Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[ghcoe]

I bolted my Bug Out trailer to the trailer cross members. I also use what I call interior frame rails. 1x2's or 2x2's that run alongside the interior walls. This spreads the forces from the tie down points from flexing the floor, ask me how I know.

Of course this means that the ends will not have a tie down point since the trailer end cross members are still under the foam wall. I used a 2x2 and spacers the same thickness as the frame material. I cut the 2x2's to fit exactly between the trailer frame so that it could not move side to side. Then I added a spacer and bolted through my interior frame rail, floor, spacer washer and 2x2 fit snuggly between the trailer frame.

Later I did ad 1x2's to lift the body from the frame so I could put a drip edge on the body. Having the body sitting directly on the frame was a bad idea. Movement of the frame and body quickly sanded through the trailer paint. With time it would have worn through the canvas and caused bigger problems. Here are a couple of diagrams I did for my YouTube channel.

Drill Holes #1 s.png (79.97 KiB) Viewed 3969 times

Frame wide body attachment 4 foot with cross ribs s.png (10.72 KiB) Viewed 3969 times

I would not just use a screw from the bottom to hold the trailer on the frame.

[Hamilton Felix]

Thanks, that looks like a good idea. I did take to heart the advice to put some rub strips on the bottom of the foamie. I agree that setting the Poor Man’s Fiberglass directly on the plywood trailer deck (which is not going to be sanded super smooth, because I don’t want a slick trailer when not hauling the foamie) would result in vibration induced scuffing.

I was just going to put 1/4” plywood on top of the PMF floor so our knees wouldn’t dent it. Then, planning ahead, I was going to have some pieces of 3/4” plywood let into the foam wherever I wanted a strong point. But putting a 1x2 strip on top of that, next to the walls, should not be intrusive into the interior, and it gives some stiffening for my anchor bolts.

[rjgimp]

Maybe it’s just enforced brevity.

Can we apply that to the politicians...?

Oh well, an angle grinder and heavy paint can cover a multitude of sins.

Indeed.

Doing it with a 2-1/2” trim brush takes time...

Yes, I imagine so.

My dad was in the Army stationed in Germany from '57 to '59 and spent most of that time as a Beetle Bailey impersonator. His usual method when he needed to get someplace without being noticed was carrying a clipboard with a blank piece of paper on it. Occasionally he needed to find something to do when there was nothing to do so that he would not be given something to do. Once during one of our discussions of his adventures he asked me with a twinkle in his eye if I had ever painted a two and a half ton truck with a half inch brush.

[Hamilton Felix]

That’s a good one!

I knew a guy who worked in the hydroelectric powerhouses where I still work (but really hope to retire soon). He always carried a rag. If anything looking like a Boss showed up, Dan started polishing things with that rag - and in no time at all, he’d polished himself around the corner and out of sight. But he knew how to look busy when it counted.

Just had a long phone conversation with Six Robblees (century old Washington company that is great for wheels, axles, trailer stuff, etc.) and learned that a Dexter Torflex axle with the hub spacing I want will require wider mounting bracket spacing than my old Jayco frame presently has. So out comes the welder and some pieces of 3” angle from my scrap pile. I was too quick to paint. Ran a few practice beads on scraps of that material before surrendering to the rain for tonight. Tried a couple different rods. Concluded I need more practice. But we’ll Git R Done.

[GPW]

We were taught it's just “stacking dimes “ , and getting the heat right …. Yeah Practice !!! … We used to salvage discarded bicycles on trash piles the day after Christmas ( last years bicycle ) and cut them up and re weld them together into more interesting bicycles … Great practice on tricky thin metal …

[rjgimp]

<swats away cobwebs>

Helloooooooooooooooooooooooooooo...? Anyone in here???

Sheesh. Everybody must be out camping or some such. Sure is quiet around here lately.

[Hamilton Felix]

I was thinking about low budget options, looking in tnttt for info on Wiley windows, when I saw posts by a guy who had them over round "porthole" openings, and he decided to make nice round wooden covers with O-ring gaskets, so he could seal them up with towing in the rain.

Shortly afterward, I was getting dry cat food out of a 5 gallon bucket with a Gamma Seal lid. I suddenly had a slightly weird idea: What if you could push the ring for a Gamma Seal into a round opening in your foamy, taking a piece of screen along with it? Glue/seal it in place, and you have a porthole style window that comes with a gasketed screw-on "shutter" to cover it in bad weather. The OD of the Gamma Seal ring that goes onto the bucket is about 12 inches. The opening when you remove the screw-on lid is about 11 inches in diameter. It wouldn't be a big window, but might fit nicely into a door or as a vent in the back part of the trailer.

Does this sound practical?

[GPW]

Ham , our resident Foamie Kayak builder Rowerwet has been using those for hatches for some time now , with good results … Your idea sounds real good …. Sure worth a try eh ???

[Hamilton Felix]

I think I’ll try those Gamma Seals. We are going as cheap and minimalist as possible on the actual foamie, which is sure to be a learning experience.

I got my new axle in the other day.
Someone gave me four trailer wheels some years ago. I couldn’t resist throwing a couple of extra Corolla tires onto two of them, then bolting them on. Trailer wheels are usually zero offset. Corolla wheels have positive offset, but the adapters I’ll be using are an inch thick, so I think the tires are pretty close to where they will be when we are on the road. At least it looks like a trailer now.

The trailer axle was our biggest expense. I’ve been putting effort into the trailer, with the idea we will use it for other things, and possibly learn enough from our first venture to eventually build another foamie body after experience teaches us what we really want. Now, other than a couple of marker lights and the brake wiring, the trailer is done (just as the weather turns wet). Time to clear out the shop and get busy on the foamie!

[RJ Howell]

I was thinking about low budget options, looking in tnttt for info on Wiley windows, when I saw posts by a guy who had them over round "porthole" openings, and he decided to make nice round wooden covers with O-ring gaskets, so he could seal them up with towing in the rain.

Shortly afterward, I was getting dry cat food out of a 5 gallon bucket with a Gamma Seal lid. I suddenly had a slightly weird idea: What if you could push the ring for a Gamma Seal into a round opening in your foamy, taking a piece of screen along with it? Glue/seal it in place, and you have a porthole style window that comes with a gasketed screw-on "shutter" to cover it in bad weather. The OD of the Gamma Seal ring that goes onto the bucket is about 12 inches. The opening when you remove the screw-on lid is about 11 inches in diameter. It wouldn't be a big window, but might fit nicely into a door or as a vent in the back part of the trailer.

Does this sound practical?

That's actually a pretty good idea! I went a bit different because I want to have them partly open in rain. I just didn't rout in deep enough for my comfort.

This picture is dry weather, yet just going up an inch and attaching during rain.. I'm not seeing rain coming in.. Well, time will tell... That's screen frame stock with a canvas cover. Since I didn't go deeper I may have to do something more than the epoxy tape on the top. May just melt in some wax..

[John61CT]

I **really** like the gamma lid idea.

Bigger version of deck ports.

Get a big / slow / quiet fan to fit, put near the back, top of a wall, cheap-ass MaxxAir 8-)

Find a spot in the floor near the front for the intake, great sealable ventilation!

[Hamilton Felix]

Hmm..... open in the rain while driving would be a challenge. I gather that properly designed Wiley windows are OK for camping in the rain.

Just kicking the idea around, but picturing a 5 x 10 (external dimensions, given 2" foam, will be 5'4" x 10'4" and 4' height inside, so 4'4" external height), I'm thinking doors on both sides up front, Gamma Seal "porthole" windows in the doors, and Wiley windows on those. Then, on the side walls toward the rear, "porthole" vents, just screen & Gamma Seal, because it's only opened for ventilation.

I'm going to bevel the top front down 6" or so, maybe drop the rear top a foot in the last couple of feet. We were toying with the idea of just setting a plexiglas window into that beveled portion, not to open but for light. Just seal it in with lots of silicone. Mostly came to mind because I already have scraps of plexiglas around the place.

On a completely different thought: I see people put diamondplate on the front of trailers, to protect against small rocks, sand, road debris that gets kicked up. An extra layer of 2" XPS foam would be cheap and weigh almost nothing, and it would probably take a few years of trailering to wear it out. Just think of it as a consumable, sort of like ablative shielding.

John61CT you are making me think outside of my box. There's no rule that says vents have to be on the sides or the roof. Gamma seals have pretty good gaskets, so a person could do front, rear, or floor vents.

[PiperBob]

I read the whole thing If there's ever a Foamie meetup someone should put that on a shirt.

Anyway, I'm thinking of making a thrifty little trailer for going to Burning Man next year. The camper would probably only be used for that one purpose (we have an rPod). I already have a 4x8 HF trailer that I can build it on, so it would just be the costs of the foam and covering. I'm thinking a simple box. The biggest difficulty in planning is figuring out how to store it. No flat places in our yard and the rPod is already there (wife really won't want to see a second camper in the driveway). So I'm thinking I want either a design that comes apart and stacks flat (bolt together on site) or maybe a two piece design (like a scamp) that can be taken apart and brought through the basement door.

Before I started reading about Foamies I had been thinking of maybe making a light frame on the HF trailer and covering it with a poly tarp. That would be really thrifty, if it held up for the 3500 mile trip.

Way back (maybe page 50?) in the "bear proofing" discussion someone mentioned Kevlar fabric. I have a piece that's about 25 feet by 53 inches. In the 2nd Gulf War they made the vests locally and this is a remnant I bought from a mill for maybe $1 a yard. I had been planning on skinning a popup roof with it, but we've gotten rid of the popup. Maybe that would be the caviar of pmf But I don't know how to cut it. The guy at the mill suggested buying a pair of cheap scissors and then throwing them away.

Oh, and this is kind of neat. I found out that our Volvo xc60 t5 (which came from my Dad's estate) has a tow rating of 3500 lbs and gets 31 MPG highway.

Shortly afterward, I was getting dry cat food out of a 5 gallon bucket with a Gamma Seal lid. I suddenly had a slightly weird idea: What if you could push the ring for a Gamma Seal into a round opening in your foamy, taking a piece of screen along with it? Glue/seal it in place, and you have a porthole style window that comes with a gasketed screw-on "shutter" to cover it in bad weather.

I had previously thought of doing something like that with PVC DWV cleanout fittings.

With the Gamma Seal is there some glue that will stick to the plastic to seal it to the foam?

I see DWV cleanouts are easy to buy in up to 6" size, which would make them suitable for forced air. The straight sides would make gluing them into the foam easy, and a short piece of 6" pipe could be used to attach a screen to.

[pchast]

hey,,,,
A portable shed,
play house for the kids,
Tool box.

It could be anything
when not camping!

[John61CT]

Never leave floor vents open with the engine running, can be fatal.

Seal up by default, screen against critters