Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[eaglesdare]

Mary, I have thought about adding the rain gutter thingy you are talking about also. My thoughts on this are pretty simple: shape the foam, you can make a round one or a V , you know any shape you want. Personally I would cover with glue and canvas first, I would also paint first, especially if it a different color than the main piece. I would rough up as GPW suggests and attach the gutter to main piece with glue. I see no reason for cutting into the foam walls to add this type of gutter. That is just the way I would do this only.

[GPW]

We carved the rain diverter from scrap foam (two pieces ) shaped it as shown , covered it with scrap canvas and glued it to the bare canvas, clamped with a few long screws into the foam , caulked and painted ... Works Super , costs nothing really...

[GPW]

And how it’s shaped ... so the water has no place to go but the sharp edge out and away from the door ... It Works !!!

[Wolffarmer]

GPW, you are good. Couldn't you just part the clouds?

[GPW]

Sorry , not “that” good !!!

[Mary C]

After camping this past weekend I decided I do need the rain diverters. GPW I got the idea from you. I went back and looked at the pictures and watched a program on "how its made" and decided I could do it. I will post result on my build Grits. Thank you for all your input. I decided to use dowles to give it extra strength.

Mary C.

[GPW]

Mary, those dowels are a really GOOD idea !!! Living here, rain diverters are a necessity ... I’m trying to figure out how to make a really Big one for over my front door which is unprotected ... I think it’s called a porch ...

[bonnie]

After camping this past weekend I decided I do need the rain diverters. GPW I got the idea from you. I went back and looked at the pictures and watched a program on "how its made" and decided I could do it. I will post result on my build Grits. Thank you for all your input. I decided to use dowles to give it extra strength.

Mary C.

Mary, if you use KC's idea of cutting an X a little bigger than the dowel, just tape the flaps back. You can glue/spackle them back in place after the dowel is set. I will be doing something similar with the Nookery this spring and will be drilling a pilot hole in each dowel end before I glue them into the foam.

[KCStudly]

Something to be mindful of when using the dowel trick is that you will be screwing into end grain. The "hardwood" dowels at the big box stores just aren't that hard anymore. I used this trick in a none critical locations up front (can't remember at the moment if it was the key catcher ledger or the pillow light mount) and, while it worked, I was concerned about stripping the screws out.

[GPW]

KC, Bonnie, Mary, an old trick we used waaay back was to coat the screw with a cellulose cement (duco, Testors, Ambroid) and screw it in , then remove it and let the glue in the hole dry ... Then we put beeswax on the screw so it would go back in easy ... primitive , but it worked ... ( Do NOT get the cellulose glue on the Foam !!! ... )
Another trick is not to use a dowel , but make a plywood disk ... if you have a large hole saw , you can not only make a disk, but a fitting hole too ... And the glue trick is still a good idea ... The larger the disk , the greater the load it can bear ...

[tac422]

I get a little bit of water under the door of The Big Pink. So I was wondering about putting some kind of rain diverter on the bottom of the door.
Maybe a piece of "T" plastic molding, so the water running down the front of the door doesn't run underneath
Or a flat piece of plastic glued to the door only that goes across the bottom opening.
Does anybody else have this problem ? or a solution ?

[GPW]

Tilt the threshold (or make an angled shim )so the water runs down and outside ... like the bottom of any window (house) ... the water runs down , but it doesn’t run in ... My threshold in the FS is well caulked in , so no water comes in the bottom , and it’s been through many Heavy rains now .... no problamo’ ...

[Wobbly Wheels]

I actually made up a couple wood thresholds to suit my doors. I glassed mine but canvassing them ( or just painting) ought to work just as well. I'm on a work trip posting from my phone but when I get home this w/e I can give you measurements etc that I used.

I ripped two grooves in the bottom to give the glue more surface area.

[ghcoe]

I am planning on using window molding for my threshold. If you look you can find a plastic type that wont rot, then just caulk it in.

[tac422]

A threshold wasn't part of the original build....
Something to think about for next years modifications, I'd have to cut the bottom of the door to make room.
Almost time for camping season this year