Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[eaglesdare]

saw cut? there was no cut there. that is the way it broke.

i thought it towed great. i have never towed anything before, well except that time last week i took it up to the cornermart and back. i actually got it up to 60 mph. and i only took 15 minutes longer to get home as compared to hubby's time getting there.

about that insulation. it was freezing inside when there was 1 child in the bunk and 2 adults on the bed. but put 3 in the bed and it was stifling. also, it was warmer than the outside, but a heater would have things much better.


we went to a tearjerkers gathing, so most of them had already known i was building the foamie, some of them actually took part in the build. but those that did not seemed to admire it. they said those canoes are made like that. but i think the few that did not take part, were surprised at how strong those walls were.

mine seats fold down in the car, main reason i got this one, so if i had to i could sleep in it. but that is where we had planned on 1 or 2 people to sleep. as it turned out only 1 slept in there.

this weekend though was a great test, because of the weather. i figured if it held up with the storm on saturday, all that rain and wind it was good to go in my book.
..sorry for the lack of pics, but it was so cold and wet, we did not get many pics at all. we have a planned trip in june. so hopefully weather will be better. i really hope that i don't have to wait to june for the next trip though.

[eaglesdare]

[quote="GPW"]


Eagle , i've been "slack" ... My friend came over today to help , but we ended up going to get Sushi. instead .. but we did talk about it ...
quote]

i guess talking about it counts.

[eaglesdare]

Cool beans Eagle

Does look like a foamy will need plenty of ventilation for warmer weather and lots of warm bodies in it. While the heat keeping abilities sound like a liability in warm weather might actually be a plus. If kept sealed up in the heat might not warm up as much. And once the sun goes down the fact that there is less mass could cool off inside quicker, with ventilation of course.

Congrates on the maiden voyage. Lots of people was watching your back

Randy

thanks so much. the maiden voyage was a success. the weather not so much.

i have fans for warmer weather. but will have to think about a/c.

[Wolffarmer]

In my more conventional 4X8 TD I have slept solo to 12 degrees and was comfortable. Well it was about 50 inside but that is pretty normal for me in the winter at home. I would imagine yours should be much better insulated than mine. I have 1 inch in the walls and about 1.5 in the top. No top vent, a pretty good sized mulitpane window and home made door.

Randy

[eaglesdare]

In my more conventional 4X8 TD I have slept solo to 12 degrees and was comfortable. Well it was about 50 inside but that is pretty normal for me in the winter at home. I would imagine yours should be much better insulated than mine. I have 1 inch in the walls and about 1.5 in the top. No top vent, a pretty good sized mulitpane window and home made door.

Randy

i don't know what the temp was inside, outside 42. but even 50 is cold to me. i can tolerate 57 if its not windy and real sunny.

i do have a small windo air, that i used for the tent. i think i could set it up on that bunk and put some walls up on both sides of the a/c. i think that will work. of course i will try prior to any trips out with it.

[Wolffarmer]

At home in the winter I keep the temp about 60-61 while I am awake and turn it down to 50 or off at night.

Yes, I am a cheap psychotic grumpy old fart.

I do wear an insulated shirt over a regular shirt. Or a nice fuzzy bath robe.

Randy

[GPW]

Hmmm... for me 70F is Cold !!! So you already have an AC ...

Weird that wood broke like that ...

EAGLE , I'd just like to say a Big THANKS , for trusting me on this ... The plan was for me to test it out so the blame would be all on me ... But you did a SUPER job , and I'm sure the TD will provide many many years of camping enjoyment for you and your family ... !!! A Big WELL DONE !!!

[Miriam C.]

The foamy is a great idea, executed very well..
I do hope you will consider a build thread if you can reconstruct the pictures. You have done such a great job..

[eaglesdare]

Hmmm... for me 70F is Cold !!! So you already have an AC ...

Weird that wood broke like that ...

EAGLE , I'd just like to say a Big THANKS , for trusting me on this ... The plan was for me to test it out so the blame would be all on me ... But you did a SUPER job , and I'm sure the TD will provide many many years of camping enjoyment for you and your family ... !!! A Big WELL DONE !!!

i gave out thanks yous over on the tearjerkers site, not so sure i did that here.

thank you so very much gpw for the idea and encouragement. without this thread i would probably still be tenting or sleeping in the car. i really do love my teardrop. everyone is calling it "the foamie". wasn't too keen on the idea but it is what it is.

like i said if i had to do it again, i would precanvas the inside. and make sure things fit better and make it just a tad bit bigger. but most everything else would be done the same way.
..i did use the cinch straps. and i would probably always use them. that hatch just worries me especially since we don't really have it worked out yet.

but now the fun stuff starts, fixing it up to look pretty. i thought about the a/c thing last night before i fell fast asleep. i do think if i place the a/c on our "bunk" shelf and finish it off with a wall that will do just fine.

oh one major thing i would change. i would not have the flip up and out counter. i would make a door that flips down, or opens like a car door, open to the side. it is too hard for me to get down and under that counter to get to the storage. so until i can change it, only the permanent type things will go in there for the set up of camp. so i should only have to get in there at the begining and then not worry about it.

i am going to play some more out in my back yard with a set up. weather should be sort of nice today.

[eaglesdare]

The foamy is a great idea, executed very well..
I do hope you will consider a build thread if you can reconstruct the pictures. You have done such a great job..

thank you so much. coming from you that means a lot.
i know if i had taken more time to fix some bumps and dents, it would look much better. but nothing some crafting can't fix.

the foamie does work! for traveling though you do need to add some weight. and that works for me. the lighter the camper the more stuff i can add.

oh and i towed it with my hhr, only 1000 lb tow capacity. my car handled it fine. it has issues going up hills under normal situations, but even with towing the tear it still did great.

could we just copy off this thread from the pages that i started putting the frame together? is there an easy way of just copy and pasting to a build thread?

i would hate to cut this thread off, because this one really is important, it started it all, so i think final products should be kept here. but i can also see a build thread on its own, because more people might see it, give others some ideas. this is one of those i think should be kept in two places.

[GPW]

Eagle ... That , and the fact this thread has become TOO LONG for most folks to read... Took a "while" to get to the build...
The honor is all yours !!! So if you'd be so good as to start a build thread that would be terrific ... I'm sure folks are long tired of listening to me and my strange ideas babble on and on ...

[eaglesdare]

Eagle ... That , and the fact this thread has become TOO LONG for most folks to read... Took a "while" to get to the build...
The honor is all yours !!! So if you'd be so good as to start a build thread that would be terrific ... I'm sure folks are long tired of listening to me and my strange ideas babble on and on ...

but your strange ideas and babbling on is what `got me where i am today. `keep those babbling ideas!

i will work on a build thead i guess. ``hmm maybe you should start one also? of course you need to start your build first!!!!!!! just kidding, i know you have the pieces cut out.

my puter is starting to act up again. i see some weird symbols being inserted. `

[CARS]

Great job Eagle. Glad you and the "Foamy" had a great, safe trip even if it was a little "damp".

phpBB forums must not have the ability to copy one post. Other forums I am on are Vbulletin and each post is numbered. You can click and copy that number and paste it to another thread.

It will take some time, but a build thread IS in order!! You did a great job.

[Miriam C.]

I absolutely agree that this thread should be maintained. Good stuff here!

If I move the build parts they will go away from this thread. And it might be too big to move from....The board has limits I think.

I can take pictures from here and copy to another place. You could start a build thread, I could put the pictures in and you could comment from there...

[eaglesdare]

Great job Eagle. Glad you and the "Foamy" had a great, safe trip even if it was a little "damp".

phpBB forums must not have the ability to copy one post. Other forums I am on are Vbulletin and each post is numbered. You can click and copy that number and paste it to another thread.

It will take some time, but a build thread IS in order!! You did a great job.

`

thank you so much! we went to french creek in elverson pa. they are now calling it drench creek. very fitting however.