Hybrid Foamie: Wild Wanderer in Foam-now with sketches
Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2012 2:37 pmWelcome to my Build thread... the first section was written when I had all of the good intentions of building a trailer to haul my photo gear for a former job (really former, as in 4 employers ago...) My situation has changed in a Huge way, so I'm re-titling the thread. Some of the info in the first section is still applicable, so I'm going to simply put a redirect link to the New stuff here... and update the title.
Link to the restart on page 3: viewtopic.php?f=55&t=50718&p=1005478#p1005471
Hi gang,
I had a thread started about a project I'm going to start in a couple of weeks.
I'm a traveling photographer, meaning I go, set up a studio on site and do portraits (currently). This means I haul a Lot of gear with me:
That is a 'complete' studio set up for my employer; Lifetouch. The only items not in that pile that I carry were a cart/dolly which folds down pretty compactly, three posing stools and a 40" plastic tote.
Here's a shot of what my SUV looks like (older set of equipment)
I currently haul all of this gear around with me in my SUV, And while that's been acceptable, it means that when I'm home on weekends, we have to either all cram in around my gear, or unload all or part of it into the house to use the SUV as a family.
That's the 'studio storage' part of the equation, storing that much gear when I'm on the road.
I'm also a former full time RV'er, I lived out of a 27' 5th wheel by Shadowcruiser, which looked very much like this:
That's obviously a much larger trailer than normally found on here, but it is relevant to this thread.
I'm going to try and find either a HF or similar trailer, or a used and abused popup to salvage a frame from, and build a Foamie that will have ample storage for all of that equipment, as well as a place for me to grab some shut eye on my way home from a shoot if I so choose. I could simply get a small cargo trailer and use that for the gear, but what's the fun in that, when I can build something that I can use for my own purposes as well.
My plan is to have the 'gear' live in the basement, underneath the sleeping quarters. which will give me a shorter trailer length wise, albeit a taller one. My Rendeszvous is a relatively tall TV with a hefty 3500 lb tow capacity. I won't be getting anywhere near that with my intended design, using foam for the walls and so forth, but I'll be putting brakes on the trailer and a controller in the SUV as I expect it will top out over 1000 lbs when loaded, and I definitely prefer for the trailer to pull its weight when braking is required.
Sketch once I get to that point, but, think approximately 2' high by 4' wide x 5' or so long storage area for the photo gear accessible by a hatch out back , plus a 3' or so space up front for a pull out galley/cooler space at the nose (side door). Above that, i'm planning to put a sleeper only space, with just a couple of shelves for phone, a small set of speakers and the like. One person (wife says she's too claustrophobic) only... I'll do a triangular panel pop top with windows in that section only so that only when I'm actually sleeping in it, will it look like a 'camper', otherwise, just a home built cargo trailer. I'll put a fantastic roof fan in for ventilation, as well as a single deep discharge battery (charged from the vehicle). If I'm in a campground, I'll have a minimal 120v system as well, just a power strip with an extension cord for 120v lights. otherwise, I'll just have a minimal set of 'LEDs or rv style 12v lights.
How does that relate to the shadow cruiser? That nose on the cruiser did a fine job of cutting into the wind behind the pickup I used back then, i'm planning on incorporating a similar nose cone to help with aerodynamics. I figure that building that out of foam will be 'simple', and since i'll be using the 'canvas over foam' method, I'll simply glue up the nose cone and shape it with my woodworking tools.
Link to the restart on page 3: viewtopic.php?f=55&t=50718&p=1005478#p1005471
Hi gang,
I had a thread started about a project I'm going to start in a couple of weeks.
I'm a traveling photographer, meaning I go, set up a studio on site and do portraits (currently). This means I haul a Lot of gear with me:
That is a 'complete' studio set up for my employer; Lifetouch. The only items not in that pile that I carry were a cart/dolly which folds down pretty compactly, three posing stools and a 40" plastic tote.
Here's a shot of what my SUV looks like (older set of equipment)
I currently haul all of this gear around with me in my SUV, And while that's been acceptable, it means that when I'm home on weekends, we have to either all cram in around my gear, or unload all or part of it into the house to use the SUV as a family.
That's the 'studio storage' part of the equation, storing that much gear when I'm on the road.
I'm also a former full time RV'er, I lived out of a 27' 5th wheel by Shadowcruiser, which looked very much like this:
That's obviously a much larger trailer than normally found on here, but it is relevant to this thread.
I'm going to try and find either a HF or similar trailer, or a used and abused popup to salvage a frame from, and build a Foamie that will have ample storage for all of that equipment, as well as a place for me to grab some shut eye on my way home from a shoot if I so choose. I could simply get a small cargo trailer and use that for the gear, but what's the fun in that, when I can build something that I can use for my own purposes as well.
My plan is to have the 'gear' live in the basement, underneath the sleeping quarters. which will give me a shorter trailer length wise, albeit a taller one. My Rendeszvous is a relatively tall TV with a hefty 3500 lb tow capacity. I won't be getting anywhere near that with my intended design, using foam for the walls and so forth, but I'll be putting brakes on the trailer and a controller in the SUV as I expect it will top out over 1000 lbs when loaded, and I definitely prefer for the trailer to pull its weight when braking is required.
Sketch once I get to that point, but, think approximately 2' high by 4' wide x 5' or so long storage area for the photo gear accessible by a hatch out back , plus a 3' or so space up front for a pull out galley/cooler space at the nose (side door). Above that, i'm planning to put a sleeper only space, with just a couple of shelves for phone, a small set of speakers and the like. One person (wife says she's too claustrophobic) only... I'll do a triangular panel pop top with windows in that section only so that only when I'm actually sleeping in it, will it look like a 'camper', otherwise, just a home built cargo trailer. I'll put a fantastic roof fan in for ventilation, as well as a single deep discharge battery (charged from the vehicle). If I'm in a campground, I'll have a minimal 120v system as well, just a power strip with an extension cord for 120v lights. otherwise, I'll just have a minimal set of 'LEDs or rv style 12v lights.
How does that relate to the shadow cruiser? That nose on the cruiser did a fine job of cutting into the wind behind the pickup I used back then, i'm planning on incorporating a similar nose cone to help with aerodynamics. I figure that building that out of foam will be 'simple', and since i'll be using the 'canvas over foam' method, I'll simply glue up the nose cone and shape it with my woodworking tools.
The nose is similar to your RV and will allow it to be built on an 8’ trailer but be longer inside (TARDIS ) 
