5x10 Rigid Pop-Up with Foam

[Pmullen503]

First layer of glass not a total disaster.

This is the bottom and I only intend to lay up one layer for rodent protection and to add a little stiffness to the floor. (But I will likely install a wood floor inside regardless.)

I think you'll find the FG alone on foam will dent easily. You'll want something stiffer over that. Maybe plank flooring? It will look nice.

I wasn't really too sure about using this epoxy, as it is sold as a casting epoxy with no reviews by anybody doing layups. So far, I can't discern any problems with it. It is also very low odor in my attached enclosed garage, though I did the layup with the doors open.

I'm curious as to the setup time. Low viscosity for deep pours cures slowly for obvious reasons. Epoxy meant for counter tops is higher viscosity but can cure faster. Which did you use?

 

[kipa]

I think you'll find the FG alone on foam will dent easily. You'll want something stiffer over that. Maybe plank flooring? It will look nice.

I'm curious as to the setup time. Low viscosity for deep pours cures slowly for obvious reasons. Epoxy meant for counter tops is higher viscosity but can cure faster. Which did you use?

I am definitely going to use a more rigid flooring overlay, but also planning to do at least 2 layers on top facing surfaces for better compression resistance regardless.

The resin I'm using isn't fast curing, but it does lose all of it's tackiness in 24 hours. I was sanding it within 36 hours without issue. It's not suitable for additional layers inside of 4 hours. At 6 hours, it's still very tacky but firmed up quite a bit. I'd guess a good chemical bond is probable for another 6 or more hours after that (but I have zero experience with multi-layered epoxy).

 

[kipa]

Maybe this is common, but the resin I am using is thick enough that I had to abandon using the pumps. It took over 5 minutes to get 200ml into a cup with them, and I'm trying to get closer to a liter at a time to work with for most of this, so direct pouring is far faster.

 

[Pmullen503]

Maybe this is common, but the resin I am using is thick enough that I had to abandon using the pumps. It took over 5 minutes to get 200ml into a cup with them, and I'm trying to get closer to a liter at a time to work with for most of this, so direct pouring is far faster.

Wow that is thick AND slow. It is cheap however (about 1/3 what I pay for laminating epoxy). The laminating epoxies I've use are thin enough to pump well and can be recoated in an hour or so. I'm generally working with 6 to 10oz batches. Any more and it will start to gel in the cup before I can get it spread out.

You can thin epoxy. I prefer acetone but that will dissolve foam. You could try 10 or 15% Isopropanol. That will make the epoxy less clear but that won't matter under paint. Do a test first.

 

[Tom&Shelly]

Maybe this is common, but the resin I am using is thick enough that I had to abandon using the pumps. It took over 5 minutes to get 200ml into a cup with them, and I'm trying to get closer to a liter at a time to work with for most of this, so direct pouring is far faster.

That's what I did after experimenting. I used the "beer cup method for mixing epoxy".

Tom

 

[kipa]

The slower cure time allows me to think more about what I am doing, so I don't really mind it.

I'm mostly just wanting to get it shelled in for the winter so I can park it outside without thinking too much about it. Figuring it as at least a 6 month project to get it mostly done, but I wanted to get the fiberglass started while it is still warm out.

 

[Tony Latham]

I was sanding it within 36 hours without issue.

Be careful with that. Just because it's sandable doesn't mean it's 100% cured. Breathing dust from uncured epoxy is a bad deal.

Tony

 

[kipa]

Good point!

Airborne dust is one of the reasons I avoid the power tools for a lot of sanding, but I think I inhaled more bad stuff while staining my fence wearing a chem filter this week. (Shaving would have helped.)

 

[kipa]

Long hiatus until this last week. I've been stumbling around the mostly unprotected foam in my garage this winter for way too long, but I am resolved to have the basic shell of this thing on the road by the end of June - hopefully with a functioning popup.

The FG application is going pretty well, but finding I need more fabric than anticipated (as in I didn't do ANY calculation at all before I ordered the first or second batch and now waiting on a third ).

I think I have settled on making the lower portion of the door work on a slide. That should be relatively quick to fabricate, saving me quite a few bucks. I don't believe moisture will be an issue with rearward orientation, though that one is hard to be too confident on until I tow it in rainy weather.

After it's all glassed up, the plan is to lay plywood for the floor and finish the exterior with Herculiner.

 

[kipa]

Got the plywood cut and installed on the floor. 1/2" seems to provide the rigidity it needs without being overly heavy. It's just an underlayment for a finished floor, but it also provides a good anchor material for attaching it to the trailer frame.

Unfortunately, the glue I used for it is just not the right stuff, taking days to cure and not holding all that great. So as I let it sit in the sun yesterday, the flooring has warped up to 1/8 in some places. Not a big deal to fix as an underlayer, but just extra hassle.

I also trimmed out the rear a bit to angle the buttresses down, as I realized after aero testing the shell that it gets really turbulent much over 65 MPH. My towing efficiency takes about a 15% hit at 65 with the cover on, so that's not too bad, but it nearly doubles if I go much over 70. Hopefully this change will help to better control airflow, but I am really just spitting into the wind.

What it looked like for testing:

The tonneau will also be turned backwards.

Final note for the day is that I have altered my view on making this work for standing height inside and recognized that it's completely unnecessary for how I intend to outfit it with no internal kitchen. So long as people can sit upright comfortably around a table inside, the reduced height significantly simplifies the popup design in not requiring additional complex folding. I can just do 3 30" high fold up walls for the front and sides, which should also hold my glass windows well.

Still working on how I will finish the entry, but just getting the popup functional after fully sealing the floor is the first priority. I need to be able to park it outside soon!

 

[kipa]

I've also decided to abandon making the cargo box up front. It's a very turbulent area and the box really doesn't do a lot to clean that up, so I'll be adding a 2" receiver in that space for my bike rack or a pre-fabbed cargo tray. Might add the receiver on the rear as well, but that's going to require a bit more work to get it below and flush with the rear so as not to be a shin destroyer.

If nothing else, a 2" receiver step could go on the rear when not used for a rack.

 

[kipa]

Did a little more work on finishing the floor.

I used backer rod and latex to fill around the edges of the plywood, primarily as a means to keep debris collection minimal, but also helping to limit potential for liquid spills to get underneath of it.

At the rear, I used 1/2" aluminum angles to z-flash and seal down to what will be the exposed deck area, again using liberal amounts of caulk to seal them in. From there, matte fiberglass and 6oz as a top layer are now curing. I'll throw a piece of prefabbed fiberglass sheet on top of that, and will use industrial non-slip rubber material for the entire interior floor up to the z-flashing, and glue a separate piece of that down on top of the prefabbed sheeting outside.

Final trim over the frame rear crossmember will be 2" unistrut or mild steel under the prefabbed fiberglass and rubber. I was planning to use 2" square aluminum tube there, but after fiddling with my receiver adapter, realized that the existing unistrut construction of the Haulmaster kit trailer has too much flex in it. So if I bolt it down through the upper cross rail, that should stiffen it up considerably if I ever mount a receiver at the rear.

 

[kipa]

One other thought about this build is that the wheel and tire combo are overkill for the load it will carry, so in order to both improve aerodynamics and maybe be able to actually see over the top of it from the rear view, am looking at putting a smaller set on.

The current setup is 175/80R13, and I already have a set of 5.30x12 wheels and tires ready to go by swapping them from my smaller 4x8 trailer, so that's a no-cost option to try at least. That should lower it about an inch, but it may make sense to go even lower to 10" wheels. I'll give the 12s a shot before I do much else though.

 

[kipa]

2x2 0.83 mild steel end rail installed. I'll add other reinforcement underneath if needed (but I don't want to be crawling around on the floor with the welder if I can avoid it).

This piece will end up covered on top with flooring material, though I'm going to stick another bolt through the middle of it before I do that.

 

[kipa]

Sealed the 1/2" ply yesterday with water based poly. Also installed the friction drop-down stabilizer jacks in back that e-trailer sells. Looks like the same thing that can be ordered direct from Vevor, but I really appreciate how e-trailer does business and didn't bother comparing prices which I knew would be very close anyway.

Today however was another session of opening my wallet for materials - and I am glad I splurged for the 0.100 diamond plate aluminum. It's looking a lot better than I thought my other plan would.

Also got the Vevor industrial rubber mat today and cut to fit. I am planning to leave it loose for easy removal and cleanup, and framing for storage in front and the sides will require that to be cut anyway, which is why I didn't stress about getting that perfect.

The aluminum rail at the threshold and mild steel 2x that I installed at the rear provide excellent anchoring for screws with the diamond plate, though I also applied a liberal amount of Gorilla construction adhesive under the aluminum. This combination makes the rear deck very solid. I am not worried about general use causing any dents or damage to that area at all now.

 

[kipa]

I think I have finally figured out a solid plan for the rear door and galley setup. Instead of anything fixed or slide-out, I've determined that swingouts from the rear corners of the rubber mat should work very well with this design.

Stowed, they will provide a secure rear section when folded in 90 degrees to meet in the middle, and locked out to the rear, they will allow a full height (42") door and hinged wall section to be swung down into place, leaving good useable space inside.

 

[kipa]

Took a break from the trailer to construct an essential!

Built for and based off of the Throne composting diverter, poopin' in the woods is gonna be lit!

 

[Tom&Shelly]

You can always tell who the space aliens are because they are the ones who look at that and ask what it is.

Tom

 

[kipa]

Every time I drop another $100-200 on building this thing, I question the efficacy of my plan and build. Then I see Facebook marketplace ads for 10 year old tiny trailers and re-appreciate the bargain I am building.

I'm sure they are great, but I'd have to 6x current build costs to get to the $18k the seller of this trailer is asking . .

No pics, but today I worked on popup walls and diamond plate aluminum corner trim for the lower shell. Got a lot done by going back and forth between different stages of adhesives curing. Kinda beat honestly . .

 

[kipa]

I've also committed to luan for interior wall finish. At 1/8" thick, that stuff is incredibly light and easy skinning. Also dirt freaking cheap compared to time and materials for other surfaces!