Very light and no wood at all -- possible?

[rowerwet]

The trick I found with Gorilla Glue is to not add any water to the joint. water causes massive foaming that blows the joints apart. you need to add water for gluing to wood, as the wood absorbs the water, but for foam no extra moisture is needed, other than what is in the air, at least for where I build.
For gluing large surfaces I drizzle the gorilla glue in looping circles about 3 inches in diameter so that each circle overlaps. This gives a strong bond as proven by my foam Kayak Sawfish.

[GPW]

All this has been endlessly discussed in the Foamie section ... just sayin’ ...

[Vedette]

Wow!
After reading all 4 pages of this thread, I am glad I build my teardrops from old car parts that I can just "weld" together!
I hate glue, seam sealer and urethane at the best of times (it is so messy!!) Just can't even imagine gluing a whole teardrop together in the search of weight saving.
Maybe for an aeroplane where you want it to achieve lift at speed. But, there is no substitute for tongue weight once you get over 60 miles an hour.
I can Just say, I am glad that Jack got out of the shop and went camping with his kids in a rental GOOD CHOICE!
As much as creative types like to be out in the shop for hours on end doing something we think we like and we think is important????? The real goal with building a Teardrop is to have a means of going camping without a ton of preparation and loading & unloading time while still at home.....and very little setup time when we arrive at our camping destination (whether it is a pristine campsite in the mountains or by a lake, a quiet spot along a hwy. in the desert or a Walmart parking lot.
Teardrop Camping is the Bomb!
Every extra day spent on the build is a lost day of camping that you will never get back (kids grow up way too fast) get he first one done! And use your second build for your creative therapy while the kids are asleep.
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi

[Jack Olsen]

The trick I found with Gorilla Glue is to not add any water to the joint. water causes massive foaming that blows the joints apart. you need to add water for gluing to wood, as the wood absorbs the water, but for foam no extra moisture is needed, other than what is in the air, at least for where I build.
For gluing large surfaces I drizzle the gorilla glue in looping circles about 3 inches in diameter so that each circle overlaps. This gives a strong bond as proven by my foam Kayak Sawfish.

Thanks! That's something I hadn't even thought about trying. I'll do a test with the ACP/XPS/Corrugated Plastic sandwich and I'll try skipping the water before clamping.

Wow!
After reading all 4 pages of this thread, I am glad I build my teardrops from old car parts that I can just "weld" together!
I hate glue, seam sealer and urethane at the best of times (it is so messy!!) Just can't even imagine gluing a whole teardrop together in the search of weight saving.
Maybe for an aeroplane where you want it to achieve lift at speed. But, there is no substitute for tongue weight once you get over 60 miles an hour.
I can Just say, I am glad that Jack got out of the shop and went camping with his kids in a rental GOOD CHOICE!
As much as creative types like to be out in the shop for hours on end doing something we think we like and we think is important????? The real goal with building a Teardrop is to have a means of going camping without a ton of preparation and loading & unloading time while still at home.....and very little setup time when we arrive at our camping destination (whether it is a pristine campsite in the mountains or by a lake, a quiet spot along a hwy. in the desert or a Walmart parking lot.
Teardrop Camping is the Bomb!
Every extra day spent on the build is a lost day of camping that you will never get back (kids grow up way too fast) get he first one done! And use your second build for your creative therapy while the kids are asleep.
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi

I agree with your preference -- steel and wood are definitely my comfort zone. But I'm also always curious about new ways to skin a cat (or a camper). And if I think downstream to eventually taking this with me on race weekends, behind a 2500# car, then the camper's weight becomes a factor. I used 3M structural adhesives and aluminum to make the front splitter and rear wing that bolt onto my car for track days, and I was amazed at how well the adhesives held up over time. This kind of stuff is probably the future, in terms of vehicle design. So I'm going to dip my toe into the world of composites with this project.

All this has been endlessly discussed in the Foamie section ... just sayin’ ...

I've looked through the foamie section and there's a lot of great stuff there. I'll say again -- there is no better solution in terms of cost and weight than the foam trailers. But one part of me wants to extend the knowledge base out a little. And one part (the part that hates both sanding and working with resin) thinks there's a way to do this with no vulnerability to the weather. Foamies often use wood for the doors and windows, or settle for a softer fit and finish in the final build. Nothing wrong with that, but I'm interested in what can be done with this aluminum composite material. I don't want the foam in my trailer to be providing the structural strength of the trailer -- I want it to add to the strength, but the chassis will be aluminum composite material.

But if there are any specific threads in the foamies section that you think would help me with this, I'm all ears. I'm here to learn.

[GPW]

JO, Nothing says you can’t put a skeletal framework on then add foam ... 


Here’s my skeleton ...

[Jack Olsen]

Wow. That's some thick foam.

[GPW]

Better to insulate with ... HOT down here ..

[KCStudly]

Don't forget that some products may behave differently when you scale up. The moisture cured and air cured products will have less accessibility to humidity and air on a bigger panel and may not cure as reliably.

When laminating the second layer of foam onto my hatch I ran shallow kerfs to make sure there were air passages from the inside out.

Love the patio.

[rowerwet]

I laminated layers of foam to make a 14x3 SUP, no issues with the GG curing.

[bktechflower]

First let me say that I am not an expert. However I have built a TD with a minimal wood and aluminum tubing frame with panels of Aluminum Composite and Coroplast for all sheeting.

First off it is my opinion that you are wasting your time and effort on glueing. Just take some pan head screws to attach either material to the frame. It holds great. Just don't tighten the coroplast screws down to tight or you will squish it. Also if you really tighten down the screws in the AC you will indent it as well.

Someone on here mentioned that coroplast won't hold up to uv rays. I have used it for years on my real estate signs in the Phoenix sign where it sits in the sun 24/7 and it lasts for years with no problem. Your TD should not be in sun for that long of exposure. Also for the exterior coroplast I used a 6mm material. Typical sign coroplast is 3-4mm. There is a significant stiffness difference between them.

The Aluminum Composite can be bent. Jack, that roller machine you drew a picture of is what they use to make it curved for building structures. On my trailer I have a bend and I just bent it by hand. I took a heat gun to warm up the line I needed to bend and then grabbed the end with my hands and just bent it. With enough leverage it bends rather easily. However it you try to bend it too close to the end of the material it will delaminate.

AC is very strong but also very flexi. It is my flooring as well. In the hatch area where my 5 gallon water container sits it has bowed it since the container sits between the braces in the floor.

I don't just take my TD on paved roads. I took it at on at least 6 camping trips this summer and all of them involved going on very bumpy forest roads and my trailer has suspension that is way to stiff. (I plan to fix that.) It took a beating but held up great.

Again these are just my opinions, but my opinion is from actual experience using the materials in a TD.

Brian

[Todah Tear]

Jack O,

If you are looking for light and sturdy, here is my thread on the coroplast "proof of concept' tear:
[url]
viewtopic.php?f=55&t=49644[/url]

Sincerely,

Todah

[warnmar10]

Wow. That's some thick foam.

Did you abandon the project or just the forum?

[Jack Olsen]

Didn't abandon it. The original plan was to build it over the winter, and that is still pretty much where I think I am headed. As always, other stuff can gum up the works.

[Jiminsav]

i hate to bring up old history, but here is the "frame" i made for my previous trailer.

[GPW]

Anyone consider Cellular PVC to replace wood parts ... ?