1st Build, a 5'x8' Foamie Teardrop on a 4'x8' HF Trailer

[jseyfert3]

Thanks guys!

...and it is giving me lots of encouragement for when I get to that phase.

Are you not looking forward to the foam part?

I didn't get much done today, but I did a little (was busy). Remember the crack I got 2/3 along the length on one of the kerfs before I added reinforcing tape? I sprayed it with water, then squeezed up GG, then pushing the crack together, ran some strips of tape over the crack, squeezing it shut.



The foam also had this built in kerfs, so to speak, every foot or so. One of these was on the tightest part of the front curve, and so had opened up on the outside. It also was next to one of the kerfs I made, and seemed in danger of splitting open there. Probably no big deal after the canvas is on, but since it was easy to do, I sprayed it, squeezed in some GG, and ran a strip of tape over the opening to help hold the glue in. Here's a side view of this "built in" kerf I'm talking about, right after I glued it.



I ordered $187 worth of LED lighting from superbrightleds.com on Tuesday, and it came today. I've got two tail/stop lights, two amber turn signals, one oval high mount brake light, two red/two amber side marker lights with built in reflectors, one license plate light, two oval red reflectors for the rear, and the required plugs for everything. I also have four 470 lumen interior 12 V dome lights, one planned to go inside the cabin and three inside the galley.



Still in their plastic, but these taillights are impressive looking to say the least. 4" in diameter, lots of wide angle LEDs with shaped reflectors around each of them. Superbrightleds lists them as the brightest round LED lights they have, at 270 lumens for the red ones. Just by looking at them they look bright, I can't wait to test them out.



Unless something comes up, I'm planning on getting the last piece of roof glued up tomorrow, as well as start working on the kitchen shelves or the doors. Some planning is still required though, so we'll see if it's planning or doing tomorrow.

[KCStudly]

Are you not looking forward to the foam part?

With new things there can be some trepidation. All of the foam work I have done so far has been flat. For my roof I will be forming two layers of 3/4 thk foam over my 5mm ceiling panels. The front radius is something like 13-1/2 inches. I am looking forward to it with cautious optimism. Your front mid height radius looks to be similar(?).

Your excellent photos and descriptions have given me confidence (eliminating some of the trepidation), so I am grateful to you for sharing.

The larger blue foam sheets I used also had the factory slits; it was labelled "Score Board". I presume that these are on 18 and/or 24 inch centers (didn't measure) to help installers in regular building construction applications.

[Gpike]

When you get the lights in, please post up your thoughts on them. I am VERY interested.

Thanks, Geoff

[jseyfert3]

When you get the lights in, please post up your thoughts on them. I am VERY interested.

Thanks, Geoff

Will do. Won't be until it's canvased, but within two weeks....I hope.

[jseyfert3]

As the roof pieces are 5.5' wide, I cut them out of a sheet of 4'x8' foam, ending up with a 4'x5.5' piece and a 4'x2.5' piece (just under 2.5' with blade kerf). As the entire roof curve including the hatch is around 18', this means I would need five sheets cutting this way. At $26/sheet, this is pretty pricey stuff, and I wasn't going to waste that much foam (foam may be super light, but using $7/sheet OSB would have been a lot cheaper!). So I simply glued three of these 2.5' sheets to get a sheet just under 7.5' long. I'll cut this down to 5.5' and use it as one of the roof pieces here in a day or two.



I pulled the TD out just so I could get a couple pictures outside with a better angle to show it's current progress.







This morning my dad came over, and helped plan out the galley shelf location and dimensions we need for cutting the OSB that will go there. After figuring it out, we marked it on one of the sides to better visualize it.



The shelves and dividers will have some weight (7/16" OSB), and I wanted to make sure they will be supported well enough, especially if they are storing heavy items while going down rough roads. I plan to overlap the canvas on the inside into the shelves a couple inches, but for a little additional support I'm using some cheap 1x2s. Cheap is $0.75 for an 8' section, you just have to search a little to get ones that aren't curved halfway into a circle...

I used my hot wire cutter to cut a slot for the 1x2s, it worked pretty well.



I test fit a 1x2 after this test. The top is sticking out since the wall is bowing outwards somewhat. These foam sheets are not precision materials. It's not a big deal though, I'll just hold the wall from bowing while the glue dries. The 1x2 is almost flush with the foam surface, and will be hidden by the inside canvas later on. The shelves will be supported by an L-bracket screwed to the 1x2.



The pieces that were cut out are even cut nice and neat.



Last two of the four cuts I made, these ones are even neater then the first two. The shelves and walls are not outlined on the wall on this side, but the slots are cut so the 1x2s are at the front side of the shelves, underneath the vertical wall sections. They will support both the shelves and the wall sections.



The jig I made up to cut these is a absolutely stunning marvel of high tech engineering.





That's it for today. Not sure how much will happen tomorrow, usually I'm off but I have to work overtime. I'll try to get something done in the morning before work if I can.

[KCStudly]

Awesome job!

The profile looks really nice.

[jseyfert3]

Quick update here. I've glued in the 1x2s into the wall, it was a fairly quick job. Just a little glue and tape, as usual.



Here's the 1x2s on one side, with the marker outline showing where the OSB walls and shelves will be that the 1x2s support. I'm debating if I want another set of 1x2s at the very back of the trailer, holding up the front of the lower shelf or if that's not necessary. Hmm, actually I made up my mind writing this, I'll add them in. A 1x2 that length only adds 3.0 oz (I weighed it), and a couple minutes to install.



Both walls were bowed slightly outwards, so I made up a simple jig to straighten them quick. The scrap foam pieces are taped in place to hold the middle of the wall from moving, then the piece of tape on the top pulls the walls in toward each other, straightening both walls at once.



I'm probably going to go install the two other 1x2s, then make something for lunch, and if I have time, sand some of the shelves my dad cut out for me yesterday while I was at work.

[rowerwet]

love your build!!!

you could avoid the danger of kerfs splitting by applying the canvas to the outside of the panel before it is bent as the fabric will take all the tension instead of weak foam

I use http://www.amazon.com/Warner-250-Tool-c ... 000I6JLAQ# to score up all of the surfaces of my foam before I cut or glue them, it makes fast work and in my testing I found the perforated foam stuck fast with paint or TBII. that little sureform will take forever, mine is over a foot long and I still wouldn't want to score up all my foam with it.
love the way that front curve looks!

[eaglesdare]

Nice looking Foamie!

[jseyfert3]

Thanks all!

I use http://www.amazon.com/Warner-250-Tool-c ... 000I6JLAQ# to score up all of the surfaces of my foam before I cut or glue them, it makes fast work and in my testing I found the perforated foam stuck fast with paint or TBII. that little sureform will take forever, mine is over a foot long and I still wouldn't want to score up all my foam with it.

Thank you! In my question on glue grip you mentioned the spiked roller and the Stanley Sureform. But I couldn't find anywhere that sold a spiked roller for under $60! I ordered that as soon as you posted the link, no way I'm using the Stanley Sureform all over the entire inside and outside of my TD!

Yesterday I finished up the 3rd galley 1x2 support before work.



Today I enjoyed the spring weather (finally!) and started sanding the shelves my dad nicely cut out while I was at work Sunday.



Time to start gluing the the galley shelves. First I glued and screwed in some L-brackets on the 1x2 supports, then wet the OSB edges and applied glue to the TD walls.



Then I was all over the place clamping up the two boards I put in. Screwed them to the L-brackets, straightening a bow in the shelf (it was bent down near the front), clamping the vertical board to the shelf to keep the shelf from drooping while the glue cures, then removing and replacing the clamps a couple times after I realized the bottom edges weren't lined up front to back (cause of a bow in the vertical board), making up a quick jig to hold the left wall pressed in against the shelf. This really would have been a time for two people! But I was able to get it all in place after ten minutes of frantically doing this and that.

[mikeschn]

I can't wait to see you skin this baby!!!

Mike...

[jseyfert3]

I can't wait to see you skin this baby!!!

Mike...

Me either.

I picked up two fairly straight 1x4s from Home Depot, and ripped them to 2" wide using my shitty, shitty table saw. First time I used it. Only reason I got it was because it was a combo deal with a miter saw I wanted and I figured it would be of some use, so I guess I was right in that regard. These will be used for the hatch hinge.



My dad and sister came over tonight, and we finished up the galley shelves/walls.



Tape was used to hold the top shelf to the wall below it while the glue cures.



Tape was also used to keep the top shelf from bowing and pressed tight to the top wall while the glue cures. At either side of the bottom of the shelf in this pic, towards the front of the trailer, I glued and screwed a small L-bracket like I used for the first galley shelf, to help support the weight of the shelves.



My dad and sister helped make sort work of kerfing and cutting the last roof piece before the hatch. After that was done, I glued a 5.5' length piece of the 1x4 I had previously ripped to 2" wide.



That wood reinforced part of the roof piece will end up right over the top wall to the galley, which it will be glued to. This wood reinforcement is to help distribute the forces from the hinge.



I would have glued up that roof piece, but I have to wait for the glue to cure so I can remove the tape that's holding it down first. Packing tape has been incredibly useful for holding everything together on this build!

Also, of interest are some weights. I finally took a few minutes with the bathroom scale I bought to weigh my trailer and got a couple of measurements. Note that the hitch weight was measured with the scale under my DIY temp hitch stand. The weights I got as it currently sits (including the new galley shelves) are:

Hitch - 61.6 lb (27.9 kg). Right wheel - 188.6 lb (85.5 kg). Left wheel - 181.8 lb (82.5 kg).

This means my current total weight is 432. lb (196. kg), with 16.6% of the weight on the hitch. The hatch will decrease the hitch weight a little, but the mattress will increase a lot more then the hatch will decrease it. The canvas will also increase the hitch weight, as more of the canvas will be forward of the axle then behind. However, it looks like I'm in the right ballpark for hitch weight, and will be able to put some weight in the galley (pots/pans, dishes, camp stove, cooler, etc) while still maintaining 10% hitch weight. I plan to shoot for a minimum of 10% after packing to camp but not go much over 10% to keep the weight off my sedan, and it looks like I'm on the right track for that.

[jseyfert3]

Yesterday I glued up the final roof piece.



I also glued the 2" wide piece of wood to a piece of foam that would become the first of the two hatch pieces I need for the hatch.



Kerfing the hatch piece.



Test fitting the first hatch piece, looks good to me. I'll probably start gluing it up tonight, as I think it would be easier to glue this one first instead of attaching the second piece. Then tomorrow I should be able to cut, kerf, and glue the second piece, which will finish the hatch except for sealing, reinforcing, and canvasing.

[KCStudly]

Nice job. Sure is coming together fast.

[jseyfert3]

Before I could glue the hatch piece in place to "lock in" the curve, I laid down a strip of plastic wrap on the TD walls. Gorilla Glue doesn't stick to plastic wrap.

Plastic Wrap to Keep Hatch From Sticking by jseyfert3, on Flickr

I used Gorilla Glue and put about an inch bead of glue on the kerf lines. Most of this sunk into the kerf, as I wanted. These lines of glue were arranged in a line running from top to bottom. Any glue left outside the kerf line I wiped inside the kerf with my finger. Almost burned my finger, even though it was about 65 °F today and it was only in the sun less then ten minutes, that glue got hot! After applying all the glue, I misted the entire side of the hatch with a spray bottle of water.

Glue After Applying by jseyfert3, on Flickr

I did five "strips" of glue like this, approximately evenly spaced across the width of the hatch. The goal of the glue is to hold the curved shape of the hatch until the main strength of the canvasing is completed.

Five "Strips" of Glue by jseyfert3, on Flickr

Then I put it in place and taped it, as I did for the roof pieces, except I did not glue it to the walls. Hopefully this will hold the shape when I remove the tape later.

Gluing First Hatch Piece by jseyfert3, on Flickr

I need one more 2-2.5' section cut, kerfed, attached to this piece, and glued to finish off the hatch. I plan to do that tomorrow, then begin work on the doors and roof vent. Goal is to have the outside canvased by Tuesday, paint Wed/Thu, and hopefully ready to tow on Saturday.