Bread-loaf build thread

[GPW]

Dale , Yeah , same as you’d use with home construction ... You’d caulk your windows and then paint over them ... Best thing ... read the tube ... I always do , and even then sometime get the wrong stuff... Cloth bandage sounds good , but might “telegraph” through the paint... maybe? More tests !!!

Fred , there’s always been a boat trailer or two around... Then the first TD (pictured) 6’wide X 12’ long X 5’ high .. Air conditioned , big galley with a “Beer door" to the interior cabin ... even had “running boards” ... Much heavier than a Foamie but towed real nice ! Then the Foamie #1 (the prototype) , the Jayco (big mistake ), then the All steel cargo trailer , which was too small for camping but has now become my wood storage and garden shed, and then the FoamStream ... that’s all ... but I’m always working toward another build ... I just like the designing building part really ... and am only an EVAC/Bugout camper ...

This Foamie business all started at RCGroups where I’ve spent the last 12 years building and designing Foamie RC model planes . http://www.rcgroups.com/foamies-scratchbuilt-428/ Naturally it spilled over into trailers (logical huh ? ) I blame those guys ...

[Fred Trout]

Yeah, years of experience reshape our lives. I love to camp and have since I could drive.

Vivid memories of my tent filling with an inch of water during a late nite t-storm because it was pitched in the wrong spot (in a puddle hole). But we still camped for another week on that trip !! Finally got too old for a tent and bought a cheap class A motorhome and used that pig for 5 years. Now I want something more nimble and cheaper. Hope this teardrop fits the bill - it certainly will be cheaper to build than to buy.

Temps just broke 50 - time to go to work -- later all.

[KCStudly]

Polyester body filler, such as Bondo brand, does not take TB2 well in my experience. It will bead up on application and if you do get it to coat has a tendency to peel off later.

I was warned and found it to be true.

[Fred Trout]

Finished the canvas glue-job on the other inside of the TD. Still wet but came out smooth, about as good as the other side. Still uses a lot of TBII, so the paint alternative would be nice but see below. Did some overlap while wet - messy but very easy to get it sticking. Getting the margin even is difficult - seems like that would be easier if you could get close to see what you are doing. Mine came out all crooked because that's just what we do here at rancho rapido muy bueno

One note of caution - when I lifted the canvas to stretch out bubbles, some small bits of spackle came with it

OK, test of TB II vs Latex Paint - my conclusion is that the differences are very minor. TBII sticks a little better, is a little stiffer but you can decide from the pix below as well as I can. Not scientific but seems to me paint works "good enough". Hammer blow was one moderate, one strong blow with a framing hammer.

[Fred Trout]

Continuing the test, I tried to peel back the canvas - this really is more about "micro"-adhesion - when you consider the size of the glue surface, nothing is going to break all the glue surface like this, but it was not hard to peel back either treatment.

[ghcoe]

Going by your pictures it looks like the TBII peeled back from the foam. The paint looks like it stuck good to the foam, but was weaker in holding the canvas. Maybe paint on the foam and then TBII will be a good combo...

[Fred Trout]

Going by your pictures it looks like the TBII peeled back from the foam. The paint looks like it stuck good to the foam, but was weaker in holding the canvas. Maybe paint on the foam and then TBII will be a good combo...

George, I think that may be because I did not give the TB II enough curing time (the rancho muy rapido effect) - only waited 20 hours or so for that versus about 12 hours longer for the paint. Actually, the TB II was much harder to pull off and alot more foam stuck to it but it was all small particles. Only patches of the paint pulled up foam. The both stuck, but the TB II was much stiffer as you can see from the lack of complete hammer impressions.

All in all, 5 bux for canvas sticky is cheaper. I think a thinned coat of TB II on top days after the paint cures on both sides would be good for that bump resistance and not be so expensive, so I will try that and call it good. Will be putting on a coat of foundation sealer on top of that, then sand it smooth, then my final latex enamel exterior type paint color of choice. I want the road dust to be easy to clean off cuz I plan to put plenty on it

Tomorrow I trim panel edges and do the trial assembly of sides, bulkhead, & back roof panel & run rough 12v wiring. Love the hand held dry-wall router for wiring raceway prep even if it is a little messy. Then I can just spackle it all up and apply the canvas & nobody is the wiser - worked real well on this last side.

[pchast]

When I used paint I first painted the canvas with a roller and folded it in half, paint to paint like wallpapering. Then I rolled paint onto the foam. Finally I smoothed the canvas over the foam.

When done this way the canvas 'soaked up' some of the paint and got tacky. Everything stuck really well and the canvas I had shrunk snug, maybe as much as 1/4 inch per foot. I used untreated 10. oz duck from big duck canvas... overstock on sale.

Your results may vary.

[Fred Trout]

Pete, I ran this 9x12 HF canvas tarp thru the washer. No shrinkage noted at all after application but you do get puckering along the seams after the wash. Since I cut out the seams, and muscled the wrinkles out, it was all good. Would be a bad thing to try to use the canvas with the seam included.

I like putting a thick coat on the foam and then smoothing the canvas out with my hands. It really does not appear to matter all that much as long as you end up without big bubbles. I think spraying some water and use of the squeegee process works well enough. The paint is somewhat easier to apply and cover with canvas and gets dry to the touch faster.

[GPW]

It’s all about what works for You and what you’re comfortable using... The expense is a minor consideration considering the outcome and longevity of the final product.

[Fred Trout]

Yay ! Got the peices temporarily assembled. Boo ! made one of my typical errors - routed the slot for the bulkhead the wrong way. Yay ! It's foam, so I can fix it with great stuff and sand paper

[GPW]

OK, NICE !!! ... looking good !!!

[Fred Trout]

Just concluded that I can use the mistaken router dado to run the wiring for the fantastic fan & interior LED light fixture, also the galley light fixture. Serendipity

Battery will reside in bottom of galley compartment.

[KCStudly]

Taking shape now!

[Fred Trout]

It's always exciting when the walls of the build go up. Makes you visually focus on where the TD is going.

I found it so useful to do the temp assembly that I plan to do it again soon and sit in contemplation of possible build pathways. Navel gazing I suppose.

Today I got the foam mattress cut with an electric knife into it's folding pieces (see GrassHopper pic above). Crooked cuts, of course, but hey, it's foam so we can buff that out

Had to take a break for real life as well, since my little min-pin needed her rabies vaccination. So off to the vet at their convenience even though I was in the middle of trimming canvas edges Tomorrow is another day; should have it temp assembled by the end of the day again and will leave it that way until Monday morning while I sit and look and think about it.