Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I did a search that came up blank, sorry if this has been discussed.

I was in the Corporate Office for Line-X today, and spotted a styrofoam cooler covered in Line-X bedliner spray and started asking questions.....

The standard cheap .99 cent foam cooler was coated inside and out with the liner spray...the Office manager pulled it down from the top of the cabinet, and stood on it.....

Do they have a SMOOTH finish bedliner spray? (yes) XS-100 (Colors available).

Waterproof, ding proof (well nearly).....

So WHY could you not just build the foamie and have it sprayed with a smooth finish Line-X top coat instead of using Canvas and epoxy?

basic Black bedliners are approx $400 colors $600......too expensive?

Personally, my concern with spraying directly on the foam (assuming the solvent is compatible, which apparently it is) would be cracking over time, especially at the seams in the foam.

When I get to that stage, I'm thinking about using a rocker guard on the skirting and underside, but it will be applied over epoxy/glass sheathing after the shell is fully glassed.

I would think that fiber reinforcement of some sort would be a must to take the flex loads on a trailer shell. Just guessing here - canvas would probably be a good substrate but I think the price is also a bit out there for this build method.

I'm playing hookey from work right now so I don't really have time to look it up, but is that a two-part (epoxy based?) product ?
Epoxy based floor paints have been kicked around in a thread in here somewhere.

Hi SuperTroll,

The canvas and glue a/o paint is 'older technology' that works for
water-proofing from what all I've read about it. Consider it an 'old
school' composite similar to the modern resin & fiberglass composite.
The fabric is an integral structural component in that it is what gives
strength to the areas covered - the glue/paint stiffens it and holds it in
place. Fiberglass cloth can be used too. In the Foamie TD area,
it is what holds the whole unit together - colloquially known
here as "The Sock Effect". The glue-fabric-glue or paint-fabric-paint layer
is/becomes a structural skin, albeit a very thin one.

A coat of paint or glue is only a coating. The fabric gives it the structural
strength in the final result. The smooth bed-liner sounds like a good
option for use as a smooth coating over whatever fabric & glue/paint
is used. I don't know if you could use it in place of the glue/paint
component or not - it'd depend on its working/drying time and your
patience in embedding the fabric in a base coat of bed-liner, smoothing it
out and then adding the top coat of it if that is usable/possible for making
a bed-liner & fabric composite.

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

I used to be a LINE-X Dealer. It is a Polyurethane/Poly-urea elastomer. It's tensile strength is amazing! It wouldn't crack along the edges at all. It is totally comapatible with a number of materials. We've sprayed fiberglass, wood, metal, foam, concrete, you name it. I wish I had been into this before I would have tried it. It is not recommended for holding water like in swimming pools but I have sprayed water boxes people used to hold water and make fountains for trade shows.

The only down side is that it is a bit heavy and a bit pricey. Cure time is all of about 60 seconds.... Yeah that's it. Due to the mix of part A hardener(same thing as G. Glue) and Part B Resin it reacts very quick and both sides are heated to 160 degrees before application which makes it react and cure in 60 seconds, walk on in 2 minutes.

If anyone has any questions let me know. My buddy is still running his dealership in NJ.

Now I don't doubt the quality of the product , but for what I paid Line-X to spray the pickup bed , i could have built an entire Foamie trailer ...

I completely agree! Like I said it's pricey and probably too heavy. FOr a bed liner there is none better. I'm looking at building a foamie myself but it's not what I would use either. I really like the plastic expoxy that hardens over the foam..... Just waiting for the sample to arrive.

Just thinking that would really Look nice on the Inside ... Filling , coloring all the walls with a uniform durable surface .... Think of it like texturing the walls in your home ... Probably overkill, heavy and Expensive ...