Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[mezmo]

Wood's gonna have it's revenge GPW...

http://www.gizmag.com/wood-foam-insulation/31133/

I wonder if they'll make it non-biodegradable ?

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

[GPW]

Norm, we’ll have to Test it !!!

[atahoekid]

sounds like an eco-friendlier alternative IF you don't need to chop down trees to produce it. Technology is great!!! Let the testing begin!

[GPW]

And not to get too far away from Thrifty... We still believe that beaded foam is just fine for Foamie trailer building ... Much cheaper than the extruded foam ... comes in many weights and densities ... and we see it Everywhere... A Lot for FREE ... The other day driving down the street , saw a big slab of beaded foam discarded by the roadside ...and this is common ... Naturally , I would have stopped and “harvested” it , if I didn’t already have plenty of foam already stashed away ... (for the Next build )
“ Thrifty is , as Thrifty does ! “ It only takes a little looking around to find Very Thrifty materials for Foamie' construction... The best idea is to start “collecting” materials long before you start the build ... allowing plenty of time to search for "Thrifty Alternatives” ...

Ps... beaded foam glues GREAT with TB2 ... And actually Dries due to the slightly porous nature of the beaded foam ...

[atahoekid]

For some of us, (me, for example) initial thriftiness was not the issue but it was a long term consideration. I was more interested in using the best materials I could afford at the time but wanted to make sure it would last (no rot, no high maintenance). Other material and methods could be considered thrifty if it saves you from having to fix, rebuild, repair or replace your investment in time, effort and materials and gives you the outcome you desire. I am all for those who can gather materials from odd piles of stuff and build a great trailer and equally behind those who would find the newest in high tech (therefore more expensive) materials and apply them to their build. There's more than one way to skin this cat, um trailer, and they're all thrifty if used smartly! Here's to those of us thinking outside the wooden box!

[KCStudly]

[GPW]

OK, while we’ve always been an advocate of THRIFTY, I’ve never dismissed anyone’s idea of “Upgrading “ ... if they could afford it .... ( as long as it didn’t include plywood )

[atahoekid]

That seems to be a hard one for people to swallow... no exterior plywood We have proved that it isn't necessary but nonetheless there are those who still must stick to that convention. We advocate against plywood but if that's what someone wants to do, I guess all we can do is shrug our shoulders (and try to bite out our tongues when it does delaminate )

[GPW]

Mel, and it’s the plywood they choose to use .. That cheap 1/4" ply from the box stores ... delaminates if you breath on it ... Maybe not so bad if they used the Good ply , but then that would be Very EXPENSIVE !!!

[atahoekid]

If you're going to use plywood (especially if it's the cheap big box stuff) you've got to seal it thoroughly. Whether it's the mix or some commercially available product, it's more work than it's worth and we've seen what happens if it isn't done right... No wood exteriors for me !! If I had enough talent like Roly who makes beautiful trailers in wood, maybe. But I know my limits...

[Hardryder56]

408 pages but I am done.
Things that I have learned: Foam Rules!, most of us love and keep pets, paint will glue canvas to foam and wood, Foamlings come in all shapes and sizes, Woodheads don't believe in foam, lots of great designs which are adding to my troubles in finalizing the design of my foam slide in truck camper. Lots of great work done here and the index for this thread was a great idea.
So who do I see about getting my trophy?
Tom

[GPW]

There’s the Trophy line that forms over around the back of the luggage trailer ... Well Done Tom ... now you know as much as the rest of us !!!

[Hardryder56]

Thanks GP, through out the read I ran into a few places where I could have chimed in with a possible solution to someone's problem only to find the post was a year or more ago. Oops that would have been embarrassing. Now that I am all caught up I will add what little I know about stuff. Do a bit of wood working, have built a plywood boat that was covered in fiberglass/epoxy so I do know a bit about covering stuff and bending wood: microwave wet towels, fast and easy steam table. Might have to see if it will bend foam. Used to fly RC airplanes waaaay back in the day. On top of all that some of my motorcycle friends bestowed on me a patch proclaiming I am a "Cheap Old Bastard" so I love thrifty.
Best wishes to everyone on Saint Paddy's Day.
Tom

[kudzu]

... microwave wet towels, fast and easy steam table. Might have to see if it will bend foam.

Please do & let us know.

[Hardryder56]

Well a down and dirty experiment using the microwave oven to super heat wet towels disappointed me to say the least. It required over 10 minutes of microwave time to get the towels hot enough then I failed to let the heat work and I snapped the test piece in half. I ended up putting on half in the sink, put a towel on it, laid the other piece on it and layered on a hot towel and then poured boiling water on it. After about 5 minutes I proper one end of the test piece on the side of the sink and poured more boiling water on the towel covering it. After another 10 minutes or so I saw that the foam had taken on a curved shape.
When I built the wooded boat I had access to almost a commercial sized microwave which took a lot less time to heat the towels. I am thinking now that some form of heat strip would work as well to bend wide sheets of form or some kind of industrial oven to heat a whole sheet. But now we are no longer talking "thrifty"

I guess the proven methods of heat guns and kirfing are still the best way to go.
Tom