Noob on the first build

[slammed87d21]

Hi everyone! Just posted in the offroad section in the tow vehicle thread. Anyway, thought I'd post and ask a few questions that are bouncing around my head.

First of all, my tow vehicle is a 1987 1 ton Toyota truck, with a 2 inch lift, an 31x10.50/15's. So weight isn't even something I'm considering. My design ir almost a plain box. 7.5 ft long and 4.5 feet wide. There won't be a galley as I'm used to either cooking on a stump or my tailgate. Food storage will be the bed of the truck. The rear of the trailer will tilt slightly towards the front at the top. The roof will have a very slight angle so water will run off easily while it's stored at my parents.

The sides will be flat, with doors on each side. The front will be verticle and mostly flat. From the top edge to about 2 feet down will stick out around a foot, to make a shelf above the headboard and be where a window will go. Both doors will be home made. For the finish, I'm thinking just paint after sealing it.

Ok. So now you know what the shell will look like. Sorta.

First question is about the plywood. I have seen pics of plywood used by people here, but I can get this stuff cheaper, $12 for a 4x8 sheet. Is this something that can be used?



I really don't see since it's ratd for outdoor use and for flooring. So it's rather water resistant and has extreme strength. I know that from experience because of my shop and bench. Part of the roof blew off, so I had a lot of water in it. Bench was right under the hole. The bench is made of the plywood, well the top, shelves, and drawers. The top had standing water, shelves had standing water, and a few drawers had water in them. All that for nearly a week, and none of the wood has been treated since I purchased it. So yay or nay?

Next is insulation. I plan on insulating the walls and ceiling. For studs, I will be using 2x2s cut from 16 ft 2x4s. I know 2 inches isn't much clearance, but would fiberglass be ok to use? The foam insulation isn't cheap here, but I can get fiberglass a heck of a lot cheaper. I don't plan on camping in 0 degree weather, so a bit thinner than usual would be ok here. Plus, it doesn't get old enough when I would camp that a 12v heater wouldn't make up the difference. So yay or nay?

Lastly is the finish. What is the most bare bones, cheap as dirt finish that can be done? I think I read something about poly thinned out and put on the wood and soaked in, with regular house paint on top. A few Google searches shoed that would be very very cheap, but opinions are very welcome. So does that sound ok?

Do keep in mind that I am self/unemployed. I restore antique radios as a business but it has slowed to a halt. So my budget is around $300, which is a bit low I know. But I'm not making something that looks like a million bucks, just nice.

BTW, here's my trailer. Ignore the weeds growing around it and the junk in it. Going t drag it to my shop tomorrow.

[slammed87d21]

Well, looks like I'll be waiting a bit to do my trailer. My trailer needs a bit more work that I want to put into it. I'd need around a hundred bucks to get it where it should be and I'm seeing trailers on Craigslist that are 100 to 150 that are decent. I'll update as I go.

[bobhenry]

So what is the big delima with the donor trailer other than a set of new bearings and a couple good used tires maybe ?????

The osb is as good as any flat goods ! None of them like being constantly wet then dry and will delaminate over time UNLESS you treat them. My very 1st build was with 7/16 osb and I coated each and every square inch of the shell with 2 very heavy coats of elastopolymer roof coating. (One of the many trade names is Polar seal ) It is basically liquid rubber in a pigmented carrier. Once completely dry is readily paintable if you wish. my little 3 x 5 cargo teardrop shell has sat in the yard now starting on its 5th year and looks as good as the day I built it.

One hint on lumber for the spars would be 2x12 #1 southern yellow pine! It is readily available at any lumber yard. It is always knot free and is 1 1/2 times stronger than spruce pine fir standard 2x4 material. You are gonna spend time ripping anyway so rip them out of a 2 x 12 of better quality material. You can get seven 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 spars out of a 2x12.

As to the foam expense there are many contractors that toss scrap. Our plant pre panels walls as a service . Here at the plant the window and door cut outs are routered out and bundled for trash. We give it away by the pickup load for folks to use as insulation for garages barns sheds and what ever. Ask your lumber yard if they know of a wall panelizer in the area these plants will probably do as we do to keep down the cost of waste disposal.