Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[Jack B.]

Of course you realize the flaw in your logic don't you? If you have a well appointed foamy, do you really need a garage? Or the house it's attached to? Or is that just the latent hermit in me coming out again?

Nothing like a string of questions without statements to follow, don't you agree?

Jack???

[GPW]

Kinda’ makes you wonder ... do we have more than we need ?

[Wobbly Wheels]

Kinda’ makes you wonder ... do we have more than we need ?

Says the guy with a yard full of trailers...:poke:

[GPW]

I second the WARNING posted in Big Mike’s thread ^ ... IT IS ADDICTIVE ... Your humble narrator is "hooked like a Fish" !!!

[Mary C]

I must be hooked too I just bought another trailer.

ADDICTED!!! is right. I know, me a girl, who woulda thunk!!!

Mary C.

[Bogo]

It's fun designing and making stuff.

[atahoekid]

I'm thinking of going BIG next time. A fifth wheel Foamie. I found several frames on Craig's list. Some as little as $600 I'm sold on foam as a light weight and durable material. Using it as core material for SIP panels makes a ton of sense to me. A few structural timbers properly placed, hard points for mounting things like lights and connections and proper framing for doors and windows makes for a strong structure. So how many sheets of 2" insulation come on a pallet? I know it doesn't fit the traditional term of thrifty but think of how much less expensive than a conventional build and how much longer lasting than a commercial unit...

[GPW]

Mel, seeing the prices of the commercial units , and knowing of their questionable reliability , that seems like a very Good idea !!! Don’t bother asking about a pallet of foam , especially at Loew’s or HD ... We found a small supplier here that offered a serious discount with a quantity purchase, which HD or L did not ... When questioned , Loew’s merely multiplied the number of sheets on a pallet by the Retail price , and added shipping too .... RIDICULOUS !!!

[atahoekid]

GPW, I will keep that in mind when I go looking around for the foam. If the build requires a pallet of it, I'll contact a local insulation company. I would think they're more willing to work with the average guy that the big Orange or the big Blue. I also guess that there wouldn't be fifth wheel frames floating around if the units built on top of them lasted. They got torn down because the building methods or materials don't hold up to or prevent water intrusion. Hence, naked frames... Good for me! However, reality dictates that this will be a couple years in the future. In the meanwhile, lots of figuring, sketching and planning

[GPW]

Mel, the FS was started a couple years ago ... plenty of time for endless drawings, plans , gathering materials (on the cheap ) and general trailer thinking and discussion ... And if it weren’t for all the good people here , I’d still be in that phase... testing , experimenting , and just generally talking about it with others , has given us a better insight into Foamie construction techniques ... BIG THANKS Everybody ... !!!

Take your time , savor the exciting Thrill of Anticipation , because once it’s finished , it’s time to move on and build something else, eh ... Isn’t it “the nature” of a builder to make things ??? The real Fun is the journey , not the destination ...

Ps. we know about those commercial units ...

[GPW]

..... and ... BTW, what’s the advantage of a 5th wheeler ??? Seems to take up a lot of room in the back of the old pickup huh ?

RE: commercial units ... The wife told me about one of her acquaintances that bought a $285K coach , with all the usual “stuff" they manage to cram into those beasts ... they had a flat tire on the road , and haven’t used it in 2 years ... Not very THRIFTY eh ... (some people ... )

[Mary C]

Take your time , savor the exciting Thrill of Anticipation , because once it’s finished , it’s time to move on and build something else, eh ... Isn’t it “the nature” of a builder to make things ??? The real Fun is the journey , not the destination ...

I seem to not listen as GPW you have said that before, so I will work to finish the one I am building but I want to wire the other one for lights..............................OK before you scold it will wait....... I will finish this one. But I can plan the new one.

Mary C.

[GPW]

Mary no worries eh !! I’ve already started planning another one ..
My friends are now saying , I’ll just sell this one and build another .... Not Really !!! Schmaybe' sell #1 Foamie (G.I.Jane) ... but not the FS ... Never enough Foamie’s ???

[Wobbly Wheels]

Hehe....multiple builds ?

Mine started out to serve as a trailer for my wife and I to camp in and also serve as a fish/hunt rig for me and a buddy. I've gradually come to the realization that a smaller trailer like a TD is a better idea for hunting and fishing since all we really need is a secure place for food and a place to crash. We're usually out of camp before the sun comes up and back in pretty near dark so we don't need much and I'd prefer a smaller footprint. Being able to bury a smaller trailer in the bushes at one of my 'spots' is pretty appealing too and that's not so easy to do with a trailer that's over 7' tall and 13' long.
So, I'm about half done the outer shell and I'm already thinking about the next one, though I would be prepared to sell this one if it doesn't get used enough and keep the smaller one for me.

Then I lucked into a (free !) slipper-sprung boat trailer axle in decent shape.


And GPW, you'll appreciate this after cutting down your foam for the FS...
I got a bunch of 24"X48" dock billet (55lb foam) - 18 lineal feet of it...144 cu ft...about 8K lbs of bouyancy and about $2k MSRP...also free
Whatever I do with it, I still have to rip the foam into 2'X2' billets to store it. At this point the as-yet-undetermined craft will probably start out as a 16'X20' floating platform for a wall tent that will eventually sport a small cabin. Because we have such steep rocky shorelines here (think: fjords), floating cabins have been popular since the turn of the century. The places I like to fish have so few people that there are all kinds of floating 'squatters', but even to lease a Crown water lot it's only 500-1500/yr.


I made up a hotwire cutter using materials at hand but, after burning through a few of my wife's guitar strings, went with a sawzall with a 12" demo blade. If I keep the feed pressure low, it cuts great. If I lean on it, the blade heats up and the foam sticks in the valleys between the teeth. Still, cutting that 8' block in half lengthwise took three fully charged, (new in April) batteries...

[GPW]

W2, I thought it was COOL to find that axle , but that’s a real Foam find...Whoa !!! .. and most certainly is THRIFTY ...
We’ve had great luck using solid stainless steel fishing leader material for the hot wire .. tried everything else , but this seems to work ... all the foam for the FS was cut with one piece if the SS leader, and is still ready for more ... I believe it was around the 150# size ... not that big really , much like a G string (guitar ) maybe a little thicker ..