It's Ended, RIP. Update 11/13/12

[Wobbly Wheels]

Somehow I thing adding ballast seems to negate any weight difference

Unless it's unavoidable weight you have to carry anyway (batteries, water, etc): technically it's not ballast, it's trim. 'Ballast' is a bit of a running joke from the big thread - the cooler full of beer is unavoidable weight that you're carrying anyway.

[mikeschn]

Well, that's not a good sight! Glad to hear you guys are okay. Lets get the message out not to make foamies too tall and too narrow!

Mike...

[atahoekid]

Wow!!! Glad to hear there were no injuries as a result of the mishap.. Unfortunately Mother Nature is unforgiving. I agree with the previous statements. Make it wide and low, keep the heavy stuff down low.

Just a thought, open for comment... How do you know when light is too light? Or is there such a thing???

[Catherine+twins]

Well, it was about 650 pounds, even with the gear boxes in it. After the first tip, I put the gear boxes in the car, not wanting the stove and cast iron and plates and cups to spill all over the place, so it was only 600 lb then.

LOL My dad came over on Monday to take pictures of the remains (he posted on HIS FB page, but he wasn't too cruel about it), and we joked about the 500 lb of beer. I'm not a beer drinker any more (not being able to burp REALLY puts a damper on beer drinking, but that's a whole different story), and I can't see installing a 500 lb wine cellar without temperature control. I seem to be wandering down the cast iron road, though, so 500 lb should be EASY to find.

I certainly won't be scared to put in a heavier floor this time. My 1/2 inch plywood was flexing a bit too much, so I think we'll go with 3/4 this time. But I still plan on a 5 foot wide floor on a 4 foot trailer. Sorry, it is what I have.

Catherine

[loaderman]

the wider the wheels and lower you can make it the better.
Difficult to do but rounding the sides and over the top helps too.

[starleen2]

Somehow I thing adding ballast seems to negate any weight difference

Unless it's unavoidable weight you have to carry anyway (batteries, water, etc): technically it's not ballast, it's trim. 'Ballast' is a bit of a running joke from the big thread - the cooler full of beer is unavoidable weight that you're carrying anyway.

. . . but remember 500 lbs of beer is for only one way. . . . . then you gotta refill it for the journey back

[S. Heisley]

Catherine: It's good that you can all laugh about it. Your kids will remember this camping trip and probably chuckle some about it for the rest of their lives. That's not a bad thing. At least you're making an effort to be an above average mom and they know it! Good luck on build #2.

FYI: If you can't get the weather report, you can usually call your state's Highway Patrol and they will tell you if the roads are safe for what you want to do and if there are any anticipated road problems.

[wagondude]

Wow! The first post about this had me expecting chunks of pink foam and canvas all over the highway. The fact that it held together speaks volumes for the strength of the construction used and your building skills. It's probably a good thing that Louella decided not to go to Wyoming this past summer. I was behind my parents outside of Buffalo, Wy when their RV got hit with a crosswind that I thought was going to knock them over. Thiers has a rounded roof to wall junction similar to Airstream trailers (smaller radius). I am now sure that helped to prevent them from going over.

[mezmo]

Hi Catherine +Twins,

Sorry to hear of the trailer mishap. And of course, the
important thing is that you and the kids are fine.

I've never had to deal with winds like you mentioned - and
'hope I never have to ! Since your experience with a taller
and narrow Foamie had repercussions, I'm sure you'll be
looking to go lower and possibly wider, but lower will be the
biggest help. You did prove the viability of the Foamie approach
to construction. Grinding away the body corner is a better
consequence than the whole body disintegrating into splinters
as a wooden body probably would have done.

I'll throw out a suggestion for a name for build #2: How about
"The Hunker-Down"?

One approach to consider would be a lift roof that's anchored at
one end. Bonnie is doing one, and also there is the "Army Goose":
build: http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=49879

And here's a vintage Belgian lightweight caravan with that style roof.
It's idea could be done up as a Foamie as well:
[These are in Dutch/Flemish, but the pics are informative in themselves,
and I use Chrome as a browser [w/ Windows 7] and with that I can
right click on a blank area of the web page and then choose
'Translate to English' and most of the text will translate.]

http://www.wawacaravan.net/
http://www.mvanmierlo.nl/wawa.htm
http://www.wolfsburg.nl/wawa/
http://www.oldtimercaravanclub.nl/coppe ... 107&page=1
http://auto-union.over-blog.org/pages/l ... 93172.html

'Good to see none of you were put off of Foamie TTTs by the
experience. Good luck with the planning and build of #2.

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

[Bogo]

OTOH, the weathermen on the Albuquerque TV stations were forecasting calming winds, down to darned near dead calm by evening. Radio stations were useless, all playing national sports talk shows or repeats of national talk shows, national news blasts on the hour, but no live local anything from the robo-stations I was picking up.

The wind started picking up when we were about half way between Vaughn and Roswell, a wonderful stretch of absolute emptiness.

Sounds like you need a portable NOAA weather radio. A good one that will run on 3 or 4 AA batteries or plug into the wall should be around $30 to $50. You can even get hand cranked ones. For travel and storm chasing I have a CB that has weather radio in it.

Another option for weather on the go is a smartphone, and going out to weather sites. It is possible to go out to http://www.weather.gov/ There you can get point forecasts for anywhere in the country, and the current conditions for the closest site to the point forecast.

Bummer on the damage, but I'm glad everybody is OK.

Something I have been wondering about with my design is how much lift the shape will provide when going down the road. The top of mine is deliberately designed to keep the air flow attached to the top surface and is effectively a truncated wing profile.

I do plan on rounding the roof top to side edge some, but it can't be more than a couple inch radius. I also have a relatively narrow wheelbase due to the lifting top going over the outside of them. On the flip side I'm planning on 1,500 to 2,000 lbs loaded towed weight.

[GPW]

That’s a heck of a way to test a foamie structure .... But it really does prove that it is STRONG ... and really, from what I saw of the damage , it probably would have been an easy fix ... and , while Catherine was sawing , she ”could” have just sawn a strip out of the middle all around to lower it , re-glued top to bottom , reinforced with strips of canvas , and that would have done it ... Pretty simple to modify a foamie with a serrated kitchen knife ...


I’ve been caught in bad weather (really Windy) conditions before with a tow ... My alternatives were to seek the shelter of the leeward side of a tall building (like the side of a Wal mart ) , Or in large open areas , to park the vehicle /tow facing INTO the wind, and just wait out the storm . Driving in very windy weather is just Dangerous , some days it just pays to stay home and bake cookies .


Quote: “ but remember 500 lbs of beer is for only one way. . . . . then you gotta refill it for the journey back”
Yes , but isn’t that the Idea !!!

[KCStudly]

Glad to hear there was no harm to you or your kids. You did a wonderful job overcoming the adverse situation, righting the camper by yourself and finding your own way out of a troublesome situation. In the off-road community this is what is known as a "trail fix".

Unfortunate that you lost much of the material and the time/labor that you put in. I'm sure many of us who don't get to experience the common weather events in other regions have a hard time imagining what it can be like.

I hate to sound like a 'Monday Morning Quarterback', but I'm wondering if you had gone into that W-mart and bought 10 cases of bottled water (316 lbs of ballast for about $35) and placed it on the floor do you think that would have made a difference? ...or would that have been outside of the towing capabilities of your TV? …or would the wind still have had her way with your hard work? We all joke about the proverbial "500 lbs of beer", but there is a certain reality to Mother Nature that just cannot be denied.

Anyway, I commend you for getting through a tough spot and for keeping your wits. Sometimes the worst situations bring out the best in people. Get right back on that horse!

[Bogo]

As an alternative to beer, one could bring along a cask of wine...

[GPW]

...or a nice rustic brick patio floor ...

[eaglesdare]

makes me thank my lucky stars that this did not happen when we finally go the nerve to go over that nose bleed bridge.

catherine, you say 650lbs, is that your total weight, fully loaded? i have no idea how much my total weight fully loaded is. we are planning on the second build being our "go west" camper. i know the new frame is already at that weight, so i need to figure out a good shape so hopefully that does not happen to me. i was going with a standie, but think i will go much lower now. and i am rethinking building up over the rails, too much like "wings" for me.