consequently, has dark glues lines and so the edges aren't as pretty as Baltic Birch.

But I wanted to used exterior-grade plywood for two reasons: the ability to stand up to moisture that cycles through the wood, and also because of reduced formaldehyde out-gassing. "Interior grade" plywoods are made using adhesives that contain urea-formaldehyde (UF) resins. Exterior grade plywoods use the dark-colored phenol-formaldehyde (PF) resin. Although formaldehyde is present in both types of resins, the PF resin generally emits formaldehyde at considerably lower rates than the UF resin. Ironically enough, interior-grade plywoods are much worse for indoor air quality than exterior-grade plywoods.

Oh, and the "Road Toad" is just the moniker I gave my trailer. It's not a specific type of trailer per se. My design is my own, and based on the 'Grasshopper' and other teardrops. There are several other types of "Road Toads" out there that I know of: a bicycle light, a motorcycle, and some sort of GI Joe vehicle.

Rik