Plywood sides for the teardrop trailer

The main departure from the Kuffel Creek plans In the Kuffel Creek plans the plywood sides are an integral part of the trailer assembly. The plywood sides are the foundation or primary support for building the rest of the trailer. In the Kuffel Creek method, the plywood is erected first, and then all other work must proceed from the inside of the trailer, a difficult, complex and cramped proposition. (In my biased opinion) I did not apply the plywood until after the sides and roof were fully completed and mounted to the trailer, insulated and wired. I claim that my method is much easier. For me, the plywood sides are kind of an armor, providing strength and stability to the fundamental teardrop shape of the trailer and a backing for the aluminum skin. The plywood sides are all that give shape and substance to the galley part of the trailer.

I did not have access to ten foot plywood without incurring considerable expense for a special order. I decided to design my trailer so that I could use eight foot plywood and also not have a straight line joint in the plywood sides, as that would be a weakness. I also chose to use CDX grade plywood, as neither side of it will be seen once the trailer is finished, and CDX grade is much cheaper than ACX grade. A mistake I made was not checking the sales clerk. At the lumberyard where I got the plywood, the clerk was a new guy. I told him I wanted 1/2" CDX plywood, and he sold me 5/8". I did not notice the error (his or mine) until I got the stuff home. I was kind of steamed, but decided to keep it and use it anyway. The result was slightly higher cost to me, and a heavier trailer. The mistake was an easy one, I guess. Half inch plywood is less than a half inch thick. The 5/8" plywood is a bit over half an inch thick, and the clerk measured the thickness of the plywood. I told him I wanted half inch plywood, and he was not going to then sell me something thinner than that. I should have known better, and the mistake was really mine.

There is a jog in the framing of my sides, per the Kuffel Creek plans, which also allows for a jog in the plywood shell layout. I did make a slight modification in the framing of the sides in order to achieve what I wanted. The horizontal frame member I added is the height of the interior cabinet bottom, and is the attachment point for the bottom of the cabinet.  With this framing, a single straight vertical seam in the plywood shell is avoided, and the inherent stiffness of the plywood lends itself to making a stiff joint in the plywood shell as if it were a single continuous sheet of material. Once the plywood was securely attached to the trailer, I used a belt sander to dress the top curve as needed. There were a few places where the plywood was standing just a little proud of the roof framing. This was also a chance to adjust the curve as necessary to produce a smooth fair curve from front to back. As you sight along the line of the curve, any departures from a fair curve are apparent, and the line can be corrected with the sander.

the front piece of plywood siding is attached

the rear piece of plywood siding is attached

first page  the frame  the floor  the sides  plywood sides  the roof  the flooring  the shell  wiring and insulation  sheet metal  molding   hatch lid  doors  fenders  light fixtures  cabin cabinets  solar panel  tanks  galley  other stuff  some lessons learned  some sources