Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[GPW]

Been just Too Darn HOT !!! Thinking the Foamie interest will re-start when we can actually go outside again ...

[Wolffarmer]

been to damn poor, and lazy here.



Randy

[eaglesdare]

i haven't had time, not with the house full of people we have right now. hopefully once school starts back up things will get better. 4 will go to school. at least 3 will go to work. 1 will go back home. once that happens maybe i will beable to get back out there. oh and yes the temps should be much better outside.

[GPW]

I've had More than enough time to finish mine ... but am still not done ... It's Outside , and either it's Broiling HOT , or raining, and the Humidity has been so high lately (always here ) that a few minutes outside and I'm completely and thoroughly Soaked and when I go in the air conditioned house to rest , I turn into a Popsicle ... Sorry, but old guys can't hang with that ... But next week , my Letterpress is leaving , all 1800 pounds of it blocking the door , and I'll be able to pull the Foamie inside the studio , and work in the air conditioning ... Then it will only be a short time till it's Done , and I can start on the FoamStream ...
Building any type of trailer is so much Nicer and more efficient in Comfortable surroundings ... Hey, That's a "rule" eh ? ...

[eaglesdare]

are you starting a rules list gpw?

the neighbor gave us lots of stuff from his garden. today i am going to make fruit salsa to put on chicken. i feel like all i do is think about what is next for dinner. so many people and i have to feed them all.

the guy said he would even hatch a duckling for us also. hopefully a couple of them. i love fresh duck eggs. so we will be in the process of trying to build something out there to house these creatures. also getting a couple of laying chickens.
i know i talked about this about 2 yrs ago, and last year was suppose to be the year we got the chickens. the only thing i ended up with was the warming light.

so that is all from me. i know it is so far off topic. but its too hot out there for working on the foamie. i feel bad for it right now though. the door is still not on, and the inside is still not finished. soon, though, very soon.

[GPW]

Guy down the street raises chickens , always bringing me fresh yard eggs ... in season ... seems they don't lay all the time ...
I'd have some too but the wife just couldn't stand to see one in the roasting pan ... especially after she'd named them all (city girl)

Guess who's coming to dinner ???
Only reason my garden got through the drought was because of my rain barrels .... Now , it rains every day and they're getting Too Much water ...

Foamies , chickens , gardens , air conditioners .... all seem to fit together in some cosmic way ...

[pat g]

Hey Mike and All,

Been too busy. Being a new Grandpa, babysitting, helping my daughter work on her house, doing just a bit of work on my house, kayaking, and camping. Trying to find time to help others learn to roll their kayak. Just check in quickly to see your progress. Do not know what the rates of expansion would be for aluminum and for plywood. Seems that I have read on here somewhere that mostly the glued on aluminum over wood bond fails after time in conventional TD construction.

You could try to find a supplier of foam panels already skinned with aluminum but that would no longer be thrifty. These panels are used in constructing 3 season patio rooms and last for a long time. My original intent was to use these panels to build my TD but the thrifty part took precedence.

Pat G

[GPW]

Pat, Thrifty does seem to Rule in our present economy !!! Best of all , it Works, as you've so aptly proven !!!

I can't help thinking about using thin gray cardboard as a skin of sort , once waterproofed , becomes an extremely tough material (much akin to a sheet of fibrous plastic ) ... Can't beat the price !! Just something else thrifty to try ... For someone wanting a "harder skin " the cardboard could be applied (T2) and then covered with the canvas "sock" for a really Tough skin ...

[Mojave Bob]

I have been reading through this thread with interest. Goodness, there is a lot in it! Anyway, the idea was floated mid-way through about using foam for the floor, but that was discounted as being too easily damaged. I have been wondering about a 1" foam floor, sandwiched between thin plywood (like door skin) for the inner floor (bruise-resistance) and either filon, or canvas on the underside to protect it from rocks. Based on experinece so far, what do you guys think?

[pat g]

Hey Mojave,

I think that foam sandwich construction of the floor would work fine but you would have to mind your attachment method to the trailer frame to prevent crushing the foam. This could be achieved in any number of ways such as wood blocks inset in the foam at attachment point.

Pat G

[pat g]

GPW,

cardboard........very interesting.

Pat

[Mojave Bob]

I was picturing a support sleeve of PVC pipe for the bolt to go through, with the bolt passing through the plywood and a washer, to prevent crushing and pull-through. It seems the heaviest part of a foamie, to date, is the plywood floor. I am starting to scheme up an ultra-light, ultra-aerodynamic (fairly ultra, at least), and easy to build standie, using bent 1" foam panels, with the bends contributing both to air flow and strength. I don't have any drawings yet -- it is all in my head.

I currently have a LittleGuy 4-wide, which we love. But, we plan to wear it out at some point, and as we age, a place to stand mostly erect, and a place to set a porta-potty would be nice. Inside seating would be nice, too. I think I can design all that into a 12' or so space, and come in under 700 lbs ready to roll.

[GPW]

M Bob , I think that 's easily achievable ...

Pat , thinking cardboard would be the next test .... used it on foam planes in the past ... Very Strong ..

[eaglesdare]

there is a builder on this site that built his tear using cardboard. he fiberglassed it though. i think he was from africa. but it seems to work really well for him. i even thought about that for a while. but again, found this thread and the rest is history.

[mikeschn]

Actually Australia...

Let me see if I can find the post with Barry's picture...

okay, here's Barry's build thread: http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=38781

and a sneak preview picture



Mike...