Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[eaglesdare]

my neighbor told me he would use his trailer to go get some wood today. so hopefully within the hour i will have wood. this is really going to happen this time! i have been planning to build a camper for so long. its hard to believe its actually starting.

[eaglesdare]

i have the 3 pieces of floor board now.

now i am debating on a table saw or not.

[eaglesdare]

i am thinking of going with the canvas for painters drop cloth.

it comes in 10 oz and 8 oz. do you have an opinion on which is better to use?

[Wolffarmer]

The thicker the canvas the more glue you will need. Will also be heavier. But will be stronger. Not sure if it will be way over strong. You might try a sample first of several cloths.

Randy

[GPW]

I think you'll only need more glue if you're going to saturate the canvas, like fiberglass... I'm only going to use the glue to attach the canvas, and let the paint saturate the canvas...
The skins ARE the strength of the shell... I'd go with the heavier canvas...

[GPW]

Just saw an episode of This Old House where they used canvas over plaster on walls to prevent cracking in earthquake zones (CA)... They've been doing that for years , and it works ... just another +1 for canvas eh !!!

[eaglesdare]

WARNING:

do not drag 4x8 3/4 birch plywood while walking backwards! especially when you forget about the rock bed in the yard!

i hit that those rocks and landed on my butt and flipped my neck in the wrong way. it hurt instantly and a few hours later it still hurts.


but hubby and i did go to lowes. i got a gallon of t2, a bottle of gorilla glue [the biggest bottle i saw], tarp to cover the work in progress, painter canvas drop cloth, and a few other things, can't remember.

but i did look again for the foam. now lowes does have the 2" think "green" foam. the name on the green foam is lowes it is not the dow blue styrofoam.
do you think that green foam will work just like the blue foam?

i think i will get the neighbor to use the flatbed and pick up some sheets this week.

hubby is getting the saw ready right now. we are going to start working on the floor.

[GPW]

Eagle , the green foam , same stuff , different color .... and PLEASE be careful !!!

[Wolffarmer]

Dow Corning's foam is pink. To match the fiberglass they are so famous for. And for co-opting the Pink Panther.

Randy

[eaglesdare]

well i had to go lay down. neck really hurts. but when i got up, hubby had the side extensions done and the floor boards cut. he was a tad bit off at a spot, but we can work around that [seriously we can].

it was the most beautiful thing in the world to see! but he quit, the wind just got to be too much and he was mad at himself for being off, so its covered now and hopefully it won't be too long til we get to work on it again.

i have pics i will post in a bit.

[eaglesdare]

another question: how close can the side wall be to the tire? he did not cut around the tire to make a wheel well. all this is ok with me. if hubby builds it i am happy. but he is pretty close to the tire.

right now as it is there is 1 inch of space, between wall and tire. is that a major thing?

[eaglesdare]

floor boards

it looks like its warped already, but its not, must just be the angle

distance from where wall will sit to tire

[GPW]

Caption : " The Fish was This Big !!! " Looks like the floors all done ... Cool !!! A wee mite close to the tire eh ? Then there's the thickness of the canvas (2 layers) , and the paint ....

[eaglesdare]

Caption : " The Fish was This Big !!! " Looks like the floors all done ... Cool !!! A wee mite close to the tire eh ? Then there's the thickness of the canvas (2 layers) , and the paint ....

2 layers? oh man, i wasn't planning on that.

i am not sure i am going on the paint route. i think i would like to collage with material and t2.
but i think if we had/have to we could cut-out a bit around that tire.

[eaglesdare]

here is probably a dumb question, but i have to ask it:

do i sand the floor? and then stain or whatever i want to do to it? or do i sand and then varnish?
is varnish clear or does it come in colors like stain?
is there a difference between stain and varnish?

the bottom can be gooed or varnished now. we have extension wood all the way around which the canvas will be attached to that. so nothing will be on the bottom of the floor so i can seal that.

i guess my time is coming to decide on which way i am going to go. i do think i am leaning towards the varnish though.

so lets say i go the varnish route, how do i seal the end pieces?

or am i totally off track on how to seal this? is sealing varnish/goo? i think tomorrow might be another nice day for us, so i could seal the bottom then, if i knew this was the right thinking.