Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[Jack B.]

If it looks okay with a magnifying glass, looks good from 6', looks great rolling down the road AND DOESN'T LEAK - what more could one ask?

Non-gloss paints also don't show the slight imperfections nearly so much. And if you go with a textured paint or do the sponge technique with two colors that are almost the same color it can look planned, which of course it is.

Our house is a bit over 100 years old and to say the least, a lot of the original plaster work is not attractive. So in the master bedroom (that's a joke in a hundred year old house by the way) we went with a medium light base color (grey), then took big hole sponges and daubed on paint of two slightly different colors (a bit darker greys) in a random way. Dappled is as good as any descriptive. Then we added a third light but complementary highlight color (a dusty rose - where do they get these names?) as highlights, but not too much. Covers a lot of repaired cracks, ripples and "I canna' defy the laws of physics Captain" 93 degree right angles. It's been 12-15 years and we've not gotten tired of it yet. And as an added bonus, you can always lie on the bed and try finding "cloud shapes" in the patterns.

Jack

[GPW]

Block filler works Great , used it on my house (to fill the blocks ) ... fills, waterproofs , and I didn’t need near as much paint as if I’d painted straight over the blocks ... It’s just a very thick primer ...

Now then , the original intent of a Foamie trailer was to provide a simple ,light, inexpensive , quick to build , insulated , camping trailer ... and we found just painted canvas looks pretty good ... and has held up extremely well so far , mine living outside ... It was never intended to look like a shiny fiberglass or Aluminum trailer ... or cost as much as one either ... Just a simple affordable camping trailer , that’s all ...
Some of you may have noticed on my first Foamie model , I put a wild paint job on it and nobody even bothered to look at the weave ... It’s like serving up a plain birthday cake , without the icing and candles , it’s just a cake ... The decorations make it a “celebration". A cool paint job always distracts from any minor “imperfections” ...looks good too One only has to look at all the excellent Foamies already built to see the effect of a good paint job ...

[ghcoe]

We all know how smooth the wood canvas canoes look. They are starting to experiment with different ways to achieve the smooth look because many of the traditional ways are getting harder and more expensive to do due to environment concerns with those products. I have read that the bock fill seems to work well for them. No long term results as of yet thought. I have also read where the block fill they are using is extremely sticky which I would think would work well for attaching canvas. It is suppose to stick to glass and ceramic tile well so I think foam would be no problem.

Also, there is a mix they are playing with. It is a mix of latex paint, latex caulking, and light weight spackle. They apply it by spreading the mix onto the canvas with latex gloves on. With their latex covered hands they can work the mix into the weave and smooth it out to get it close to where they want it. Usually two coats are applied one to cover and fill the weave and then sand to smooth it. The next to cover any still exposed weave and fair it up. One person mentioned that you should sand the following day because he let his set up a week and found it quite hard to sand once it set up for that long. Some are painting now with alkyd enamel thinned 12% with mineral spirits to speed painting. These canoes look smooth as glass, so maybe we could use some of these techniques on a foamie.

[GPW]

Hey George , that sounds Cool .... Another mixture to try ... I’ve been long citing the use of canvas coverings on canoes as a basis for Foamie invention. An age old accepted practice on canoes ... still questioned today for Foamie trailers ... Theoretically you should be able to put a new car finish on a canvas, but it’s going to be a lot of priming and block sanding , and delicate in the long run over foam ... It may be good to aim somewhere in the middle between raw canvas , and “car show” ... from a practical standpoint ... It should look Good from say 3 feet away .... No sticking your nose on it and examining the weave...

[atahoekid]

While planning the Road Foamie, I had considered the glass smooth surface that canoe builders were getting and I really wanted one, but I also realized that a TTT has a good amount more surface area than a canoe which meant a whole lot of time, money and patience. At the time they were using the old fashioned method or there were those who used the same mix that Rosie used on her foamy boat. I opted for fiberglass and glad I did but if I decide to build another one and time or money isn't an issue I'd be tempted to try for a glass smooth surface. Maybe block filler is worth a go... I'm building a tongue box for the Road Foamie, maybe it's worth the experiment.

[Ned B]

just a thought here, but I think of the whole 'smooth' finish thing as just another way to refine a Foamie. It isn't required, but it would make it 'nicer' to the naysayers. That being said, I'm not too worried about that aspect of the build process yet.

[GPW]

Just sayin’ .... again ... The whole idea is a Basic , inexpensive , mobile camping shelter... it can be as simple as that , or as complicated as you want to make it ... There’s No rules , other than safe building practices.

Now then ... The big difference in an outer finish , depends on the “Skin” material !!! For a really smooth skin , the material should be smooth to start .. Like that fiberglass panel that Steve in Texas used ... That’s Smooth!!!! ... Plywood skins would make a good base for a smooth finish , but must be “treated” (like any other wood too ) to prevent the dreaded ROT , which has caused the demise of many a good trailer over the last 80+ years ... Masonite , chipboard, or even a heavy paper would be a good surface for smoothness ... You have to start smooth to end smooth ... !!!
Making a smooth canvas finish , the underlying foam must be block sanded , leveled and prepped PERFECTLY smooth, Before the canvas goes on .. Then a fine grained canvas can be applied to the foam .... If you want , you can get fine Artist canvas that already is perfectly smooth on one side ... all the filling , sanding , etc. already professionally done ... but it’s PRICY !!!

For me , I kinda’ like the idea of Simple and Cheap , no maintenance, and with a flash paint job distracting the viewer, no one will notice the “weave” or other supposed “ minor imperfections” ... If the naysayers don’t like it they can just Bugger Off !!!

Build what you want to ... you won’t be Happy unless you do !!!

[eaglesdare]

Just got back from my first trip this year. Had a great time. Yes, of course it rained. We were calling for some nasty weather, including some bad winds. So we tied the ez-up down to the foamie, and it all was still standing the next morning. We did have to sleep thru most of the night with the doors opened (it was way too hot inside with doors closed). After the storm, it was down right COLD! Glad I brought the heater. Enjoyed all the new stuff I had gotten last week. Really love my new stove. And I see where a few places are coming apart (foam from wood) so I will be doing some more repairs soon. I think I will add a few screws in with the gorilla glue, that should do the trick. I do believe I have a couple pics, but very few. I really was not taking many this trip.
Met another tear droper from this site I believe, (I am going to look her up), her name, if I remember correctly, is Elizabeth C or Z (sorry, but I will look it up and make corrections), but wowzers, what a camper they have! it was the talk of the town. I do belive the tires on theirs were bigger than my whole foamie!
Once I find the cord to download pics I will post the one or two I have.

[GPW]

Eagle , glad you had Fun !!! Ventilation is important eh ? ... what keeps the heat out , also keeps it in ...

[KCStudly]

Glad you had a nice outing, Eagle, despite the weather.

I'd like to hear more about the foam/wood separation and see a pic of that. What do you think the issue was; lack of glue; road stress, vibration, etc.; or something else???

Sounds minor and should be easily repaired, but inquiring minds would like to know.

[eaglesdare]

ok, I will go out tomorrow (if its nice outside) and take some pics. I would have no idea why this would happen except that maybe glues don't last forever? This is the third season its been out on trips. Its been on many very bad pot holed roads, bumps, gravel ect, its been out in the cold, heat, snow, rain and wind. But I do agree, these should be easy fixes, just some glue and for added adhesion add some screws.

[KCStudly]

Can you describe the location and nature of the (well... I hesitate to call it a) problem?

[GPW]

Perhaps a stress area that needs to be reinforced ... ?

[eaglesdare]

[eaglesdare]

The first pic I had to tie the ex-up to the frame, we were expecting winds.