Newbie builds a foam toy hauler/camper

Canvas covered foamies (Thrifty Alternatives...)

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Re: Newbie builds a foam toy hauler/camper

Postby ghcoe » Mon Dec 22, 2014 10:38 pm

Going by your description above it sounds to me that you laid out the fabric and then applied two coats of TBII. The proper way would be to roll on the TBII then lay the fabric over the glue and roll the fabric into the glue. No glue on the outside of the fabric. If you laid out the fabric first and glued over the top you are probably starving the foam surface of glue which could be what is causing your bubbles.
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Re: Newbie builds a foam toy hauler/camper

Postby Pmullen503 » Tue Dec 23, 2014 8:24 am

No, I rolled the first coat of TB2 onto the sanded foam, applied the cloth, then another coat of glue on the cloth. The idea was to saturate the cloth with glue so the cloth/foam bond wouldn't be starved. I'll get a scoring tool and try that on the right side. I'm not that worried about the inside, but I would like to get this sorted by the time I cover the outside.

You know, for RC airplanes we use water based polyurethane to adhere cloth to foam. Lay out the fabric and the poly soaks right through. I wonder if anyone has tried it with canvas....
Last edited by Pmullen503 on Tue Dec 23, 2014 1:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Newbie builds a foam toy hauler/camper

Postby GPW » Tue Dec 23, 2014 11:01 am

PM , I believe we’ve all been trying to get the absolute Best bond between Foam and canvas (fabric) and the TB2 has proven to work very well so far ... If you’d like to independently “test” the poly/foam/fabric join , we’d really appreciate hearing about it !!!  8) ;)
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Re: Newbie builds a foam toy hauler/camper

Postby Pmullen503 » Tue Dec 23, 2014 1:52 pm

GPW wrote:PM , I believe we’ve all been trying to get the absolute Best bond between Foam and canvas (fabric) and the TB2 has proven to work very well so far ... If you’d like to independently “test” the poly/foam/fabric join , we’d really appreciate hearing about it !!!  8) ;)


Maybe I'll try it on the partition wall.
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Re: Newbie builds a foam toy hauler/camper

Postby Pmullen503 » Tue Dec 23, 2014 2:12 pm

Here's a couple shots of the side door frame. The frame was made with 1.5" x 1.6" wood to compensate for the 0.20" plywood (not 0.25"!) I suppose I could have sanded the foam to match but then I'd have a gap for my shelf runners. The part below the Yakima racks are only 5.5" instead of 6" like the other three. Seems I forgot to compensate for the loss due to the saw cuts. Still hoping to get everything from 4 pieces of 4'x8' foam sheet. I used a hot wire to cut the 2" foam down to 1.6"

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The door is 28" wide which was the biggest I could fit in and not get too close to the wheels. The bottom sill has a 5 degree angle out to shed water. I was pleased that the corner pieces (with matching 5 degree cut on one side) came out right on the first try because I had to laminate a special 3.5" x 1.6" board and didn't make enough to screw one up! I used the fancy "IntegriPly" underlayment and was disappointed that the edges chipped when I routed out the opening. I opted to leave the plywood on inner opening. I'll cut it out after it's covered and hope it doesn't chip as badly.

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Re: Newbie builds a foam toy hauler/camper

Postby KCStudly » Tue Dec 23, 2014 2:41 pm

For splintery wood, or when transitioning cuts from across to with grain, if you score your cut line with a utility knife it helps prevent chip out (credit GPW for helping me with that little tip :thumbsup: ).

Similarly, on end cuts you can back up the edge with scrap clamped flush to the work, then just run off the work piece onto the scrap.
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Re: Newbie builds a foam toy hauler/camper

Postby Pmullen503 » Sun Dec 28, 2014 2:55 pm

I covered the right, inside surface with muslin. This time I made sure there was plenty of glue on the foam before I applied the fabric. I also misted the fabric with water to get it to relax before I stuck it down. This time I had no bubbles. Once I get the partition wall covered and the window sectioned in, I can start assembling the sides.

I plan to use a Wiley window but I have a question about how to finish it off. I'll make it flush on the outside but how do you finish off the inside? The walls are so thick; do you just leave the overhang, make the window frame taller, angle the foam sides and top? I couldn't find a reference with a good photo of a Wiley window in a thick foam wall.

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Re: Newbie builds a foam toy hauler/camper

Postby Pmullen503 » Tue Dec 30, 2014 3:45 pm

Now that Christmas is over I can get back to work. I haven't cut out the inner door opening yet. I plan to leave it in until the sides are glued down for strength and stiffness. I did cut out the corners of the door opening with a router and a circle jig. It worked much better than a saw with no chip out. I cut the bottom of the door opening since there wouldn't be room for the router once the sides are glued down.

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I dry fit the sides and bulkhead to check for problems and work out my clamping scheme. I found a problem with the location of the bulkhead; it was right where one of the bolts for the Yakima side loader brackets will go. Moving it forward would move the hatch hinge location forward (unto the curved part), but there isn't room enough to move it back without crowding the side door. I may have to have the bolts straddle the wall. I'll want to make the hatch longer too. I plan to have a table I can fold down when the hatch is up but the fixed wall is too high on the plans. I'm glad I didn't start gluing things yet!

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Re: Newbie builds a foam toy hauler/camper

Postby rowerwet » Tue Dec 30, 2014 10:01 pm

I have a few ideas but have done only Wiley windows in plywood so have no actual experience.
Make the door of two layers of 1" foam glued together. Cut the inner piece to fit the whole window assembly, and the window hole in the outer face to be the frame the window and screen seal against.
A thinner outer layer of 1/2" foam might be better still, I'm planning a foamie this year, the doors will be framed in wood, and probably be skinned with 1/4" ply.
You could also cut through the door and add a frame of wood or foam to the outside of the door to seal the window, this way the support angles for the inside would be less obtrusive. I saw a barn with windows set into a 2x4 wall that way. There were no brackets intruding past the inside wall, just the top of the window when opened. The supports were simple diagonal strips nailed to the inner frame.
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Re: Newbie builds a foam toy hauler/camper

Postby Pmullen503 » Wed Dec 31, 2014 1:13 pm

rowerwet wrote:I have a few ideas but have done only Wiley windows in plywood so have no actual experience.
Make the door of two layers of 1" foam glued together. Cut the inner piece to fit the whole window assembly, and the window hole in the outer face to be the frame the window and screen seal against.
A thinner outer layer of 1/2" foam might be better still, I'm planning a foamie this year, the doors will be framed in wood, and probably be skinned with 1/4" ply.
You could also cut through the door and add a frame of wood or foam to the outside of the door to seal the window, this way the support angles for the inside would be less obtrusive. I saw a barn with windows set into a 2x4 wall that way. There were no brackets intruding past the inside wall, just the top of the window when opened. The supports were simple diagonal strips nailed to the inner frame.


I think I understand what you mean. I do want to limit the amount the frame protrudes from the wall and I had thought to limit the frame to 2" thick so the windows will be flush on both sides, at least when closed. That leaves me with closed, a 1x18" opening at the top (wedge between the glass and screen,) or remove the glass completely for the full 12 x 18" oval.

I'm ambivalent about partially raising the glass and wedging it in place which would leave the end of it kinda hanging out in space. I should probably mock it up and see how bad that is.

The door is another issue, I may just not do a window there and put one in the wall on that side and two in the wall on the other side. Do (3) 1x18" slots seem like adequate ventilation?
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Re: Newbie builds a foam toy hauler/camper

Postby Pmullen503 » Fri Jan 02, 2015 3:31 pm

I got the sides and bulkhead glued to the platform.

I had planned to use a biscuit joiner and biscuits to keep the sides lined up with the platform. Unfortunately, the platform now has a (permanent) bow in it. My fault, the trailer was sagging at the ends and I thought the platform would straighten that out, I guess the trailer won that fight. The ends of the side walls were each about 1/4" above the platform with the center touching. I was afraid the biscuits wouldn't hold the ends so here's what I came up with; along the sides I screwed scraps of paneling to the platform to act as a stop (covered with packing tape to keep the glue from sticking.) Then I laid down a bead of Great Stuff for glue. After setting the sides in place, I used patio blocks to hold the walls against the stops. I custom cut wood shims for under the Yakima rack supports. It worked well, the sides stayed flush with the platform. Here's a photo showing the stop strip and the patio block:

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The screw holes will be covered when I canvas the sides. The excess Great Stuff foam came off easily on the inside with a flush cutter on a oscillating tool and some scraping. What little squeeze out there was on the outside came off the foam with a putty knife. It doesn't stick that well to unsanded foam.
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Re: Newbie builds a foam toy hauler/camper

Postby Pmullen503 » Fri Jan 30, 2015 3:33 pm

After a brief hiatus i was able to get the trailer back into my heated work space. Nothing fancy, just bonding the corners to the floor. I used 6" strips of canvas drop cloth. The strips were torn instead of cut to reduce the number of stray threads. Bias strips would have been better but the drop cloth I got has seams every 3' so I tore the strips off the 9' dimension.

I rolled on two coats of TB2, applied the strips and rolled on a final coat of TB2 and smoothed it down by hand.

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Re: Newbie builds a foam toy hauler/camper

Postby GPW » Fri Jan 30, 2015 6:36 pm

Looking Good and Solid !!! :thumbsup:
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Re: Newbie builds a foam toy hauler/camper

Postby Pmullen503 » Fri Jan 30, 2015 9:02 pm

It feels very sturdy, even without the top. I think I'll order canvas on a roll for the sides and top. I don't like the seams in the drop cloth material. I got the foam for the hatch kerfed, just gotta get the wood edges glued on. I thinking I should glue on the top and mount the hinge before I bend and glue up the kerfs to get the best possible fit.
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Re: Newbie builds a foam toy hauler/camper

Postby GPW » Sat Jan 31, 2015 7:08 am

You’re doing Great!!! .... just keep doing what you’re doing ... :thumbsup: 8) :beer:
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