Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[GPW]

Dad, that was my concern too , I was thinking of some hooks and screw eyes, but all solved by 68G , Thanks Dude ... didn't know that about drawer slides , but it makes sense... don't want the drawers falling out ...
But still liking the idea of just doing away with that entirely ... just carrying the AC along in the truck if needed... Simpler the better for me ...

[mikeschn]

If one would use canvas and epoxy resin instead of TB2, would it make the shell significantly stronger?

I'm playing around with a piece of scrap, and waiting for the resin to dry... it says 6 hours to dry... but this is some really old resin I had from many years ago. I'm not sure it's even good any more.

Plus like GPW said, it's probably polyester resin, cause it melted the foam.

Mike...

[GPW]

Listening to the raindrops falling on the Foamie , sounds almost like hail , but it's not ... just that hard surface ... Just the T2 /canvas/ paint ...
Sure the resin would make it harder... but might lessen the flexibility ... especially with polyester resin ... which BTW if you had to mix a few drops of hardener in , it's polyester... epoxy is usually a 1/1 mix or 1/5 or something in between ... Epoxy resin stays more flexible , but it too becomes brittle eventually over time ... which eventually leads to cracking ...just Much less so than with the polyester Just can't help but think back those Old Timers and their canvas and Aluminum paint ... and then all those canvas covered/painted canoes... Worked for them , and No resins to deal with ...
Now thinking the easiest way to add strength is with the fiberglass tape over the seams , around corners and reinforcing the floor to wall join , unless you have the walls keyed in , which solves that problem ... The FG tape is cheap and easy and molds nicely over curves with a bit of pulling and stretching ... Just the T2 holds it fine , and once painted , it's very hard on the surface .... looks Nice too with the factory edges. I've already beat on mine to show others how strong it is .... ouch !!! Don't believe me ... ask anybody who owns one ...it's much stronger than you'd think ... True Dat !!!

On the other hand , you could probably glass the whole thing with conservative use of resin , and it would be very strong and still not that heavy ... and if you didn't insist on a glass smooth surface , just some paint over that would result in that "canvas look" ... not so bad and still Easy ... If you like working with FG and resin ...
I believe the real weight in wooden TDs is the Plywood @ app. 57 lbs. cu.ft. compared to Foam which is 2 lbs./cu.ft. There's the savings... and foam doesn't de-laminate ..

[Wolffarmer]

Listening to the raindrops falling on the Foamie , sounds almost like hail , but it's not ... just that hard surface ... J

What does it sound like inside? Would not be good if the racket carried through to inside. I would think the insulation would keep it quiet in there.

Randy

[eaglesdare]

oh that is another thing. my foamie does keep the sounds outside. i have camped twice now where there were still partying folks going on right outside my tear. only feet away, and i did not even think about it, but wow, it was so quiet once inside the tear.

[GPW]

Wolf , didn't try that yet.. so I'll take Eagle's word for it ... Quiet is good especially if a fellow camper brought their Stereo and wants to listen to EVH...
To try this out , I stuck my head in a foam cooler and ... Oh!! I hear the Ocean ...

[Wolffarmer]

I was pretty sure that outside racket would be quiet. Just wondering about rain drops falling on it. though I will vote that they won't be a problem.

Randy

[GPW]

OK, so I actually went and sat inside the trailer ... it is Quiet , the raindrops are hardly noticeable ... I'm sure once we get the top vent on , that will make a little noise , the rain hitting the plastic vent .... but it's small so shouldn't be a problem ...

[eaglesdare]

mine has always been tarped in the rain. so i wouldn't know about that. my doors are not waterproof so i need to tarp it. and still not sure about the hatch. although i do have the weather stripping on now, so i hope that takes care of that part.

[GPW]

Eagle , I've yet to put the weather stripping around my door or a drip edge over it ... Went through the rain yesterday , and when I checked , only had a tiny bit of wetness right under the door ... so the weather stripping should stop that ... Checked very carefully , not a leak anywhere else ... and it poured down for a while ... The Foamie got a good wash with no damage ... that was the idea , and it works ...

[eaglesdare]

but there is a big difference between yours and mine. my doors were NEVER meant to be used as doors. but since we were in a time crunch to get it done in time for the first trip, we "made due" with what i had. there are major gaps between my door and the wall. like at least 1 to 2 inches in parts.
this is why i keep saying i need to make new doors. these were just never meant to be the doors. and now that it is campable, i have gotten lazy. i think its the weathers fault on that though. i don't do well once the temps hit the mid 80's and up. upper 60's and lower 70's would be good working temps.

ok i won't be around this morning, i have a 5th graders graduation. so i want you to be good gpw! hold down the fort. (i love messin with you

[GPW]

Trust me with the fort eh ???
Eagle , make some new doors inside in the AC ... They're small and you can take your time ....
Better still, just peel back the fabric and add MORE FOAM to fit ... EASY !!!! The foam won't mind !!! Nobody will know but you , and I won't tell... You did save some touch up paint eh ?

[GPW]

And speaking of adding more foam ... It's EASY,not like wood with grain to consider ... so any repairs or modifications come down to ... cut out the old part , glue in a new part , patch with new skin , re-paint ... Simple and quick .... Much simpler than any any other material AFAIK... And there's always that spray foam which makes quick work of filling dents or voids...
Driving around town , I'm always aware of trailers on the road ... around here we see an awful LOT of Cargo Trailers ... Aluminum skins wrinkly in the summer heat , and some seriously dented which makes me wonder how you'd repair something like that ... remove panels , fab new panels , re rivet ??? Doesn't sound as easy or Cheap as Foamie work ... can't do it in the house ...

[eaglesdare]

wahoo, my grandson got the presidential education award! that is a combination of grades/tests between the 4th AND 5th grades. he received a certificate and letter signed by the president. (whether or not you like him) it is cool to have that. he ended up with 5 total awards, the only one he did not get was chorus, he was not in that class. he also got a plague, a small trophy and a large trophy. pretty cool huh? yes i am so proud on him.

[eaglesdare]

did i spell plague wrong? i mean plack, i know that is not how you spell it. my mind is drawing a blank on that word.