Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Just wonderin'


IDK I was just sittin here reading on the forum and thought of it. There's all those little papers and tiny papers etc.. even regular newspapers and coupon inserts. Thrifty

We discussed that a long time ago .... it’s called paper mache ... And since I’m personally Big on recycling... I do believe that would work just fine if applied thick enough ...
We have many Mardi Gras floats here made of paper mache and some are very old ... still parading ...

Ps . In the distant past we made a two story functioning waterfall from PM and it worked fine ... Paper glued over chicken wire ...

GPW wrote:We discussed that a long time ago .... it’s called paper mache ... And since I’m personally Big on recycling... I do believe that would work just fine if applied thick enough ...
We have many Mardi Gras floats here made of paper mache and some are very old ... still parading ...

Ps . In the distant past we made a two story functioning waterfall from PM and it worked fine ... Paper glued over chicken wire ...

paper mache - yes!

I remember doing alot of PM on chicken wire as a youngster,its amazing what you can create and how resilient it is.
Ive even seen some extremly onld paper mache masks in asia that are in great condition.
I see no reason why it wouldnt make a great surface but its like PMF where the protective layers of paint are all important

Make sure you use the chicken wire or all you'll have is a giant pinata!

Sharon, you may be on to something there ... How about incorporating “fiberglass chicken wire” or something similar , like fiberglass drywall tape or fabric ... Couple alternating layers should be pretty strong ...

I thought of trying kraft paper. You can get it on rolls pretty cheap. I'd lay down one layer with water based polyurethane, let that dry, lay down another layer at 90 degrees to the first and then a third layer parallel to the first. Should tough and pretty smooth.

Pmullen503 wrote:I thought of trying kraft paper. You can get it on rolls pretty cheap. I'd lay down one layer with water based polyurethane, let that dry, lay down another layer at 90 degrees to the first and then a third layer parallel to the first. Should tough and pretty smooth.

Would craft paper mache be even stronger? Though you'd end up using more & sacrifice the smooth surface.

I've covered foam model airplane wings with kraft paper and wbpu for years and it is smooth. You can buy kraft paper in weights from something like a grocery bag to very light weight. Kraft has better wet strength than newsprint. I apply it wet so that is important. It shrinks slightly which makes my wings stiffer but also makes it very smooth. I guess one could try some test panels to what surface is best. You may not want a perfectly smooth surface; it shows any defects in the underlying surface.

PM, I can’t agree with you MORE !!! The foam aircraft wing and their successes over the years was the basis for the idea of a Foamie trailer ... and they don’t have to fly ... ...

And from what we recall of a good many planes , a nice snappy paint job hides many sins from 10 feet away .... True !!! Funny People are so worried about the finish , but there’s one finish that hides it all ...

what about corrugated cardboard covered with paper mache? We made roman armor costumes out of it last year for Halloween and it was rock solid! We used a diluted mixture of titebond II glue to cover over the cardboard base and hide the seams. when the glue dried, you couldn't tell what it was made of and it was hard as a rock.

Once waterproofed with the mix ( the original use ) Corrugated cardboard is a great building material for “certain“ things ...
The cardboard Master ... www.feltondesignanddata.com/

There was even a complete camper made of corrugated cardboard, a big one, too, slept a family of 4 with two small children. I think it was a "down under" build, IIRC.

starleen2 wrote:what about corrugated cardboard covered with paper mache? We made roman armor costumes out of it last year for Halloween and it was rock solid! We used a diluted mixture of titebond II glue to cover over the cardboard base and hide the seams. when the glue dried, you couldn't tell what it was made of and it was hard as a rock.

ya that sounds good. the cardboard would add thickness a lot quicker than paper mache too. lots of sources around for cardboard too, stashes of cardboard slip sheets (pallet size) out there, etc.


mehhhh i posted it to see where it led. i kind of like the idea of using what I got and nontraditional possibilities are always interesting to me.

there's art, paint, canvas, clay, all sorts of stuff going on around our home. certainly there are lots of non-standard ways to put a camper together. im new to this camper scene and its long been a bucket list thing for me, just kind of now got to a point in life where were both free of anchors and can float around as we wish.

been long time tho one or both of us was whipping up some homemade plaster, or mixing up our own toothy paint for projects, thinking outside the box so to speak. the foam base is so easy, and i like it. and i bought the canvas tarps already for the first camper, but theres so many other ways to make it happen and if it ends up the way u hoped it would, well then thats great

QUOTE: “ thinking outside the box “ ... That’s the whole idea huh ? THINKING !!!