Foamie Teardrop and Squaredrop builds, part 1

[NFTI]

Hello (for my first post)!

I've just made a video showing part 1 of my foamie trailer build, and my friend making his at the same time. I read through countless threads on this forum about foam builds as I was prepping for and working on mine. An awesome community of builders here.

I built my trailer base from scratch, since I was having a hard time finding the features I wanted at a reasonable cost (I wanted good, large wheels, and a very sturdy axle, in a specific size). My trailer is currently way more rugged than the car that will be pulling it for the foreseeable future.

I've got a sandwiched base of OSB, foam, then particle board. 1-1/2" foam for all the build parts. PMF with canvas from Harbor Freight, using Titebond II and 4 coats of exterior paint.

My friend building the squaredrop used all the same techniques and materials, but wanted a bit wider build, which is also shown in the video.

At the bottom I'll post a link to the video, but be warned it does have sponsors/ads etc, since I do make youtube videos as my job.

Since most of the project was being filmed, I don't have a ton of photos of the process. They are certainly not finished.

Both pods will be removeable from their trailer bases. Mine (the teardrop) isn't even attached yet, it's just sitting on top of it.

My door also doesn't yet latch and isn't weather sealed. The maxxfan at the top is not attached either. I'll be adding a window into the non-door wall, and storage stuff inside the pod.

Even though I know it's traditionally added, this won't have any galley. I will be using it for weekend camping type trips, not for spending weeks/months/years in, and I didn't want to create a cooking area away from where everyone else will be cooking. That and, as a first ever trailer build, I wanted something fairly simple to start on. If I do another in the future, I'll get fancier.

Happy to answer any questions

 

[ghcoe]

I caught your video awhile back. I am one of the first pioneers of foamie construction. I have a couple of YouTube channels too.

My overlanding channel where I have been beating up on my #2 foamie build for 6 years now. SW Idaho Overlanding .

And my foamie build step by step channel Bugout Trailers. This is the trailer build that can be seen in the above overlanding videos. Bug Out Trailers.

My builds here are #1, #2, #3, #4 and #5.

Good luck on your foamie travels. George.

 

[NFTI]

A couple finished pictures

 

[TimC-TNT]

I like the graphics/paint job. Color is real nice.

Good job!

 

[Pmullen503]

Interesting door. How do you like it? Does it get in the way during entry and exit?

The door is also much wider than the opening, why?

 

[NFTI]

Interesting door. How do you like it? Does it get in the way during entry and exit?

The door is also much wider than the opening, why?

I like it pretty well. It's not tall enough to stand under, which isn't ideal, but I don't need to stand under it much. I hang a small usb bulb from the handle when it's open to help me not smack my head lol.

It's wider so that it blocks a lot more potential sun/rain, creating a small awning under which I can sit without too much weather hitting me.

 

[reaver]

I actually just finished watching your build during lunch yesterday. Well done.

Not having a galley would drive me nuts though.

I particularly like the idea of using boat flooring for the interior ceiling. When I get around to building a foam trailer, I'll have to seriously look I to that.

 

[NFTI]

I actually just finished watching your build during lunch yesterday. Well done.

Not having a galley would drive me nuts though.

I particularly like the idea of using boat flooring for the interior ceiling. When I get around to building a foam trailer, I'll have to seriously look I to that.

Very understandable, I get why people find that essential, and if I ever make a second one, it would be larger and would have a galley.

But I have no plans to live out of this, and it's likely I'll never camp in it for more than a few days at a time. I camp with friends, and I really like the group-meal-prep times of camping, when everyone is, by necessity, all gathered together. I didn't want to be off away from everyone making food alone (if I happened to be parked away from the rest of the prep area).

 

[Pmullen503]

As a long time wilderness/canoe camper I was used to packing light and was used to preparing those kind of meals. In my first camper, I only used the galley twice, preferring my super compact and light gear.

For some, meal prep is one of the big joys of camping.

 

[reaver]

Very understandable, I get why people find that essential, and if I ever make a second one, it would be larger and would have a galley.

But I have no plans to live out of this, and it's likely I'll never camp in it for more than a few days at a time. I camp with friends, and I really like the group-meal-prep times of camping, when everyone is, by necessity, all gathered together. I didn't want to be off away from everyone making food alone (if I happened to be parked away from the rest of the prep area).

I totally understand WHY you built it the way you did. That's one of the best parts of building them yourself. You can build it exactly how YOU want it.

My galley is primarily food storage. We've not done a long trip in ours yet. The most time we've spent in it in one shot has been 4 nights so far. Our stove is in a box on the side of the trailer, so we're not usually hanging out at the back of the trailer when in a group. And when we do group cooking, it's usually over the fire (either burgers or using the Dutch oven).

I designed mine to be somewhat modular. I have a removable heater box (though, I've not taken it off yet), and plan to build another box to house a shower system for when we do longer trips.

You always learn tons when building one, and while I LOVE mine, when I build another, there's a bunch of stuff I would do differently.

Even if you don't make any more videos about the trailer, keep this thread updated. We love seeing people mod and evolve their trailers as they use them.

 

[NFTI]

I did make video 2, it has some details about building out the inside.