Rockhopper - Solutions!

[Martiangod]

Fender shape looks good, a little shortening shoul be good, are you going to glass this one, or skin with aluminum

[mikeschn]

Absolutely on the fender shortening. They are aluminum, so it'll be easy to cut, and put some nice rounds on the corners!

Planning on glassing this one. I've never done glass before, so it'll be a learning curve for me. I've already got the glass (6 oz) and the resin (with UV inhibitors). Now I just have to find some directions!

Mike...

[mikeschn]

Built the other wall today. Also made the cutout for the fenders.



Mike...

[High Desert]

Question for you Mike; does the floor side edge need to be stepped inboard a 1/4" to match up the the rear wall section, where it mates up to the main vertical support? To keep the entire sidewall running true?

Can you tell I'm watching this pretty close?

[mikeschn]

Shaun,

Very good catch. Yes the floor is notched to keep the wall flush with the floor.



I've also changed the main rib to 7 1/4" wide. I'll have to update the drawing...

Mike...

[kbuddy]

How high do you normally keep the threshold of the door above the floor?

[mikeschn]

How high do you normally keep the threshold of the door above the floor?

Typically, on a teardrop I try to keep the door halfway up the mattress. Normally about 2".

For this Rockhopper I am going to use the door as access to the under bed storage. So only 1".

Mike...

[mikeschn]

Did I mention that I am going to use the Rockhopper to learn how to fiberglass? Yep...

And I figured the best place to start was underneath the floor. So instead of that black goo, I am using fiberglass. Let me just say that black goo is easier, by far!!!

The fiberglass squirms around all over the place and doesn't want to stay flat...





Mike...

[pohukai]

Is there a reason for using glass instead of just epoxy? I used polyester resign under my TD instead of the black goo and didn't have any problems. I use glass to add strength and the epoxy for encapsulating/water proofing and to bond the glass to the wood.

When I was glassing my kayaks, I realized that if you can get the glass to lay flat while dry, you'll never be able to get it to lay flat after it is wet. Fighting with wet glass is no fun as when I had to do the inside waterline seam while mating the deck with the hull of a kayak.

[eaglesdare]

haha even your dog is looking at it like something is wrong.

[mikeschn]

Is there a reason for using glass instead of just epoxy? I used polyester resign under my TD instead of the black goo and didn't have any problems. I use glass to add strength and the epoxy for encapsulating/water proofing and to bond the glass to the wood.

When I was glassing my kayaks, I realized that if you can get the glass to lay flat while dry, you'll never be able to get it to lay flat after it is wet. Fighting with wet glass is no fun as when I had to do the inside waterline seam while mating the deck with the hull of a kayak.

Okay Pohukai,

That sounds like a plan to me. No fiberglass underneath, just resin... How many coats did you do on yours?

1st coat, done!



Do I need fiberglass on the body sides and top where the plywood edges are showing?

Mike...

[NathanL]

If you don't radius the corners that glass will blister and peel up in no time flat. You need a good radius everywhere you go around the corner with fiberglass both inside and outside corners. On an inside corner you need to use some putty or mix epoxy with a thickener like wood flour to make a radius. Without it you'll get bubbles and it will peel and let water in behind and serve no real purpose. Sorry.

Edit - Oh I see you didn't put glass on the bottom like you had it laying there.

[NathanL]

If you want your glass to stay put get a paint brush with natural brisltes and go over the fiberglass after you set it down a few times and it will make enough static electricity to hold it in place, even works on vertical surfaces.

[pohukai]

I only applied 1 coat to the face and edges of the 3/4" plywood before mounting it to the wood frame. I thought it would be a little easier not having to work around the nooks and crannies. I will be sealing the edges of all the walls with resin since that is the area. I use http://www.harborfreight.com/20-piece-4-inch-putty-spreaders-96088.html these types of spreaders exclusively. After the epoxy dries on these spreaders, a quick twist pops the brittle coating off and are ready for the next time.

My roof will be 1/8" luan and I'll be covering that with 10 or 12oz fiberglass. I will radius the roof edge with the 3/4" sidewall and glass about 2-3" down the side. The whole TD will then be primed using "INTERLUX Brightside Pre-Kote Primer" and 2 coats of "INTERLUX Brightside".

I'm not going to be living in my teardrop for extended periods and I'll be storing it in my garage; out of the sun and rain. I want to make reasonable efforts to protect the wood, but I'd probably do something different if it were stored outside.

At least that is the plan for now.

Jim

[NathanL]

I don't know why people mess with luan when it's basically a junk plywood on the market now, not like it used to be. You can get 1/8" thick (or 1/4" or 3/8") Okoume marine plywood that is top quality Loyds of London 1088 rated marine plywood that will last as long as you want the teardrop to last for reasonably cheap compared to how little plywood is actually in a teardrop. It will bend as easy as any other 1/8" plywood or even easier because there's no voids in it.

You can find 1/8" for around $40-$45 sheet and you won't find a better thin plywood with 5 veneer layers in 1/8" and 7 in 1/4.