Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[pete42]

only tea for this old man................
Mr. Wheels about your dog last year my friends dog went thru the same thing she never did recover and sadly we lost her.
she did live a long life the last couple of months were very bad, but life goes on and we now have another doggy a mixed
terrier she is very loving and the whole famaily loves her as she does us.
pete

[Wobbly Wheels]

Sorry to hear about your friends' pup, pete.
I wasn't aware of any cases of vestibular syndrome that were fatal. I'll ask the vet when I take her back in on Friday.
Thanks for the heads up !

[pete42]

Sorry to hear about your friends' pup, pete.
I wasn't aware of any cases of vestibular syndrome that were fatal. I'll ask the vet when I take her back in on Friday.
Thanks for the heads up !

I may have stated that wrong she acted the same way but she died from old age.

pete

[Wobbly Wheels]

No worries pete - when I got home and saw her, I thought 'stroke' because of the symptoms.

[Jack B.]

So GPW, since you seem to be the testiest one of the bunch (tests the most that is) I'm wondering if you've tried/tested using varnish instead of paint to bond the fabrics to the foams? If that worked seems like it might be good way to insure a tighter (due to shrinkage) shell that then could be painted over.

Just letting my mind wander around for awhile before I actually get started on a trailer project. Since I have half a house to finish re-siding with another MN winter coming AND the parts of a recumbent tadpole trike I still need to learn how to weld to assemble, trailers are a bit farther down the list than they were a few weeks ago.

Jack

[GPW]

Jack, I’ve used varnish for many years , but only on top of the canvas... used to protect the paint .... on paintings (Art) .... Never tried using Varnish to attach the canvas to foam ... Haven’t tried that ... The T2 worked well for me , and from other’s testing , the Paint seems to work Better ... Being an Artist, my concern is to make paintings that last hundreds of years ...With all this testing, no reason we couldn’t make a Foamie trailer that would do the same ...

[eaglesdare]

just got back from maybe our last trip of the year. it was really a great time. took both pups and overall it wasn't bad at all. the big boy sure did keep me warm!

[droid_ca]

gpw any more ideas for that sled trailer

[GPW]

I dunno’ what do you like ... Need ?

[droid_ca]

was thinking the drawing you did up if the back end were ub around 4.5 feet (somewhere in that area) and maybe stretch out the sled to say 10-14 feet width not to sure about, then maybe streamline it was thinking if a passenger compartment were to be inside nd have a front viewing window so they could be inside and stay warm after all it's a dog sled so some rules can be broken like traveling with passengers inside act act...
Still thinking a fun winter project while I wait for stuff to do my main build
Thanks again

[GPW]

Guess the first thing to start with is the Sled itself ... Got some Hickory ... ?

[droid_ca]

nope what else can I use I guess I could go with a composite runner and use plastic

[Wobbly Wheels]

UHMW makes great runners and you can buy it in thin strips. Adhesives won't stick to it, but some #6 screws countersunk just below the surface rather than flush will hold it on.
I've gotten it through Redwood out in Langley. Great product knowledge and they'll sell small amounts. I just bought a bunch of UHMW from them to use for wear pads where the docks rub on the pilings. UHMW will survive getting dragged over rocks, gravel, asphalt, etc and still be slicker than snot on the snow without having to wax it or any other such foolishness.

The sheets are as thin as 1/8" and are 4X10. They'll likely have scrap from another order so you can likely get a couple 10' strips pretty cheaply from the leftover edge of a sheet.

[droid_ca]

Thanks Wobbly Wheels I'll check them out how playable is the stuff can they roll it up and ship it or would it come like a piece of plywood?? now about the body hmmm I was just having coffee at a friends and their children were watching a kids show and suggested I use a balloon to make it lighter so I can haul everything (the show had some bear and old guy that flies around in a boat) so we can take maybe some of that not sure I guess if there was a wood stove inside that would work...I guess there was a little more Baileys in that coffee then I thought ....Ok so here are some ideas to run with...Sorry about rambling

[Wobbly Wheels]

Hehe...like filling your tires with helium ?...

If you get the thin stiff (1/8"), it'll roll into about an 18" circle. If your looking at strips of thicker stuff, they'll probably ship it in a tube because it won't roll. If you are planning on a bend in the front of the runners, I doubt 1/4" would bend that much anyway. Besides, the stuff wears so well that all you'll need is a thin wear surface and it'll probably last as long as the sled.
If you have an idea of your longest length, Redwood will cut it down for you since they're also a fab shop. If you wanted a full sheet, they could also cut that down to a more 'shippable' size. I think they charge about a buck a cut.