At least 6'5" inch foamy standy?

[richard.forbes]

Hi all, I'm new to the forum (and to travel trailers in general), but I've been extremely impressed by how active and engaged your forum members are. I've been seeing teardrop trailers around for the last year, and have finally decided to take the plunge towards building my own travel trailer (though I'm more in the market for a standy). I've been looking over the Wanderer 10 Standy, but I'm curious about increasing the height - I'm 6'5" - and making it out of foam.

I have a few questions though:

Would increasing the standing room dramatically affect the weight and/or design?

And if I were to build the Wanderer out of foam, how would I need to change the design? I think I read somewhere in this forum that foamy standies might be a bit vulnerable to high winds?

Thanks for this wonderful resource!

[GPW]

1. Not really much ...
2.   Foamies are simpler build , changes would be to adapt to the new material ... and ALL trailers are subject to high crosswinds ... Generally one does not tow such a vehicle in high winds , or if encountered , the vehicle is towed to a shelter or wind block ( leeward side of a building ) or simply parked with the front Facing towards the wind ... it’s most streamlined position.
To make you feel better , so far in recorded foamie history , only one trailer has been blown over, it was built tall but very narrow and was in a terrible cross wind ... Damage was, the trailer coupler in the front was bent a bit ( repairable) and the Foamie cabin had a very tiny scuff in one corner , a 10 min . fix ...
3. We are here to help !!!

I’m sure our other members have something more significant to say ... but one thing , you might want to read the BIG thread “Thrifty Alternatives “ to see what this is all about (optional , but enlightening)

[GPW]

...and don’t believe everything you read in the General discussion ( too many self appointed experts ) ... My FoamStream is 8’ tall and is unaffected by crosswinds .... by design ... here in the Foam world , we TEST Everything , just to make sure ...

[TheOtherSean]

And don't believe everything you read in this forum here - too many people have been posting after sampling the "ballast".

[Don L.]

Hi Richard,

I am building foam standy with 2" thick xps foam, canvas glued on with titebond ll. I have been taking pics along the way but don't have time to get them on the forum here. I plan to.

In answer to your question, I feel the higher I go the more I try to be aware of the weight, keeping the heavier materials low and light the upper stuff. I will have a cabinet on each side floor to ceiling basically and that is made to stiffen the the walls on each side. Also all the interior trim and ledgers, seats and bunk and bed are built with the idea that they stiffen the structure.

My trailer chassis has a central rectangular area where I attched the floor to the bottom of the frame in order to reduce the overall height. All the parts around the dropped floor (cabinets, bed, dinette ) are on top of the frame. The dropped floor only save me 3-1/2" in overall height but I think it helps. I think the total height is 84'' , I'll have to double check.

I feel like the size I am building pushes the limits of foam structure strength , it has no interior frame like GPW's foam stream. in counts on the interior trim to add bracing. Mine is 78" wide outside , 125" long at the floor level and grows in length at each end to almost 144".

Don

[GPW]

Like Don said , there are things to consider when building taller ... Having a WIDE trailer is one. Our tall FoamStream is built on a Boat trailer ,with a wider tire stance than the diminutive Harbor Freight offerings ...
Also like Don said , the weight distribution ,not front and back as when towing , but UP and Down ... The more weight LOWER , the better , which is really Easy with Foam , because it’s so light ... Walls , cabinets , shelves, even roof braces all can be made from foam ... Coolers (hopefully full) , furniture , gear , (your cast iron collection ) all goes on the floor . Keeping the weight low ... OR, using one of the LOW built “carry on” trailers , which cuts the floor height down considerably , thereby lowering the concentrated weight too.
Also , our FoamStream has a rounded top which allows the winds to blow smoothly over the top rather than trying to blow it over ... We’ve even been through some horrendous storms here , Very Windy , where we observed the trailer out the house window , and it wasn’t even moving ... Our tall box-like Jayco rocked annoyingly in the wind...even with the little stabilizers out .

Stance , weight distribution, and design all contribute to more (or less) stability in a crosswind .

And despite the obstructive ramblings of the few naysayers who manage to straggle in to our Happy little community solely to create havoc , everything here has been well tested in the shop , on the road , and at the camp ground. Don’t believe me . Ask anybody !!! ... We take our Foam trailer building Very Seriously !!!

[GPW]

And , probably Most Important , whenever operating (towing) any trailer , boat , lawn tractor , whatever... There are times when you should NOT be out on the road , much less towing anything ... Logic and Sanity must prevail !!! Bad weather , stay Home !!! I think of our trailers (all of them) like a sailboat .... There are days when you don’t want to go sailing !!! But...if caught in bad weather , you can always either find a building to shelter behind, or just try to face the tow vehicle and trailer INTO the direction of the wind.
Good Sense , good judgement and safety .... That’s what’s important ...