Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

Canvas covered foamies (Thrifty Alternatives...)

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Re: Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

Postby rjgimp » Wed Sep 18, 2019 10:40 pm

PiperBob wrote:I read the whole thing :M If there's ever a Foamie meetup someone should put that on a shirt.

:applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:

WOOHOOO!!! Congratulations and welcome to the asylum.

PiperBob wrote:Way back (maybe page 50?) in the "bear proofing" discussion someone mentioned Kevlar fabric. I have a piece that's about 25 feet by 53 inches. In the 2nd Gulf War they made the vests locally and this is a remnant I bought from a mill for maybe $1 a yard. I had been planning on skinning a popup roof with it, but we've gotten rid of the popup. Maybe that would be the caviar of pmf 8) But I don't know how to cut it. The guy at the mill suggested buying a pair of cheap scissors and then throwing them away.


Could you use a straight razor?
-Rob


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just as soon as the steering committee gets around to scheduling one!
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Re: Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

Postby GPW » Thu Sep 19, 2019 6:03 am

“Bear proofing" … Not likely with Foam … maybe STEEL … maybe ??? That’s like trying to make something "Kid proof" … :lol:
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Re: Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

Postby PiperBob » Thu Sep 19, 2019 6:40 am

rjgimp wrote:
PiperBob wrote:Way back (maybe page 50?) in the "bear proofing" discussion someone mentioned Kevlar fabric. I have a piece that's about 25 feet by 53 inches. In the 2nd Gulf War they made the vests locally and this is a remnant I bought from a mill for maybe $1 a yard. I had been planning on skinning a popup roof with it, but we've gotten rid of the popup. Maybe that would be the caviar of pmf 8) But I don't know how to cut it. The guy at the mill suggested buying a pair of cheap scissors and then throwing them away.


Could you use a straight razor?


I was thinking maybe a utility knife. So far I haven't had a need to find a way.
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Re: Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

Postby takoeller » Thu Sep 19, 2019 10:08 pm

OK, I haven’t been here for awhile, my old hang out. :thumbsup: I always wanted to experiment with this Foamie thing. Has anyone tried landscaping fabric as a cheaper alternative to canvas, or is polypropylene too hard to bond to?
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Re: Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

Postby GPW » Fri Sep 20, 2019 4:37 am

As a cheaper alternative to canvas , There’s always bedsheets , jute bags , old blankets , Old T-shirts , blue jeans , POLYESTER garden fabric , Basically anything that you can find enough of , except polypropylene which is Tough to glue with our usual adhesives .. And then a good canvas is not really that expensive considering it can last a long time … ( 6 years and counting with my canvas covered trailer , and that’s living Outside in the weather … !!! )

As our leader has spoken … “ The quality is remembered long after the price has been forgotten “ :thumbsup:
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Re: Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

Postby RJ Howell » Fri Sep 20, 2019 6:05 am

On the Kevlar question. That was an interesting question and had to look it up. I get very curious at times!

<The guy at the mill suggested buying a pair of cheap scissors and then throwing them away.>
In a sewing forum they talk about re-sharpen the scissors to a lesser angle. They spoke of that's the difference in the expensive shears sold to cut kevlar.
Another spoke of using a manual rotary cutter. That I use on most fabric (including the 10oz canvas).

Think I'd try a utility knife first. Not much I can't cut with that and a straight edge.

Good luck and let us know what you figure out please.
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Re: Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

Postby GPW » Sat Sep 21, 2019 4:17 am

IMHO, Kevlar wasn’t That hard to cut with a good pair of SHARP scissors , and then we had some “Spectra" cloth that was ridiculously hard to cut with anything but a HOT knife … That would make a pretty bullet proof skin , but it could get very Pricy … :o

And having lots of old scissors arounds here , we’ll try sharpening them to a lower angle so they’re more “shears “ … Great idea … Thanks !!! 8)
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Re: Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

Postby GPW » Wed Nov 27, 2019 5:45 am

Where are all the Foamies … ??? We’re all done for the winter and stored away till Spring . :thumbsup:
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Re: Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

Postby GPW » Tue Dec 24, 2019 5:58 am

Hey Everybody !!! Have a Great Holiday Season !!! :D
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Re: Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

Postby ghcoe » Tue Dec 24, 2019 6:28 pm

Merry Christmas!
George.

Gorrilla Glue, Great Stuff and Gripper. The three G's of foamie construction.

My build viewtopic.php?t=54099
Working with flashing for foamie construction viewtopic.php?f=55&t=60303
Making a hot wire http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=55323
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Re: Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

Postby rjgimp » Wed Dec 25, 2019 3:47 am

Image
-Rob


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Re: Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

Postby GPW » Wed Jan 08, 2020 7:13 am

Dear Folks ,
It’s a New Year , with new challenges to look forward to . One of which is getting ready for the emerging Camping Season . :o
It may be Cold and inhospitable now , but the season will soon be upon us , and if we do a little bit at a time now , we can painlessly be ready for Spring . That last minute rushing around for gear always leaves me with something “I forgot” .. :duh:
Make your list … things to do , and get … ( more Thrifty too since you have time to shop around for best price or salvage … ;) )
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Re: Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

Postby GPW » Tue Feb 18, 2020 7:11 am

One thing that really is IMPORTANT over time now is the use of Drip Edges on your trailer !!! ( I can’t say this enough ) If you have ANY kind of moisture from the morning dew to gully washers , Drip edges do work and do keep water off the underside of your trailer ... No dampness , no chance of rot … Simple enough to do … THRIFTY ( especially in the long run ) , and Very Effective ... 8)

And dear folks , did you know Facebook will not allow me to post this site address … :o Since this is such an inventive and innovative site I’m always mentioning the Forum there , but have had to resort to writing “ dot com” at the end … :R Just so you know !!! I see a few small trailer folks there … here’s my page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009558437222 Just Fyi …
There’s no place like Foam !
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Re: Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

Postby theoldwizard1 » Mon Aug 03, 2020 7:23 pm

New guy and I don't want to slog through hundreds of page on just this thread.

Seeing as PPG Gripper is NOT Glidden Gripper, is there a consensus on what to use to adhere canvas to foam ?
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Re: Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

Postby John61CT » Tue Aug 04, 2020 9:57 pm

No, in fact very few structured experimenters have yet risen to the challenge.

If you decide to join in, do please report results back here.
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