Foamie truck camper build!

[ghcoe]

Nice

[kudzu]

Wow! Very nice going. It is looking great.

[GPW]

I think it’s going to turn out a lot lighter than you think .. the commercial units are quite heavy .. Took a fork lift to put the fiberglass Paw Paw camper top on my pickup ...

[ghcoe]

I think it’s going to turn out a lot lighter than you think ..

I agree. I think my trailer is going to come in between 450-500lbs. Most of the weight is in the trailer, about 250Ibs. The floor is the next heaviest at about 60lbs and then windows at 20lbs. I have about 5 sheets of foam at about 50lbs. That is coming in just under 400lbs. Add some flashing, canvas, hardware, paint and it should be under 500lbs easy.

[Shar]

Thanks for sharing all these details, it's been a pleasure to watch it come together!

[seanc]

Thanks for all the kind words! I had the opportunity to use this amazing workspace for FREE and I couldn't pass it up. It has huuuuuge, and came with some tools. The downside is It's 800 miles from home! So I'm alone most of the time and I've done 100.00% of the work myself. I'm going a wee bit insane here so all of your comments are reassuring me I'm on the right track

I've got the second wall and the door canvassed, now I'm hoping to do a final fit of the door and start wrapping the top and back. The door frame flexed/warped a TON when I glued the roof down so I've got my fingers crossed I can straighten it out again.

Question: What glue would be best to attached 2" aluminum angle to canvased foam? Screws/bolts would be best but there's no wood behind the foam....

I'm thinking about leaving some extra space in the doorway then "framing" the sides in AL angle after i canvas because I KNOW I'm going to be kicking/bumping/scraping those edges. As it stands they're just foam, no wood.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-2-i ... /204273998

the aluminum would be glued against the exterior (rear wall) and the inside of the doorway.

[ghcoe]

You might try some drywall beading for a hard edge. More frugal than aluminum and thin enough so you do not need to leave a large gap. That is what it is for, to protect dry wall edges from scrapes and bangs.

If it were me I would try caulking for a glue in that situation. I have used caulking for quite a bit of gluing lately on my foamie and I like it. If bonds pretty good and does not foam up which could cause lifting.

[seanc]

ghcoe - Drywall bead is handy stuff. I've got the metal/taped stuff on all the straight exterior corners. I chose not to use the curved vinyl bead for the roof line. We'll see how soon I regret that.... I would use it on the door frame but I've already kicked it (and taken out a chunk of foam) twice, and I'm anticipating it's going to be a spot of constant abuse. I like the caulking idea.

I started wrapping the roof. It took me three hours to measure, cut, adjust, readjust, readjust again, glue, etc.. and finish the first piece of canvas. It was a SERIOUS wrestling match to get it taught.

IMG_1904smaller.jpg (147.1 KiB) Viewed 4506 times

I wrapped the door last night and it took FOREVER to dry... Luckily I have a cabover oven! I buried the door and a small heater behind some leftover foam. Dried a whole lot faster!

IMG_1903smaller.jpg (195.38 KiB) Viewed 4506 times

A couple hours oven time and another round of canvas wrestling and I'm left with 90% of a roof and a mostly dry door. Tomorrow I'll trim the edges of the roof flush to the walls and tie the roof/rear wall/base together with one last piece of canvas.

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[seanc]

I started out using bamboo skewers to hold the canvas in place but don't like the HUGE holes they leave in the canvas and foam. I've been using a 3/8th inch T27 staples. I like that they don't hold very well, you can put in a few at a time, let the glue dry then easily pull them out. I've used 900+ on the walls and roof They're pretty cheap too!

I hadn't seen this suggested in another thread so I wanted to add it to the collective foamie written history

[KCStudly]

Looking good.

Do the staples make dents when you drive them? What type of staple driver are you using?

[GPW]

We used blowgun darts from the sporting goods store ... They worked the best ... made tiny holes , not noticeable ... and they were Cheap

[ghcoe]

I have been using 1 1/2" long finishing nails to hold the canvas. Works good too.

[seanc]

Observations about canvas....

I used 10oz home depot drop cloth on the interior side walls. After rolling titebond on the foam and pressing the fabric down, the glue would squeeze through the weave to the surface. Then I would paint on 50/50.

I'm using Big duck #12 (11.5 oz) for the exterior. No matter how hard I press the fabric onto the foam and how much glue I use, I cannot get the glue to penetrate the weave.

I roll on a HEAVY coat of 50/50 titebond/water after the fabric is down, but I'm still not convinced it's penetrating through the canvas... I think now that the outside layer is dry I won't be able to get glue all the way through the fabric.

Has anyone else used the big duck #12, #10, or #8?

[KCStudly]

I'm not convinced that the fabric needs to be fully saturated to work. Sure, it is probably preferred, but so long as you have a good all over bond to the wood, and so long as the outside is well sealed, the fabric will provide the bidirectional reinforcement that we are seeking to keep the wood fibers from separating and breaking the seal of the top coat. At least that is my guess/opinion. Others may vary.

Edit: Dopey me, of course we are talking mostly foam here, but all the same, you still get the sock effect.

[rowerwet]

I've tried thinning the TBII and using it straight, I will never thin it again to aply glue to foam!
I'm not sure what you are trying to do with the TBII, you don't want it to fill the weave of the fabric, it dries to a surface that paint will have a very hard time sticking too. Fill the fabric weave with exteior paint, that way the fabric is completely filled.
I use the mistint paint from Home Depot, at $9/gal it is a bargin. I went through gallons of paint to fill the weave on my 5x8 tear. it takes many passes with a dripping wet paint roller to get the fabric filled. Just keep feeding it, checking for a shiny wet surface after 15-20 min. If you see a dull surface it means the paint has all been absorbed.