Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[GPW]

Bonnie , we found Corroplast doesn’t hold up well in Sunlight ... after a couple years it gets brittle and decomposes ... Having made several RC planes from it , we’ve long abandoned it’s usage ... besides it’s difficult to glue ...

[redveloce]

Has anyone considered an ABS skin on their foam? I'm thinking something fairly thin, like 3/16". A 4x8 sheet from the local plastic place is around $36. It can be tough to glue, but it works pretty well if you scuff the surfaces. Also, material is similar enough that you may actually be able to chemically bond it to the foam. Would take some experimenting.

I've done quite a bit of playing with ABS. Its rediculously tough, easy to bend and mold with heat, and a wind deflector that I made held up just fine to UV exposure. It would even be relatively simple to vacuum form parts.

[Mary C]

Hi. I finally made it thru this thread YES, I read the whole thing too. I am aware no one knows me, but I have been reading almost constantly for a while now. Love the dogs and frog and I do know how you ladies feel about bridges, I freeze on a ladder on the second rung!!! Corwin C, Thanks for the balance lesson, I now understand the whole thing. Droid, I am an old BP fan used to shoot muskets with the Stone Mountain musket club in the 70's, Love the thought of cannon I will look into that!!!
I have a couple of questions, On page 223 Eagle mentioned hatch and I have read through her build thread too and I haven't found the answer. I need info on how to attach the hatch, a hinge, what type and what do I cover it with. how do integrate it with the cloth? How is it supported? What are the lines of stress when lifted? do I put it on first? last put wood there?
Are there pictures of the infamous foam boat build yall have mentioned?

I have decided for some family reasons I need to get my foam tent started earlier (Feb.) to make the explanation short, my daughter in law lives here in GA, she has cancer and has to go to MD Anderson in Houston every three months, her mother lives near the hospital but does not have any room for company (efficiency apt.) but she said laughingly but almost in tears we could pitch a tent. Well there is room in the parking area for a small TD so I said ok Here is an option we can take showers there. so you can guess my plan. We don't have the money for motel or hotel. It will take everything we have to get out there and back. I was planning to get new wheels for the old boat trailer for now and use it till after The first trip, then I will move it to another trailer. I am in the process of begging for Sheets and supplies from friends. I owe an apology to GPW but I was only answering his question, I thought. Being new and having to take care of Kris I don't have all the time in the world to read the entire forum and sometimes I miss things and at 62 sometimes I forget things, misread things, and read so fast I can be guilty of misinterpreting. I know I am probably the only one who has done this. so sorry please be forgiving with me, Does everyone feel this way? I feel like I am interrupting lovers. I know you do not know me but I know a bunch about you and your dogs and things that you have put on here. I am sorry to be familiar and I hope you will let me continue to be on here and give me some time to let you get to know me. I really need to build a teardrop I have some 1x4s that i have to cut down to 1x2s I am going to drill holes for dowels that I already have. My first purchase will be after Christmas (foam) I plan to make the walls 2 inch foam and will put channels for the 1x2 wood stabilizers and to provide ends for the shelves to sit on . I haven't decided on the floor or roof. ok I hope this lets you know I am serious and never having built a tear you will help when you can. I am trying now to get pictures on here so I will get some off my camera and share soon. Thank you goes to all of you for teaching me so much.

[bonnie]

Hi, Mary. Dive right in. The group is a fun one. You get extra credit for making it through the entire thread. I will be praying you and yours. A TD sound like just the ticket.

[eaglesdare]

oh mary, sorry to hear about your sister in law.
now as far as my build goes, i bought a hinge right at lowes mine is not the perfect choice, but it works and its been 2 yrs now. i covered the whole thing in the canvas, so the hinge is under that.
as you get your supplies and start your build i know the folks here will be more than happy to help you out along the way. and glenn aka gpw is great with pictures!

[Wolffarmer]

You read the whole thing? Where you only 60 when you started? ( I am 62 also )

I would consider if you really need a galley hatch for what you need to do right now. If you do decide on a hatch I really can't answer your questions as I am a "just build the dern thing " kind of guy. It might be best if you red the generic benroy plans for a fair idea of what is going on. Click up on "Design Resources" then the Gen. Benroy and it downloads a pdf. Of course if you have already done this please stop reading at the beginning of this sentence.

Randy

[wagondude]

Here is Rosey's boat: viewtopic.php?f=55&t=47250

Then there was the hybrid puddle duck racer : viewtopic.php?f=55&t=51622

If you check out Glen's (GPW) gallery, you will find an awsome painting he did of Rosey in her boat.

[Mary C]

Randy, I think I have read just about everything and yes I do have the benroy build and yes I did start reading about a..... a..........a six months ago. I too am sorta a do it as you need and if whats in your head doesn't work out then try something else. I have been having this crazy conversation, I guess I just never saw how Eagle did her hinge and in my head I kept trying to canvas, place wood then no, ok then start over ............ I know somewhere I read about fire hose maybe she used that. Then I thought about using some heavy rubber mmmmmmm how do I attach over canvas I am still thinking. someday!!!
Eagle, it is my daughter in law she is 36 years old , she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 07 she is still fighting. Thank you for your prayers she needs them. I got some great news after I wrote . She received two buddy passes and is planning to fly for her first trip and her husband (my son) is flying out too as her care taker. Now I will have some time, a couple of extra months. anyway I will start with cutting the 1x4s I can do that. I am still curios about the points of stress when lifting up on the hatch? Is it downward? towards the front? towards the back. I wish I could draw I think I will try and put it on paper.
to everyone: Thank you for all your prayers.
Now about those dogs they are precious and smart!!
OH Wagondude, thank you so much!!!! indeed ya'll are so great!!!

[Wolffarmer]

If you plan on making your hatch from foam I would put a strip of wood at the hinge point, both hatch and rear of roof and use the hurricane hinge.

Hurricane hinge

A bit pricey for your needs maybe. Grant, the owner is a good guy and I have camped with him a bunch. If that is to much then a piano hinge and a rubber barrier of some kind over that. I have used Grant's hinge on my first trailer and have #2 hinge for already for the next trailer. I would not try to fasten a hinge directly to foam. One could make the canvas go over the cut and use that for a hinge but it would start to leak with the constant flexing of the canvas/paint.

Randy

[KCStudly]

...sometimes I forget things, misread things, and read so fast I can be guilty of misinterpreting. I know I am probably the only one who has done this. so sorry please be forgiving with me, Does everyone feel this way?

Is that sarcasm? You're going to fit in just fine here. Welcome to the madness. Like you said, the best thing you can do is read and plan, and read some more. Be realistic in your plan on how much you will be able to get done in a certain amount of time... it always takes much longer than it seems it should because there is always more to it than it would seem. Same thing with the cost estimates; plan on 20 to 30 percent more.

Hope everything works out for you and your family.

[Mary C]

KC really I am the only one!!!!! everyone else is so smart and can do things without any problems. being 62 my brain has been doped up and vinagarized to the point I can't remember OH OH OH OH shoot, cant remember the conditions name: crs and truly I am getting too old to do anything. My children almost have me in the grave. and think my obsession with teardrops and now foamies is crazy. My son saw this small trailer and has decided to get one of those $17,000. "but mom it is totally air conditioned and has a furnace and it is real nice, inside potty too and stand up shower. I am in the process of making an appt. to see one". And I am crazy? I will build mine. another reason to hurry up and wait till I can have money to buy the Foam. thanks for the welcome!!!

[atahoekid]

Hot news ...free foam .... posted in RCGroups “ I have a large quantity of white styrofoam to dispose of. Sizes vary, but are approximately 20" x 96", all 4" thick Price.. FREE. Makes great wings and floats. Material is in the Carson. City, Nevada area. You must pick it up. Call Rick at 801-891-2860. “

Free Foam ...how Thrifty is that ...

I guess timing is everything.... When I needed foam I could barely find it to buy, now that I'm done, there's some to be had for free and really close to where I live. In fact, I'm down there on business at least a half dozen times a month. Oh well...

[atahoekid]

Mary C Welcome Aboard. You are absolutely not the only who reads things and forgets. I read the thread when it was about 220 some pages and I even tried writing stuff down and still forgot some of the great stuff I read. All of us here will gladly give you answers to your questions. One of the good things about building with foam is that there seem to be many ways to accomplish things. No absolute right way, No absolute wrong way, just the way that works for you. I did a few things in my own manner, some worked, some didn't but it all worked out in the end.

BTW, someone asked if you really needed the hatch and I agree with the question. If your going to use it only as "temporary quarters" and don't need a galley, don't build a hatch. I stayed away from the hatch altogether and squared off the end and have plain double doors as access to my galley. Part of my rationale was the hatch issue, the other reason was that I think the curvature of the back steals valuable space from the galley. Just my opinion. Again, do what's right for you.

[Wolffarmer]

I could sure use that foam but it is a bit far for me to drive. And my pickup is an 89 Mazda short bed. It probably would not all make it home. My long bed Datsun needs some Datsun helper and I can't afford that right now.

Tahoe. I kind of like your idea of a galley. Would make building double doors a lot easier for fold down tables something like I have now and which I really like for the way I camp.



The table on the left door had not been installed yet in this picture. Having the galley hatch and the double door makes for a hard chore to keep the dust out. I have gotten it to a reasonable level now. But after a few hundred miles of gravel, dirt road I will have a lot to clean up. Not that I am complaining as that is the kind of traveling I really like. Once I went from Southern Idaho to the north Rim of the Grand Canyon and took about 200 miles of gravel/dirt/rock road.

Randy

[Bogo]

I know I'll forget. I take notes on the computer and print them out every so often. A good word processor like the one in LibreOffice (https://www.libreoffice.org/, free but please donate) goes along ways towards retaining the information I find. The spreadsheet is great for keeping track of expenses, totaling up weights, and balancing a load, etc..