Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[GPW]

Once the wood is gone , you can get in there and make some critical measurements , allowing you to figure it all out ... I guess the big question is do you want the cabin to be removable , should you have to use the trailer for carrying “cargo” later on ??
If you don’t just put A floor down and build upon that .. the only problem is , skinning inside the “boxed” in areas ... Logic would say it’s best to build the entire shell OFF the trailer , do the skinning completely , then just bolt it down when all done ... as long as the floor and framing fell within and across the trailer frame members , there would be no need for a separate floor ... unless you wanted to carry cargo later ... Decision time ... more tea ...

I’d save the "torsion boxes" for things like the bed, walls , cabinets ... etc. Hubby knows , plywood (well waterproofed ) !!!

[droid_ca]

so Randy are you fishing for ideas ...how about a foam vardo or some other kind of standy

[GPW]

Droid , like so many , he just hasn’t decided yet ... too many choices really ...

[Wolffarmer]

My tow vehicle is not large enough for a standy/vardo. Unless I drive even slower than I already do. I will go wider than the 4 foot I have now but I don't want so wide it covers my rear sight very much. It will probably be about the same over all hight I have now, but will be deeper. Probably come up like a slouchy. 8.5-9 feet long. Maybe stick with 8, will see. As it is for me only and I often camp in cold and or raining weather I am going to have a semi permanent seat on the right side facing rear and a bed on the left. Might have some kind of cabinet to the rear of the right door. The right door will be to the floor, which will have a dropped frame on that side. The left frame rail will not be dropped and a more normal teardrop door there. If there is a door. It the cabinmight be large enough that it won't need one. I won't need one for me only but am thinking about future use of it as the seat and cabinet can be removed and a full bed put in. I will probably build a hatch in the floor something like I have now. I have found that to be very useful and people get a kick out of it. Going to cut back on the use of oak and maple wood and use mostly pine. I need to check my lumber supplier again. They have had some very good wood that was nice and straight grained and strong. Make galley something like I have now. I still like my rear doors and tables as I often camp where there are no tables. actually I mostly camp where there are no tables and my set up makes it very fast and easy to set up camp and to take down. My first trailer weighs in at 1100 lbs ready to camp. The trailer frame and axle is over built. I should be able to shave a bunch off there. I built the cabin attachment to frame in a way that I was use to in old farm truck beds. Make what you know syndrome. I can save a bunch of weight there. Now just hope the foamie construction helps to cut back on the rest and have more insulation.

Randy

[atahoekid]

Sounds like you have it pretty well thought out. Draw up a couple of sketches (if you need em) and you're ready to start your own foamie build and thread.

[eaglesdare]

so hubby ran into a problem with removing the wood. he says it appears the wood is bolted/welded down and is boxed into the frame itself. so he would have to cut the wood, and he says he will really make a mess at trying to unbolt/unweld those connectors. he also thinks that smooth ride/lack of noise is because of the wood. and he wonders if he removes the wood, if the frame will remain as struturely sound.

hubby's recommendation is to just leave it as is, and add the thin lauan to make the floor solid/water proof it all and be done with it. and continue on with life and the build.
so i think i may just do that and be happy. more important things in life for me to stress over. as long as i stay on flat roads and don't attempt the nose bleed bridge with this one, i think we'll be fine.

so for now, my decision is what to cover those boards with. a solid lauan top, or something else. i am going to go look around this coming week to check out different materials that i might beable to use.

[droid_ca]

Sounds good Randy
GPW tell me about it I still haven't built my first yet and the size required keeps getting bigger due to dogs and bird
Eaglesdare do you think that if the wood was boxed in by metal that you could cut the pieces that your placing down for your new floor to slide in and do the something or you could always use an expanding foam or glue to fill the gap so to speak

[GPW]

QUOTE: "so hubby ran into a problem with removing the wood.”...

[linuxmanxxx]

If you remove the wood it has nothing to do with the structural aspects of the trailer as it has cross members supporting the wood. You will keep 200 pounds extra on it not removing it vs roughly like a 65 to 70 lb sandwich floor. If you choose to leave it I just went and got the foam in a can and filled the seams with it and painted it all black and left mine intact for my storage floor. For speed of building the trailer they weld the back angle directly over the 2 x 6 ends so that they don't have to use any mechanical fasteners saving a lot of time and therefore money building them. To remove either cut the welded angle off or cut the wood and lift it up and out of the slots.

[Wobbly Wheels]

Even if one were to leave every other (every third?) board in place, it certainly ought to support a subfloor placed on top of it and will definitely drop the weight.

[linuxmanxxx]

The trailer is built to support the 4x6 so why do you need to leave any of them? Build a 1" sandwich with 18" centers place it on the beams that support the 2x6 and then build up and shed over 140 pounds doing that.

[eaglesdare]

hubby and i had a bit of a spat last night over this. i finally told him to just get rid of that wood period. i don't really care how he does it, just do it. i had to go back and forth in my head for awhile til i was ok with which ever way i went.
i think hubby just doesn't want to cut into that wood. must be a guy thing.

i was thinking about the spray foam if i left the wood on, because one side of the wood fits into the box fine, but the other side does not, and there is a gap, so fillers of some type i thought would have to be used.

i am happy with the decision to get rid of that wood. getting rid of it was the intent all along. but this reminds me of when i bought the rv to strip down and start from scratch, and then hubby and i started argueing over that. and then i just decided to give it to him and build my teardrop (the foamie was due to us argueing over that stupid rv). now we are argueing again. but things will work out on this one because i am not giving this to him. i spent more on this trailer than i did on the rv.

i get so annoyed at him sometimes, because i am the one that sits here reading everything i can about this stuff. i take all different ideas, methods, advise and what not. i watch tons of you tube videos, i read all these threads and links that are posted. i search out on my own different ways/methods/materials. and then i make a decision that i can live with and feel pretty good about. then hubby comes along without any ideas what so ever and says my way is wrong, or puts doubts into my head. again, this must be a guy thing. he doesn't know what a torsion box is, he doesn't even know what a kerf is either. he still doesn't get the idea of what i am trying to accomplish with the foam. i thought i had him convinced a year ago, but i guess not.

maybe i need a few more of these today. and he needs a few less of these

but the decision has been made: the wood goes. i need that weight somewhere else. and since there is a box like frame, i am going to build the floor to slide right into that box. (i hope anyway. i may end up using some of that foam spray).

[GPW]

Eagle , creative disagreements like this happen sometimes ... Usually because of one party being un informed as to the actual intent of the other .
Viz. Yesterday I was putting the finishing touches on my Wizard Robe (Mardi Gras costume aka "Glendalf” ) and had to mark the hem .... asked the wife to help and she immediately went into what she was going to do ... I just said "No way Babe , this is MY project and we’re doing it My way! “ ... Response not well received... We did it My way , with a little argument and everything came out fine ... as expected ... I drew up the patterns and had the plan in my head ... all she had was a couple sewing classes ... to which she constantly referred...
In lieu of such differences, it might be judicious to sit down and explain "the Plan” to Hubby thoroughly ... so he can work WITH you ... instead of arguing ...

[eaglesdare]

Eagle , creative disagreements like this happen sometimes ... Usually because of one party being un informed as to the actual intent of the other .
Viz. Yesterday I was putting the finishing touches on my Wizard Robe (Mardi Gras costume aka "Glendalf” ) and had to mark the hem .... asked the wife to help and she immediately went into what she was going to do ... I just said "No way Babe , this is MY project and we’re doing it My way! “ ... Response not well received... We did it My way , with a little argument and everything came out fine ... as expected ... I drew up the patterns and had the plan in my head ... all she had was a couple sewing classes ... to which she constantly referred...
In lieu of such differences, it might be judicious to sit down and explain "the Plan” to Hubby thoroughly ... so he can work WITH you ... instead of arguing ...

response not well received
we'll get thru this, as long as he remembers his role of the man of the house. i may have to show him that you tube video. i just wished he would do it today and be done with it. we are expecting 1-3" of snow tonight, so that leaves tomorrow out. this saturday we are going to see the musical lion king in richmond. so that leave next weekend out. btw: he is not looking forward to that at all!

[GPW]

This calls for Psychology .... so just tell him if he don’t do it today , you will , and that includes the possibility that you might (your word here) something Up .. Or worse, injure yourself , meaning nobody to do all the housework and cooking for the Legion ... That’ll put the fear into him ... just like every time my wife informs me she’s going to cook ... Oh Yeah !!! Right!!!