Started in: April 17, 2010
Plans and build information available at Teardrops and Tiny Travel Trailers
The weekender is supposed to be buildable in 2 weekends, one for the trailer and one for the body. I started with the body. It will not be done in one weekend. I'm trying for a very light build, under 500 lbs, maybe under 400.
I came home last night with 5 sheets of 5.2 birch, 5 sheets of 5.0 luan, and 20 select 2x4x8. I had a little time, so I ripped a 1x2 from each side of the 2x4s leaving a 2x2 from the middle.
Saturday morning I started on the floor. The floor is 2 sheets of the luan with a 2x2 frame and 1.5 inches of insulation sandwiched between. I used 6 tubes of construction adhesive and 2/3 bottle of gorilla glue. That gorilla glue is a mess. I may never get my hands clean again.
Things slowed down while I drew the profile and marked the framing for the side, then it was off to the races again. I cut all 4 side pieces and started glueing framing to the skin for the side sandwiches. The sides are 1 sheet of luan and 1 sheet of birch with 3/4 inches of insulation between. I finished one side by 6pm and it was time to clean up and REST.
Click on the thumbnail for a full size picture. Close the window to come back.
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These are the side panels. The tear is 114" long and takes 1.25 sheets of ply per
side.
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This is some of the insulation. You can see the floor underneath.
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One of the sides on the workspace. I keep a very neat garage. These are my
knockdown sawhorses made from a sheet of 3/4 ply.
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Close up of the side before insulation. Gorilla glue makes a mess. The side will
be
fastened to a cleat on top of the floor to keep a width of 4' so the top will overhang the
sides.
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The inner side of the side panel goes on. I put the 3/4 pressboard and the floor
on top to weigh it down until the glue dried.
Everything above had to be redone. The sides did not meet up with the floor correctly
and the floor was too wide. Rather than just rebuild the floor, I tried to make it fit by
cutting both the floor and walls down. I felt it lost too much strength. I rebuilt it all
using the same techniques, just different measurements for the floor. I also used all birch
and no luan.
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One side of the door skinned.
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Door finished.
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One door mounted and trimmed out. The windows came from ebay and the door
hardware from Lil Bear trailers.
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Tha kitchen area. The lower area where you see the generator will be closed in
and
accessed through the counter. A hatch will hinge up.
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A look inside before the second door is mounted.
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A close up of the inner cabinets and the electric outlets. I don't know what I
will use them for, but they are there.
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I had to add a wheel to the tongue support. It is light enough to carry, but I
poked a hole in the back of my leg with it. Rolling is easier anyway.
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Hooked up and ready to go. Not really, The other door and hatch are not on yet. I
just had to see it.
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