Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[bonnie]

Apologies , I couldn’t resist ...

That is really fun!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[linuxmanxxx]

Make the kitchen swivel so available inside or outside.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[GPW]

Bonnie , just thinking of another way to get to the groceries when the kitchen is inside ... So , how’s it going with your Galley ?


Steve , swivel ... that would be Cool eh ? Maybe 2 swivels , one from each side so the moment arm isnt so long ... With a false floor , you could even have a cantilever slide out table ... ?

[bonnie]

Plugging away. We have a week or so of really nice weather starting, so my hope is to get the windows and doors completed. Lots of small tasks left. Camping soon!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[GPW]

Good Luck !!! Please take some pictures for us

[bonnie]

Good Luck !!! Please take some pictures for us

Will do!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[rivernstream]

Change-O-Topic. I just heard about this glue.

Weldbond

Steve Ramsey of Wood Working for Mere Mortals. He says he has started to use it more and more. Anybody here have experience with it? Or has it been covered all ready and I was out to lunch?

Randy

I know this is an old post, but since I started reading about foamies and TBII it seemed to me the Weldbond would be the ideal solution. It's a pva glue, dries clear and is waterproof once dry, water clean up. I use it now pretty much exclusively for mosaics, stained glass mosaic on glass, and woodworking. I also use it 50/50 as a primer for sealing wood prior to mosaic.

I haven't tried it in this application, but plan to do a test.

This is one of my first posts, but I've been lurking. Restored a 56 Shasta but am ready to downsize and planning to do a grumman foamie hybrid with plywood skins on thin inside and inner roof. Debating about woody sides and fiberglass top or pmf top with fiberglass to join the sides and roof before the pmf for the rest of the roof. I would like to put in a stargazer window as well.

[GPW]

River’, we always glad to know how a particular product works for you !! Testing ...

[rivernstream]

Hi again,
GPW, Louella, Pat G, KC et al....I am inspired. I'm about a quarter of the way through this thread and it has emboldened me. I'm going foamie for sure as soon as I finish the stitch and glue kayak I've been working on...probably another month. After spending many hours, and many yet to come with epoxy, sanding, more sanding, more sanding...not to mention the toxicity of the stuff, I'm NOT going to do epoxy fiberglass on this but do want to try PMF and using weldbond instead of epoxy with a lighter weight fiberglass. And I'm going to do it as a goal for less than $800.


Shape will be a modified grumman, 5x9 48" tall, on a NT 5x8 trailer. Traditional galley planned. In terms of construction, will be a woodie/foam hybrid 2" XPS for the sides, 2- 1" pieces laminated for the roof, with 1/8 ply skins in and out, pmf roof using weldbond instead of TBII. The outside wood skin will be glassed with surface veil fiberglass using weldbond as the resin. All edges will get 4" fiberglass tape again with weldbond. Here's more about weldbond, which I posted above. I love this stuff. https://www.speedyproducts.com/pages/weldbond-specs-instructions

Here's a pic of what I'm thinking about. I'd love feedback from all of you and I can't wait to get started!!!

[KCStudly]

I would... in fact I did... lay the ceiling skin over the wall ledge.

Two layers laminated is far more effort than one thicker layer kerfed, and takes more material/glue.

My advice would be to do a sample or two to help you decide if you need all of the extra complication of glass and PMF. The PMF is pretty impressive all by itself.

[rivernstream]

Thanks KC
The reason for the two 1" layers laminated is the deal with the space between the spars and still be able to do a 1/8 in ply headliner on the inside without a gap but maybe I'm missing something.

I'm doing the glass fabric (surface veil) on the okume exterior but will use weldbond instead of epoxy it's to keep everything transparent but protected on the wood side surface. Same reason for using the glass re-inforcing tape, so that the interface stays clear through the wood without impacting the overall encapsulation. I'll still need to put spar urethane to protect the okume from uv. The surface veil fabric is only about $3 per yard and is very thin compared to standard glass cloth. The roof will be pmf.

If folks have identified other ways to do a woodie exterior on a foamie without using fiberglass cloth I'm all ears!! Will be counting on all of you during my build.

Here's what I mean about why I'd be putting another layer of foam in between the spars. I'd love just to use 1" kerfed or 2" kerfed without laminating sheets together. planning 1x2 spars every 12 inches. The headliner will be attached to these as the foam will be sandwiched as it is for typical construction. Maybe I can just kerf the 1" top layer.

[KCStudly]

Spars should be on edge for maximum effectiveness. Laying them on the flat is weaker for the amount of weight it adds.

I put my walls up first (installed cabinets, too), glued up ceiling skins with spars on top, installed ceiling assembly over walls/cabinet face frames, and then filled in between spars with 2 layers of 3/4 inch foam. Still had to kerf the tighter radii and took twice as many cuts and twice as many glue ups to get it done. My roof has a gentle radius that did not require most of the 3/4 to be kerfed. I did have an electrical box in the ceiling that benefited from cutting out the first layer and capping with the second, but that could just as easily been pocketed out of thicker foam. To do it again it would be a lot less work to just kerf the 1.5 thk stuff, honest.

If using PVA glue with fiberglass cloth, experiment. At that point I would use epoxy; there are clear hardeners available specifically for this type of application (http://www.westsystem.com/ss/207-special-clear-hardener).

[rivernstream]

ah ha! was thinking about glueable surface area. but now gotta consider losing another 3/4 head room... I'm not tall (5'7") but my son is 6'0 and will be sharing it with me no doubt once he sees how cool it is.

[linuxmanxxx]

ah ha! was thinking about glueable surface area. but now gotta consider losing another 3/4 head room... I'm not tall (5'7") but my son is 6'0 and will be sharing it with me no doubt once he sees how cool it is.

Ditto on the roof spars. If you don't stand them on edge you will definitely get sag in the middle which will cause water pooling and other assorted non camper friendly things.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[GPW]

And if you live in the Western states , you can take advantage of the sale at Big Duck ... http://www.bigduckcanvas.com/discount-l ... s4_10_2017)&mc_cid=40af10a654&mc_eid=6a87b95f48 very STRONG fiber...