Hello from Gatineau, Quebec...and a few questions ;)

[YannG]

Good morning. I came across this forum while trying to find an alternative to tent camping, something that my VW Golf Sportwagen could pull. For me, the foamie section makes a lot of sense to what I am looking for. So I started to read a few threads and after many hours of reading into a few sections and topics, I figured out that I really wanted to build something. But I have 2 major problems and I am not sure if I can build in those conditions. 1) No garage or barn to work in. It would have to be built in my driveway or in the backyard. Knowing that it can be a lengthy building process, I am scared that it will be difficult when it comes the time to assemble the panels and when working with PMF. 2) I am not sure if I am the only one like that but just the thought of having to touch and work with foam gives me goosebumps. I just have a very difficult time touching this stuff. I know, you are probably telling yourself that if it is that bad, why bother building with foam. I need something super light. If someone had to deal with one of those 2 problems when building their foamie, please let me know how it went overall. Experience wise, I am an aircraft structure technician by trade so I am used to work with aluminum ( sheet work and parts manufacturing), adhesives, fiberglass, fabric, epoxy, paint etc. I know a bit about weight and balance, aerodynamics. If you have questions on those topics I will be happy to help.

Sincerely,

Yan

[mary and bob]

If you know aircraft structure then just build a copy of a late 40's Modernistic teardrop. We have one that is all aluminum except for the steel frame and axle. It is assembled with aircraft type rivets and weighs 650 lb. I suspect these were built with war surplus aluminum by former aircraft workers.

[MickinOz]

Hi, welcome aboard.
I was wondering, "Why would anyone who could potentially find himself camping with bears want a superlight trailer?"
According to Wikipedia, Quebec has both black bears and polar bears.

Then I Googled the VW Golf Sportwagon.
I was stunned to discover that VW sells some Golfs that have zero towing capacity.
So I googled some more and discovered it is not the only small car that suffers from this performance limitation.
I didn't know that.

If the reason you need super lightweight is because you have a car that has no towing capacity recommendation at all, I'd say get a car that the manufacturer says you can tow with. I visualise all sorts of liability issues arising if you tow more than the car's listed capacity.

Anyway, assuming your particular car has at least some towing capacity, I'd just say

1) Having never built one, it looks to me the foamies add a little extra complexity to the build. I know they say they are simple, but I've been very interested in them too, and one day while surfing through the foamie threads it struck me that it seemed like I had to look in quite a few threads to find photos of finished builds.
2) We don't have bears in Australia (unless you believe in Drop Bears) so I'm not speaking from experience, but I think I'd rather have 3/4 inch of ply between me and the bears than either foam or 1mm aluminium.
3) Even a timber teardrop can be built very light. No doubt a foamie is lighter, but enough to make it worth working with a medium you are clearly uncomfortable with?

Having said all that, given your stated background, If you want a foamie - get building. It will not defeat you.
The journey - deciding the design, finding the materials, dealing with challenges along the way, questioning your design choices, then one day realising it has cost twice your initial estimate and you ain't finished yet, is half the fun. And it all becomes worthwhile the day your mate drops by and uses words like stunning, amazing, awesome,craftsmaship, etc.

[Pmullen503]

Try building something small like a tongue box with foam and PMF. That will give you an idea of how easy it is and decide if it's for you.

[YannG]

I wrote a lengthy reply but not sure where it went. So here is about what I previously tried to post. Lol

You made me laugh with your polar bears. They are nowhere near where most people live in Quebec. I am talking thousands of kms. For the weight, yes it has to do with my somewhat limited towing capacity. What is giving me some hope is that the same vehicle can tow over 2000 lbs in Europe. America...towing not recommended. So I believe if I can keep the weight down, really down, I won't have any problems. I hope to build a foam "box" something that looks like the nano weekender I have seen here that I can secure to a flat trailer. My trailer base is a landscaping trailer, 4.5 ft x 8 ft. I would cut the side railings and the gate, keeping the front railing and floor mesh. For now that is what I am thinking anyway.

I like the idea of trying something small first. I think that is exactly what I will do. If I can tolerate working with foam I think I will like it. Maybe if I use gloves it won't be that bad. Will see.

Thanks for the kind words.

[MickinOz]

You made me laugh with your polar bears. They are nowhere near where most people live in Quebec. I am talking thousands of kms.

Like our crocodiles, I guess. Personally, I'd have to travel about 2500 km to see one in the wild.

I reckon a nano weekender is a good shape for foam. Should be able to do it with all flat panels, which would certainly make construction a lot easier.
A 4.5 feet frame is perfect - over here, we get a "caravan double" mattress which is 4 feet wide. i.e. the standard original teardrop width. How the cheeky buggers get away with calling it a double I have no idea. I guess people were smaller in the 1920's.
Next standard size up for us is the 4.5 feet wide real double mattress.
6 inches narrower than a queen bed, but 6 inches wider than a standard 4 foot teardrop. Perfect.

2000 lbs - 900kg towing capacity. That's a very heavy trailer, yours will come in waaaayyyy under that, I'm sure.

[YannG]

Always been a dream to visit Australia. A lot of things can only be seen in the wild in Australia. Unique place. I like the US as well. They have all the different climates. Canada is a great place to live and a nice place to travel with all our lakes and mountains. Peaceful.

Yes I believe people in the 20s were smaller but luckily for my project, I am not bigger than them lol.

Yes 2000 lbs is a lot for a small car like this but still don't understand why the difference in towing capacity between the 2 continents. You can look online the hidden hitch that comes factory on the golf Sportwagen. You just release a mechanism in the trunk and magic, you have a 3000 lbs ( or close) rated hitch on your car.

My last camping trip was in a tent by Lake Ontario close to Toronto. Nice place. But 15 minutes after the tent was up, a massive thunderstorm hit the place and nothing remained dry inside the tent. Nothing. First time I was tent camping in probably 20 years. I used to own a pop up trailer and even if you keep it maintained, I always been scared that a cable would snap while lifting the roof. I just did not trust that kind of engineering when away from my tools. I always enjoyed camping but got rid of the pop up, then rid of the SUV and now, years later Covid hits and I can't travel anymore like I used to in the last few years by plane to visit different parts of the world. So Covid dictated how I would spend my summer meaning it would not be too far from home, by the nature. Camping was actually ideal but I was back to my 20 year old set-up, a tent. But after the flood experience, I looked at my now small car and imagined that I could probably find something small enough to tow and that would keep me dry and comfortable. Then I discovered Tnttt

[MickinOz]

Just had a look. A Golf Wagon here in Oz is rated for 670kg unbraked, 1500 kg if the trailer has brakes.
Maybe you Quebecois aren't too be trusted with such a difficult task?
Edit: Just found a website where the author reckons VW doesn't want to fit tow hitches to US cars because Americans sue each other a lot and they are worried about liability.
I guess Canada just gets the flow on effect from that?

[YannG]

MickinOz » Sun Aug 23, 2020 10:09 am

Just had a look. A Golf Wagon here in Oz is rated for 670kg unbraked, 1500 kg if the trailer has brakes.
Maybe you Quebecois aren't too be trusted with such a difficult task?

Ahaha yes sometimes we are not to be trusted I concur with that one.

[YannG]

If there are a few Canadians on here that built a foamie what foam did you purchase. We don't have the Foamular 250 that most people use. Same for the glue. TB2 doesn't seem available. I saw some Elmer's that has some waterproofing qualities but can't find TB2 in stores or available online for us. Rough start lol.

[YannG]

Maybe it's time to move to another thread with my foam and glue question

[tony.latham]

Forget the bears...





Tony

[YannG]

Eh! Don't make fun of our Sasquatches. Lol