Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

So how would you suggest one build a foamie with a truly waterproof, easy clean interior. I want to be able to hose it out, primarily the floor but in the course I'd end up with water splashing on at least the lower walls. I know the foam itself would hold up to this I'd need some smooth surface for the walls. Am thinking whatever I use for the floor should come up on the walls a bit with a fold at the juncture of wall & floor. That would avoid a seam. To me, seams = future leaks. My idea is to have something like boat carpet I can roll up out of the way when hauling dirty &/or wet toys. Then roll the carpet out for camping. Carpet will end up getting dirty also but it could be pulled out & hosed off after the trip.

Does this make sense? Any ideas?

Sounds like you are planning some pretty rough use.

I would skin the inside in marine grade ply (in fact, that is what I am doing), add a generous radius at the bottom joint where the floor meets the wall (cove molding or filled epoxy formed to an inside radius), and then lay fiberglass and epoxy over the whole thing (floor, walls and ceiling). Then cross your fingers.

I work at a pharmaceutical/food grade manufacturing facility and making anything truly wash down grade is always a challenge. You will need to minimize and seal all penetrations thru the waterproof barrier, make sure that everything runs to a drain (or out the back hatch when the tongue is raised) and provide lots of positive ventilation to dry things out.

IMHO, it is a bad idea to plan to hose it out. A bucket and sponge should be able to clean up anything that a dirt bike or quad can track in (...just my guess at what you plan on hauling), and would introduce a lot less moisture than a hose.

You're not planning on hauling livestock in a foamie are you? I sure hope not.

KC, you're probably right. Was thinking of those trailers & even some claims about the Honda Element interior. The floor of my Transit Connect doesn't really sweep or mop out easily. The texture seems to like to hold onto grit. A dirt bike is entirely possible though most often it is human powered bikes & trikes plus kayaks that would be hauled on trips. In between times we would use for general purpose stuff. Not planning on hauling the livestock, unless you want to count the Greyhounds. They're rather like having a herd of deer at times. Livestock related items like hay is not only possible but quite likely.

Am not up to considering fiberglass application. Will do more research on that but it looks so messy & itchy. So my best bet might be to seal any cracks as best I can & waterproof as much as practical. Then maybe I should have two different removable floor coverings. One of rubber or similar for the messy stuff plus the boat carpet. Guess it would make more sense to pull out a light liner & hose it off outside the trailer.

Sometimes it's good to have someone slap a bit of reality on me.

why not some type of vinyl flooring that would go up the wall a bit as well as covering the floor?

... or FRP sealed well at the joints?

FRP is a little itchy when you cut it with a skil saw (blade turned backwards and go slow to avoid chipping).

I will defer to your experience, Danny. The trick was taught to me by someone with a lot more experience installing FRP than I have.

The saw motor doesn't run backward so it is not a climbing cut. What it does do is prevent you from stuffing the saw so hard or fast that the panel wedges in the back cut of the tooth, stopping the saw and/or shattering the FRP (which I have seen and is very scary). My understanding is that it acts more like a friction cut grinding thru, rather than biting in and grabbing.

I guess I should go see how the OEM recommends their product be cut before I step in things any further.

How about an old rug remnant on the floor to catch all the dirt ....

I vote for the fiberglass/epoxy method. Make a nice big radius, and once you've figured out how to cut it straight (pull a cross thread and use that gap in the weave as your cut line), it really isn't too messy. It's just like painting in a lot of ways. Just remember to glove up, cover up anything you don't want drips on and work carefully at the edges. I think it's easier to spread with the black, thin foam rollers than any other method but to each their own.

Fiberglass cloth isn't itchy at all, in fact it feels quite silky, although I wouldn't want sheets out of the stuff. Doing as KC suggested (making a fiberglass "tub") would make it "waterproof" but would be expensive.

I also have to agree with Danny on reversing the saw blade ... very dangerous. There has to be a proper way to cut FRP (even though I don't know it). Perhaps there is a blade designed specifically for that task.

Just WAG-ing here - Would a masonary diamond type saw work ? Or
would the plastic part of the FRP gum that up ?

I did some looking around and there were various recommendations for cutting FRP:
tin snips (the cleanest and safest method, tho tedious for long cuts)
abrasive cutoff wheel in 90 deg grinder (w/ PPE ... messy)
razor knife score and break (tough... for small jobs)
plywood blade in skil saw (w/PPE... messy... can still chip)
jig saw (w/PPE... messy)
and another that I won't mention again.

Though the idea of a fiberglass tub in the trailer has a lot of appeal I still have strong reservations about trying it. Skinning the trailer with canvas sounds doable. Trying to work with fiberglass just sounds so much more intimidating. Cost seems rather high also, especially with dubious results. Its hard to feel enthusiastic about attempting that. Fear of the unknown, I guess.

GPW, carpet remnants are cheap & easy enough to acquire but we'd be dealing with dirty and likely often damp/wet carpet. Doesn't sound like fun trying to get it dry again & clean enough to prevent odors. We'll have enough odors when the dogs are along. Am I just being too pessimistic?

swampjeep, I had thought about vinyl. A solid sheet folded up at the walls, tub like, avoids the problem of seams except at corners. We could try it but am doubtful it would prove durable enough on it's own. Something else to serve as a removable liner might make it more functional.

Did a little reading on the FRP previously. Someone had mentioned using it to skin the interior walls, at least up to a certain height. For that purpose the cheap 4'x8'x1/8" sheets seemed somewhat affordable. Could I use that for flooring or some other type? Could I seal the seams with glue or silicone caulk or would I also need to use the molding used for shower walls? And the mention of itchiness. Ugh! I've got snips I could use for smaller cuts. Could I use our little, cordless, Dewalt circular (trim?) saw for larger cuts? It's got an approx 6.5" blade. Maybe I could use one of these blades?
Abrasive masonry blade # DW3509 http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/203150189
OSB/plywood blade http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/202035216
*edited* I used to be handy with a jigsaw. Dad's still got his that he never uses. Could steal... er, borrow it.

Many thanks for all the ideas!
Laura

I'd thought about FRP at one point. Someone else on this site used it, cut it with a powered saw of some sort without using any PPE and was miserable afterward. It seems the fiberglass shards got in his eyes and caused swelling and quite a bit of discomfort. Short of scoring and snapping, I can't think of any method of cutting the FRP that doesn't create a mess and require PPE

atahoekid wrote:Short of scoring and snapping, I can't think of any method of cutting the FRP that doesn't create a mess and require PPE

Well, that about kills my idea for the walls. I can do it outside but even so, if it's really that messy I'd likely be so miserable I'd regret it. Makes trying fiberglass more appealing, except for the price tag. Hmmm... how hard is FRP to score & snap?