Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[linuxmanxxx]

burning man a very closet wild man huh lol.....would be a very interesting thing to attend just not with kids lol

[eaglesdare]

Hey louella I asked in the foamworks thread but can you give a cost of your TB2 and canvas for your camper? Trying to get a realistic cost on it and see how the foamcoat and other coverings actually fare against each other pricewise.

hmm, might have to reread my posts to find a more accurate count. does anyone remember off the top of your heads? was it 4 gallons at about $32 a gallon?
2 pieces of canvas at about $22 or 26?

i am pretty sure that is fairly accurate.

[linuxmanxxx]

hmm, might have to reread my posts to find a more accurate count. does anyone remember off the top of your heads? was it 4 gallons at about $32 a gallon?
2 pieces of canvas at about $22 or 26?

i am pretty sure that is fairly accurate.

So roughly around $150 then so when that is posted now as a total the other costs for the foam factory stuff doesn't seem so high especially with the way it adheres to the foam and creates a plastic shell around it all.

Now if we can get them to send glen a sample so he can slap some on his little toy camper he built so we can get an idea of what it looks like and the strength of it applied.

[GPW]

Steve, mine wasn’t nearly that much because I diluted the glue and only used that for attaching the canvas, not as a filler ... but then again , my "little toy camper" is smaller than Eagles ... and the total bill for the LTC was ~ 600USD , half for the trailer itself ... The other half for everything else , a lot of which I Salvaged , having the foam donated , and using the Linen canvas that I already had , which I got free on another salvage project ... The paint was Leftover Latex, that I had around from a previous project (my 12’ wooden TD)...
So I used the Thrifty method ... which as I can recall was one of the main themes of building a foamie' in the first place ... Had I bought All the materials , I probably would have added another 200-300 bucks to the bill ...
I still cannot as yet see how a plastic coating would have the same strength , flexibility , and ease of repair as the glue and canvas method over time ... and so must be “convincedâ€

[linuxmanxxx]

Glen my final choice is going to be more based on end finish result and ease of application not due to what has happened with the bubbling on Louella's build.

I have no doubt the iron will work and reattach the glue surface but then my question is that say over time and the glue has to be ironed multiple times, the foam has to be delaminating as it bubbles and then adds more impurities into the glue as it's heated and relaminated so in theory if done many times the glue keeps getting worse off.

I know there is no proof of anything yet but I'm trying to think longterm with all the options we have and if a foolproof method comes up for only a couple hundred dollars added, I'm on it as well as I'm sure many other people on this thread because you are still way under the cost of a full blown camper and I think most are building these due to weight loss not how cheap it can be built although that is a very very nice bonus indeed.

[GPW]

Due to the state of the Economy , and the threat of more tax and spend (our money) â€

[linuxmanxxx]

I ordered some foamcoat and bounce I'm gonna use on building some dog houses out of foam. This will be my test for if I want to consider using it on a camper or not later on down the road. Depends on how nice it looks and how easy it is to apply. Will keep you guys appraised on the sitchyation.

[eaglesdare]

i have to admit that cost was not my main concern. the weight was my major obstacle and main factor.
not to say that i have money to throw away. i think in the general overall, i did not do to badly on my build cost. it was still way cheaper than buying a manufactured one. (not that there is anything wrong with that) but i just would never have been able to come up with that kind of money, and there was that weight issue with the manufactured ones.

again, i think this all goes back to what has been said. its all in what you want and how you want to do it. what your goals are may not be what my goals are.

when i first started my build, my neighbor said something about how long my camper would hold up. my response was, if it lasted the camping season i would be happy, period. my foamie did, and i am happy. i am pretty confident that i would get a second camping season out of it also, even with the bubbling. so i feel extra happy about that.

i will be interested in your testing for sure. i may give in at some point and give it a try also, but i won't be doing that for a little while yet.

[GPW]

You know , I could see using the HW system With the Canvas or suitably heavy fabric.. I sure hope it works as touted... Would be cool to find a better product ... Improving the "state of the Foamie art" ... That's always good for everybody .... even the dogs ..

Yeah!!! When you look at the price of "manufactured trailers" , I got off dirt CHEAP... but that was intentional to see just how much I could save ...this thread being about Thrifty and all ... a test ....



Eagle, best just iron the darn bubbles and put this somewhat misplaced idea to rest ... those few words alone ignited a fire storm of doubt , just as when Conedragger said the Foamies would all blow off the trailers straight away ... remember how long it took to disprove that ??? and all those Foamie camping miles accumulated ... Just trying to be Positive here ... cause and effect ... "Just the facts , Ma'm!"
*regarding longevity , as long as it doesnt get mauled by a Bear , or hit by a frozen Turkey , and you keep it painted ,and the bearings greased it should outlast you .... WHAT'S To ROT ??? And if something does happen (idiot with a hammer for instance) just patch it as it was designed to do in the first place ... if you're really rough on it , it eventually get ugly with all the patches , but it's a FOAMIE eh ? .... NOT a million dollar Motorcoach ...

[linuxmanxxx]

Well I understand wanting to save money and doing things as cheap as possible, but there are a very large group that would place final looks a little higher on the list than doing things the cheapest.

How many of you go buy spray paint and cover blemishes on your cars or repair wrecks that way? None of you so why would you not care what your camper looks like at all as far as the final finish?

I'm not knocking someone that doesn't care what it looks like but believe me that person is the exception not the norm at all.

So we need to get all these different options tried and tested and then list the options to people as to cost/ease of application/finish and let them make up their minds of what they want. I'd rather pay $200 or $300 and have a nice smooth surface than have cloth layers showing through as well as weave showing also.

Has the guy that ordered the lagging compound done any testing yet?

[GPW]

Another Rant ... Steve it's just a reflection of our superficial society that places appearance above quality ... the foundation of the large RV Business (you know !!! ) Where RVs are beautiful reflections of someone's decorated dream home , and underneath are the cheapest , worst materials and labor ... It's the way we are ... we love pretty things , to a fault . You don't see any ugly country singers anymore do ya'...???

[linuxmanxxx]

Lol I'm talking about all us building our own not the pollyanna outfits in indiana

I just want smooth not perfect just smooth it offers better aero properties over a non smooth surface causing drag and gasoline.

[Wolffarmer]

My big interest in fomies is towability. I drive a small SUV, 2000cc motor, or less, depends on which one I take. So for me light weight is important as well as aerodynamic shape. Foam should allow me to shave a couple hundred pounds off. Don't know about how much easier to make aerodynamic. I would like it to look reasonably good looking, at least a 30 footer anyway.

Could reduce the weight a lot more but I want something that a month long trip would not be to hard to do. With washing clothes about once a week. Heck I use to motorcycle tour with no fairing, only saddle bags, tank bag and stuff strapped to the back of the seat and the rear rack. Did several trips about 3 weeks long.

Randy

[eaglesdare]

that cloth/weave vs smooth final look is going to be a matter of opinion. i like both looks actually. i don't mind the canvas covered look at all. the only thing i don't really like about my camper is the shape. i think that is why i don't really want to continue with this one, i just want a new one.

i will have to go reread some things, but did i read somewhere in the hotwire section about one of those materials being toxic? i could have dreamed that, not sure.

[GPW]

As I can recall , years back the Navy (ours) did a study of porpoises and why they could swim so fast ... Turned out their skin isn’t perfectly smooth but textured... The texture causing less skin drag than a perfectly smooth surface ... something to do with turbulence on the surface causing the water to slip over more easily ... Just seems to me that since air is just a thinner “fluidâ€