Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[GPW]

Eagle , ever try Solar baking ??? Perfect for summer teardropping ... i've baked biscuits, breads, cakes and cookies with Solar ..... doesn't heat the house up ... and it's FREE and Portable ... I tried solar Pizza and it does cook it , but doesn't brown it like a super hot oven would ...
Maybe a bit OT , but a simple solar cooker is very light and will easily fit in with the camping gear ... While you're out fishing. exploring , the cookies are baking ... and it's too HOT for the wildlife to fool with ...

[eaglesdare]

no never did any baking outside of the house oven.

is that solar baking, like using the car windshield protector things?

[mikeschn]

G,

A building website is worthless without the plans to go with it. So lets see the plans for that solar cooker!!!

Mike...

[GPW]

Everything you ever wanted to know .... www.solarcooking.org Plans in the links http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Cate ... oker_plans .... many choices from the auto window shade cooker , and cardboard box (what I built 3 of ) to the more exotic models ... even commercial cookers too ...
I have an old street light fixture that I'm converting now ... parabolic ...

Good for making coffee too , or naturally , Sun Tea...

[GPW]

Eagle , might not work for you because every time you go camping , it Rains ....

[mikeschn]

Okay G,

Let's see a picture of your solar cooker!

Mike...

[eaglesdare]

Eagle , might not work for you because every time you go camping , it Rains ....

oh you noticed that huh?

well its another hot one out there today. but i am going to go out and make an attempt at something. since its in the shade, maybe i can pull something off.

[mikeschn]

Louella,

It's a hot one here today too. Where are you at? Michigan or Florida?

Mike...

[GPW]

Eagle is in ........ Hint: It's near a major Ocean ...

Mike , I would take the pics , but they're in the TT and it's raining cats, dogs, and oceans ... Cardboard ovens are not waterproof ...

[eaglesdare]

gpw. you are too funny!

i am above norfolk va.


its amazing how much time you need to get very little done.
say good bye to the mickey head


say hello to a rectanglelish window. notice my clamping method?


i gg'd the hatch on both sides. so i hope that holds for a while now. clamps came in handy.
..i also have been having problems with my weather stripping sticking, so i thought i would gg it down. only got one side done on that. hopefully no more flapping around in the wind as i am driving down the hwy.

another hopefully nice day tomorrow, so i will try to get more done then.

on my new door i cut out a lip. but i had to use 2 pieces of foam for the height and i will have to add another piece with the width. i am going to stuff more weather stripping around the door. then i think (not sure yet) but i think i will add a frame around the whole thing with weaher stripping underneath that. i am thinking that should make the door areas water proof. at least that is what i am counting on.

i am also going to repaint it to a mickey mouse red. might clash with the car but i don't care.

but i was out there for hours and thats about all i got done. i suppose one of the reason though is that i was cutting that lip out with a steak knife. took forever. i do not have any kinds of tools that would have made that job easy.

[GPW]

Steak knife , and a cinder block ... perfect Foamie tools ... I used those on mine too ...


Goodbye Mickey , sniff sniff !!! Maybe you can save the old door for something else ...

[eaglesdare]

Steak knife , and a cinder block ... perfect Foamie tools ... I used those on mine too ...


Goodbye Mickey , sniff sniff !!! Maybe you can save the old door for something else ...

yup! recover in canvas and make them into the original plan of tombstones!

its not a complete farewell to mickey, just those head windows. i am going for a decorated look and overall theme.

now back to those doors. have you ever had a door that was not flush with the walls? i have been thinking about this. because of the lip on the edge of the door it will not sit flush, so the whole door is going to be out from the wall.

i see that tomorrows weather temps are going to be hotter than today, looks like we are headed back into those 90's plus. yuck.

i plan to at least get the other piece glued to the door and the other side of the hatch's weather stripping glued down. don't want to set goals i won't beable to get to. so that is all i am counting on. but woiuld love to at least get the proper shape to the door, since i do have that curve in it.

[pat g]

Hey Eagle,

Why not make a corresponding rabbet on your door so that it will sit flush and overlap like a puzzle?

Pat G

[atahoekid]

Mel,

Be sure to check out my adhesion tests before committing to your adhesive!

http://tnttt.com/viewto ... 283#842283

Mike...

Thanks for the info. I did view the video and the paint worked the best on canvas. The local hardware store was giving away mis-tinted paint yesterday and I grabbed 2 gallons of flat exterior latex. You used semi-gloss if I remember. Do you think it will make a difference? Thanks for being one of the pioneers . I'm watching your standie build thread closely.

[atahoekid]

hmmm 3 gallons of homebrew. that should help with the weight issue.

you have the basic down pretty good. i could tell you exactly how i did mine, but then gpw could tell you how he did his, and then mike and patg could tell you how they did and are doing theirs. all of which will be different.

you have the basic idea, so just go with it now and make it yours.

just remember the idea as i understand it is the "sock" effect.
as gpw says, try to plan ahead. think about where you are going to cut holes in (windows/doors etc).

not much thinking went into mine, because i had no idea what i was doing and had to do it fast. camping was coming up and i had to get it done and get going. but i did learn alot from it and i am planning a second build.

good luck to you and you HAVE to post pics. start a build thread here.

Yeah, the beer unfortunately doesn't help MY weight issue. but a man must have at least one vice!

You're right, I guess as GPW says there are so many ways to do it . I guess I was hoping for one definitive answer but seems like there are as many ways to do it as people.

Sock effect is very important and I will keep that in mind.

Thanks you for being the first one out there, since there was no road map to follow you kinda had to "wing" it out there. I'm impressed



I will start a thread shortly. I got a frame from an old pop up tent last October and it sat outdoors in the snow all winter. Finally got the axle moved, a new "landing gear welded to it, and a couple of the poor factory welds redone. I'm now wire brushing it in preparation for primer and paint, but with a business trip and family reunion in the offing, it will be a while before I get to do anything to it. I promise a thread and pics as soon as it gets that coat of paint.

Thanks for sharing all your knowledge.

And I hate to see Mickey go!!!!