Cargo foamie to tow behind my slide-in truck camper?
Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 12:58 amI have a slide-in truck camper but need to carry more stuff than I can fit in the camper. Accordingly, I'd like to build a light weight enclosure for my Harbor Freight 4x8 1080lb trailer--preferably something I could remove to retain the flat bed utility, when needed. Keeping the grit off of my stuff when driving on gravel roads is my main objective (which is actually harder than keeping stuff dry! 
).
I need to build something simple (within the next month). I've been thinking that I might be able to build a tip-up teardrop foamie shell that would hinge at the front and latch down at the sides and back. It would be easy to seal from dust, grit, and the elements along the bottom against the HF trailer's 3/4" plywood floor. My cargo foamie would not require any doors or windows and would probably be light enough to be supported by gas spring struts on each side when open.
My main concern is making the unit stiff enough to be open at the bottom. I could build it with a fairly narrow perimeter frame at the bottom of the foamie "shell" to provide a sealing surface when closed and also additional stiffness at the bottom. The roof canvas could wrap longitudinally all the way around the front and back edges at the bottom perimeter frame and continue along the interior surface of the ceiling. Similarly, the canvas covering the exterior sides could wrap around the bottom of the side frame and up the interior walls. This canvas "monocoque" might provide the stiffness needed when unlatched and tipped open.
Now that I think about it, my "clamshell" teardrop foamie might actually have some advantages as a travel trailer too, being easy to build and seal from the elements. It would be nice to cut a couple of windows in it, of course for housing more than just cargo.
Any and all feedback about my idea would be most appreciated. Until Moho told me about it in the "Introduce Yourself" section of the forum, I'd never even heard of "foamie" construction!
-Cal
).
I need to build something simple (within the next month). I've been thinking that I might be able to build a tip-up teardrop foamie shell that would hinge at the front and latch down at the sides and back. It would be easy to seal from dust, grit, and the elements along the bottom against the HF trailer's 3/4" plywood floor. My cargo foamie would not require any doors or windows and would probably be light enough to be supported by gas spring struts on each side when open.
My main concern is making the unit stiff enough to be open at the bottom. I could build it with a fairly narrow perimeter frame at the bottom of the foamie "shell" to provide a sealing surface when closed and also additional stiffness at the bottom. The roof canvas could wrap longitudinally all the way around the front and back edges at the bottom perimeter frame and continue along the interior surface of the ceiling. Similarly, the canvas covering the exterior sides could wrap around the bottom of the side frame and up the interior walls. This canvas "monocoque" might provide the stiffness needed when unlatched and tipped open.
Now that I think about it, my "clamshell" teardrop foamie might actually have some advantages as a travel trailer too, being easy to build and seal from the elements. It would be nice to cut a couple of windows in it, of course for housing more than just cargo.
Any and all feedback about my idea would be most appreciated. Until Moho told me about it in the "Introduce Yourself" section of the forum, I'd never even heard of "foamie" construction!
-Cal
This could also be applied to the big lift up hatches on something like a Winter Warrior ... 
(Light !!!)