FoamStream...

[GPW]

Now comes the fun part .... Just counted 48 chipboard pieces to install ... Plus the front ... May have to get more chipboard ... and TB2 ... All pretty easy to do , but is just going to take some time ... Thinking we’ll do a little at a time so as not to become overburdened with this task ...

In order to become legal , all we have left to do is paint the bottom with the BNS (black nasty stuff) , add the mud flaps , wire the lights up , add some reflectors , and then we can take it to the SP and DMV... Guess these will become the priority jobs ... getting it road worthy, and a license plate ... The wife is in no rush for me to finish the interior ... that will just be a work in progress... She says it’s camp able as it is ... She even offered to help ...

Getting close .... about time too, as today starts the worst part of the season for potential EVAC .... been quiet so far (TG!!! )... the calm before the storm ...

Once we get through the “season" it will surely be a Joy to do trailer work in COOLER weather ... The long term plans are to do some suspension work , replacing the old rusty springs, new bushings and bolts , and yes , raise the height at least an inch or so ... Just so we’ll be confident carrying "the Ballast" ...

The mudflaps are nice ... Heavy duty , look to be 1/4” thick ... couldn’t beat the price ... these should last a good while , and do the job ...


W’, Add MORE insulation ??? Actually working inside it with just a fan on , it was much cooler inside than outside ... Pleasant really !!! AC should turn it into a Giant Beer cooler ... Just the way the wife likes it ...

[Wolffarmer]

Just finished getting caught up. Forum stopped sending updates, again. So I was a few days and a dozen pages behind

Looking good GPW. It is to big for my TV or planned use. I really like the rib construction. But they would take up a lot of space in a little trailer like I want. But....... could be used as a form and removed after the foam has been glued to each other. No, I probably will not be the first to do that idea.



Randy

[Cliffmeister2000]

Okay, just thinking about the intended purpose of this beautiful piece of art... EVAC. I know that it is important to be able to get out of Dodge (or New Orleans) when a big storm hits. But what about a little storm? At what point do you say, "We gotta go?" Just before that point is reached, say a Category 1 hurricane (and I have no idea where that point is for you, but there IS such a point), and you and the missus decide to stay home and wait it out, how do you keep the FoamStream from taking a trip to Oz? Or Shreveport?

[kudzu]

That sure does look good, GPW.

Hey, with all that space between the ribs...
You could add some.....
Insulation !!

[dodgedartgt]

AC should turn it into a Giant Beer cooler ...

Just the way I and the BEER like it also! he he he

Mike in FL

[Mary C]

Well you can take your time on the interior. I just threw in all my camping gear and left when going to CRA. I didn't have my TD even nearly finished and didn't have the inside finished at all. I am so impressed with your FS you are doing great.

Mary C.

[GPW]

Randy... I can still move it around my driveway with just the dolly , so it’s not that heavy ... 1000# is probably on the border for towing with a tiny car ... Ribless is possible ...

Mike ... nice and Cold .... especially in this Heat ...

Cliff ... it’s all a dice roll ... the worse the storm , the quicker we leave... Now with an EVAC machine , there’s no reason to stay even for a cat 1... they can be damaging too as we found out with Isaac ...

Shreveport ... I was raised in Shreveport ... some time ago when it was a sleepy little Baptist town across the river from Bossier City where all the action happened ... Now I hear it’s become Urban and has all the crime problems everybody else has ... Wonder when somebody’s going to do something about that ???

Mary , you are much braver than I am , but you did Great !!!

From now on , we’re going to do all work in the early morning or late afternoon ... Too HOT here for the old guy to be out all day long anymore ...

[Wolfgang92025]

GPW,

You have the Ac. just install it, turn it on and you are working in a big old ice chest.
Grab a couple of beers and a sandwich for lunch.
Make sure you bring your pillow for for the mandatory siesta.

[GPW]

WG, that sounds like a Great plan !!! Have to test the AC , make sure it’s working ...

[Wolfgang92025]

GPW,

You also have to make sure the beer stays cold. Could turn into a real disaster if you are not careful

[Wolffarmer]

Ok, forum is still not sending me updates. Even after I replied to two threads.

GPW. With my little TV I do not want to dragging a big sail behind me. I remember one time I was moving a railroad car with a good sized farm tractor into a good wind. It pulled me backwards. Set brakes and do it another day.

Randy

[wagondude]

Randy,

Another option would be to put the foam between the ribs and let the ribs define the inner and outer shape. They would just be imbedded in the foam and canvas. But for a smaller trailer, I doubt you would need the ribs at all.

[GPW]

Randy , please forgive me if I’ don’t get your point , or you don’t get mine ... I’ve towed large “sails “ before .... No Fun !!! Lots of gas burned, hard on the TV, stressful on the driver ... but the FoamStream ...Stream is short for STREAMLINE , meaning it’s Not going to be a “sail” ... but easy towing, more slippery in the relative wind ... and this is Not a coincidence... but was the first design consideration ... Not easy making a rounded shape like this , but the towing benefits and crosswind resistance should be evident as compared to a “Box"...

Now I could be full of (your word here) , but the towing will be the test eh ? ... The shakedown cruise is soon forthcoming ... So we’ll see if it’s fact or merely foolish speculation ... But from over 50 years of making airplanes , I’m betting on the FS as an easy tow .. That and it’s LIGHT !!! The last “sail" I towed was 4K # This is 25% of that .... that’s just gotta’ make a difference too ...

Ribless... once we figure out a “home" method for bending foam with heat ( not requiring large expensive tools and forms ), , many shapes should be possible ... No ribs necessary as the tubular shape is very strong by itself ... Once the foam is heat bent it stays in that shape ... All yet to be experimented with as yet on trailers ...the plane guys do it all the time ... ... Bottom line , the Less wood (especially plywood) the less problems later ...

Vinnie and I have been investigating large “heat blankets “ , thermostatically controlled to produce the exact heat for perfect foam bending and forming (~190F) .. seems the easiest way , and not That expensive, especially if constructing multiples ... I’m still being pressured here to start a “business” making small affordable EVAC trailers ... It would be quite popular here... everyone still Paranoid from Katrina!!! But it took a long time to get Retired , and I like staying retired ... May end up just be a “consultant” ... I could hang with that ...

[Cliffmeister2000]

I love the ribs! Great design element!

If you wanted to make ribless FoamStreams, You could build them on the ribs, then lift them off, using the ribs a a form. A lot of Fiberglas items are made this way.

[GPW]

Cliff , I kinda’ like the ribs too as a place to hang and attach many things ... “hard points” and holes all over the place ... and for we old people a good place to grab ahold to steady oneself ..

Just a couple of my thoughts about ribless... multiple thickness of foam , bent and the glued together as one ... 2-3 layers of 2” foam should not only be Very Very Strong , but keep the Beer COLD too with minimum effort ...