Flyin’ Gypsy - 6x10 vardo style Foamie build

[GPW]

[BrianInVA]

Second roof arch. This time I cut the kerfs with a saber saw instead of a circular saw. The kerfs were thinner so I increased them from every 3.5” to every 3”. The saber saw blade didn’t get gummed up with melted xps like the circular saw did either.

I glued the kerfs with Foam Fusion out of the 8oz squeeze bottle and it went into the kerfs very smoothly without mess or difficulty today. I kept it indoors overnight this time so it didn’t get cold and thicken.

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Filling the kerfs. (Playing with my iPhone, don’t mind me ; -)
https://youtu.be/hqWuCB6S5Xc

[BrianInVA]

Applying the muslin to the roof panel for the initial interior pmf layer
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zb33jNQaH34&t=3s

[BrianInVA]

When I put the second roof panel into the form, the narrower kerfs of the saber saw blade weren’t quite enough for the bend, despite decreasing the spacing of the kerfs and therefore increasing the number of them. When I was tightening the ratchet strap to get the last half inch of curve in the panel, I heard a loud “crack.” The xps foam had cracked apart on the outside roof side, between kerfs on the opposite side, fortunately. I went ahead and applied the muslin layer for the pmf on the inside ceiling surface, let it set up, then flipped it over after about three hours.

The Foam Fusion has an aggressive enough bond to the xps and muslin that I felt comfortable flipping it over that soon, even though I hadn’t applied the second thin coat of Foam Fusion over the Muslim yet

I filled the crack, which was about 3/4 of the way through the 3” xps, with Foam Fusion and set a cinder block on top for it to set up over night.

I’m cutting a half dozen more kerfs in the third panel to achieve the proper arch before I glue the kerfs in the next panel and set it in the form.

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[BrianInVA]

Last week I brought home a 2006 Honda Silverwing 600cc maxi scooter. In the process of looking for maintenance parts and supplies, I stumbled across a trailer hitch for it on eBay that the seller bought new, never installed, and was in the original box. Just for the heck of it, I placed the minimum bid and forgot about it. Lo and behold, I got it for the minimum bid, about a third of what they cost new.

And a lightbulb went off in my head. There was a recent thread here, viewtopic.php?f=2&t=74312&p=1285295#p1285295, about a mini teardrop foamie camper a guy built to pull behind his vintage Vespa 125cc scooter. If he could pull a mini foamie with a little Vespa, I could certainly pull one with a maxi scooter.

I found a small motorcycle trailer with a title on Facebook Marketplace which I’ll pick up tomorrow. The trailer hitch should be here next week, and I’ll have one foamie already under my belt after this current build.

So my next foamie is already in the design stage, after I complete my current vardo
- probably a miniature version of my current build.

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[S. Heisley]

I wonder how that guy changes his tires on that trailer. You can't even see the wheels on it!

[BrianInVA]

I wonder how that guy changes his tires on that trailer. You can't even see the wheels on it!

When I looked at his trailer design in the various YouTube videos, I thought exactly the same thing. It would be quite difficult! The rims are inboard of and directly behind the outside edge of his aluminum trailer frame.