Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[GPW]

Norm ,


" it's apparently thermally affected some at relatively low temperatures “ ... Not really !!! More unsubstantiated rumors ...

[GPW]

Not meaning to appear too curmudgeonly , but we’ve heard of a Lot of “hypotheticalâ€

[eaglesdare]

i just have to speak up here and add to what gpw has said. we are not 100% sure the cold caused the bubbles on my foamie. i think it very well may be caused by my use of the cinch straps. they have been on for a straight long period of time (which happens to be in the colder temps).

it could be caused because of the cold, (doubtful, but could be). however if this was the cause, more bubbling would be occuring. haven't seen any other spots of foamie.

it could be because of the lack of glue in those spots, (doubtful) or even maybe a dent was in there and not filled in which may have caused air inbetween, which then caused the bubbling. (again doubtful).

there is an easy fix to this bubbling. i could very well just inject more glue in there. or cut and repair, or perhaps just iron. not sure haven't tried yet.

but the foamie worked perfectly for the whole season of 2011. i went out more times this year then ever before with a tent. the foamie is NOT disabled. it is still very much campable.

the original idea of the foamie, thrifty, affordable, and pretty much anyone can do it with very minimal tools. except for the trailer frame, (which was ordered) everything else came from lowes/walmart. i spent around $1300 ish on it.

now i don't know what kind of damage a hammer will cause if used on it, i have no intentions of finding out. i do believe i can stand on top of it, again, i have no intentions of finding that out either. i am not sure of the statistics of those doing these things with their woody's. so these to me are mute issues.

now whether or not a foamie is too light and will blow off the frame, or the whole thing blowing over? i have no idea.

i know that mine is not one of the best looking td/ttt's out there. but for me, i know that it is 100 plus % better than camping in a tent. ( not that there is anything wrong with a tent). campers will camp in what ever they can. i have even car camped. but this foamie was a wonderful thing for me.

can we now make them better? i am sure we can. this is a new area, and we are all working out kinks and experiementing on different glues and other materials to make them better and longer lasting.

the bubbling does not cause me any stress what so ever. i know i can still use this camper, and will. those that have skills and more money to build the better campers will do so. but for me with zero skills, barely any money, and don't forget, i have only 1000 tow capacity this camper is perfect.

lets get away from the "what happens if you take a hammer".. thinking and lets stay on track with building the foamies the best way we can. there might be another person out there that is just like me and this stuff will help that person.

lets keep positive and move forward.

[GPW]

Can't remember how many times I slept in a Boy Scout Pup Tent on some mountainside in the High Lonesome... Aaaaah !!! Memories!!! To my certain knowledge, it wasn’t very “comfortable “...

Eagle , Well Put !!!!

How’s your Dog ????

[eaglesdare]

i love this dog! he is getting bigger. i think he was about 6 or so pounds when i got him, now he is 22 lbs. i think i have a smooth coated rough collie. he is not going to have the full fur coat that rough collies are associated with.
now the bad thing about this puppy is that he is a 100% coward!
but i don't care, i got him for companion and that is what he is. i love this dog!

[GPW]

22lb. coward eh ... Lots bettern’ my dog who is just DUMB as dirt (too Dumb to be a coward) ... They are great companions !!!

[eaglesdare]

yuck, i am now seeing some aweful white flaky stuff falling from the sky.

we aren't expecting anything more than flurries though.

[eaglesdare]

oh my gosh, it is finally really really cold out there. we are at 30 for the temp. seems much colder though with the wind blowing. it seems like we were in the upper 50's yesterday. so this feels really cold for me.
simba loves it though.

[pete42]

30? you say 30? thats almost double here 16 degrees outside.
but house is nice and toasty and I'm headed to bed, nice warm bed...
g'nite all...............

pete

[mezmo]

Hi GPW and eaglesdare,

I recently read, that the result of a communication is not necessarily what
you have said, but what others think you have said [I'm paraphrasing it].

Just to clear things up:

You guys came on/back sort of strongly and somewhat defensively
sounding [to me at least], which perplexed me as all I was doing was
discussing or presenting my view of some things that were recently
being discussed and also referenced things from past postings which were
related to the discussion.

It seems that, somehow, you guys took it as questioning the Foamie
concept . That is not at all the case. Participants on the Foamie Thread
are all just interested in exploring and maybe improving the concept and
using it for their building needs - either when planning/designing, in
progress, or when they are able to start one. That is what my post was,
nothing more -nothing less.

I'm not saying one way is better than the rest, which seems to be the
way things were taken. The last sentence in this quote clearly says that:

]And again, another consideration is the COST. Thrifty is good,
but part of that to me, has to also consider any possibility of extra benefits
that the extra cost of these alternate [from TBII&III] exterior coatings
provide. They may be worth it. But overall, I think there's room for all
methods here - as long as they meet the individual builders needs/criteria.

I think the Foamie concept is great. That is why I participate in the
discussions.

And I laud you, GPW, for originating the idea, and the thread for it; and
also you, eaglesdare, for completing the first campable Foamie - the
"proof of concept", so to speak. I wasn't saying your "Baby" is 'ugly', I
was only exploring and discussing an aspect of it I wish to explore
further.

When I am able to start a build, it will be a TTT style on the bigger end of
the TTT scale, as that will fit my needs best. That is an area that hasn't
been fully explored yet, although there are a few similar builds now-in-
progress that are pioneering this Foamie style, so we Foamlings are
watching their progress. We are all learning, wishing them success, and
collectively trying to help work out the details or exploring alternative
ways of approaching the builds. That is all the post was about, as was so stated:

I guess what it boils down to for me is, that it appears [I have to
say that as I haven't finished a design yet or started in on a build yet.]
Foamies, as originally conceived, and/or with whatever additional
elements added, seem to be the most economical and simplest way to
build a TD/TTT. But, doing so still entails investments of time, materials
and mental processes. I just want to get the best result possible for my
efforts and money when the time comes. Too much maintenance or short
'product' life won't satisfy my aims when building one. Therefore the
further look into the HWFF exterior coatings, especially for the use on
the "larger" TTT type of Foamie.

Perhaps this

Too much maintenance or short 'product' life won't satisfy my aims when building one.

was misconstrued.
That refers to the total build, not just the exterior coating/finish. All I'm
seeking is the best mix of everything for me in the final product when I
get to the point of being able to build and complete my own Foamie
design. Meanwhile it's fun watching others embark on their own Foamie
Adventure.


Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

[eaglesdare]

i guess i was sounding defensive. i never meant for that. i was just trying to explain my feelings on the foamie issues.

apologize. sometimes the typed words do not come out as they are meant to.


btw: we are at 18 this morning. brrrrrrr

[bonnie]

A balmy 32 this morning.

FWIW, I really like reading this thread. I also like the idea of all sorts of methods and methodologies for building. I have saved ideas and saved ideas. Now my brother is in on the adventure as chief electrician, plus he's working on the design a bit.

Saving up $$ so I can really get started.

Bonnie

[pete42]

Norm
if we all thought alike there most likely wouldn't be any tear-drops, TTT, cargo trailers, or foamies.
sometimes a different view something no one else has thought of leads us all on a different path.
look at how many different coverings and glues vs paint vs epoxy have been tried
thanks to all for testing and thanks to all for building but most of all thanks for sharing.
the typed word has no inflection as does the spoken word
so typed words must be chosen carefully.

Ol' Pete

[linuxmanxxx]

So actually this thread/concept has morphed into many things so maybe views on the topic might need expanding a bit.

It started as an ultra thrifty economical way to produce a camper and has evolved into a discussion on methods on strength and weight reduction and basically a construction thread more now than the original starting as a theory and concept.

Each person has a different idea of value/price weight/strength looks/value concept of what they want/need in an end product.

My needs/views are in a commercial sense and that I won't lie about at all or apologize about because I build a product and want to keep eating lol......I'm looking for an end result of a build that is ultralight and strong and durable on the outside yet staying away from messy toxic things like fiberglass and other highly vapid kinds of chemicals/formulas as well as lower my production costs.

Material wise I produce a microcamper for roughly 3k and this includes AC TV Fridge and microwave. I have no volume pricing setup and compared to eagle stating she has 1300 in build cost on her foamie dropping my appliances brings it down around 2000 build cost producing an almost showroom camper that will last a good 30 years or more surviving a bird strike if it happened and only 1400 pounds total.

My point is that study a lot of all the varying ideas and concepts on here and weigh what meets your needs and if you ask and look around looks/quality don't necessarily equate to crazy prices.

I think it would be best to maybe kill this thread and start several more breaking them out to construction ideas/methods materials/tools and theories vs cost/value/methods ideas so kinda pull this fractured thead and several others into cohesive threads and ideas and minimize the time needed to find an answer to any foamy related questions.

Do you guys realize we are discussing ideas that could very well change a whole industry using new concepts and ideas otherwise known as thinking outside the box????

[droid_ca]

this thread has been such a good resource for all sorts of things