Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[GPW]

Charge light went off... here's a pic ... more in the Album ..

And now to set up my 8' folding table and cut out some accurate 9"W reinforcement strips ... with a centerline pencil'd down the middle , an alignment guide for me ...

[mikeschn]

You guys with the good weather are making me jealous. Our temps dipped down to 40 degrees, and the wind kicked up. Oh and it poured buckets and buckets of rain, all day long.

And when it's cold, wet and windy I don't work outside. So progress will have to wait until another weekend.

Mike...

[GPW]

Whoa !!! Bummer Mike !!! May be better next week .... more time to prepare... and who knows, in a week someone might come up with something revolutionary .... never know around here... Lots of creative input !!!
What (Foamie TD Club) name do you want ... ???

[eaglesdare]

i am glad we haven't had those cold temps here for a while. but i don't like it over the 80 mark either, which is what it hit here today.

but at least i got the pieces together. depending on weather, i will be drawing the second wall out and then cutting it.

i told hubby today that next payday we are getting the wood for the floor. more than likely i will also get more of the 1" stuff for the roof. i am happy that he is ok with this second build. but he really does not want to help with building it. i am sure when the time comes and i really need more than my 2 hands he will help. but right now so far, i am happy that i have been able to do it all on my own.

[GPW]

Eagle don't feel alone .... my wife only begrudgingly assisted me in a few simple things ... This was all my project , plus a little help from my pal yesterday ... What the heck , get the girls over again ... Worked once ... Like a Tea and Teardrop Ladies Social Club ... Talk, eat , drink wine , swap recipes , work on the TD ... Cool !!!

[GPW]

Swampjeep was right about the glue curing ... been hours now and the surface is hardening up ... so much so , we gave it a quick swipe with the sanding block and it removed most of those nasty little threads from the fraying ...
My pinking shears turned out to be too small and DULL... tried sharpening them , only made it worse.. Thinking now a primer might be Nice .. Checked at the HD today in the mis match paint dept. , all they had was Big Martha interior paint in just awful greens ... grrrr !!! Celery is not a good TD color ... IMHO...
Got the reinforcing strips all cut out and marked ... with no pinking shears we're stuck with some frayed edges... Not going to be as neat as we had planned ... Guess for the next one we'll have to buy a new pair , some Big ones ...

Getting dark now , I'm off to sleep , perchance to dream ..... about Foamies'...

[eaglesdare]

alrighty i am making this posting because there was nothing added over night for me to read. we just can't be having that people. so now everyone else that gets up will at least have this post to read.

good morning all!
hope everyones weather will cooperate today. although i suppose if some have real jobs outside of the house then i guess it doesn't matter what the weather is.

i hope no one is attacked by snakes, bears, or glue ! oh my.
speaking of glue, gorilla glue is worse in the hair than t2/3.

have a wonderfoam day today! ok so i am not a funny person.

[Anita Rae]

Good morning folks. We started our foamie over the weekend. What it takes most people a couple of hours to do...took us a couple of days. LOL We have the trailer put together. We made a couple of cuts that we didn't need to. And drilled a few extra ventilation holes in it.

Eagle, I think out trailer is the same one that you bought from Norther Tool. It is a nice sturdy trailer.

We took pictures but we don't have them up loaded yet. Hubby took today off so we should get more done today. I will start a new post when we get the pictures uploaded.

[GPW]

Good Morning Eagle and AR .... !!! And it's a Beautiful morning !!!

Well, there's plenty to do today here... Going to flip the TD on it's sides again so the reinforcing strips can be applied to the area meeting the floor ... and wrapped under ... Just being able to have such easy access to the bottom makes this job so Easy ...Definite asset of a Foamie build ... Probably wouldn't want to do that with a ply TD.. Since we haven't had much rain ,my yard /lawn has turned to dirt , so I'm using some old moving blankets to flip the TD over on , keeping it out of the dirt ... Works !!!
After that's done , we'll cut the cedar for the door frame , glue that in , and then it's pre-cut strips of fabric over that ... I'm still in doubt as to whether I need the reinforcing strips on the roof /etc. It does seem pretty Strong now with the generously overlapped seams ... Maybe best stick to the plan and do it anyway .... Stronger is better , and with the chance of contact with the "state mammals " maybe not a bad idea ...
I'd really like to get some paint on this soon ... Probably do that and then sort that door out ... Still undecided on the door design , as far as the "seal" and how to keep the rain out ...

Now I guess you've noticed the absence of windows on mine .... Not intentional , I just haven't "found" anything suitable yet ... Looking for a window (s) with an inner and outer ring , plan is to just cut the correct size hole , seal it up ( last time I used Mad Jacks suggestion of the butyl tape which worked perfectly ) and then screw it together till tight ... Wanted some freebies , but nothing has turned up yet .. May have to BUY some windows .... Maybe somebody has some ideas which windows would work best on this type of construction ...

Eagle , that enough to read ... ???? Sorry , I seem to be doing most of the posting , just that I'm "full of it" ... Foamie ideas that is ...


AR ...

[GPW]

Just FYI , looking for pinking shears , saw this for rotary "wheel" cutters ... More dangerous to use , but with a good cutting mat (have one) it should make quick work of chopping up that canvas, and be neater/easier too ... producing edges that don't emit many little threads , that have to be snipped later , as on mine ..
http://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-93518097J ... d_sbs_ac_4

Ps, i do have a Kevlar safety glove for my materials holding hand .... No blood on the foam please ...

[swampjeep]

Ok, for us "materialy challenged" people, can you explain how this wheel works? I really have no experience working with cloth/fabric, I see the pinking shears work like regular scissors so no big deal, but this wheel has me lost LOL.

It is COLD out here in MI today, no rain, but COLD... and yes I am now at work. The birthday party is behind me, and I started cleaning out the garage, so maybe I can actually get to my build... someday.

[Miriam C.]

Ok, for us "materialy challenged" people, can you explain how this wheel works? I really have no experience working with cloth/fabric, I see the pinking shears work like regular scissors so no big deal, but this wheel has me lost LOL.

It is COLD out here in MI today, no rain, but COLD... and yes I am now at work. The birthday party is behind me, and I started cleaning out the garage, so maybe I can actually get to my build... someday.

For those who don't quilt or cut fabric often the rotary cutter, mat and pinking blade and ruler might be quite an investment.

http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog/cate ... ID=cat3548

[eaglesdare]

anita rae: putting the trailer together was the hardest part for us. it took us a while, not sure, but it certainly was not done in 1 or 2 days. but it does appear to be pretty sturdy.
..i haven't put the tongue extension on yet, but will have to when i get the second build done.
..looking forward to your pics and build journal. this is so exciting!

gpw: you can never post too much for me! i wouldn't worry about the no windows at this time. and if i know anything about you, i doubt you are worried. i do not think you will have any problems with the cutting out of the hole. but looking forward to seeing how you will do your windows.
..i am going to do this build off trailer like you this time. i just hope it won't be too heavy to move it.
hubby asked me yesterday what i was planning on doing with it, put it on the trailer i have or buy a new trailer. i told him i would just give him the smaller tear, but he just isn't into this thing that much. so i may just let the kids have it for a playhouse.
..so far its a nice day here. i hope to get out there and trace the shape and cut the second side out.

oh here is a funny from my grandson. he looked at the foam this mornining and came in to tell me my glue oozed out all over the place. i just had to laugh, knowing he was referring to that gorilla glue. i put parchment paper down under it, so i am not worried. i know i can cut and sand it down.

swampjeep: i forgot to say it so i will now: happy belated first bday to your little one.
if i am not mistaken that wheel is used like a pizza cutter. you just roll it and it will cut your fabric. but if you go that route, don't forget the cutting mat to cut on.
its a shame for me, i am a scrapbooker, and have a room full of supplies, cutting tools, i think i have like 30 plus scissors, and slicers, mats etc. but nothing will work on the material.

[GPW]

SJ, This is a "sewing" thing (quilters too) ... The idea is you have a SHARP wheel cutter like a pizza cutter (same principle) , and a special cutting mat , plastic that won't damage the wheel ... You mark your fabric for the cut , lay the fabric down on the mat , and just follow the line like you're cutting pizza... sorta' Most use a straight edge of some type , plastic is better because it won't damage the cutting wheel should you cut astray ... Very quick to cut even several layers of fabric ... My pinking shears will cut paper just fine , regular cloth no problem , but that Linen canvas is Tough , and just stops the blades ... grrr!!... for the thick pinked stuff , the wheel might be better ... Just don't slip ... keep your holding hand FAR away from the wheel ...

I've been using the factory edge of the material for the visible seams as much as possible , but that doesn't always workout ... so some method of providing a non fraying edge would be Super to have ... Necessary really !!!

You sewing folks have any info on this ???

[pat g]

Hey All,

Just back from a great weekend of kayaking. Glad to see all the progress GPW has made as well as the threats by others to start builds! I hope to get some work done on mine later today or tomorrow.

Pat G