Foamie hybrid FRP-Canvas no wood?

[GPW]

That’s a Nice light weight ....

[skyl4rk]

Ken, how did you attach the foam floor to the trailer?

[KennethW]

Ken, how did you attach the foam floor to the trailer?

The floor is 2" foam with canvas on the bottom and FRP on top. I used elevator bolts (bolt with really big heads)with the head pushing on the FRP and nylock nuts under the trailer so the bolts don,t have to be very tight. has work fine with over 10,000 on the trailer now. 20 miles of that was on a super rough road. Would I go foamie again YES
If you can not find elevator bolt a ovel head and a fender washer would work, but a elevator bolt is all most flat. PL S40 polyurethane sealant wouldn't hurt if you want a little more hold down power.

[GPW]

Ken, I’m still impressed by what you were able to do !!! Thanks for bringing it by so we could check it out !!!

[KennethW]

I had a thought on canvasing a 2" foam floor. Has anyone but the canvas under tension when gluing? I would think it would add a lot of strength if done on the bottom of the floor. It would be like the precast concrete beams on bridges. the steel rods are stretched before the concrete is poured to give the beam tensile strength on the bottom cord.
I would think if the floor foam was up on sawhorses One could hang water jugs from the canvas to stretch it until the glue dried.
Any thoughts?

[KCStudly]

With the taut fabric on just one side, the panel might curl up when tension is released after curing.

It seems that the natural tendency for the fabric to shrink as the water from the glue or paint dries is enough (and complicated enough, too).

[greygoos]

Can you tell me what type of adhesive you used to fasten the frp to the foam and what was your method, ie brush, roller, trowel etc. Thank you

[skyl4rk]

Is it necessary to canvas the inside of the foam teardrop?

[KCStudly]

The foam is pretty fragile, taking dents, tears and scrapes from incidental contact quite readily. Panel strength goes up significantly when skinned on both sides.

[KennethW]

Can you tell me what type of adhesive you used to fasten the frp to the foam and what was your method, ie brush, roller, trowel etc. Thank you

I used 3M fastbond water base contact cement. I used a brush but a roller would be better The fast bond is spendy. If I was to do it again I would do canvas then use regular contact cement.

[GPW]

You know , if you’re ROUGH on all your personal possessions , or have young kids , then you need to cover the inside foam some kind of way .... I used common (used ) bedsheets on the inside of my Foamie #1 ( now “nookery” ) and that was fine and a reasonably durable surface ... However , if you are a gentle sort and easy on your possessions , you “Could” (possibly) just paint the bare foam or leave it as it is ... We had a little foam sailboat a long time ago ( I know we’ve told this story before ) , and it had a plain foam inside ( where you sat) , and sure it got dented up and scraped a bit , but after years of use , it wasn’t “bad” ...we bought it used , and used it for several years , sold it for what we bought it for ... Unless somebody intentionally broke it, it’s probably still around somewhere...
And another fact , common Latex paint hardens the foam surface a bit ( after 2 weeks cure) , so it’s safe to say , painted foam is more durable than unpainted ... just a little bit more ... sometimes that can be enough ...

WE like to remind ourselves , “it’s just Foam” ... The reason I advocate going with as much foam as possible ... Cheaper , lighter, less labor, simple to repair ... and way less EXPENSE down the road (long term ownership) ... If it gets dented , so what , it’s just a simple camper , not a huge ( continuing) investment like an RV trailer ( or Yeti cooler ) ....

Or as my sarcastic hipster friends like to call it , the "Stay Free Mini Pad "... ....