Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[GPW]

Welcome aboard Mary !!! We would be more than happy to give you any help you require !!!

At my age , a galley is just a place to cook things I can’t eat anymore ...


Mel , you might want to pick some extra foam , just in case ... If somebody said free foam around here , there would a HUGE pile in my yard ... I can think of many other foamie projects ....

Ps . I haven’t seen Django (the Toad) for several days , but the other night he hopped across the floor during band practice .... So he’s still living inside ... I have noticed a lack of bugs around here lately ... so that’s Good .... last night there was another Toad that jumped into the house as I opened the back door ... At first , we thought it would keep the bugs out of the house , but then I realized it would just become another toy for the Cat ... So we shushed' him back outside ....

[eaglesdare]

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

2 yrs of flexing so far on mine and there is no problems. no leaking, no tearing, still good. i have my canvas right over the hinge/cut. tb2'd, primer and painted. easy! and it works.

[Wobbly Wheels]

Welcome Mary. Sorry to hear about your DIL - your 'foam tent' plan sounds like a perfectly pragmatic solution to the problem.
You've got 20 years on me, but my own short term memory is a notepad I always carry in my pocket, so you're not the only one by long stretch.

BTW, someone asked if you really needed the hatch

I was thinking the same thing. If you don't need it, it seems like more trouble than it's worth. If you want to be able to have more headroom, maybe check out the Winter Warrior design or a pop-up roof section.
Since it will be parked and camped in more than towed, would a standie be more comfortable ?
Mike (the boss here) is building a foam/canvas standie that keeps the TD shape.
Well,truth be told he's not really building it right now - the project is kind of MIA for lack of updates...

Just curious, what are you going to be towing it with ?

[atahoekid]

[quote="GPW"
Mel , you might want to pick some extra foam , just in case ... If somebody said free foam around here , there would a HUGE pile in my yard ... I can think of many other foamie projects .... [/quote]

I was thinking the same thing, but I've got no where to store it. Maybe I should clean up my garage (which I've needed to do since I finished the Road Foamie) and make some space for a few sheets. It might come in real handy one of these days and you gotta like the price...

[eaglesdare]

i went shopping today. guess what i bought? a pony! my grandaughter has started taking lessons and all she ever talks about is getting her own pony. unfortunately we'll be getting it on sunday, a little early for christmas but she'll love her. i'll get pics once she is here.

[Wolffarmer]

Now you need a foamy horse trailer.

Randy

[wagondude]

Now you need a foamy horse trailer.

Randy

Nah, A friend of mine posted a pic on facebook of her new calf that she hauled home in the back seat of her Suzuki Samari. Just put it in the back of the HHR.

[Mary C]

I think the first time out I will tow it with a chevy silvarado, Kris's truck. this is really tricky, and it is the timing thing, first Kriss truck is registered in Texas and they cant afford to register it in GA, $2200 in Ga sales tax. the truck needs to get new plates by March. They have tickets to fly Havent got a clue when they will go out of date? will check on that Monday. I want to go on a big out west trip in 2015 so now i have an old boat trailer that will do for now for getting out to Texas and back but I only want to make one build so with that in mind I want to put a galley for my Big trip but will probably not use it for the hosp trips but will be camping in it off and on. I will be pulling it with a 1992 Mitsubishi Eclipse. and I have a GMC truck if I can get the engine in it. I live on Social security and my late husbands retirement check. So IF things go like I plan I will be able to get the HF trailer in March. April get a hitch or vice or versa. take the TD off the boat trailer and put the boat back on. hopefully then I can pull it behind the Eclipse. and be ready for the May trip or June trip to Texas. and somewhere in there I will get to a couple of eastern gatherings. So I have decided to just use piano Hinge like the Eagle did, first attach it to the piece of wood at the end of the top portion and the end of the hatch then I will cover the hinge with a rubber seal or maybe extra dipped cloth, extra paint or something. I am just hoping if I build my little TD Joe will get interested and Build a larger one for him and Kris. Thanks for the warm reception. I do have some things Two donated Cotton sheets today. There are a couple of holes and I think a couple more and I will be in business. I can sew anything. I am going to try to get a pict on here by Monday. the old dead battery thing.

Now a pony? isnt the dog big enough? he he I have ridden horses for nearly 45 years, owned my own for 30 years, it has been a passion . a no getting into trouble passion. Get her a riding helmet and have her have it on around the horse. I have horror tales of friends getting hurt and the price may be high but the hospital bills are higher. Now you need to Build a Foamie stable for it, just tie it to the ground with rods driven deep. .....

Mary

[eaglesdare]

wagondude, the pony is not that small. actually only about 2 more inches and technically its a horse. i now have a 12h, 13h, and the new 14h ponies.

no there will not be any foamie anythings for them, hmmm actually i think i do have a foamie saddle out there . i already have a double run-in so i am good there.


thats the way to do it mary. just start collecting all your supplies. a kiss build like mine goes very fast.

[Wolffarmer]

Mary

Is there a bunch of local teardorp people around you? I was thinking do something like eagle did and have a teardrop raising some day.

Randy

[eaglesdare]

yes mary, look up on this site and the sister site tearjerkers, and maybe you could host a teardrop raising weekend.

[Mary C]

Thanks for the suggestion when I get to the stage of buying more materials and know I can get everything I will decide on that. Since I am home all day every day I can really get to work on it after Christmas. I am an old woodworker type person I have had a little experience doing a lot of things. I have remolded the house I am living in. I may not do things just like the books say but I had a lot of help in the advise dept. I am still at the figuring out stage with the TD so with that in Mind, somewhere in this forum somewhere someone has my inventive head turning, Could you build a base frame very light weight , Like out of the metal bed frames then have the square pvc complete the frame or build a complete PVC Trailer Frame and I wonder what the DOT says. I need to look for regulations. just thinking??? My son said "you" the forums on this TD thing Has completely caused me to think crazy! Yep I think I have too, but I love it!!! I have not been this connected in a long time! Thanks everyone for the support!

Mary

[mezmo]

Hi Mary C,

Welcome to the forum, first off.

Sorry to hear of your D-I-L's illness. I wish her total success in fighting
her disease.

Since you mentioned 'building' a "foam tent" in an earlier post, I thought I'd
post a basic design idea I've had [for a while] on on a tent shaped TD/TTT.
It's not very 'aero' but if it's size is within a tow vehicle's cross-sectional size
it can't be any worse than a usual squarish design.

Anyway, here it is with just a basic description included in the basic Paint
rendering I did of it. Click on the image for a larger view.



If you'd like more details feel free to ask.

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

[GPW]

QUOTE: “ I may not do things just like the books say ...” Mary, you’re certainly in the right place !!!! We didn’t like "the book" , so we’re all writing a new one ...

[eaglesdare]

i thought there was chatter in the big thread about pvc tubes and foam, where it was sort of decided it would not be a good idea? and i know from building my pause table that the pvc did not hold the gg. so if pvc were to be used, some other type of glue would need to be used, that would not eat/melt the foam. or then you might have to use screws and wood for hard spots. i don't know, but i have given up the thought of using pvc as a frame.