Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[eaglesdare]

oops i had the wrong country. i was thinking africa or australia. but that is the thread.

i think its pretty cool.

[mezmo]

Hi All,

Barrie is from Johannesburg, South Africa - check under his avatar.

And that fiber-glassed & cardboard TD build is absolutely phenomenal
in my opinion. A true inspiration build.

All that Foamanistas/Foamlings need to do is follow his lead and method
and just substitute their desired thickness of foam and go to it. All that the
cardboard is doing is holding the fiberglass & epoxy skins in position.
Fiberglass & epoxy or canvas and TBII-III can do it over the foam just
as well.

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

[mikeschn]

duh!

[GPW]

Well , no doubt corrugated cardboard would work ... The Min /Poly mix totally waterproofs that !!! I was thinking more of the thin cardboard (non-corrugated) , like on the back of writing tablets ... It does come in 4X8 sheets and is pretty inexpensive (gray chip board ) ... Just as a way to get a Harder skin ... just in case anyone comes around with a hammer ...
Totally unnecessary as my humble little Foamie TD has proven sitting out in the brutal summer weather , no problems ... Just trying to pursue other Thrifty options ...

Good news!!! ... Now that I sold my old letterpress, have the funding to purchase the HF trailer to better fit my little Foamie TD , and I can use the bigger boat trailer for the ensuing FoamStream ... Thinking I'll only need the 1100 lb trailer (12" wheels) as the Foamie TD is pretty light , still leaving enough capacity for all my stuff and the 500 lbs. of Beer.. Just thinking it will look "right" with a trailer that fits ...

[pat g]

Gpw,

Now I am thinking that the cardboard might be a good choice to finish off the ceiling on the inside of my TD. Probably not going to do any more work on it til winter.

Pat

[eaglesdare]

ah, so my memory isn't all that bad yet.

i know when i first started to read this thread, i had that cardboard build in my head, and i decided to try putting the tb2 on the cardboard. i know it works pretty well. i did not really finish my testing as my cat took over the box, and then i had to have surgery. so i never did get back to that.

but at the very begining of this thread, another poster did do the test with cardboard boxes and tb2. he stated that it held water extremely well. could use it to make a water bucket.

i wouldn't doubt that cardboard with tb2/canvas would do a good job also. i just am not confident enought on a total build like this though. but for the roof i don't see why that would not work.

[Mojave Bob]

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.

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.

I have sketched up a rough idea of what I am thinking of. I'll start a new thread for "The DreamLiner", since this thread already has its own ZIP code.

[GPW]

Pat , the thin non corrugated , hereafter referred to as NCC just for convenience, cardboard could be cut into exact fitting pieces and then covered with any number of things from bedsheets to wallpaper to the Funny Pages ... Much like a car headliner is done ... Could make a Nice interior finish ...
Eagle , any of the cardboards can easily be waterproofed with the Min /poly mix .... Well proven in the past ... Thinking this would thoroughly saturate the cardboard better than the T2 ... JMHO

Cardboard is paper , paper is made from wood ... so are many TDs ... All the same really ... Thin tubes vs, cross -laid fibers ...

I've had some rally thick NCC in the past ... tough stuff , but Heavy ... May , or may not, have many advantages over plywood , once properly sealed !!! Should bend easier eh ??? T2 sticks like Crazy to it ... Could be even thriftier than Foam ...

Crumbs for thought !!!

M Bob , please be so good as to do so !!!! Always interested in new thoughts !!!

[Wobbly Wheels]

Hey Bob, the 'design brief' for my project was similar to yours: 10' floor, lightweight, standing headroom and a portapottie for a non-camper, etc. I came up with a drawing, then Tom (aggie79) pointed me to a nearly identical design in the gallery - the "Dinette MkII". Take a look through the designs there if you haven't already, there are a bunch of good places to start from.

My build has been stalled because of 'budgetary reallocations' but I'm picking up some foam today, so I'll likely be updating my thread this w/e.

[GPW]

W2 , don't feel alone ... I've been having to sell my "treasures" off on CL , just to support my trailer habit/ addiction ...

[Mojave Bob]

Hey Bob, the 'design brief' for my project was similar to yours: 10' floor, lightweight, standing headroom and a portapottie for a non-camper, etc. I came up with a drawing, then Tom (aggie79) pointed me to a nearly identical design in the gallery - the "Dinette MkII". Take a look through the designs there if you haven't already, there are a bunch of good places to start from.

My build has been stalled because of 'budgetary reallocations' but I'm picking up some foam today, so I'll likely be updating my thread this w/e.

I'm gonna hafta take a few weeks off of work just to browse through all the possibilities...

[eaglesdare]

well, the kids area all tripping here for ducks and chickens. was suppose to get them birds a year of more ago. so since i won't be doing my second buld til after taxes (again), i decided to take what i have done already on the second foamie and turn it into a bird house.

i don't see any reason why this should not work for chickens or ducks. i really want the ducks because their eggs are so much more yummy.

i do think the neighbor will just give us some. but he did say he would hatch a couple for us. which i think the kids would like better. so i need to get my daughter out there to put this thing together and then get some more canvas.

will post pics when i get something going.

[droid_ca]

that's kinda funny cause I've been trying for a long time on how to incorporate into my design a bird cage

[eaglesdare]

wow, the honey do duck house has begun! i am shocked. the honey is out there now. found some old wood and has started setting it out. he is not sure if he will be using the foam or not. but i don't see what else out there he could use. we don't have pieces of flat wood, so the only thing i can think of is the foam.

now does anyone know if you can keep ducks and chickens in the same house?

[Ratkity]

wow, the honey do duck house has begun! i am shocked. the honey is out there now. found some old wood and has started setting it out. he is not sure if he will be using the foam or not. but i don't see what else out there he could use. we don't have pieces of flat wood, so the only thing i can think of is the foam.

now does anyone know if you can keep ducks and chickens in the same house?

If you raise them together from chicks, the chickens tend to be less aggressive. Chickens have a pecking order, ducks don't. You'll need a kiddie pool for the ducks. There's a chance that both ducks and chickens will peck the foam and then eat it. Having foam for the roof would be ok, but I'm not sure it would be a good idea for the sides unless just the top portion of the coop sides.

Probably be good to call Trina about chickens. OH.. and only have females. You don't need fertilized eggs or a noisy rooster.

Hugs,
Ratkity