Alternate skins ....

[GPW]

Mike,

The Mad Dash looks great! It is a very sleek profile and really flows well with your TV.

As for a hard skin- I have recently done some testing of my own after much prodding by GPW. Not that it comes as any surprise to anyone, he is right. The chipboard skins make for one heck of a lightweight, hard surface. I used a couple of desk calendar blotter backers and glued them with TB2 to each side of a piece of 1" foam. Very nice. I measured them with my micrometer and they came in at 0.040" thick. I have not yet applied a coat of Themix (which is what I call GPW's concoction of cheap poly and mineral spirits) so it will only get harder as the fibers on the outside get fixed in place.

Uline will deliver a pallet of 250 pcs of 40" x 48" x 0.050" for $363. If you can find one or two buddies to split that with, you have a lot of chipboard to play with for a pretty good price.

Woodsmith

Big Thanks to WoodSmith confirming an idea we tried .... We see some folks using other methods to produce a “Hard skin” as they call it ... From our readings here :
Aluminum ... tricky and expensive. We’ve seen good looking Aluminum skins ( high polish) and some not so good , dull and wrinkled. Any dent is a problem to repair . Sealing water out is it’s weak point.
Thin Plywood ... Heavy, fairly inexpensive , easy to work with in a wood-shop ... problem is that really no matter what you treat it with , if it gets water near it , it will rot and delaminate ... Covering it over with a canvas or suitable fabric , does help to seal the water out ...
Fiberglass... Expensive , Laborious , Toxic ... and Epoxy (foam compatible ) is Not very UV resistant , and prefers Epoxy paint for the most durable finish ... Rather than get into the methods , we’ll just let KC do that in his thread... He ’s just starting with a fiberglass skin , and it’s a great chance for everybody to see what’s involved ...
Canvas ... Inexpensive , Not difficult to apply , but will dent , but heals itself ... Well that’s already been well proven all over this end of the forum ...
Other stuff... yet to be determined... still searching...

We can’t wait to build a Foamie with a chipboard outer skin ... ( I guess WoodSmith and I are going to have to split that palette of chipboard ... at least we’ll have a lot to experiment with ... )

Ps. The chipboard inner skin and nose cards are still in the same shape as the day they were installed ... Waterproofed with TB2, gripper , and paint... Two years now ...

[tony.latham]

Aluminum ... tricky and expensive. We’ve seen good looking Aluminum skins ( high polish) and some not so good , dull and wrinkled. Any dent is a problem to repair . Sealing water out is it’s weak point.

I think you are being a bit hard on aluminum for a skin. I've skinned three teardrops with .040 aluminum and I would not describe it as tricky. Floating the stuff is straight forward. All of my teardrops are built using the sandwiched method (wood and foam). All of the exterior wood (under the aluminum) is sealed with two coats of Raka's thin epoxy that allows it to soak into the wood. The edges of the aluminum have a sealant under the trim.

I've owned aluminum clad teardrops for eleven years. No dents. No wrinkles. In fact I've never seen a wrinkle in a teardrop. From a UV standpoint, they are bulletproof. With the epoxy on the wood, water isn't a real issue.

We’ve seen good looking Aluminum skins ( high polish) and some not so good ,

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In my mind, nothing is more classic than an aluminum clad teardrop. (Ask any Airstreamer!)





And there are a few other characteristics that I really like.



Take the last pic with a grain of salt. It's humor. Stand down foamies! We're all teardroppers.

Tony

[GPW]

Thanks Tony , We always appreciate the learned opinions of other Foamie’ trailer builders...

[tony.latham]

Thanks Tony , We always appreciate the learned opinions of other Foamie’ trailer builders...

GPW:

Glad you didn't recoil on the foam-eating bear joke. They probably eat aluminum too, this time of year. It's called hyperphagia.

Happy builds and pleasant camps.

Tony

[GPW]

Bears ... Cute as Teddy , Scary in the flesh ( fur) ... hahahaha
Naa, no worries eh , with no rules , nobody gets offended , even at the bear jokes ....

[GPW]

.. now I just have to figure out what to build with 125 sheets of chipboard ....

[CharlieL]

what did you do to put the chipboard on? how about fitting them together? Lots of trimming and cutting/ "splain to me Lucy!

[RRJR]

Don't forget burlap as an "Alternative" skin.

My Race Trailer build is skinned in burlap glued onto the foam with $10 per gallon pva primer. The weave is filled in with fast setting drywall compound mixed together with thinned pva primer instead of water. The surface is smooth and hard as fiberglass.

The best part of using burlap was the price. $1.98 per yard of 48" wide 10oz burlap when on sale at my local fabric store. I was able to use a 40% off coupon at the same time. I bought 3 full bolts at once and had enough left over to make the cushions for the fold out beds.

[GPW]

Charlie , ( sorry I missed this ! ) The chipboard is fitted much like an aircraft is built , overlapping “plates” of chipboard ... or between ribs ( like the FS) just measure and cut to fit .... It is a little bit fiddly , but actually goes quickly ...

RR, yes ,we must agree with you ... Burlap is a great material , very Strong and certainly Thrifty ... Just thinking , burlap over chipboard would be incredibly strong and still not break the bank ...

[Talia62]

I mentioned this in the original thread, but I'll put it here too. What about a really heavy Kraft paper, like a 75-lb weight? It's cheap, it comes on nice big rolls and it's easy to find. Just another cellulose product that would give you a nice smooth skin.

[GPW]

T’, we’ve used Kraft paper on hot wired foam wings in the past .... Flew Great ... Painted up nicely too ... Couple layers , even better ... And if you put it on damp, it shrinks up nice and tight when it dries ... Once more proving there’s more than one way to skin a ... trailer ... ...

[Talia62]

T’, we’ve used Kraft paper on hot wired foam wings in the past .... Flew Great ... Painted up nicely too ... Couple layers , even better ... And if you put it on damp, it shrinks up nice and tight when it dries ... Once more proving there’s more than one way to skin a ... trailer ... ...

Good to know I'm not a lunatic. Well, at least in this respect. Looks like Staples carries a 60" wide by 475' long roll, 75# weight, for just under $70.

[Mary C]

I am using sheets for my next build. I found two hotels that are saving there old sheets for me. I should have a lot by the time I am ready. Free is best.

Mary C.

[GPW]

“ Good to know I'm not a lunatic. “ ... Actually , that spot is reserved for me ....
Skins , whether paper , board, or cloth , it’a all Cellulose based , and just a matter of making it thick enough to provide the strength you want ...

[RRJR]

I am using sheets for my next build. I found two hotels that are saving there old sheets for me. I should have a lot by the time I am ready. Free is best.

Mary C.

"Free" is my favorite word.

I got all of the foam, plywood and most of the paint for my build from the freebie section of craigslist. The foam and plywood had to be pieced together and the paint color wouldn't have been my first choice but the price was right.