Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[Rlowell]

to goo or not to goo that is the question

we are on the eastern shore of va. about 2 hours north of norfolk va. extremely close to chincoteague island va.

now back to the goo issue, i thought one of the main reason for using goo was the water proofing powers? isn't this a roofing tar?

The goo stuff does work very well and is a good value. The issue is that it is very messy, and it takes a long time to cure. I have used it on my build.
I will also have to go back and trim some more when I finish the top.
There are other methods that do work.

good luck.
Rod

[Wolffarmer]

The black goo is made for roofs, normally on asphalt shingles, roll black paper, metal, cement. Also it goes on "top" so gravity is working for it. Also to fill in cracks. The bottom of our trailers are normally made of wood. Wood is a porous material unlike roofing products. Black goo will not soak into the wood fibers. Under a trailer gravity is working against black goo. If you are using a single sheet of plywood you have no cracks to begin with. If larger that a sheet of plywood that you can get make sure your joints are made properly by what ever method you choose, or invent.

In my #2 I will be making a floor larger than what I can get here reasonably so I will be splicing. I will then varnish the bottom. First with at least 2 coats of thinned varnish and 1-3 coats of straight varnish. I will feel very confident with that. Unless someone can talk me out of it.

Of course I live where the normal rain fall is 12 inches. Much it when it is to cold to camp. IE it is snow.

Randy

[GPW]

Hmmm ??? We get 62 " + of rainfall a year Guessing I should varnish mine REAL GOOD !!! Or make a Boat out of it ...

[GPW]

Well, after much head scratching and drawing .... Here 's the final shape I'm going to use to make the Foamie'#1 TTX ... It's a simple "compromise" for ease of construction and with a modicum of TD appearance (loose interpretation) ... In other words , i can quickly build it without any hassle of bending materials , using the 2" thick foam, and use it as a "proof of concept" trailer ... This shape should be OK on the hwy. ... and I'll be making it as wide as my trailer will accept, for more comfort ... 5' wide would be Nice !!! Not as pretty as a traditional TD .... maybe on #2

[GPW]

Now i know this is cheating , but for those who wouldn't want a cloth "inside" , you could glue thin paneling to the inside of the foam for a more traditional appearance ... the paneling would act as the inner skin ... Just crumbs for thought ...

[Wolffarmer]

Lookin good GPW. I was also thinking about making the nose a V shape like many of the cargo trailers. Would help to push aside the dirty air sucking around the sides of the TV. Make towing a bit easier, but who knows how much??

Has anyone tried that Great Stuff foam in a can to see if it can do some gluing of the foam?

Also as I would like to have paneling of some kind inside. Would that paneling glue work? Though it would not be the only method of attachment.

GPW Boldly going where no tear drop has gone before.

Randy

[starleen2]

Dave (davel) has built a foam teadrop and used resin soaked fabric for the interior instead of fiberglass - It's a bluebonnet design

http://www.tearsoftexas.com

Link to picture
http://www.tearsoftexas.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=920

[mikeschn]

Also, not to throw a wrench into the works GPW, but you could bend foam a little bit, and it would add a lot of strength to the design, both structurally and aesthetically.




Mike...

[Miriam C.]

Should the 4' x 8' on the front roof not be on top of the end piece both for support and water tight.

[Rlowell]

Fascinating!! Can't wait to see the progress. Just a question
: no Galley? K.I.S.S. I like it.
Rod

[GPW]

Wolf , paneling would glue directly to the foam with Titebond 2... tested that !!!
Starleen, That is a cool TD !! Thanks !!!
Mike , That would look much better , but tested the 2" foam, and it doesn't like to bend... Perhaps several layers of the thinner foam ..that was the original idea for the TD model I made ... But I just wanted to put this together quickly to make sure it all worked as planned ... Wouldn't want the whole Forum PO'd at me for offering a bad design ...
Still looking for the kerfed foam for bending ... No luck yet locally ... might have to special order it ... Then we could make a real TD shape with ease... That would be cool !!!
Auntie M , I know my drawing is not clear , but all the roof/front/back foam would be attached atop the sides ... The actual side profile would be the white part ... I'll have to work on this to make it more lucid ... And given the covering and seam reinforcement to be added , I doubt if it would leak after all that ...
Rio , gotta' keep this one simple ... no galley this time , just a sleeper ...Just trying to prove it works for now ...

[GPW]

Here's an improved drawing with some of the fixes suggested , red outline for the true side profile ... top front cap extended properly for Auntie...and the possibility of rounding the sharp edges for a bit "softer" look ...

[vreihen]

Mike , That would look much better , but tested the 2" foam, and it doesn't like to bend... Perhaps several layers of the thinner foam ..that was the original idea for the TD model I made ...

I can't find them online at the moment, but I have seen pictures of Lehigh University students bending a flat carbon/foam sandwich core sheet into a Formula SAE race car chassis using a series of V-notches on the inside radius of each bend. They cut the notches through the inner skin and most of the foam, heated the outside skin with a heat gun, and used ratchet straps to do the bending. I imagine you would put some glue/epoxy into the V-notch prior to bending, but it is possible and they bent some pretty tight radiuses compared with a TD roof.....

[GPW]

If you go to the Dow website , they show a pre kerfed foam sheet for bending ... Just hard to find ... locally ... Still working on that ...
One could always laminate 2 sheets of 3/4" foam , which does bend ... My flying buddies recommend a polyurethane glue for the task ...dampening the gluing surfaces first ... just another alternative ....

[razorback]

My roof has 1 1/4 inch foam between the spars. The width was about 12" between the spars. I kerfed both a 1/4" with my table saw. The foam easily bent around the front curve of my TD. I used FRP on the outside and
cheap paneling on the inside of my roof. I have pulled my TD over 22,000 miles since early 2007. I have 3/4" foam in the walls and 3 1/2" in the floor.
It's a large igloo.
Woke up one early August morning with the inside at 72 degrees. My wife and left at 8:00 and turned off the air. Came back at 4:00 PM with the outside temp at 98 degrees. The inside thermometer had risen to 74 degrees.
Larry