Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[atahoekid]

What?!?!? Mike isn't finishing his Foamie?!?!?! Oh my!!!!! We really need to hear from Mike as to why... I'm hoping it is because of the "too many irons in the fire issue", and not an issue regarding build concerns of some sort. I'm perplexed...

[GPW]

Mel, according to Mike , he just got bored with it ...

[KCStudly]

Last I recall he was discouraged when the walls warped after pre-skinning one side in the flat, even though he preshrunk his canvas.

Or am I mistaking about what I recall?

[eaglesdare]

I believe he just lost interest. Nothing serious. Foamies are not for everyone.

[atahoekid]

His walls did warp even after a preshrink but I think he figured out why and more importantly how to avoid that problem in the future. Too bad he got bored with it. I think it had great potential! I hope whoever gets it from Mike let's us see how it looks during the rest of the build.

[GPW]

Well, time to stock up on the Gripper .... http://news.investors.com/business/1214 ... brands.htm .... while you can ...

[Jack B.]

Since I couldn't read most of the article I'm curious. Does it say anything about dropping the Gripper line? Or do we just assume that since every other buyout usually ends up in the best products of the purchased going away, the writing is on the wall. On a less desirable paint surface to boot.

Seen it happen so many times before. Just try buying a decent hanging toaster oven with a broil setting anymore. Can't do it. About 80% of my cooking is microwave and toaster oven, so don't get me started on the c-rap that is getting sold in the microwave oven arena either.

There's an interesting book called "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Self-Sufficient Living" that should be mandatory reading for anybody who's not given much thought to more than a couple inches below the surface. We all know things are going to pot but just seem to accept it. Planned obsolescence is not an accident. And non-repairable appliances aren't either. Profit over utility. Anyway, the book talks about how it's impossible for the individual to be self sufficient but how the need for the "planet" to be is absolute and goes into the little ways we could all make a difference. Not a cure all book, just a think a bit about it book.

Perhaps a foam and fabric tree house should be on a to-do list somewhere. Of course a foam trailer would be light enough to hoist up into the limbs and tied off . . .

Jack

[GPW]

Jack, you can’t get around “Vulture Capitalism” ... Greed has always been mankind’s worst disease ...and likely then reason for it’s demise ...

It all comes down to ... there’s one guy out there who will sell out ALL the rest of us , just so he can "own it all" ... and how many others just like that are there ... ?

[GPW]

Ans speaking of Thrifty !!! As you know , my HF trailer has turned a dull Pink .... not the most attractive , more like a dirty "Hello Kitty “ color ...

So at the store today , was in the paint dept . Compared prices and volumes and decided to get a quart of Gloss sunrise RED Rustoleum (8 USD) ... the brush on ... much Thriftier than the spray cans , and can just brush it where I want and it won’t get everywhere ... no masking tape to buy either ... Thrifty !!!
Should make a BIG improvement .... probably so much so, I’ll have to re-paint the Foamie all over ... About time too , as the hail marks are now pretty much healed by themselves ... A little redecoration ... Will use better paint this time (Wal Mart paint is crap) Thinking about “desert camo colors “ , lighter , less heat generated in the sun ...

[Jack B.]

Perhaps you should try some urban camo this time. Find one of those lads who decorates all those railroad freight cars and have him do your foamie. Park it on the street and watch it disappear/blend into the background. Visual noise.

70 - 80 degrees for a couple of days here and now there's a possible 6" - 9" of snow over the next 24 hours or so. Just when I got the Hammond A-100 home and started thinking about refinishing the old B and one of the Leslies in a nice ebony black. So all the other build/tinker projects get pushed a bit down the road as well. Oh well, guess there's time for the jumbo bag of pretzel M&M's and a couple Diet Cokes while I watch the yard turn white - AGAIN!

Jack

[GPW]

Funny , I had an A-100 and Leslie ... I got tired of oiling it ...
urban camo ... we’ve discussed this before .. Hmmm? Would be Cool , the wife , naturally, would hate it ... she barely tolerates the camo , unless we’re going through Mississippi where a good camo job is much appreciated ...

[Jack B.]

If you got tired of oiling a Hammond organ then you were probably oiling it too often and possibly too much.Heavy playing, maybe twice a year if it sits in one place. Moving it around you might need to go to four times a year. I hope you got what it was worth when you got rid of it. I have a friend selling an A with a Leslie set up for $2,500.00. They're the hot item right now. Easier to get a hold of than a B3 and almost always they've been much better taken care of, having been sold mostly for home use. Same guts, different furniture.

I'm thinking a foamy trailer built as a houseboat as well. Best of any camping situation. Structural framing would have to be beefed up wouldn't it? Might should stick to the tree house idea for now.

Jack

[GPW]

Jack, actually I traded it with a friend for a Nice old Gibson 175 , the organ needed much work , too much , so I traded back ... He paid (a lot) to have it fixed and it’s now in his Studio. It was Good sounding , when it worked ... I still have the guitar ...

[redveloce]

Has anyone thought of or tried only painted canvas stretched across large flat areas with foam framework around the edges only? I'm just pondering, and I know it would depend on your insulation requirements...

[GPW]

You mean like covered wagon style ... ? Seems entirely possible ...