Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[mikeschn]

I wonder how much foam is required to make a door-frame strong enough to support the roof structure...

Good question...

Maybe the door frame requires an internal rib made out of wood.

So many questions!!!

Mike...

[mikeschn]

Mike , The TB2 won't dry on just the foam to foam join ... tried it ...stayed wet inside for weeks gorilla Glue is the ticket ... or epoxy ... Since the foam isn't porous , there's no place for the Water based solvent to evaporate ...

Okay, I've got some scraps. I'll play with the different types of glue this week.

Mike...

[eaglesdare]

GORILLA GLUE WORKS! GET A SPRAY BOTTLE AND FILL WITH WATER. SPRAY ONE SIDE THAT YOU ARE GLUEING TOGETHER AND THE OTHER SIDE USE THE GORILLA GLUE. IT WILL EXPAND, FOAM OUT. BE PREPARED WITH LOTS OF PAPER TOWELS. OR SAND AND SCRAPE LATER.

WE ONLY HAVE 2 WOOD BLOCKS FOR THE HINGES ON OUR TEAR. THAT 2" FOAM IS VERY STURDY. YOU CAN MAKE A NICE DOOR WITHOUT MUCH WOOD, I DON'T BELIEVE YOU NEED A FRAME AT ALL.

I WISHED THEIR WAS SOME WAY TO "SHOW" HOW STRONG THIS THING IS.

I WOULD ONLY USE THE T2 WITH THE CANVAS ON FOAM.

GOOD WORK WITH YOURS.

[GPW]

QUOTE: " I WISHED THEIR WAS SOME WAY TO "SHOW" HOW STRONG THIS THING IS. " ... Now where's that Bear when we really need it ...

[Wolffarmer]

Be careful what you wish for. You might just get it

Randy

[GPW]

Ok , no Bears please !!! We'll just have to Believe Eagle when she says it's STRONG !!! She's right ya' know !!!

[GPW]

Anybody having serious doubts about the strength of this kind of construction can just add more material ... can't hurt to add more wood , or even fiberglass the whole thing ... That's the Beauty of the whole concept ... Build it like You want to ... when in doubt add more "strengthening"... it's all in what You need/like ...
The Foamie trailer (well, Eagles ') we know is light ... so adding a little more material strength probably won't affect anything , hardly .. and you can leave out the brick floor ...

[eaglesdare]

Anybody having serious doubts about the strength of this kind of construction can just add more material ... can't hurt to add more wood , or even fiberglass the whole thing ... That's the Beauty of the whole concept ... Build it like You want to ... when in doubt add more "strengthening"... it's all in what You need/like ...
The Foamie trailer (well, Eagles ') we know is light ... so adding a little more material strength probably won't affect anything , hardly .. and you can leave out the brick floor ...

don't forget the cinch straps. remember on mine, the only thing holding down the foamie is glue.

as gpw states, built it like you want it. but the foam makes a light weight trailer. add wood where you want or think you need it. make a frame or not for the doors.

[eaglesdare]

pretty neat, Mike! Is the tape holding the pieces together until glue dries, or is it just taped for show? If glued, what did you use to glue the edges together?

It's just taped together so I can show you guys...

My thoughts for gluing the edges together, is to find a flat floor. The floor of the carport sounds good for that. Then glue the edges with TB2. Put Duct tape on one side, flip it over, remove the duct tape and put the canvas on the other side. After it dries, flip it over again, and put canvas on that side.

But that's just my first thoughts... I've got to read this monster thread from beginning to end.

The most amazing thing about these two shapes, is that they are both 69" tall. The egg is 10' long and the standie is 11' long. But the standie looks so much bigger.

The standie...


The egg...


Mike...

when you do the canvas, i would personally make sure to overlap it. i used full strenght t2 on the foam then put the canvas down. after that all dried, i diulted the t2 2 to 1 and rolled that on. i also used full strenght on those seams. between the t2 and primer and paint, nothing is penetrating the seams, i do mean nothing.

also i thought i read where you only used 2 pieces of foam for each side? from looking at what you have, it looks like you used 3 pieces?

[eaglesdare]

oh another thought, i don't know if it does not not, but i used painters tape, because i was afraid the duct tape would leave a residue and i wanted to make sure i had a good clean surface. like i said i don't know if that makes a difference or not.

if you do try the painters tape, it will appear that it may not stick. just keep at it, you will get a feel. it stuck real good here once i got the hang of it going thru the glue and what not.

one more thought i wanted to share. mine is not a standie. but for me it is a stoopie. even with the 6 inches of mattress i can still stand with my head lowered and i can use the potty inside.

i have decided that mine is perfect for 1 person. and that 1 person is me!

[starleen2]

Mike - perhaps you can use a few 4" dowels to help reinforce the joints while to joints glue?

[GPW]

Something I've had to do is take the foam out in the yard and wash it down with the hose ... My donated foam was very dusty , dirty ... a little cleaning really helped , and probably increases glue adhesion ... Wouldn't do that with plywood eh ???
Eagle , you did reinforce the covering on the side to floor join huh ???? (inside and out ) That's one of the Most important places to do the reinforcing strip over , or under the main covering ... Otherwise you just have the glue holding everything ..
And I see your computer is fixed !!

[eaglesdare]

no not fixed. just cooperating for now. the new one is out for delivery, should be any minute or any hour.

[GPW]

Isn't it amazing how they suddenly behave right before they get replaced.... Making you then feel guilty for tossing it out ...
Be sure to re-cycle the old one ... otherwise more toxins in the landfill ...

[swampjeep]

also i thought i read where you only used 2 pieces of foam for each side? from looking at what you have, it looks like you used 3 pieces?

yes, it is 3 pieces, but he used 4 full 4x8 boards to do both walls,
the full sheet is pretty obvious, the piece below that is 1/2 of a full sheet cut down the middle (2x8), the rear piece is also 1/2 of a full sheet, but in an odd shape. So you could not make 1 full wall with only 2 sheets, but you could make 2 full walls out of 4 sheets

sorry about the crude "paint: drawing LOL