Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[absolutsnwbrdr]

what if i pre-cover the foam, and let it all dry and stifen up. then assemble? so it would be canvas to canvas. will that make a difference?

I have zero experience with building a foamie (I'll be joining in on the fun at the end of March) but doesn't the canvas skin help reinforce the foam-to-foam joints?

[eaglesdare]

yes zach it does. that is the "sock" effect.

once i get opinions on the precanvas idea, if that will work (which i don't see why not), i or we, will still do a final wrap, which would be the "sock" effect.

see the canvas dries and the foam becomes nice and stiff. the roof in this case is my only concern for doing the pre-canvas.
i know it probably won't hurt to add a spar or two. but the less wood i need the better off i will be.

you'll be an expert by the end of that weekend zach! will you new tear be coming? can't wait to see that one. will fred be joining us also?

[GPW]

Eagle , even the airplane Foamie guys prefer the GG ... over epoxy ... No reason it wouldn’t work better canvas to canvas , or canvas to foam ... The trick (I’ve found) with GG is not to put on too much !!! and just mist it with water if you must , NOT Wet it down ... It will cure (slower) with the natural humidity in the air , and I suspect the foaming actually weakens the glue a bit ... bubbles eh ? Pre assembled panels would be the way to go cause’ you could do a “mock up” just to check the fits as you go ...

Spars , not unless you’re going to stand on it huh ... The cabinets, shelves, walls, arch , all supporting the inner structure... the sock , the outer bits ...

[eaglesdare]

ok here is another question:

this suppose to be 6 wide, 9 long. the foam boards come in 4x8's. so how will the best way be to go with the roof. which way should i lay the roof on?

if i use the 4' side to side, that will be 3 plus pieces. if i use the 8' front to back, that should be 1 plus pieces.

[eaglesdare]

so if i use the 4' on the side, it will be 6 wide. i may end up having to use spars because of the drooping in the middle.

if i go 8' on the side, it will cover the arch and may not need spars.

[linuxmanxxx]

I'd say do a quick little test with a couple of pieces and see how strong the canvas to canvas bond is or just don't wrap over the ends and glue it together and add strips to cover those places after if it doesn't bond as well on the canvas to canvas.

[eaglesdare]

thanks steve. i really don't have a doubt as to the canvas to canvas or foam to canvas problem. its really now about which way should i lay the 4x8 foam for the roof. 4' on the side or 8' on the side.

[absolutsnwbrdr]

yes zach it does. that is the "sock" effect.

once i get opinions on the precanvas idea, if that will work (which i don't see why not), i or we, will still do a final wrap, which would be the "sock" effect.

see the canvas dries and the foam becomes nice and stiff. the roof in this case is my only concern for doing the pre-canvas.
i know it probably won't hurt to add a spar or two. but the less wood i need the better off i will be.

you'll be an expert by the end of that weekend zach! will you new tear be coming? can't wait to see that one. will fred be joining us also?

Really looking forward to coming down! Yes, that weekend is looking to be my maiden voyage with the X-II (although I may do a short overnight test run about 20 minutes from my house).

Not sure if Fred will be along for the trip or not. If we're focused on building, he would be unsupervised. And an unsupervised Beagle is a troublesome Beagle.

If you have a fenced in yard, then I'll certainly bring him. He'd love to play with your new pup!

[eaglesdare]

oh sorry zach, no fenced in yard. my pup will probably be kept inside. i have the same problem with simba, unsupervised he gets into trouble.


speaking of simba, he is home now. the hard part starts with trying to stop him from licking and chewing where he should not be!

[GPW]

“ The hard part “ .... Questionable from now on ...

[mikeschn]

I can understand what Angib said somewhere... foamies are easy to start and hard to finish!!!

Mike...

[GPW]

I think thats really , just “hard to DECIDE how to finish" ... As we can recall , before the skepticism and Improvements started... It was a simple proposition of just gluing the canvas on with T2 , and painting it ... And we know that works , cause’ that’s How we did ours ... No Trick coatings , no special glue analysis, no frozen turkeys .... Nice and Simple ... as originally proposed ... Thrifty too ..

[eaglesdare]

i am pretty much going to do the same exact finish on this one also. i know it works and i can be camping really soon. (well i could be camping anyway cuz i have the first one). but my problem now is the painting. i am not sure i want to go with a solid red. i would like to get a little creative with the paint. so that may mess me up trying to find a good pattern i like.

[GPW]

Seems we talked ourself into a Pickle !!! The more discussions we had , the more it was made (or talked about being made ) "Better "...

The Original intent was to provide a SIMPLE , CHEAP, BASIC camping trailer... That could be built by most anybody . No Frills , just a rolling shelter , a “hard tent” so to speak. It was never intended to be complicated, revolutionary ,or visionary in Any way ... but we talked... so now we have 6,327 different things to think about BEFORE building a Foamie trailer... Still NO RULES !!! Everyone assumes the responsibility for their own “creativity” ...

When in doubt go back to the original method ... we Know that works ...

Eagle , the paint job makes all the difference !!!

[pete42]

Glad the puppy is on the mend.

in reply to the tongue weight on any of the travel trailers and pop-ups and utility trailers that I have owned or pulled
I found the tongue weight needed to be to the stated 10% to 15% of the trailers weight to light and the trailer would wander
all over the road. to much weight in the back would cause this.

I went by Lowes yesterday just to look at their trailers to see what you were talking about when you described how the boards were held on
it was a Lowes trailer was it not?

they did have lots of 2 inch foam, while I could never craw into a teardrop you guys sure make it sound like fun.....darn knees, and back.

pete