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

[GPW]

One of the original intentions of building a Foamie , beside the No Rot business , was the Lightness factor , allowing you to carry More of your camping Gear , without overloading a lighter capacity trailer ... Camping is always more Fun , when you have all your “Stuff” ! The Gear goes on the floor for towing , so equals “ballast” ... Just like loading “the boat “ , ice , gas, Beer, bait ... all on the floor and adjusted for correct front to rear balance (trim) ...

Catherine just built a little too tall for the width , and under most conditions that would have been OK , but the severe winds she encountered was just enough to tip it over (bad Luck ) ... Likely an uncommon occurrence for the great majority of us , and a good reminder not to tow in extremely windy weather ...

[atahoekid]

I think that if you don't go wider, a standie is a bit much on a narrow frame. I wouldn't worry about extending over the frame, but you can also lower "skirts" beyond the floor level if it really worries you. I did that to enhance the "low" look. Keep the weight down low, make it low and wide and you should be OK. I was also thinking that if you were able to design and build your frame, you could even "sink" the floor below frame level to keep it from being too tall. Just gotta design around the crossmembers getting in the way. But now we are getting beyond "simple" to build

[mikeschn]

I might have to rethink my standie foamie. Maybe trim the sidewalls back down to 48". 52" at the most. I'll have to go home and measure what I have now.

Mike...

[eaglesdare]

i wonder how tall is too tall for a 5 wide?

[mikeschn]

Remember, my trailer is a 4x8.

Mike...

[GPW]

I wouldn’t get all freaky about this .... More a bad weather incident than a bad trailer ...

[atahoekid]

Obviously mother nature had a lot to do with the issues that occurred, since high winds will blow over tractor trailers, but a good design can help minimize the issue to some degree. I guess with so many variables, such as wind speed and direction, weight and weight distribution, and height vs width there's no way to say how tall is too tall. I like the look of low and wide better anyway

[S. Heisley]

You all seem to be a little bit spooked by this accident and that's good.
In heavy winds, if it weren't for the chassis, a foamie could become a kite.
However, any trailer can be tipped if the winds are strong enough. Even a tractor trailer will tip over in heavy winds.
...Thank goodness for wind advisories.

[Wobbly Wheels]

You all seem to be a little bit spooked by this accident and that's good.

Speaking only from my own perspective, it's not 'spooked' so much as just trying to dissect what happened to see if there's anything we can use to make our own builds a little better. Quite the opposite of spooked for me, really, as it validates my own construction techniques by showing how robust the foam is with 'only' a canvas/goop covering.
Most of us are doing what we're doing for the first time so there isn't much of a precedent of how it's been done before. Even when it doesn't go as planned it's still valuable.

And yeah, it's definitely a good thing - I think the "how light is too light" conversation is covered in the big thread, but this is a chance to see if that's what was at play here. I agree with others that, in Catherine's case, it was more about the dimensions of her build and the local conditions than any flaws in how we're building these things.

[bonnie]

I wouldn’t get all freaky about this .... More a bad weather incident than a bad trailer ...

Very true. I was caught in the big storms in Indiana last summer. Came up fast and the gusts were enough to blow the car sideways. I got to the nearest overpass and stopped. I saw a pontoon go flipping and later passed a huge 5th wheel that was in the center median and it's tow vehicle was on the other side of the high way. I counted at least 5 semi trucks on their sides in the 10 mile stretch. My point is that while Catherine's trailer may have acted as a catch for the winds; that doesn't make it bad to build with foam. The conditions were pretty extreme, I'd wager. Going with my current design is due to an under powered tow and the desire to maintain as much MPGs as I can. I haven't seen anything specific, but isn't there some sort of ratio width to length to height? In other words, BUB at 5 wide and 9.5 long could reasonably go 5 tall? Hopefully someone who knows more about this will chime in.

[TJinPgh]

Makes you wonder how things might have turned out differently (if at all) if one were using some kind of stabilizing bar on the hitch.

Always wondered how light was too light.

Still, looks like a pretty good argument for something that pops up rather than stands up.

[S. Heisley]

Makes you wonder how things might have turned out differently (if at all) if one were using some kind of stabilizing bar on the hitch.

Always wondered how light was too light.

Still, looks like a pretty good argument for something that pops up rather than stands up.

Good points. The stabilizer bar might have helped; however, even foamies that pop up could have problems in heavy winds. But, at least the pop up portion would be down when traveling and could be put down when heavy winds are a possibility.

[GPW]

We are still Learning !!!!

[Shadow Catcher]

I think Sharon nailed it, my interest is why did this happen and how do we prevent it from happening again.
I think a great deal of it has to do with center of gravity as much as wind resistance. Compass Rose is 6' wide and has a Dexter axle with under load a slightly negative (up) position on the arms that makes for a very wide (probably approaching legal width limit) low to the ground trailer. This is coupled with the aluminum frame that makes the top fairly light weight. The down side is for off road poorly maintained road we got a wide load that sits too low, I am working on that with the air shocks.
Many of the trailers using a HF or other lief spring set up, I have seen, have the axle sitting below the springs and when it is directly under the trailer these effectively raise the center of gravity. We encountered very heavy winds (always seemed to be head winds) on our month long trip and I never felt uncomfortable (other than watching the gas gauge). being passed by big rigs going the other way was not a problem, yes I could tell there was a bit of sway, but not much.
There is a very good Airstream video on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cMg42sW6NU with a comparison between a conventional trailer and an Airstream. Airstream was if not the first, one of the first to use a rubber torsion bar suspension and they are by design low center of gravity.
One thing that has not been discussed is the axle placement, was it moved back to maintain tongue weight.
Tom

[eaglesdare]

i have to admit that i am a tad bit spooked. i always have been, this is one of the reasons i have used a cinch strap on my foamie. i have always been afraid it would blow off my frame. i know what carrying a sheet of foam from the back to the front in winds are like. wind and foam in our case is not a good thing, (airplanes yes, campers no). and last year slowcowboy pretty much talked me out of going west because of the winds and my foamie.
going west is on my bucket list. so i have to build a camper (still out of foam) to the best i can, with the least amount of worry about winds blowing it over.