Since I planned to use epoxy and spar varnish to protect the outside of the trailer I had to use something compatible with that underneath to color the wood. Oil based stains prevent the epoxy from adhering so I had been given some helpful advice to try aniline dye. In my tests the aniline dye worked great. Since it is water based and stays near the surface of the wood it is easy to blend even after it has dried. This helps since I had a large surface area to cover. I have only been able to find 2 sources…
Author: Ryan
In my search for the perfect wood and finish for the outside of my woody teardrop I went through a variety of options: birch, oak, veneers. None of them allowed for a beautiful dark finish, even staining, nice grain, water resistance, and thin enough to bend to the curves of the profile. After a long search I came across Okoume marine plywood with this beautiful grain similar to mahogany. Okoume is often used in wooden boat hulls and is assembled with waterproof glue. Under a finish of aniline dye, epoxy and varnish I thought it would look fantastic. Finding a…
I used 8 AWG THNN wire from the battery in the front tongue box back to the fuse panel in the back galley, and 14 AWG THHN wires for all the run from the fuse box to each component (light, fan, 12 volt socket, etc). To avoid problems each component was wired separately from the fuse box and back. This allowed for splices to be isolated at the fuse box, battery, or the component itself in order to avoid potential issues in the future with broken connections within the walls that would be inaccessible. Black and red wires were used to help…
The fist step is to cut the hatch ribs. I used the wall template to create the first rib, then used that rib for the rest. Here I am lining up the pattern for the second hatch rib. Originally I thought I would use a router to cut each piece but the rib was a bit too flimsy so I traced it and used a jigsaw instead. Here all 7 ribs (I had to make an extra one later). After the ribs were cut I clamped them together and used a rasp to make them as uniform as possible and smooth out…
The roof spars and blocking provides stability and lays the foundation to mount the window and fan as well as the foundation to glue the outside skin. The roof blocking was created in a similar way to the hatch ribs. I used the wall template to cut out the section that would follow the mortise in the walls. Here is a finished blocking section resting on the inside wall template. You can see how the blocking fits nicely up against the front of the deck. For the roof spars I used 4/4 poplar boards. I ran them through a jointer…
The fitting of the wall installation and the Headliner were done in parallel. I used white 3/4″ foam board insulation which came in 4’x 8′ sheets. Insulation was measured and cut for each void in the side walls. The foil layer faces inward to contain the radiant heat inside the trailer. Supposedly you need a bit of air space for this to fully work correctly. The insulation was not permanently glued as it will need to come back out for the wiring later on.
With the cabinets and walls complete it is now time to install them on the teardrop. I used PL Premium between the wall and deck where there would be very slight gaps, and Titebond III to glue the cabinets to the walls where there would be none. The deck screws provided most of the clamping pressure. While the walls were dry fit I outlined the location of the cabinets seen in pencil marks. I chose the placement of the deck screws to correspond with the edges and corners of the cabinet and spaced them 12″ for the cabinets and 8″…
We started by cutting out the pieces for the front cabinets! They are mostly 1/2″ birch ply with one section of 3/4″ birch for the head board section. I used the 5’x5′ baltic birch plywood sheets that were superior in surface quality as well as uniformity to the 4’x8′ plywood you can also find. I decided on tongue and groove which makes assembly a snap, but also adds a bit of work to get the height settings of the tongue and groove bits correct so the pieces match up correctly. It also took some extra time to cut the groves in the middle of…
I had to splce 2 3/4″ 4x’8′ sheets of ACX plywood to make each wall panel. CDX could be used and is cheaper but it contains many more voids and imperfections which could compromise the wall. I used a half-lap joint 3.5 inches across to join the two sheets. I use a straight edge and a router to remove half the material on the lap joint. The sections were joined with Titebond III and as much pressure as I could apply. There is a saw horse located directly beneath the joint supporting the load on top.
Making the sidewall profile templates out of 3/8″ plywood. I made 2 section templates for both the of the wall as well as the outside. Each template needed one and a half sheets as they are just over 9′ long. I used a 2 inch grid and drew the curves connecting the marks with a thin piece of scrap. I marked the profile lines with a sharpie. A jigsaw was used to cut the profile. The lines were drawn to the outside edge of the line so the saw could cut up against the inside edge and get a very…