daveo132000
New Member
Hello all,
I’ve embarked on a project to build a foamie, which, as I’ve learned through hours of reading posts here, will be a ‘standy’. I’ve done a bunch of preparations below, and I’ve reached the point where I plan to purchase the wood and foam, so I thought I’d seek out advice from this group. I also have a number of questions that I’m hoping folks could help with. Not sure which forum to post to, so I picked introductions.
The Trailer:
In late October, I purchased a 1996 Dutchmen pop up trailer (model 1001) for $800. It was in pretty rough shape but I wanted the frame, 3 tires and rims, and whatever components inside I could salvage. With new safety chains and re-lubed bearings, it passed inspection, and it was then brought back home where I had 3 days to cover it with a tarp before the first snowfall.
Over the winter, through daily searches in second hand forums, I acquired a solar panel, 2 Renogy 100A batteries, inverter and charge controller from a van-build, some RV windows, a RV door, sink, RV converter and 12 V lights.
In late May, I stripped the trailer down to the frame, removed all the lifting mechanism parts, wiring and propane. The bare frame (excluding bumper and A-frame tongue is 10 ft 10 inches long, 6 ft 9 wide. 175/90 R13 tires. Bare frame has a 71 lbs tongue weight, and through some math, I assume the frame weighs about 450 lbs.
The plan:
I used LibreCad to draw the frame, but prototyped layouts in PowerPoint to see if what I want will fit. The plan is to have a rear door entry to the trailer. On the driver side, a small shower cubicle with a portable toilet, and if possible, an in-room sink. 2 slide-out benches/single beds up front on each side, extending over a pass-through front storage compartment into the angled nose. A collapsible table will be used to eat at. Between the beds will be a vertical set of shelves that will integrate into the front angled nose to help resist wind loads on the road. Across from the shower, I will have a kitchenette with a bar fridge, sink, range hood and induction stove. A 30A entrance should power everything, a small AC and or heater, induction stove, fridge, and/or an 8-gallon 1400W 120V water heater. A 9-gallon grey water tank will fit just behind the torsion axle, and a 10-gallon fresh tank will live inside under a bench.
For the structure, I plan on a ¾ inch tongue and groove plywood floor, extending 2 inches out on all sides of the trailer, with all joints landing on frame rails. The bottom will be painted with exterior grey porch paint (except the 2-inch overlaps to allow for gluing my exterior canvas).
Because of the width I planned on cutting tapered 2x3’s to maintain a slight triangular ridged centreline on 24-inch spacings to support the roof. The roof would be made from 4x8 sheets of 2-inch foam (long dimension going side to side) with a centre relief cut to allow me to bend the foam to profile without having 2 pieces to join. Front angled panel would not have the wood supports, as it would be glued to the centre shelf unit. The wall panels would use the same 2-inch foam panels (long dimension going vertical), landing on the 2-inch overhung floor section, with interior 2x3 board screwed to the floor to aid in gluing the base of the foam to the floor. Kitchenette cabinet, benches, and shower cubicle walls will be glued to the exterior walls for lateral support. There would be no roof vents to prevent leaks, but I plan on powered side-wall vents in both the range hood and the shower cubicle.
I plan to use canvas to make a PMF foamie on both the walls and roof, to maximize the strength. The canvas would be wrapped the 2 inches under the plywood, and over each corner, glued with Titebond 2.
My questions:
I’ve embarked on a project to build a foamie, which, as I’ve learned through hours of reading posts here, will be a ‘standy’. I’ve done a bunch of preparations below, and I’ve reached the point where I plan to purchase the wood and foam, so I thought I’d seek out advice from this group. I also have a number of questions that I’m hoping folks could help with. Not sure which forum to post to, so I picked introductions.
The Trailer:
In late October, I purchased a 1996 Dutchmen pop up trailer (model 1001) for $800. It was in pretty rough shape but I wanted the frame, 3 tires and rims, and whatever components inside I could salvage. With new safety chains and re-lubed bearings, it passed inspection, and it was then brought back home where I had 3 days to cover it with a tarp before the first snowfall.
Over the winter, through daily searches in second hand forums, I acquired a solar panel, 2 Renogy 100A batteries, inverter and charge controller from a van-build, some RV windows, a RV door, sink, RV converter and 12 V lights.
In late May, I stripped the trailer down to the frame, removed all the lifting mechanism parts, wiring and propane. The bare frame (excluding bumper and A-frame tongue is 10 ft 10 inches long, 6 ft 9 wide. 175/90 R13 tires. Bare frame has a 71 lbs tongue weight, and through some math, I assume the frame weighs about 450 lbs.
The plan:
I used LibreCad to draw the frame, but prototyped layouts in PowerPoint to see if what I want will fit. The plan is to have a rear door entry to the trailer. On the driver side, a small shower cubicle with a portable toilet, and if possible, an in-room sink. 2 slide-out benches/single beds up front on each side, extending over a pass-through front storage compartment into the angled nose. A collapsible table will be used to eat at. Between the beds will be a vertical set of shelves that will integrate into the front angled nose to help resist wind loads on the road. Across from the shower, I will have a kitchenette with a bar fridge, sink, range hood and induction stove. A 30A entrance should power everything, a small AC and or heater, induction stove, fridge, and/or an 8-gallon 1400W 120V water heater. A 9-gallon grey water tank will fit just behind the torsion axle, and a 10-gallon fresh tank will live inside under a bench.
For the structure, I plan on a ¾ inch tongue and groove plywood floor, extending 2 inches out on all sides of the trailer, with all joints landing on frame rails. The bottom will be painted with exterior grey porch paint (except the 2-inch overlaps to allow for gluing my exterior canvas).
Because of the width I planned on cutting tapered 2x3’s to maintain a slight triangular ridged centreline on 24-inch spacings to support the roof. The roof would be made from 4x8 sheets of 2-inch foam (long dimension going side to side) with a centre relief cut to allow me to bend the foam to profile without having 2 pieces to join. Front angled panel would not have the wood supports, as it would be glued to the centre shelf unit. The wall panels would use the same 2-inch foam panels (long dimension going vertical), landing on the 2-inch overhung floor section, with interior 2x3 board screwed to the floor to aid in gluing the base of the foam to the floor. Kitchenette cabinet, benches, and shower cubicle walls will be glued to the exterior walls for lateral support. There would be no roof vents to prevent leaks, but I plan on powered side-wall vents in both the range hood and the shower cubicle.
I plan to use canvas to make a PMF foamie on both the walls and roof, to maximize the strength. The canvas would be wrapped the 2 inches under the plywood, and over each corner, glued with Titebond 2.
My questions:
- With the wooden roof 2x3’s, how do you apply PMF on the inside? Do it first, then use the wood to support the panel, or somehow integrate the wood and canvas with the foam?
- Around windows and door, should I embed wood edges in the openings before canvassing? This would mean cutting down 2x material to 2 inches.
- After dry fitting the foam panels, can I glue the canvas to the foam as separate assemblies? There would be roof panel, wall panels and angled front panels, leaving the glue back a couple of inches on each. This way, I’d be able to work on things horizontally, wait till dried, then assemble the structure, gluing and wrapping the final few inches between panels and to the floor? (I’m trying to maximize building indoors, and the height on the frame would be too high for my garage door). Any other options?
- Does anyone have any other tips or advice to share on my plan?
