Very SIMPLE Foamie’ ...

[Ned B]

http://youtu.be/VlBUPtKIoHo


link to a brief view of the trailer with the jet... from 1983 "Octopussy"

[razzer]

Ah now I remember it better . Of course I had to watch the rest again too .

[mezmo]

Oh, a BD-5 !

[GPW]

Back to SIMPLE , I talk to a lot of folks that don’t have much time for building (family , kids, work) ... so keeping it Very Simple is the best alternative ... No Jets , no horsetails ... It takes a good bit of thought to make something Simple , but more time thinking and planning makes the assembly very quick and easy ... And naturally , the hardest thing to do is avoiding the temptation to make it more complicated ...

[Ned B]

What?! A Foamie thread that veers OT? Can't happen!

[GPW]

Ned, just trying to keep it simple ... figured if we cut to the chase , got the Simple part out of the way , then nobody’d have to read 500 pages to build a really Simple camper ...
If I were not already totally committed to the FoamStream , I’d be making one of these ^ for sure...

Ps. another decorating idea ... you could always paint it to look like one of these...

[KCStudly]

That's funny. Build simple and make it look complex. I bet you could fool a lot of people with that.

[atahoekid]

Man, I'm liking that! I think it looks real slick, almost (forgive the word) commercial in looks. Of course, we know through empirical evidence that the foam version would far outlast the commercial version of this... Bet someone could sell some of these

[GPW]

Funny , we do want it to look Commercial , but not be all the problems the commercial units are...
Soap Box : After much looking around at commercial RVs and trailers , I really can’t summon up much respect for the industry (none) !!! Hastily built products , using the cheapest (worst) materials , it actually seems they design these to be “high maintenance” , bringing in a shed load of profit after the sale ... Just a huge Money pit !!! grrrrrrrr!!!! It’s good for "the Economy" .... their economy !
After two years ,coincidentally right after the warranty ran out , my “commercial” trailer developed all sorts of problems , requiring a Huge expenditure at the dealers, who did shoddy work for 125USD/ hr. , using the same c**p materials ... AARGH!!! Just to make the needed repairs would have cost half the purchase price of the unit itself... That and it was waay too big for this Old guy to be climbing all over and perform the monthly inspections and maintenance. ... I took a HUGE loss and sold mine ...

My little Foamie , has done remarkably much better than the commercial unit ... Requiring NO expenditure after the initial build...

With a little planning , it would be easy to add a small awning , and several small windows , chrome / trim stripes, access hatches (feed doors) .. a commercial entry door would be the finishing touch , but not really necessary ....all the little things that make it “appear” to be store bought!!! Or you could just paint it to look like that ... You’d have to get real close to tell the difference ... Decorate it like you want ... anything’s possible ...

Just sayin , even a Very SIMPLE trailer like the design represented above ^ , can be decorated to look like anything , or something specific ... like 10 million other commercial trailers out there ...

[GPW]

Just mentally going over this subject .... for building a simple Basic 5’X8’ Foamie trailer
Parts list :
2 sheets of 4’X8’ flooring ... 3/4” thick ... Plywood , OSB, whatever...
6 sheets 2” X 4’X8’ foam
5’X 8’ trailer
~ 175 sq. ft. of covering (your choice )
foam adhesive
fabric adhesive
Exterior Gloss Latex paint ... your choice of color (s)
carriage bolts to attach the floor to the trailer
Door hinges and hdwe.
Roof vent (optional) (note: some type of vent is necessary)
window(s)

That’s about it huh ? Reason I chose a 5’ wide is a 4’ turns out to be just a little too cozy for me, the wife , the dog , the cat and the Toad ... ... @ 44” wide inside ... The 5’ gives you 56” wide inside , much better for two people ... JMHO (and because I’m LARGE) 6’ wide is easily doable and only takes a bit more materials and ingenuity , depending what trailer you’re putting it on ... That gives you 68” wide inside and lots of floor space... even in an 8’ long trailer (54 sq. ft. )
So build what you need , but build Simple !!! ... at first anyway !!!

[kudzu]

So the main body of the camper is 8' long plus there's the 3' nose making the entire thing 11' long. Right? It can be 6' wide. Could the frame for this could be built on a 5'x8' trailer?

[GPW]

Sure ... we’re building the 79” wide FoamStream on a 56” wide trailer ... (see FoamStream)

[Wolffarmer]

I have some of Atomic Zombie's plans. My idea is to build recumbent trike, geared real low to haul my fat a*^ around Burning Man. Or maybe I will just thumb rides on art cars/mutant vehicles.

[GPW]

AZ really is a pioneer eh ... he got me started with the idea of recycling old bicycle parts into new choppers ... here’s a couple pics of the efforts ...

[GPW]

more...