Foamie under 750 pounds including trailer

[linuxmanxxx]

You said "So you had luan sandwich walls with 1x2s? Sounds you have an awesome build. I would like to make mine possibly double 3/4" with the outer wall solid foam3/4" foam sheets paired with the inner 1x2s filled with 3/4" foam cut to fit within the 1x2 openings... is that exactly what you did?"

Yes I would air nail and wood glue outer frame and add some cross supports to add strength for standing on it and fill the spaces with cut to fit foam. I did all the walls that way and could stand on the roof at 180 pounds. I would secure the walls together with wood glue and long drywall screws. As you complete the structure it adds strength to the overall enclosure. The sheer strength of the glued surfaces on both sides of the wall returns high tensile sheer strengths much higher than even solid 1"plywood at a tiny fraction of the weight.

The just mainly foamie route gives an easy build for people not inclined to be journeyman Carpenters. I studied the heck on this forum all I could find about the torsion box/sandwich build and then just started building. 3 builds total and kept morphing away from over building that I started with. I still haven't done a foam only build but will some day with a plastic exoskeleton over it but who knows when as life flow determines a lot of things these days. There are a lot of people here who've done a lot of different things and be wise to read between the lines of what they would do after the fact.

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[IdaKnow]

I studied the heck on this forum all I could find about the torsion box/sandwich build and then just started building. 3 builds total and kept morphing away from overbuilding that I started with. I still haven't done a foam only build but will someday with a plastic exoskeleton over it but who knows when as life flow determines a lot of things these days. There are a lot of people here who've done a lot of different things and be wise to read between the lines of what they would do after the fact.

Sounds like I'm on the right track. I studied the heck out of this forum for 8 months last year. I'm in the process of refreshing my knowledge and understand the "overbuilding" our minds want to do based on home building. I am definitely going the SIP panel method. I am going to do a three luan sandwich with 3/4" foam for the floor. I am in TX where it is humid and I understand I will need to seal the crap out of the luan prior to creating all sandwich panels. I intend to purchase Marine epoxy paint for that purpose to avoid rotting. This seems cheaper, faster and easier than either fiberglass or PMF -- and may result in a cleaner look.

I am not adding electric or plumbing. I may add that at a later date. I will use a power station with a portable solar panel and a waterless portable toilet. Potentially add an outlet or two later and a more permanent solar set up.

Other than sealing the luan with marine paint designed for below the water, I think the build should go pretty quickly if I build all the SIPs first. I will reread the "after the build" notes I can find. I need a refresher on those.

[linuxmanxxx]

The cheap luan will do little delams all over it but that's why I just latex painted the inside and used 3m water contact cement inside to foam and outside to stick aluminum to luan which with complete glue up seals everything. My first was frp which is hard and UV proof even when not labeled but it's beastly heavy and why I switched to aluminum which glued is awesome no oil canning as the glue flexes and keeps it looking great. I'm in Abilene and know Texas heat and what I've done on mine held up great.

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[ghcoe]

My #1 came in at 510lbs with tongue box. Shown in the beginning and towards the end of this video.



My #2 (Bug Out) came in at 371lbs.

[rjgimp]

George, I recognize a few of those other trailers in that first video. There is a really big one at about 1:36, do you know whose that one is and if they have a build thread?

[ghcoe]

George, I recognize a few of those other trailers in that first video. There is a really big one at about 1:36, do you know whose that one is and if they have a build thread?

That trailer was actually a Big Foot Travel trailer. He traded up once the tear drop got too small for him. Had arthritis if I remember correctly.

[rjgimp]

I guess that speaks to the quality work going on around here if I can't tell the difference between home built and commercial.

[ScottE]

My trailer weighs 874 lbs dry, you can see my build at: viewtopic.php?f=55&t=64860
My guess is that the loaded weight is just at 1,000 lbs.
Good Luck!

[Tyrtill]

My camper is about 5x11 and weighs 1030lbs with a full tank of diesel and 6 gallons of water so 750 should be very achievable. If I were to rebuild mine a could probably cut 150lbs of it without sacrificing anything.

I'm really tempted to build a non popup version in the future which would save more weight and be way easier to build but might be a sail when driving.