Road Foamie - done for the year

[GPW]

Mel , many many times I’m called upon to explain something and have to resort to making a quick sketch ... Sometimes my concepts are a little obtuse for the non-visualizers ... I still have to make sketches for the wife ... after 37 years

Funny , when I built my house and studio, I had two years to design it and draw up the plans , so filled two large sketchbooks with drawings of every aspect of the build in great detail ... During the build , if anybody got confused, I just pulled out the books and showed them the sketch of that particular part .. ( I was the contractor)
The build went flawlessly and was finished in 6 months, and I can account for every board in the house ...
The carpenter used to chide me about the wood ... knowing exactly how much I needed , I ordered just that , and there wasn’t enough scraps left over to build a fire ... All calculated from the sketches ...

Knowing you’ve planned this out , I think your trailer is going to be Super !!!

[atahoekid]

Knowing you’ve planned this out , I think your trailer is going to be Super !!!

Thanks GPW, that is high praise coming from you. I hope I can live up to the expectation. I still consider you the guru of foam building and were it not for your thinking "out of the box" we wouldn't be building foamies. So on behalf of all of us foamlings... Thank You!!

[pete42]

atahoekid
I remember someone saying to Mike that it looked like he needed someway to sit the foam on the floor to support his foamie.
he cut slots in the foam added wood that fit through the slots and the sides rested on them.
what I am asking is how is your foam supported or does it hang over the side of the floor?
or did I just miss that part I am old you know.

Pete

[GPW]

Mel , Thanks , but let’s not get carried away ... This was all borne from some TD plywood de-laminating , and the attempt to build an affordable , practical (light) , and Thrifty trailer that would actually be able to live outside without rotting , de-laminating or requiring frequent inspection or maintenance .... The Old Timers solved this problem a long time ago ... pre fiberglass... by using Canvas and paint .... too bad they didn’t have Foam ... they get the credit !!!
Now with several Foamies out there acquiring many travel miles , we know they work ... Mine got the “outside testâ€

[atahoekid]

atahoekid
I remember someone saying to Mike that it looked like he needed someway to sit the foam on the floor to support his foamie.
he cut slots in the foam added wood that fit through the slots and the sides rested on them.
what I am asking is how is your foam supported or does it hang over the side of the floor?
or did I just miss that part I am old you know.

Pete

Here's the sketch I drew for the wall/floor joint



The floor is essentially trapped by foam on three sides with the fiberglass reinforcing strip, and the fiberglass/adhesive "sock" adding extra strength. The foam to foam and foam to floor joints will be made with epoxy. The inside walls will also be lined with a thin paneling or ply for additional rigidity but it doesn't necessarily add much to the wall/floor joint. Hope that answers the question...

When it comes to age, I recall what my friend's dad once told me. "Yup, age is relative, unfortunately I feel relatively old"

[atahoekid]

No problems, No Leaks !!! stored in a garage , these should last Forever ...

Anxiously awaiting the progress on your trailer .. the rakish futuristic design gives a whole new perspective to Foamie trailer design ...

Yeah, I like that idea... built to last. There's a concept that American industry should revisit.

Unfortunately, there will be no progress for at least the next couple of weeks. I'm headed out for a vacation starting tomorrow morning and when I get back it looks like I'll have to get the house in order for winter. We're forecast to get some snow while I'm gone and the patio furniture needs to be put away, the snowblower needs to be PM'd and all that other winterizing stuff needs to happen pretty quick. At least I'm gonna have a nice winter project to work on. All I could do last winter was wait for the snow to melt so I could start. Now that I'm started and have enough room in the garage to work on it (kinda) I can make steady progress. I'd like to be ready to do a shakedown trip in April or May. I'll probably still have snow on the ground where I live but a trip out to the lower elevations should be OK.

[eaglesdare]

enjoy your vacation. where you going?

[atahoekid]

Headed for a Caribbean cruise. Looks like Hurricane Ophelia will miss us

This may be an indication of how addicted I am to this foam trailer thing... I'm currently on my netbook reading this thread while flying across country. I can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing right now except actually building my Road Foamie.

I'll probably check in while I'm out at sea too!! If this were illegal, immoral or fattening, I'd have to get an intervention.

[Dusty82]

Of course you're assuming that it isn't illegal, immoral, or fattening...

Have fun!

[atahoekid]

HMMMM... You make a good point!!!

[atahoekid]

Finally back to working on the Road Foamie after a 2 week hiatus. I found the foam I needed and had great expectations for getting some work done but had to stop after about an hour or so. DAMN, new medication is making me dizzy .

"She who must be obeyed" who is also a RN insists that I should not work with blood pressure that's too low.


I also discovered a potential issue. There is a about a 3/8" height difference between right and left sides. I discovered the issue when I laid the first roof panel on top. I either did not cut the walls identically or the rear bulkhead cabinets are out of square or not the same height on both ends. I have a feeling that it is a bulkhead cabinet issue since I cut the sides from the same pattern and I'm pretty sure I would have noticed the difference when I stacked them on top of each other.

I hate screwing up!!! I'm hoping that it's the bulkhead cabinets that are out of square and since the uppers and lowers are not yet joined, it is a distinct possibility.

If it's another cabinet issue, I'm looking at some rework. That will be a PITA.

Hopefully I don't feel dizzy tomorrow and can get some work done.

[GPW]

Check your floor for level ...We’ve heard this story before ...


Psssst , over here .... Nobody will notice 3/8 “ except you , and we won’t tell

[pete42]

I never though about building a slopping roof to make the rain water drain off and not puddle.

that's a good idea or as my ex boss use to say "good ideal"

[GPW]

Pete, easy enough to just tilt the trailer huh ??? a Good Eye Deer !!!

[tjsabo]

Mel
That is not good. I know how you feel when i was welding my frame i had it all tact together and it was nice and square when i was done it was off by 3/4 of an inch so i cut it apart and had to reweld it now it is all good so just hang in there and keep up the good work ps it is an easy fix

Tim