Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[Rlowell]

Thanks for the suggestions. Will follow, GPW.
Rod

[GPW]

Rio, I did mine inside and out ... The only place I missed was on the bottom of the door, end grain ... which promptly de-laminated ...

[PanelDeland]

Just a comment on this intriging thread.When you build ,you should probably run grounding wires for any electrical.Foams not gonna ground too well but most DC electricaal will be OK.Hey I'm trying to play "Devil's Advocate" here and this was the only weak spot I could find.This might make the perfet place to use the ultralight trailer "frame" mentioned on the BB.

[GPW]

Panel , I was planning on a 50' GFI extension cord and flashlights for the "electrical " system .. Thrifty , and easy ... Trying to keep it really Simple ...

[Rlowell]

Do not forget about battery operated puck lights. I plan on two inside and one for the galley. Also, using 120 for all other lighting as most campgrounds offer that and if I need to be dry camping I will use a small Gen. to run the A/C.
Rod

[kennyrayandersen]

:lol: Attaching aluminum to foam could be as simple as some slotted hex bolts


or some T-nuts


These will bite into the foam and probably need to be glued. If you glue the foam to the aluminum and then bolt. Or maybe use some Channel/angle to cup the opening of the td for door openings.

Nuts will pull right through. For low-cost I would suggest a plywood plug in the foam skins on either side with glass, or thin plywood. The plywood core will prevent crushing as you tighten up the bolt [to a point] -- don't overdo the torque.

[GPW]

Cleaning up the Studio, I found a good deal of Fire hose... Once split down the length , it produced a length of really TOUGH canvas about 9 5/8" ( 240mm) wide... Thinking this would be super for reinforcing the wall to floor join .. inside and out.. The inner liner of the hose has a rubber coating on the inner surface , which may be good for other purposes, perhaps "hinging" ??? Good if you have an old Fire hose lying about ...

[lax71vcu]

I have been following this forum very closely and like all the ideas bouncing around. I am hoping to use this construction if GPW has some success with it. I Know that most are planning on using old bed sheets as the fabric cloth and that is fine but I was wondering if Using a muslin fabric would be okay. Is it heavy enough? I have seen it online for as cheap as $1.99 per square yard. Would it be advisable to double up on the fabric? Is there any benefit to using more fabric?

Thanks in advance.

Nick

[PanelDeland]

I came up with another thought on assembly that may be an easy way to align and strenghten the joints.Maybe using small dowels to help locate and "pin" the top edges even with the walls.It might also support the shelves a bit.Should be easy to dry fit everything and then get it back in perfect alignment.

On the cloth I happened to come across some burlap from some large bales of towels a while back(found,free,and repurposeable,what more do you want).I noticed them on the shelf this afternoon and the gears started turning.I actually think the weave is a bit large but it might make an interesting design feature.

[Rlowell]

More coats on any end grain ...and any exposed areas... the more the better ... it's cheap enough ...that's your "insurance" If you sand it (lightly ) after, it gets smooth


Auntie M .... er, I dunno ' ??? Might rip out over time ... and I get the blame ...

Yes, it does get very smooth. I found some 1000 grit finishing paper that worked great. Anyone have some free exterior red paint. Never mind...
I have HD one mile east of me and Lowes one mile west. I will watch their rejects. Sure could use a job too...
Rod

[GPW]

Nick , although the idea of bed sheets came up, I'm planning on using a 10oz. canvas for mine... The skin IS the Strength of the construction. The foam is just to keep the skins apart ...The better/more substantial the skin , the Stronger the trailer.. Perhaps several layers of old sheets ...or even burlap as Panel suggested. We are trying to simulate Fiberglass , which is a very strong material !
Panel , dowel pins sounds good to me ... I even suggested earlier in a drawing , the use of dowel pins to secure the "framing" to the foam around the door and windows ...
Great find on the burlap ! That should make an interesting texture, once painted ... and it should be pretty Strong too ... Great re-cycling idea ...

Rod, HD reject paint works for me !!! Just as long as it's EXTERIOR paint... and as mentioned elsewhere, some folks are even using the paint to adhere the fabric, saving the cost of a gallon of Titebond 2.
Re: Jobs... Being an Artist for 41 years , Jobs are where you make them ... Use your acquired skills to provide something/services that nobody else is doing !!! Do something you like !!! I always liked working for me ... then I could pay myself what I thought I was worth , unlike working for someone else...

[Ageless]

Have played with foam-core construction. For fastening, I reverted to my knowledge gleaned from 36 years at Boeing.

With these types of panels, we used 'potted inserts; which are threaded inserts bedded with a thick epoxy. In experiments, I epoxied short sections of 1/2" dowels into the foan. Prior to installation, I drilled a pilot hole and ran woodscrews into them. After the epoxy set, I could install another panel to it. The panel being attached used a counterbored hole with a fender washer to spread the load.

''The other trick was for edge bonding. We used two-part silicone adhesive. This creates a strong but flexible joint

[GPW]

Those are some good tricks ... Thanks !!! Two part silicone??? I've only seen the stuff in the tubes ... would that work ?

[Ageless]

http://www.amazon.com/Loctite-Silicone-Temperature-Gasket-Maker/dp/B000F5QSTC

What we used; it's available in most auto parts stores

[GPW]

Ageless , would you be so good as to tell us more about the assembly procedures ,surface prep ,alignment , curing times , etc. etc. with using this material for foam construction .. Would be nice to hear how the "big boys" use it ...