Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[rjgimp]

I read the whole thing If there's ever a Foamie meetup someone should put that on a shirt.

WOOHOOO!!! Congratulations and welcome to the asylum.

Way back (maybe page 50?) in the "bear proofing" discussion someone mentioned Kevlar fabric. I have a piece that's about 25 feet by 53 inches. In the 2nd Gulf War they made the vests locally and this is a remnant I bought from a mill for maybe $1 a yard. I had been planning on skinning a popup roof with it, but we've gotten rid of the popup. Maybe that would be the caviar of pmf But I don't know how to cut it. The guy at the mill suggested buying a pair of cheap scissors and then throwing them away.

Could you use a straight razor?

 

[GPW]

“Bear proofing" … Not likely with Foam … maybe STEEL … maybe ??? That’s like trying to make something "Kid proof" …

 

[PiperBob]

Way back (maybe page 50?) in the "bear proofing" discussion someone mentioned Kevlar fabric. I have a piece that's about 25 feet by 53 inches. In the 2nd Gulf War they made the vests locally and this is a remnant I bought from a mill for maybe $1 a yard. I had been planning on skinning a popup roof with it, but we've gotten rid of the popup. Maybe that would be the caviar of pmf But I don't know how to cut it. The guy at the mill suggested buying a pair of cheap scissors and then throwing them away.

Could you use a straight razor?

I was thinking maybe a utility knife. So far I haven't had a need to find a way.

 

[takoeller]

OK, I haven’t been here for awhile, my old hang out. I always wanted to experiment with this Foamie thing. Has anyone tried landscaping fabric as a cheaper alternative to canvas, or is polypropylene too hard to bond to?

 

[GPW]

As a cheaper alternative to canvas , There’s always bedsheets , jute bags , old blankets , Old T-shirts , blue jeans , POLYESTER garden fabric , Basically anything that you can find enough of , except polypropylene which is Tough to glue with our usual adhesives .. And then a good canvas is not really that expensive considering it can last a long time … ( 6 years and counting with my canvas covered trailer , and that’s living Outside in the weather … !!! )

As our leader has spoken … “ The quality is remembered long after the price has been forgotten “

 

[olddawgsrule]

On the Kevlar question. That was an interesting question and had to look it up. I get very curious at times!

<The guy at the mill suggested buying a pair of cheap scissors and then throwing them away.>
In a sewing forum they talk about re-sharpen the scissors to a lesser angle. They spoke of that's the difference in the expensive shears sold to cut kevlar.
Another spoke of using a manual rotary cutter. That I use on most fabric (including the 10oz canvas).

Think I'd try a utility knife first. Not much I can't cut with that and a straight edge.

Good luck and let us know what you figure out please.

 

[GPW]

IMHO, Kevlar wasn’t That hard to cut with a good pair of SHARP scissors , and then we had some “Spectra" cloth that was ridiculously hard to cut with anything but a HOT knife … That would make a pretty bullet proof skin , but it could get very Pricy …

And having lots of old scissors arounds here , we’ll try sharpening them to a lower angle so they’re more “shears “ … Great idea … Thanks !!!

 

[GPW]

Where are all the Foamies … ??? We’re all done for the winter and stored away till Spring .

 

[GPW]

Hey Everybody !!! Have a Great Holiday Season !!!

 

[ghcoe]

Merry Christmas!

 

[rjgimp]

 

[GPW]

Dear Folks ,
It’s a New Year , with new challenges to look forward to . One of which is getting ready for the emerging Camping Season .
It may be Cold and inhospitable now , but the season will soon be upon us , and if we do a little bit at a time now , we can painlessly be ready for Spring . That last minute rushing around for gear always leaves me with something “I forgot” ..
Make your list … things to do , and get … ( more Thrifty too since you have time to shop around for best price or salvage … )

 

[GPW]

One thing that really is IMPORTANT over time now is the use of Drip Edges on your trailer !!! ( I can’t say this enough ) If you have ANY kind of moisture from the morning dew to gully washers , Drip edges do work and do keep water off the underside of your trailer ... No dampness , no chance of rot … Simple enough to do … THRIFTY ( especially in the long run ) , and Very Effective ...

And dear folks , did you know Facebook will not allow me to post this site address … Since this is such an inventive and innovative site I’m always mentioning the Forum there , but have had to resort to writing “ dot com” at the end … Just so you know !!! I see a few small trailer folks there … here’s my page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009558437222 Just Fyi …

 

[theoldwizard1]

New guy and I don't want to slog through hundreds of page on just this thread.

Seeing as PPG Gripper is NOT Glidden Gripper, is there a consensus on what to use to adhere canvas to foam ?

 

[John61CT-TNT]

No, in fact very few structured experimenters have yet risen to the challenge.

If you decide to join in, do please report results back here.

 

[GPW]

TB2 or TB3 still works …

 

[John61CT-TNT]

As adhesive under, but for waterproofing, between the canvas and the outer paint?

 

[linuxmanxxx]

To attach canvas to foam and wood. 2 is very highly water resistant and 3 is waterproof so they naturally do both glue and seal.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

 

[Pmullen503]

The paint, typically latex, also adds to the waterproofing.

 

[GPW]

It’s not the glue but the procedure …

1. Attach canvas to CLEAN foam .
2. Add thin sizing coat to waterproof canvas fibers .
3. Paint the outside for weather and UV protection …