Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

As long as we are brainstorming, I think we should use genetic engineering to invent plants or bacteria that grow-build stuff for us. Add the CNC instructions inot the thingmabob, water the plant, squirt the substrate into the bacterial vat, X days later, out pops our dohicky.

That's my position and I am sticking with it. Yes, I am !!

Hey Mike, your build is looking good already. I'm interested to see what all you do with the CNC on this build. Might get a few ideas.

mikeschn wrote:That's 1/2" sandy ply from HD. I don't think it's moisture resistant

The HD sandeply is definitely NOT moisture resistant. My ice chest tray delaminated and fell apart after the first outing. It's all part of the Ecuadorian Conspiracy.

mikeschn wrote:@KC, it gets better. I will be attaching the spars directly to the hard edges. The notches in the foam are strictly for locating the spars!

Did similar on my build. Very pleased with the results. The cabin turned out very rigid in the sideways direction.

mikeschn wrote:what if we combine foam molecules with aluminum molecules?

Do you get foamy aluminum or aluminum-y foam?

todd432 wrote:I know they make PT plywood but it's not to flat

The PT ply in my store wasn't flat at all.

Fred,

What was I thinking? I should have built a 3D printer instead of a router. Then I could have just printed out a new teardrop!!! And I could print a layer of plastic, and then a layer of aluminum!

Fred Trout wrote:As long as we are brainstorming, I think we should use genetic engineering to invent plants or bacteria that grow-build stuff for us. Add the CNC instructions inot the thingmabob, water the plant, squirt the substrate into the bacterial vat, X days later, out pops our dohicky.

Hi Capn,

Good to see you in this thread. Don't have as much CNC work planned as you did on yours. Although I could probably come up with some more. Some inserts for the roof vent. Maybe some hatch supports. Maybe a piece of removable galley furniture? We'll see. It could be fun!

capnTelescope wrote:Hey Mike, your build is looking good already. I'm interested to see what all you do with the CNC on this build. Might get a few ideas.

I suspected as much from the sandy ply. I am going to use the mix on all faces and edges until it can't absorb any more. Then I am going to put the waterproof membrane over it (canvas, gg and 1 part epoxy garage floor paint). I hope GPW is right about canvas!

mikeschn wrote:That's 1/2" sandy ply from HD. I don't think it's moisture resistant

The HD sandeply is definitely NOT moisture resistant. My ice chest tray delaminated and fell apart after the first outing. It's all part of the Ecuadorian Conspiracy. [/quote]

How did you attach your walls to the floor? Oh wait, you didn't build a foamie! So you just attached them to the floor?

mikeschn wrote:@KC, it gets better. I will be attaching the spars directly to the hard edges. The notches in the foam are strictly for locating the spars!

capnTelescope wrote:Did similar on my build. Very pleased with the results. The cabin turned out very rigid in the sideways direction.

I'm waiting for the exotic 3D printer materials to come out. Then I'll have to build a 4'x8' 3D printer. I'll never make dust again!

mikeschn wrote:what if we combine foam molecules with aluminum molecules?

capnTelescope wrote:Do you get foamy aluminum or aluminum-y foam?

I'm not planning on using any PT wood. I prefer clean untreated pine! And if I have any problems with the sandy ply, my next build will be foam and clean pine... What? I'm thinking about another build already? But actually I am. The MAD Dash is our get across the country build fast and easy, and not impact our fuel economy by much. But we still need a standie.

todd432 wrote:I know they make PT plywood but it's not to flat

capnTelescope wrote:The PT ply in my store wasn't flat at all.

Here you go Mike. seen these a while back do you think they'd do the trick.
http://www.gizmag.com/minibuilder-robot ... res/32573/

Gary

QUOTE: “ I hope GPW is right about canvas! “ ... Oh Gosh , what did I say now ???

I think instead of inventing new things , we should deal with what we have ( or can easily get ) and make it work ... jury’s still out on square PVC ( it’s available )
Using the mix on wood seals those pesky tubes...

Mike , as you’ve said all along , using GOOD materials and doing your BEST work always makes a superior product ... Same goes for a Foamie ... even more so since all the parts have to work together as ONE to be effective ... either canvas or foam alone is unimpressive , but put them together properly and you have a remarkable result .

JMHO, I really BELIEVE everyone should start with a Simple Foamie , foam and canvas with a bit of sealed wood around the door, just to experience how really Super it works as presented With the door framing and possibly overhead ribs inside , it makes it Simple to build a serviceable and Practical camper trailer ... We’ve heard all the benefits already ... no use repeating that again (read the BIG thread) ...

Ps. We’ve even eliminated the idea of wood framing around windows now .... With proper fitting windows and that 3M marine sealant , our windows (FS) will have to be Attacked to remove them ... Less framing means less to have to waterproof , and less to rot ...

I've never seen the square PVC... I've never seen the marine sealant either. Got a link to an example of a foamie builder using that?

As for good materials, cost was not the object, weight was. And for sure, the way to make it light is with foam. I am going to watch Jack's aluminum over foam build though!!!

This Mad Dash is going to spend the winters outside, so the canvas absolutely has to be water proof to keep that cheap sandy ply from delaminating. I've already lost one roof due to delamination... I don't want another delam...

Mike...

GPW wrote:QUOTE: “ I hope GPW is right about canvas! “ ... Oh Gosh , what did I say now ???

I think instead of inventing new things , we should deal with what we have ( or can easily get ) and make it work ... jury’s still out on square PVC ( it’s available )
Using the mix on wood seals those pesky tubes...

Mike , as you’ve said all along , using GOOD materials and doing your BEST work always makes a superior product ... Same goes for a Foamie ... even more so since all the parts have to work together as ONE to be effective ... either canvas or foam alone is unimpressive , but put them together properly and you have a remarkable result .

JMHO, I really BELIEVE everyone should start with a Simple Foamie , foam and canvas with a bit of sealed wood around the door, just to experience how really Super it works as presented With the door framing and possibly overhead ribs inside , it makes it Simple to build a serviceable and Practical camper trailer ... We’ve heard all the benefits already ... no use repeating that again (read the BIG thread) ...

Ps. We’ve even eliminated the idea of wood framing around windows now .... With proper fitting windows and that 3M marine sealant , our windows (FS) will have to be Attacked to remove them ... Less framing means less to have to waterproof , and less to rot ...

mikeschn wrote:As for good materials, cost was not the object, weight was. And for sure, the way to make it light is with foam. I am going to watch Jack's aluminum over foam build though!!!

You might get old, waiting for me. By my current thinking, I won't be relying on extruded polystyrene (XPS) for its structural strength, only insulation for the occupants. Right now, the strength will come from the aluminum sandwiched around closed cell polyethylene.

But my next little research project is going to be to sandwich the aluminum/polyethylene composite to an inch of extruded polystyrene (aka pink Foamular) and a layer of FRP and see how much strength that adds over the aluminum composite stuff on its own.

After that, I want to put that samples in the freezer and then move it to a heated box to see if the three components get along when it comes to thermal expansion.

Before I've done half of that, I think you'll have another teardrop finished.

Jack,

Whatever you come up with, I wanna see it!!!

Glenn,

Aha, I see... square pvc and marine adhesive. Has there been much discussion on the marine adhesive?

Oh, here is "the mix" at work!



Oh, and Glenn... what did you put on the underside of YOUR trailer? "the mix"?

Mike...

mikeschn wrote:Fred,

What was I thinking? I should have built a 3D printer instead of a router. Then I could have just printed out a new teardrop!!! And I could print a layer of plastic, and then a layer of aluminum!

Fred Trout wrote:As long as we are brainstorming, I think we should use genetic engineering to invent plants or bacteria that grow-build stuff for us. Add the CNC instructions inot the thingmabob, water the plant, squirt the substrate into the bacterial vat, X days later, out pops our dohicky.

Actally Mike you are not that far off - just use a modified glue gun to extrude a plastic bead and attach it to the head of you Plywood CNC instead of the router - use the depth control to build layers!

http://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw/index ... use_m.html

Mike,
Saw this article. Thought you might drive up to Midland & talk to Dow about sponsoring your trailer, research and design.

mikeschn wrote:Hi Capn,
Good to see you in this thread.

Glad to see it's good to see me!

mikeschn wrote:How did you attach your walls to the floor? Oh wait, you didn't build a foamie! So you just attached them to the floor?

I screwed up (without screwing-up ) through the floor into the internal base board that runs along the bottom of the wall sandwich. First the galley bulkhead got screwed back to front thru the bulkhead into the internal wall framing. This holds the walls vertical. Then the front bulkhead/headboard done likewise to keep the walls parallel, front to back. Then screw the floor to the walls, squaring up the b-heads before screwing the second wall. Bolted down through the floor into the chassis mounting points to keep it all from flying away. I came back later and loosened the bulkhead screws, added lots of glue using good ol' gravity and tightened down. No screws through the wall from the outside to fill and hide.

The spars mostly hold the ceiling and roof up and keep the walls from flopping around.

Mix looks good Mike !!! We used the black nasty stuff on the bottom of all 3 trailers ... We’d seen commercial trailers with a “membrane” (thin plastic sheet ) on the bottom , but those don’t work very well , one we saw holding water like a big giant water balloon ...

Glenn,

I put the 2nd coat of mix on last night. The faces are pretty well sealed, but the end grain still sucks the stuff up like crazy. How many coats till it stops sucking in the mix? What has your experience been?

Mike...