Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[GPW]

Eagle , how does it feel to be a Legend ??? First Foamie , Hi-miler ... Sure Glad you had a Good time .... where's the pics ??


2 more days of school .... and then the Fun begins...

[Postal_Dave]

Help me guys!!

I'm insulating the walls of my camper before I attach them to the camper frame.
I made the wall frames and then put the outer wall, ply-wood panel to the frame with Titebond II and screws. The wall frames are 1 and a half inch deep. So I put in a half inch layer of "R-Max" R-matte plus-3. The silver side is glued to the ply-wood panel with Titebond II, the white paper side is away from the panel. Then I put down some TB II and an inch thick piece of Lowe's brand green insulation board to the R-Max.

I left the frames laying on the floor for 24 hours and then stood them up. White liquid is running out of the frame now.
The 1 inch thick green insulation didn't stick to the R-Max and the TB II that remained on the insulation is still wet and is white in color.

I don't know what has happened but something isn't right. The foam of the R-Max seems OK, I'm at a loss. I did a test of the material before I started by gluing some test pieces and they worked fine. I'm guessing that because it didn't get much air from being inside the frame, that this happened.

I'm looking for advise and suggestions from you foam building experts.

One more thing. I just checked the MSDS sheets for the both insulation boards and the titebond. The boards say that they will react with a strong oxidizer but that's it.

Thanks guys.
Dave

[GPW]

PD, from your description , sounds like there's no way for the solvent (water) in the T2 glue to evaporate... Foam to something porous works with T2 , while foam to foam works better with something that doesn't require air contact .. Gorilla glue works well for foam to foam ... That or a foam safe contact cement ... or just let it sit for a couple months , it will dry .... eventually ...

[eaglesdare]

Sounds like a good trip, despite the rain.
That's good to hear your thoughts about the shell, given that you're the resident "high-miler". Gives me a bit more confidence on scaling the size up a bit.

i had forgotten who was concerned about the off road issue. but it is you right? yes, if built the way i did mine, (of course you can always add more reinforcement), but if built properly i don't see any problems with the shell. i think the frame/tongue will go before the shell. or even the hitch pulling off before the shell collaspses.

also i don't see anyone driving as fast off road as i was on road. that is another thing to consider. off road i would think you'd take it a bit more slowly. i was, believe it or not, doing between 60 and 70 on those horrible roads. had to, had to keep up with the traffic.

i have driven the roads many many times in my days and just never gave them a thought, til i towed the foamie. i felt every nook and cranny, bump and pothole there was. i also must have hit everyone of them also.

my only opionion to give out to folks would be never skimp on the glue. use it! and cover well with the canvas. i know gpw diluted his, and did not do the outer covering in it. so do what you feel is right for you. but i would cover that sucker with glue!

[GPW]

Upon that suggestion , I'll call my broker and buy more titebond stock ...

Got a few pics of the trailer prep , shortened and all the nasty stuff removed ...



First thing was to wire brush the flux off the welds on the coupler , and then a bit of Rustoleum primer over them ...
Trailer is nasty old Galvanized , wonder if it would hold paint .. the surface being so old ... ???

[Conedodger]

PD

TB2 is cross linked PVA glue so will only stick porous surfaces. Think of it as only setting or curing when the water has all gone. If it stays wet it will not set or cure.

I am taking it that R-max is not porous in the same way as foam so it will never dry.

In the case of the foam and cloth the water in the pva can get away through the cloth and sticks to the roughed up foam.

You need a non-solvent glue that bonds without air such as GG

[Conedodger]

Trailer is nasty old Galvanized , wonder if it would hold paint .. the surface being so old ... ???

You asking us about paint........ Huh

"Maybe the world has ended as we now it, what do you think Scotty, Spock and Zulu, Select warp drive Eagle"

[Wobbly Wheels]

Eagles, that is indeed me who's going to want to pull his trailer through the seven rings of hell so my biggest concern is keeping it light enough it doesn't tear itself apart and stiff enough that the corners don't open up.

GPW, it's been a while since I painted over galvanizing, but I think the trick was to use the galvanizing primer as the transition coat then the paint. If you are adding any supports, I assume you know the gases from welding that stuff are particularly nasty ?

Dave, it sounds like contact cement would be just the ticket because you don't stick the pieces together till the solvent's evaporated. There is a latex formulation available that shouldn't eat the plastic. Automotive trim adhesive ought to work as well, though it'll probably take more than a few cans to do a camper.

[GPW]

Just never painted over OLD galvanized finish before ... Had no call too ... Thinking the old Vinegar/lemon juice trick might work .. ??? Just an acid mordant ...

[squatch]

My opinion on old galvanized is that it looks great. It's not rusted so it looks great. Here in the rust belt anything that's not rusted looks great!
I've got 2 old galvanized boat trailers. They look a little chaulky but no rust suits me fine. Most of the primers for galvanized metal no longer exist in the consumer world. You might just get some spray on cold galvanizing compound in a can to refresh the look a little. Hit it with a scotch bright and some mineral spirits 1st. I know the big box stores sometimes sell paint for old chain link fences. That might work as well.

[GPW]

SQ, Thanks ... may just clean it up ... That's EASY ...

[mikeschn]

GPW,

Can you show me that perforating tool again. I might need something like that soon!

Mike...

[GPW]

OK, http://www.google.com/products/catalog? ... ps-sellers

I think it's a good investment ... probably the best way to assure maximum adhesion , without going to some exotic (and expensive) glue that actually melts into the foam chemically ...

[mikeschn]

OK, http://www.google.com/products/catalog? ... ps-sellers

I think it's a good investment ... probably the best way to assure maximum adhesion , without going to some exotic (and expensive) glue that actually melts into the foam chemically ...

Thanks G,

Got it ordered! Should be here in a few days!

Mike...

[GPW]

Thinking you'll see an immediate positive difference in adhesion ...