Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[eaglesdare]

another thought i had while just sitting here was: after i make the last trip for this year, i could just take the original foamie off trailer. and start all over. yup from the ground up. i am rethinking my size on the second one, i think a tiny bit smaller in lenght but more wider than i have now.
and since i only really have 1 more trip planned, then i could just stick this old door right back in and be done with it. put all my effort into the second newer better one. kwim?

the kids will love a new playhouse, so the first one won't go to waste.

[Wobbly Wheels]

Navy ?

I guess we can't ALL be army, lol.
When you join the Forces in Canada, you get to list your top three preferred trades to specialize into. If any one of them is infantry, that's what you get...

As far as the rack goes, I think one of the trunk-mounted luggage racks might be the ticket - they are light weight and their scale wouldn't be out of place on a small trailer.

Of course, you could always go with a fin and blend it in so you don't notice the bump...


Then again...a playhouse is a fine idea too...

[GPW]

Eagle , I see nothing wrong with your trailer at all .... It's just you that don't like it .... which of course , I respect ...
But , it's easy to "disguise " anything that doesn't seem right to you ... Like W2 said , a lightweight rack or a fin , or "spoiler" ... And actually that bump might help the airflow moving smoothly over the top, keeping the flow attached ... It does tow well doesn't it ?

You can always start over ...and with all your experience now , I'll bet the next one will be much improved as far as providing you with what you need and want ... The Old one ? Playhouse for the kids , pony palace , dog house , or do like I do and use them for incidental storage when not being used for camping ...

[eaglesdare]

hey we could just use it to camp in when we want to go in our own back yard.

all the ideas sound great, now to decide what to do. storage is a great idea, but since we already took over a big playhouse for the kids for storage, maybe i should give them back a playhouse.

i know i can't really stow anything on top, it wasn't build for wieght, i would be worried about that, but just the look for illusional (maybe its dilusional ) purposes only.

well i have time to fret over this. its too hot to mess out there anyway. heat wave coming thru.

although on the next one i will build a frame for the door. or a lip on the wall part and stick weather stripping to that. the door should be good to go then.

[eaglesdare]

i do have a question about the tongue though. i want to ask here because maybe you all won't get too technical for me.

but i want to add a small galley to the storage i have. so how do i know how much weight i can put back there?

i am figuring that as long as it doesn't tilt the tongue to pop up off the ground i should be ok..right?
right now i have all my storage back there, total it pretty heavy. so i think i should be ok, with my galley not messing with the tongue.

am i on the right line of thinking?

[GPW]

I'd think you'd need a positive tongue weight to make it tow right .... I defer to the Experts here... But you can always move the wheels /springs rearward to compensate ...

[Wolffarmer]

Tongue weight.........

So many answers and opinions.

Seem the US standard is about 10% of total weight. European is much less than that. Me. I keep it so I can lift the tongue with one hand. I need it like that to put my tongue stand on and to move the trailer around. ( no jack, home made stand )

One thing for sure, you don't want it to be negative. Nor be over your car hitch or trailer tongue specs.

Randy

[GPW]

Sorry to take so long to post pics of my Solar cookers , but the rain finally stopped , and I could get to the TT where they're stored .... Just two simple "minimum" box cookers and the light conversion , I'm working on ... The window shade cooker is actually doing duty as a car window shade , when it's not being used a s a cooker ... it's in the wife's car ... I'll assemble it when she gets home and take a pic of that too ..

[GPW]

.... and a pic of my Big Box solar oven .... Large , good for baking or cooking multiple things ... The glass top is two glass shelves from an old refrigerator ... (recycled) With the sun almost directly overhead this time of year , I hardly have to tilt the big one ... the whole inside acts as a reflector .... Tried it with the windshield shade taped to it and it gets even Hotter ... but not necessary ... I was just experimenting ...

[eaglesdare]

gpw how you doing? you seem to be more quiet than normal. too hot for you down there i bet. you sittin around trying to put a dent in that 500 lbs of beer, while avoiding bears, snakes and wasps oh my?

[GPW]

Where'd everybody go ??? Did I offend anybody with my solar cookers ???
Or is it just Too Darn HOT ??? We are Always HOT in the summer (same latitude as Cairo Egypt)... acclimated to it ... but you folks up North must be having a rough time of it !!! What are you guys doing to stay Cool !!!

[eaglesdare]

i for one am not going outside!

although i will run from the house to the car, when i go to see harry potter this afternoon. i'll get the car's remote and start that car up first however.

[droid_ca]

hey GPW I'm up north and I actually have my heater turned on at the moment cause its so cold but that's what you get when you live up north and in the mountains

[GPW]

Well, it's raining here .... again ... cloudy 85F ... Not so bad ...

Droid , Really !!! I can believe that ... Funny how heat's supposed to rise, but it's always cold at elevation ...

Eagle , should be nice and cold at the movies !!!

[Wolffarmer]

Coolish here today, so far. Just washed my tow vehicle. Finally got tired of driving all those bird droppings around.

Two days ago replaced the foam I was using for my bed. and built a wood wedge to tilt up the front 2 feet. A lot better now but I still sleep better in my recliner.

But I now know a bit better how I am going to build the next trailer.

Randy