Foamie windows ...

[DJT]

Cone, WOW! Thanks for the warning (and the story!). I had a glove tear out on me when I was coating some car parts with Por15, wasn't a tattoo, but I had black freckles on my hands for almost a year. Hard to explain to patients sometimes...

What if I were to fiberglass the "sill" then bed the Lexan onto it with butyl tape and some kind of trim (aluminum maybe)?

Hmmmm, maybe some testing is in order...


GPW, I like that plan, simple and fairly easy to execute. I've seen Aluminum C-channel at the hardware store that could be pressed into service and keep the wood quotient down as well. Do you think a simple foam rubber seal between the two pieces would be weather tight enough?

[GPW]

Dj, possibly ... then there's the thought of a "lip" inside the frame ...

[eaglesdare]

DJT: Now at last there is something i can help you with. I sold my company (Linco plc) in 2001 and at that time it was one of the largest suppliers of windscreen adhesive (WA) in the UK (20000 tubes a month). Our product was own labelled as Autoline but was in fact made by Sika and Dinol.

Sika 256 is one i can remember and it contains 2.5% Naptha (Petrolium) and 12% xylene. We never tried it on foam but i eats certain products and I think foam will be one of them.

Funny story:

We were doing some batch testing and a salesman called in on the off chance to try to sell me some hand cleaner.

I said why didnt come through and i would talk to him while doing the tests. As a joke i asked "does your hand cleaner remove windscreen adhesive" and amazingly he said "yes, thats one of the main things it was designed for". Now, I have yet to see a a hand cleaner that works on WA so i said, "well if you can prove it I will buy a pallet"

He stuck out his hand and I put a small "dollup" of WA on his palm. Then Oh My God he rubbed his hands together to rub it all over while i shouted "No.........." but it was to late

He said "It OK, our magic juice will get it off, no problem"

He poured on some of the hand cleaner, then some more, anyway an hour later he left with the most black hands i have ever seen

I met up with him 3 months later and there were still dark patches on his hands.

The thing is windscreen adhesive does not just stick to skin it becomes part of it, almost like a tatoo, think of a permanant marker but 10 times worse.

So if you do use it BE CAREFUL and wear gloves, oh and by the way it eats latex

that is funny

[eaglesdare]

gpw, i like that! and if we did use the foam frame

[GPW]

I dunno' about the foam frame ... Maybe just some good rot resistant wood in this case ... You could fabric over the window outer frame blending it in with the rest of the trailer (like the door posts ) for more "encapsulation" ... Then you'd only see the window itself opening from the foam ... no outer frame as we've become accustomed to looking at ... kinda' cool really .... Simple enough ... should be much less $$$ than some of the trailer windows I've seen ... Even the cheapest of those still come with hefty shipping costs...

Now some of you may know the original plan was to salvage some Kustom Van windows off the abandoned one right down the street .... Just can't find the old lady who owns it ... get permission ... still looking for her ... can't hold up the Foamie for a couple used van windows , so these homemade ones look very doable ... and really I only need one to open .. Was thinking of using a side vent (old timer style) but abandoned that idea when I sat inside after it had been closed up ... BIG top vent will help chimney out the hot air supplied by the opened window ... Was thinking of making that too, but the regular vents are still pretty cheap ... Should mount easily in the 2" foam ... schmaybe' ... or do I need wood framing for that ???

[eaglesdare]

when the guys made the spars on my roof, they also made the box (wood frame) for the vent/fan up there. all i have to do is get the vent/fan, cut and install. the framing is there. i like that they thought of the future for that.

[GPW]

Smart of them to do that !!!

[Wobbly Wheels]

I dunno' about the foam frame

I agree - it just took me a bit longer to hear the voice of reason...
I was trying yesterday to figure out a feasible way to do it but I can't think of anything simpler than mounting it like the tip out windows on a full size van: 2 round holes along the top edge of the plexi for the hinges and one at the bottom for the latch. Still need backing in the foam for the screws to bite on, but that's no biggie.

some good rot resistant wood

Red cedar - it's lightweight, resists rot and bugs, and it's porous enough to soak up resins/glues really well. That and Douglas Fir were two of the most common woods for work boats on the west coast.

Now to go off on a bit of a tangent...(still foamie-related !)
I'm kicking around the idea of a gullwing door...not just to make it more complicated than it needs to be, though I've been guilty of that once or twice, lol.
If I used a couple of hatch hinges and gas shocks with a strip of rubber sealing the hings line (exactly like the hatch on a TD), then made mosquito net 'curtains' to hang from the open door, it would give me a bit of a 'mud-room'. Privacy could be maintained and drafts prevented through an inner (insulated?) curtain.
While camping, the door would stay open and serve as an awning. Well, really more like a dormer over a door I guess.

Thoughts ?
Opinions ?
Derisive laughter ?

[Ratkity]

I dunno' about the foam frame

I agree - it just took me a bit longer to hear the voice of reason...
I was trying yesterday to figure out a feasible way to do it but I can't think of anything simpler than mounting it like the tip out windows on a full size van: 2 round holes along the top edge of the plexi for the hinges and one at the bottom for the latch. Still need backing in the foam for the screws to bite on, but that's no biggie.

some good rot resistant wood

Red cedar - it's lightweight, resists rot and bugs, and it's porous enough to soak up resins/glues really well. That and Douglas Fir were two of the most common woods for work boats on the west coast.

Now to go off on a bit of a tangent...(still foamie-related !)
I'm kicking around the idea of a gullwing door...not just to make it more complicated than it needs to be, though I've been guilty of that once or twice, lol.
If I used a couple of hatch hinges and gas shocks with a strip of rubber sealing the hings line (exactly like the hatch on a TD), then made mosquito net 'curtains' to hang from the open door, it would give me a bit of a 'mud-room'. Privacy could be maintained and drafts prevented through an inner (insulated?) curtain.
While camping, the door would stay open and serve as an awning. Well, really more like a dormer over a door I guess.

Thoughts ?
Opinions ?
Derisive laughter ?

It's an interesting idea. One of the things to consider would be making sure rain didn't get in while driving. Good weatherstripping should cover this! Of course, pictures are required of your process!!

Hugs,
Ratkity

[Todah Tear]

What about deck plates with a clear center or less expensive opaque center that can be cut out and replaced with clear plexiglass-type material from Lowes (use pvc glue). I used them for my side, rear and skylight windows. Here is a link for some. My weren't that costly because I caught a sale (...and the link is saved on another computer), but this will give you an idea (Do a google search on deck plates to find others of a smaller size and less costly.):

http://www.gandermountain.com/modperl/p ... SHOP_82645


[img][img]http://www.tnttt.com/gallery/image.php?image_id=45238[/img]




[img]

The hatch is foam with a canvas cover. Several coats of wood glue were used to help it keep the shape, then roofing elastomer was used to complete the water-sealing of it. The windows were mounted on a plywood frame though.

Todah

[GPW]

TT, Looks like the Perfect door window !!!

[Todah Tear]

I just took no-see-um mosquito mesh and regular window mesh and a frame to make a screen. The thing that I like about them is that they come with a seal and are designed to keep water out of places.

One warning though: When you install them, make sure that you have the insert in place when drive the mounting screws in. If you don't, you will slightly distort the shape of the frame and it won't seal correctly. I know because I did that and I ended up having to use sealant to permanently seal the skylight to keep it from leaking. I couldn't open the skylight and get a top draft from it, but it provide additional light on my galley counter while I was sitting at it on the inside of the tear.

Todah

[GPW]

I just had a Cheap and Dirty thought about the windows ...
If you wanted a non opening window, no reason you couldn't trace around the window material .. Then trace a line 1" in from that ... the inside line gets cut through the foam , and the outer line just cut the width of the window material deep (like a rabbet) ... so the "glass" is inset flush with the TD wall ... Then just some silicon to hold it in , and some good 2" tape (eternabond? ) over that for a finish ... Quick and easy ... and you could inset any shape window in a side or door ... even schmousey' ears ...

[eaglesdare]

hehehe

although, i do want mine to open. but like you said, if someone did not...

[Ratkity]

I just had a Cheap and Dirty thought about the windows ...
If you wanted a non opening window, no reason you couldn't trace around the window material .. Then trace a line 1" in from that ... the inside line gets cut through the foam , and the outer line just cut the width of the window material deep (like a rabbet) ... so the "glass" is inset flush with the TD wall ... Then just some silicon to hold it in , and some good 2" tape (eternabond? ) over that for a finish ... Quick and easy ... and you could inset any shape window in a side or door ... even schmousey' ears ...

Of course, this is a nice easy way to let light in, but during the summer months having ventilation while protecting against intruding rain might be nice. I know some people might want to permanently install AC, but there still needs to be ventilation of some sort (see the General Discussion - Airtight Teardrops can Kill You - http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=40667). I like the idea of portholes with screen in them, but do they open enough for a nice cross breeze?

I like to camp in places without electric (have both ac and dc wired). In nice weather, opening my one door (both with traditional TDs) with appropriate bug screens might work nicely with a battery operated fan to move the air, but what if you are in a torrential rain at night (yup, happened 2x last season in Shenandoah Big Meadows). You'd want to stay dry, yet have air movement at the same time (still was in the 80s then). Since I also camp with 2 big dogs, keeping them inside the tear without them tearing off to chase deer is nice (or keeping them from falling out the doors lol).

I guess I'm throwing out different scenarios for needing good sized window openings with screens and also setting up a top vented fan (I heard the cheap vent plus computer fans work great as an alternative to the expensive fantastic fan).

Standupdewd did a great post on homemade windows that I find the cheapest - http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=43329 - ought to be a sticky! Great cheap window resources in it too.

Sorry for the rambling, but I think thrifty and functional windows/ventilation are important.

Hugs,
Ratkity