Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I've been looking at Scamps and Bolers lately, and wondered if anyone knows of a foamie build that is similar to this type of tiny standy? I can see there would be obvious challenges in cleanly making the curved body lines. The roof corners at least would be a challenge in foam, but might be handily done in fiberglass over a mold. The part I can't wrap my head around is how the side walls could be done, since they aren't straight vertical, but rather curved out a bit. Have to kerf the foam like crazy, and how would it be supported? Wood frame? Just the interior cabinets? Any thoughts on this?

The Scamps, Casitas, and other "egg" fiberglass trailers can easily have compound curves because they are "sprayed" into a female mold. These molds are quite expensive to make, and not very practical for a one-off trailer. Also, the resultant skin isn't very thick and would be floppy if not structurally reinforced in some way (the compound curves help, but these trailers almost always have interior bulkheads that reinforce the shape and support the roof (usually found between the rear dinette/bed and the rest of the trailer, and another bulkhead farther forward).
A foamie is a different beast, since each wall is quite stiff on its own due to the thick core and the strong skins on either side of it. A useful by-product is the insulation value of that foam--about R5 to R6 per inch. The Scamps and Casitas have some thin insulation glued onto the inside, but it's only enough to prevent condensation, maybe R3 or so (do >not< believe the claims of R15 for the super-space age "reflective" bubble insulation that some use--it's just not true in this application).
It's not too hard to make 2D curves in a foamie (apply the skin to the outside, cut slots/kerfs in the foam to allow it to bend without crushing, then apply the inside surface to "lock in" the curve). A 3D "compound curve" that bends in two dimensions is a lot more complicated, and folks who do it typically use a special (and expensive) core material.
From a drag-reduction standpoint, just rounding off the square edges/corners of a flat-panel (or 2D curved) trailer can bring a significant improvement, and isn't hard to do with foam-core construction.
I like the "egg" campers a lot, but they have their particular shape as a by-product of their manufacturing method. To replicate it using a different method (foam sandwich composite construction), rather than use the inherent advantages of foam composite construction to make a trailer in a shape more fundamentally suited for it (flat and 2D curved panels) would probably be lot of work for not a lot of payoff. But, I'm sure it could be done.

Just my opinion!

Mark

You could have the side silhouette of a Scamp (a little bigger radius on the corners). The sides could be bent out in a curve with 2" radius on the corners. Doing that would be a lot more work but might have different look to it. Kind of a squared off scamp.
Or you could do a barrel shape with a curved front and back wall like a benroy.

Just to mention it: If we're talking about a standy with compound curved walls, every "line" that attaches to the walls (cabinet sides, floor of upper cabinets, window frames, door frames, bracing, various trim bits, etc) becomes a curve instead of a straight piece. That leads to lot of scribing and repeated fit testing. It's not a problem in a production trailer (Scamp, Casita, Parkliner, etc) because these custom-curved parts can be quickly made in the master molds (or, if wood, easily cut from a master template). In a homebuilt trailer each would need to be made by scribing and trial-error. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but some people might find that the fun of it fades fast.

Mark

Having a discussion with my friend at the guitar factory (NOGC) , He mentioned that he used to do holiday displays for the local shopping mall ... One of which was GIANT Easter Eggs , that were made of Foam ... then painted... some of these were extremely large , and these were made by a Custom Foam fabrication company in Arkansas.. He was saying they could make any shape you want and any size, and were reasonably priced . ... The thought immediately turned to a more trailer shaped “egg” with a skin applied ... That possibly could be one way of doing it ... Foam is a LOT easier to work with than anything else , especially making rounded shapes ..

That's a weirdly cool idea, actually. Another unusual trailer possibility I have stumbled across is these guys, weighing in at about 300 lbs. Throw one on a trailer, outfit the inside...I know, it's weird, but I'm weird, and I go with my strengths.

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/product/ ... aQodIxIEpQ

Talia62 wrote:That's a weirdly cool idea, actually. Another unusual trailer possibility I have stumbled across is these guys, weighing in at about 300 lbs. Throw one on a trailer, outfit the inside...I know, it's weird, but I'm weird, and I go with my strengths.

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/product/ ... aQodIxIEpQ

Funny that you brought this up. I was just looking at those about a week ago and thought the same thing.

There ya’ go . How easy is that ... Not that expensive either ... slap that on a trailer ... Instant Camper ... Pretty Modernist looking too ...

It might even be possible to decorate the inside in a comfortable manner... We immediately thought of filling in those Grooves in the side with spray foam , hardening that area and allowing attachment points on the inside for bed, shelf, etc. ?