Newbie builds a foam toy hauler/camper

[Pmullen503]

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:

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.

 

[Pmullen503]

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.

 

[GPW]

Looking Good and Solid !!!

 

[Pmullen503]

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.

 

[GPW]

You’re doing Great!!! .... just keep doing what you’re doing ...

 

[Pmullen503]

Getting ready to do the hatch.

I glued a 2" wide strip of muslin to what will be the edge that mates to the hatch. I'll cut and fold the edges of the side canvas to go around the curved part. I'll have to cut slits in the canvas to fold over the curved edges and this way any gaps in the canvas won't expose bare foam.

I kerfed the rounded section of the hatch on the table saw. The kerfs are 1 1/2" deep in the 2" foam. A few less kerfs probably would have been perfect. As it is, there is a small gap at each kerf. The hinge end got a 2" x 1 1/4" wood strip glued to it to mount the hinge. The front edge and the mating fixed part has a 10 degree angle cut into to it the shed water. The fixed part is an about 20" wall, the top of which will be about 39" off the ground. I plan to have a fold down table top that will rest on that edge.

 

[Mary C]

You are doing great! I am the nosey one on here and I am always interested in where people live. I am not being nosey but it always helps when questions are asked where to get stuff and also when large campouts are in the making. also if one of us is in the area we can stop and say Hi. I am working on mine too and getting the final things done befor I make my trip home. That is a nice hatch curve.

Mary C.

 

[Pmullen503]

Thanks for the kind comments. I'm up in frigid Fond du Lac, WI. It was 11 below zero last night. I drag the trailer inside to work on it but it has to live in an unheated garage so things are going slower than I'd like.

 

[Pmullen503]

I got back to work on the trailer. I pre-covered the inside of the roof with canvas. I don't how else you could do it! I don't know if it was necessary but I trimmed off the canvas along the edges before the glue dries. That way I'll be gluing foam to foam without canvas between. I glued the top down with Gorilla glue. Really stiffens things up! I need to fill a gap at the front and then I'll add a 6" strip of canvas to tie the roof to the walls around the inside.

I also added a 3/4" x 2" piece of pine across the back edge to keep the roof from sagging. It runs past the doors an inch or so to (hopefully) keep water out.

 

[GPW]

PM, looking Good !!! You don’t have to worry , canvas to foam gluing is OK ... Pre covered panels make things MUCH easier ...

 

[Pmullen503]

I glued the top on and applied 6" wide strips of canvas and glue in the corners to tie them together. It didn't go well. I had applied a heavy coat of glue to the foam only and applied the damp strip. It was difficult to get the strip in place but once applied I gave it another coat of glue. However, when it dried there were bubbles where the strip pulled away from the ceiling and walls. I ripped off the strips, being careful not to delaminate the ceiling and wall canvas and tried again.

This time I rolled a coat of glue onto the strips and the walls and applied them. This was MUCH easier as the extra time it took allowed the glue to tack up a bit. After smoothing it down, I applied another coat of glue. This time it stayed stuck and dried flat.

 

[Mary C]

Looking great I know that the glueing is messy but you seem to be doing great. your pictures are good and the way you did the connections look great.

Mary C.

 

[Pmullen503]

Looking great I know that the glueing is messy but you seem to be doing great. your pictures are good and the way you did the connections look great.

Mary C.

Thanks, it's really impressive how stiff this thing is. I had originally thought of slotting in some corner braces at the back but I don't think it's needed and I don't even have the outside canvas on. Speaking of which, I ordered 75" wide canvas which will allow me to use a continuous piece of canvas from the center line of the roof to the chassis. I'll run a 12" piece down the center of the roof to cover the edges of the canvas.

 

[Pmullen503]

The front hatch will be secured with draw latches. I mortised the foam to accept the 1/2" mounts.

Here's a tip: deeply score the edges of the mortise first with a utility knife to the depth of the mortise or below. As you remove the center with the router, the foam at the edges will break away as you get close with the router leaving a nice clean edge.

 

[GPW]

Nice fit !!

 

[Pmullen503]

Got the canvas on the outside. I did it with two large pieces working down from the center line of the roof. I carefully rolled the canvas so I could apply glue to both the foam and canvas in about 2 ft sections and unroll the canvas onto the foam. I smoothed out and stuck down that section and then did another 2 feet. I eventually got everything stuck down and smoothed out. For the door opening, after I applied the canvas, I cut out the doorway (leaving about 3" of canvas to wrap around the edges.) I added more glue to the door frame and canvas and stuck it down. I trimmed the excess canvas to stop short of the door flange by about an 1/8". I just figured it would be easier to stick it down flat that way. I made some relief cuts in the corners to stick them down. The canvas stretched enough to conform nicely to the rounded corners.

After everything was dry, I checked it for loose areas and rubbed in more glue through the canvas to stick those areas down.

I covered the seam between the two pieces on the roof with another strip of canvas. The roof is tall enough that you can't see the seam unless you get on a step stool.

Still need to cover the hatch and add some miscellaneous strips of canvas to cover the corners.

 

[KCStudly]

Looks good.

For every nice canvas job that gets turned out, more and more, I am gaining confidence that I, too, will be able to do a nice job. Thanks for contributing!

 

[Pmullen503]

Coating both the foam and the canvas worked best for me. Note that the canvas is not saturated, so the outside is dry as you smooth it down. Working with around 2 feet at a time kept the glue from getting too tacky; just enough to hold but I could still lift the canvas up to work out wrinkles and air bubbles.

 

[Pmullen503]

I was ready to add the hatch and somehow something had warped so the foam hatch was about 1/2" off. I couldn't come up with a good way to fix it so I decided to make a new hatch that would fit the rest of the trailer. I scribed the walls and made ribs that matched the trailer. Instead of trying to kerf foam again, I made the hatch from 1/4" wood strips as I had done many times for cedar strip canoes. I laid out the strips on a flat surface, pulled them tight and screwed down the ends. This kept the glue from getting between the strips and gluing them to each other. Then I covered one side with canvas as you would if you were making a tambour door. This would become the inside surface. The skin is flexible; the strips are held together only by the canvas. Then I glued it to the hatch frame. A few finishing nails here and there hold it in place while the glue dries. I made it oversized. When everything is dry, I'll trim to fit and round over the outside edges. Finally, I'll cover the outside with canvas and glue. Should be plenty strong and not too heavy.

I used the strips and tambour door technique because it puts no force on the frame so the ribs can be made lighter with simple joinery.

 

[GPW]

Oh , PM that’s Brilliant !!! Makes one think of a Roll up hatch cover... No real reason for a rigid hatch eh? ... Thinking Stagecoach !