Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[GPW]

TOWM , Thanks !!! Good to be done !!!

Eagle , has it really been that long ???

Cool Doors and windows , really Do add a Nice touch .... if it’s on the budget .... if not well , we know what to do ... The Beauty of Foamies .... build em like You want ... spend what you can afford ... Salvage the rest ....

[GPW]

Eagle , got that trailer “ironed outâ€

[GPW]

Oops !!! Apologies to Steve , for I “mayâ€

[eaglesdare]

gpw, that is what i have been thinking also! a little wider, and longer, but not so much higher. for me, the height hasn't been an issue. i can stand, but must slouch over, which is ok for me.

but that width and lenght needs to be adjusted from my original foamie.

i am still leaning towards another frame, once taxes come back in. then i will start seriously thinking about that second one. i have decided to scrap the pieces i already cut out. well, maybe not scrap them, but change them up.

i just hope hubby doesn't put too much of a limit on my spending of the tax money this year. he said he was taking over this year. i guess he doesn't like our cruises, disney trips or the money spent on some crazy ideas like the foamie. LOL i think he wants some real life pratical things, like fixing the house heater, a/c unit, his rv out back, his shed, ect.

[GPW]

Eagle, this idea harkens back to my days of Van camping ... which we did a Lot, some time ago (late 70’s , early 80’s ) ... about the same size inside ... I always thought those were very comfortable for us and had plenty of room without being Too Big ... big enough to fit in the Garage anyway ... Wide enough to sleep sideways , leaving a lot of floorspace for lounging in a bean bag chair , sitting, reading , eating , watching TV ... and “stretchâ€

[bonnie]

[quote="GPW"
Our 20’ TT turned out to be TOO BIG and too big an annual expense to consider practical by any means .... [/quote]

Funny you should put it that way. I have come to the conclusion that's where I am too. I want something big enough for my needs, yet small enough to easily take care of. I grew up primitive tent camping. Now that I'm old enough not to want to sleep on the ground any longer, the idea I could sleep in a cosy little foamie seems pretty fancy to me.

I spent some time talking to my brother about my build ideas while we were visiting last weekend. He's on board with the tweaking of the design and didn't even laugh when I told him I wanted a hobbit type door in the mix.

He's got tons of design experience and noodle out a couple of ideas while we talked. I'm waiting to see a more final version of the 'experiment'. He likes modelling in balsa wood.

[droid_ca]

Hey GPW what program do you use to do your design drawings in?

[GPW]

Bonnie , If I were 30 years younger I wouldn’t mind climbing up to that TT roof , just too old for that ... Smaller TTT stored in the Garage would be plenty enough for me ...

Droid using PaintBrush for Mac ,very close to MS Paint ... About all I can handle ...
BTW here’s the final pics of Foamie #1



One more in the album clearly showing the spacers ...

[GPW]

Was thinking with the new design , if I elevated the bed on a frame (van style ) , I’d have tons more storage room underneath and it would give me the possibility of a slide out Galley “drawer “ in the back ... for cooking outside ... Galley drawer Lid would flip up and protect the back of the Foamie ... Many possibilities ... everything square makes it easy to build ...

[linuxmanxxx]

Glen I have no issues with you using the wondrous things that spout out of my twisted head

Lessons learned going 6 wide:
1 trailer issues hard to find any trailer that wide so you have to deal with wheel wells being in the way hence my storage and elevation workaround.
2 not quite wide enough to invert the bed need 7' for that due to beds are 80" length
3 raising for the storage creates more height and wind drag so you have to start deciding what necessary evils you want to trade off

You see I went with storage space and wind drag because in a commercial sense I want to cater more to using this for say a 1 to 2 wk outing more than just a quick weekender so its a balancing the scale of end user pull to the web of design or web of usage.......

[bonnie]

Love the galley idea. That would be so neat. You could incorporate wind screens in the door, maybe. Then it could all fit together.

[GPW]

Thanks Steve !!! Those are some good lessons too!!! ... Have to think about all of that !!! Just trying to get the Size right for now .. Too Big is just Waaaayy Too much trouble for me (proven) ... Already got Too small ... Need one that’s “just right “ !!!

Bonnie ... interlocking Foamies ...like a wagon train ... keep the Injuns' away ... and Bears too ...
Two Galleys would be convenient for most anything ... Foamies are Light enough to carry all that without stressing the trailer ...
Just guessing a Foamie this size would be about 600-700 lbs. ... Probably easily carry it’s own weight in cargo/gear and still not be over the limit ... and still Light by most standards ...

[linuxmanxxx]

The only problem I see with it is you need to consider the AC front being a problem because if you are towing in the rain any front openings are extremely hard to make seal and keep water out when you take in account water and 60 to 70mph wind pushing it going down the highway.

Have doing some designing in my head today after looking at yours and look at my build and then consider the same type trailer at a 10' length and using a futon mattress (because it folds and foam doesn't) you could then have the bed area forward of the axle fold back and have the lower part of the trailer then accessible to use for dressing and sitting and a table area and then the bed floor raise up parallel with the front wall and just lower it for sleeping configuration. It would have over 5' clearance in the sunken part. Was thinking of taking cabin 7' wide turning bed sideways with this type of build but that would make impossible for most vehicles to see around it towing.

[atahoekid]

Don't mean to change the subject but a bit back in this thread Eagle was lamenting her bubbling of the canvas. GPW made a statement that kind of caught my attention. TB 2 and 3 are both brittle upon drying and there may be a need for a "latex" based glue to provide some flex to the canvas/foam bond. So that got me to thinking. Aren't most floor covering adhesives latex based to allow for flex? The big problems that come to mind are 1) most of those adhesives are intended for interior use and 2) would it melt the foam.

Foam melting could be tested for easily enough... Is there a similar adhesive designed for exterior duty? Could it be that Mike showed us the ultimate adhesive answer when he used exterior latex house paint as his glue? Any one else with more thoughts? Unfortunately all I can do is think right now, since I am without the use of my right arm for a couple of months while on the mend from shoulder surgery... AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHH I've decided I make a lousy left hander.

[eaglesdare]

Bonnie , If I were 30 years younger I wouldn’t mind climbing up to that TT roof , just too old for that ... Smaller TTT stored in the Garage would be plenty enough for me ...

Droid using PaintBrush for Mac ,very close to MS Paint ... About all I can handle ...
BTW here’s the final pics of Foamie #1



One more in the album clearly showing the spacers ...

now this is one fine looking foamie!

hey glenn, what is that trailer next to it? have i missed something?