Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[GPW]

and more ...

[eaglesdare]

a few little detail work is being done on the original foamie. a frame around the door (stop rain) and a window frame for the plexi. i haven't yet had a real window, just the mesh. this plexi frame is thanks to LWW from here. hubby has a piece of pexi he will cut to fit (hopefully) and i am going to run some weather stripping around the door frame. that window and door is the only place rain comes in, so must fix that and this foamie should be rain proof. one can hope right?
pictures later.


gpw....good to see you starting again.

[bonnie]

and more ...

Like that alot. Can't wait to see it for real.

[GPW]

Eagle , no more Schmousey' window ??? You do have a viable trailer ... Might as well finish it ... giving you more time to dwell on the intricacies of the new build ...

Bonnie , still in the drawing stages ... here’s another more interior shot ... helping to visualize the layout ... Good shot of the Arch which should add considerable strength to the top middle (and possibly a few spars too for the wide roof ..)

[eaglesdare]

oh no, i still have the mouse windows. but this frame is to hold the plexi in place. the plexi will be removable!

[GPW]

The Mouse windows did add that extra little touch ...

Here’s a better drawing , more accurate proportions ... won’t have to worry about this wide one in high winds ...

[KCStudly]

Has that middle eastern harem look to it, like the inside of Jeannie's bottle.



Purple is my favorite color, I think you should run with the theme!

[GPW]

Wouldn’t that be really Comfy’ ... Lots of pillows and cushions ... Actually Purple is my favorite color to paint with , neither warm nor cool ... just depends what it’s next to ... Although all the tints, tones, and shades of purple I use could hardly be described as outta’ the can Purple ... The Perfect shadow color , during “Golden Hour” ... The compliment of yellow (gold) ...

Ps. and I can sew ... (cushions and pillows should be Easy after all those Hats) ... KC, Fabric FAB ...

[eaglesdare]

this is the frame for the plexi. its a triangle shape. you put the plexi in and then add another triangle shape, wedge it in and it holds the glass in. then when you want the window open, that triangle shape is (i think) flipped upside down and now the plexi is open. or just take the plexi out. but with all the foam i have around here, i will beable to cut a piece to work for me.



you can also see the door framing in this pic, ignore the non-matching up of the pieces. i am not the best at measuring twice and cutting once. i swear i can measure 10 times and still not be correct after i cut. but it will work for what i want, so i am good.

[eaglesdare]

ok, hmmm, you can't really see it well in that photo. i will try to get a better pic tomorrow. the plexi slides down into that frame. i hope you understand, but i will get a better photo tomorrow.

[mezmo]

Not trying to be a killjoy, but I am just wondering if 'living
on the floor" is still a viable plan for 'persons of retirement age'?

I'd also go for a bit wider/larger entry door - especially since
you'll probably be making a custom door anyway.

This is based on my own increasing inflexibility and generally
uncooperative body that has crept up on me over time. This
has been made blatantly apparent to me while working on
an almost finished bedroom remodel project.

I'm beginning to think that maybe the best design plan would be to
get a duplicate of our favorite recliners and then design the rest of
the build around them! Ha!

Happy Planning!

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

P.S. Just saw your updated drawing after posting this. I'd go for
the extra door on the rear too. Look at Sharon's build, and that's
what she did. It just seems "so right" to do there. It'd be a way
to access some of the under bed storage from the outside too.

[Wobbly Wheels]

Not trying to be a killjoy, but I am just wondering if 'living
on the floor" is still a viable plan for 'persons of retirement age'?

That's why I decided on the standie. We're still 20 years out from retiring, but my wife is a year and a half into rehab from a back injury and I'm looking at a partial knee replacement in a few months. I had originally planned on building a teardrop...that's how I found my way to this forum. As I started thinking more about it, it became clear to me that a TD would become yard clutter because we wouldn't really use it.

That's how I came up with what I'm building: standing headroom to get dressed, a decent sized bed, an enclosed head, and enough room for one or two to sit and chat with another in the galley during meal prep. I can leave this set up as a base station of sorts and go out hunting or fishing knowing that my wife (trying to get into camping, bless her heart) has a warm comfortable spot to sit and read a book when the weather turns ugly. We want to spend a Xmas holiday weather-watching on the west coast of Vancouver Island at some point but, unless there's a warm comfy bed at night.....

[GPW]

Actually at almost 64 , I’m still in pretty good shape (touch wood) , able to crawl around on the floor and even get back up again ... The real trick is to make the floor well padded!!! In my older van conversions ( I built 8 of them back in the late 70’s ) All the floors were well padded (4” foam rubber ) and very comfortable ...
Back door does seem like a good idea , providing easy access to the storage area in the back of the trailer under the bed... It means I’ll have to leave out the rear overhead cabinet , but that isn’t really necessary ... Plenty of incidental storage under the bed... and elsewhere ...
Bigger trailers are more comfortable for we Oldsters , but who’s gonna’ wash and maintain them .. Back to the ladder again ( I know this from experience with my Jayco) Old people should NOT be on ladders ...at least living on the floor , there's a shorter distance to fall ... and the lower height means I can do anything to it just standing up outside , without resorting to ladders or a scaffold ... same as on my little Foamie ...

[GPW]

After more thought , it may be best if the situation is clarified... The Primary purpose of this design is for Hurricane EVAC... and is Only a place to sleep, change , and hang out.. Nothing more ... It’s not like camping (it could be) more like a time away from home with a guaranteed comfortable place to sleep on Your bed ... The rest of the time is spent hanging out , visiting friends, sightseeing , shopping (big with the wife) , eating out , and usually cooking for my Hosts (they Love it) in their kitchens... That and trying to be useful for people in need... That’s a long story ...
So this design is NOT a real camping trailer...

The Ideal situation is that it’s Never used for it’s primary purpose ... so in the garage , or even outside since we know my laptop works through foam ...a mini office or crafts place ? ... who knows , it’s just another usable space ...... And if I have to do some wild painting commission or lecture in a distant state , then that’s perfect for short trips .... and “deductable”

[eaglesdare]

i never did get to taking pics today, but maybe in the next couple days. hubby cut out the plexi glass, so i now have windows! yippee. i got that ugly reinforcing strip primed finally. i think i am going to paint it black, since i have a gallon of that on hand. while the primer was drying, i keep looking at that ugly unfinished inside. so ratkitty had given me quilters blocks of fabric last year. i started thinking about that brown paper bag method and well i used the fabric on my walls. did not get a lot done, but its a start. it takes a while to do this, as i had no push pins to hold the fabric to the foam til it stuck. anyway, i am finally back to working on the foamie to get it looking better.