Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[GPW]

Clam shells ? Guess that’s all they had ... if you want a real rock around here you have to buy one ... not naturally occurring ... all alluvial soil built up who knows how long ago... Seemed a likely spot , fresh water, plenty of food , and the Indians here were pretty laid back (easy life)... so they just intermarried ... “Make Love, not War” ...

Founding Fathers ??? Outlaws most .... same today ...

I think of daylight savings time as one day of the year for the wife to sleep an hour later , and for me to get up an hour earlier ...

[Bogo]

Something many people don't realize is how important air tightness is to heat retention. All the insulation in the world can't keep air leaving the house or RV from carrying away heat. That foam dome should be very air tight.

I glued and nailed my more conventional house together and did everything I could think of to keep air leakage down. All the wood to wood joints in the house were glued together with Liquid Nails and conventionally nailed. I used expanding foam to fill in the gaps around window frames and doors. I have an air barrier reflective layer facing out on the outside, 1.5" foam, 3/4" plywood, 5.5" high R fiberglass insulation, and finally a reflective layer on the inside facing in. I use less than 300 gallons of propane a year. Most of which is going to the dryer and water heater. The place is very air tight. So much so that I have to use a heat recovery ventilator, not that I'm needing to recover much heat. The place raises into the 80's on a sunny winter day if the blinds are half open, then only drops at around a 1/2 degree an hour over night on a 10F day. My solar heat gain is mostly from an east facing sliding glass door, and a near floor to ceiling window bank on the south wall. I found that out during an ice storm a few years back. Normal daily activities like cooking or running the dishwasher tend to raise the temperature inside. Eventually I'll put in solar hot water, and heating. Backup heat will be the propane furnace.

[GPW]

Bogo, I built my house in a similar manner and enjoy Huge savings on energy over my neighbors ... my only regret is for not putting in a big exhaust fan (to outside) at the top of the cathedral ceiling so as to draw in fresh air sometime ... Being “tight” it can get “stuffy” .. I’m regularly opening doors and windows to get some fresh air in .. or cooking odors out ...

[Bogo]

I also didn't put in a large exhaust fan, but there is a place for it to go.

I need to get off my duff and install some ceiling fans. I wired for them.

[atahoekid]

Somewhere in the thread, or maybe the one on FoamCoat, there was a longish discussion of various netting to add strength. Will be off to work shortly, so I don't have the time to look for it.

Bonnie, I tried netting and though I think the strength per weight is pretty impressive, I had a hard time filling/hiding the weave. Even a thick coat of the thickest primer I could find left quite a bit of the weave showing through. I personally didn't care for that look. The Foam Coat did OK but would still need multiple coats to make the mesh hide. Foam Coat was also pretty hard to use for our application.

[droid_ca]

http://www.instructables.com/id/Arduino ... g-Pumpkin/

something about this reminded me of this thread

[Wolffarmer]

http://www.instructables.com/id/Arduino-Controlled-Chemical-Foam-Spewing-Pumpkin/

something about this reminded me of this thread

Why? Do you dream of a foamie trailer upchucking on nay sayers?



Randy

[atahoekid]

http://www.instructables.com/id/Arduino-Controlled-Chemical-Foam-Spewing-Pumpkin/

something about this reminded me of this thread

Why? Do you dream of a foamie trailer upchucking on nay sayers?



Randy

They DO deserve it!

[GPW]

Those who say Nay ! We’ve had our share eh , and it was a good thing too ... first the Fun of proving them Wrong ... second the thought provoking ways we all had to come up with to do so ... which turned out to be the “testing” of everything first ... We all Learned a LOT and seems nobody has built a Foamie yet that didn’t work or they didn’t like .... Everybody seems to be Very Happy ... and to think , all this time not one Foamie has been blown off a high bridge by a passing 747 Jumbo Jet ... yet anyway ...

[atahoekid]

Those who say Nay ! We’ve had our share eh , and it was a good thing too ... first the Fun of proving them Wrong ... second the thought provoking ways we all had to come up with to do so ... which turned out to be the “testing” of everything first ... We all Learned a LOT and seems nobody has built a Foamie yet that didn’t work or they didn’t like .... Everybody seems to be Very Happy ... and to think , all this time not one Foamie has been blown off a high bridge by a passing 747 Jumbo Jet ... yet anyway ...

I'm sure we've not even heard from many naysayers. Plenty who've started reading and just turned around and left, never to return and be enlightened. Probably quite a few who've read the topic title and never even ventured in. Oh well, their loss. If I ever decide to build another (and get permission from "she who must be obeyed") it will definitely be a Foamie. Without a doubt.... If I do build again it is because I'm looking for another project not because I don't like the Road Foamie

[eaglesdare]

Those who say Nay ! We’ve had our share eh , and it was a good thing too ... first the Fun of proving them Wrong ... second the thought provoking ways we all had to come up with to do so ... which turned out to be the “testing” of everything first ... We all Learned a LOT and seems nobody has built a Foamie yet that didn’t work or they didn’t like .... Everybody seems to be Very Happy ... and to think , all this time not one Foamie has been blown off a high bridge by a passing 747 Jumbo Jet ... yet anyway ...

[GPW]

Just sayin’ , if all this had Not worked out it would have been evident by my absence ... I Love the first Foamie , and am most encouraged to build the second one ... With what all I’ve learned from you guys (and Ladies) success is assured !!!

[atahoekid]

Just sayin’ , if all this had Not worked out it would have been evident by my absence ... I Love the first Foamie , and am most encouraged to build the second one ... With what all I’ve learned from you guys (and Ladies) success is assured !!!

I second that!!!!

[Ned B]

hey foamies...

some of us are just on the sidelines for reasons Other than wood vs foam. and I'm simply cheering on all of you pioneers until I get my build going (hoping for next summer).

[bonnie]

Just sayin’ , if all this had Not worked out it would have been evident by my absence ... I Love the first Foamie , and am most encouraged to build the second one ... With what all I’ve learned from you guys (and Ladies) success is assured !!!

I second that!!!!

I'll third it. The whole idea is so neat. I'm still plugging away.