Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

slowcowboy wrote:So, after a few years for the ones who have used it on tbere tears. How durable is the canvas glued on and painted over method of skinning?...does it chip off any? Slow.

From what I have read owners think it is strong. One problem I have heard of is that it can delaminate from the foam. Long time owners seem to like it.

However my goal isnt to build a cheap camper so I am going with fiberglass. It will be stronger and wont delaminate.

Hi slowcowboy, i am still building my teardrop so l can't speak to the long term durability of pmf, but I can tell you it's pretty tough stuff - I had to redo a couple places where my covering ability was tested to the max. I had to use a belt sander to remove it.

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I wrote the instructable about poor man's fiberglass based on what I learned from covering my plywood teardrop.
Since then I've built a foamie, also skinned with PMF and many PMF coated foam kayaks.
I revised the instructable a few years ago to reflect what I learned from experience.

PMF will last longer than anything except maybe aluminum. As part of my testing, I created a box to cover the hatchway from the attic to the roof, and covered it with worn out bed sheets and exterior paint.
The hatch is never shaded, exposed to sun, wind, ice, snow and rain. I use the hatch to sweep my chimney each fall and I stop to inspect the paint each time.
Just like my original teardrop, the painted fabric lasts for many years, my tear was built in 2011, and the fabric is still just as strong, the paint has never peeled.
I never did any maintenance to the finish once the paint dried, always stored it outside, uncovered.

One time I changed trailers, and had to peel back the lower edges, the plywood was as fresh and bright as the day I covered it.

I built a paddleboard/kayak out of foam and skinned it with PMF over the summer as an experiment with the materials. It is quite durable and quite a bit more robust than I expected. Only short coming is that it did delaminate in a few spots from the foam.

The PMF did not add much in the way of "hardness" to the foam so aside from aesthetics I am not sure PMF would be required over foam as foam really would not need weather proofing if joints are sealed. Just my thoughts.

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