1st Build, COMPLETING a 5'x8' Foamie Teardrop

[SummittDweller]

I have a really tight schedule tonight, have to depart for a meeting in about five minutes, but took a few minutes to clean up the garage before hand. The interior structure in the rear is all up to date now. After my meeting I might see if I can glue some support boards to the two portions of the curved foam roof in the back so they will be ready to mount in the next day or two.





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[SummittDweller]

Another busy day so not much TD progress, but I did "test" some tape and gluing techniques last night. Those went well, and "stuck" nicely, so this afternoon I glued one more section of foam in for the roof near the rear of the TD. It that looks good I'll do the last significant piece of foam tomorrow evening. I also returned the 12" Gamma seal (too big, 10" will have to do) and the primer I bought earlier, and am expecting delivery of some Glidden Gripper tomorrow. Picked up two pair of zinc plated (for outdoor wear) door hinges and a small pair of trailer levels too.

Photos tomorrow, I hope.

[SummittDweller]

And another slow TD day, but I did get another foam roof section in...with photos.





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[SummittDweller]

Saturday construction round 1... so I didn't care for the gap that JS left in the floor up front, I plan to use that space to carry my deep cycle battery and some lightweight items like bedding. So I got under the trailer and lag bolted a 2x4 to the frame for strength then screwed a 1/2" thick piece of plywood to it. I then glued the forward edge of the plywood to the foam curve for additional rigidity.

Difficult to see in these photos...





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[SummittDweller]

Spent enough time inside the TD lately to know how unstable the support wheel up front is, so today I made a new hitch support for it from some scrap.

Going out to test it now.



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[SummittDweller]

Saturday round 2... The foam I installed in the back end was a little short of being wide enough so I needed some gap filling to build up along the edges and around the seams for safety sake. So yesterday I bought some fiberglass resin thinking I would use it as filler, but it is not stiff enough to apply by trowel so I read that some people add sawdust to thicken it. However it is kind of pricey so I thought if sawdust is what's needed I would try adding some dust to a little bit of Glidden Gripper and see how that applies. So that's what I did this afternoon.



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[KCStudly]

Epoxy and foam sawdust, West System 406 filler, micro balloons, or other bonding fillers would also work for gaps. Do yourself a favor and go with fairing fillers (West 410, or any of the finer fillers... maybe sanding dust?) for filling in minor dents or depressions. The bonding fillers are more coarse and don't fair as well as the finer fillers.

I used light weight vinyl spackle and also experimented by mixing it with foam dust and TB2. It worked, but there was some discussions and concerns about future adhesion issues between the vinyl and epoxy.

You are making great progress!

[SummittDweller]

I haven't posted for a couple of days now but I have been working quite a bit on the TD. My hope all along was to have the unit ready for travel but certainly not complete by Friday, April 8. I think I'm going to make it so that I can go camping and give it a trial run this weekend, but it won't be as complete as I had hoped to do to the weather. I got the backend all buttoned up and smoothed up somewhat but my filler hasn't been drying well because it's been raining for the last three days. So yesterday I put a coat of primer on the backend to seal it up a little and plan to head down the road with it in that shape. I will canvas it later if the shakedown cruise goes well.



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[SummittDweller]

I also got the door installed and hardware on it and on the opposite side I decided to go with a full-size Plexiglas window and it is installed but I'm waiting for my wife to get home and help me post it in place so I can seal it up.





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[SummittDweller]

My plan for the weekend is to take both of my tenants just in case, along with plenty of tarps and tiedowns in case I have to cover up. I am also taking a host of tools so that I can complete a little bit of interior work in a few places if I find time.


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[SummittDweller]

One of the installs for this weekend will be a sliding bolt on the inside of the door so I can latch it from within. Oh and I forgot to mention I have an electric campsite this weekend so no battery yet but I'll get by on AC power for now.



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[SummittDweller]

And the maiden voyage of this TD is well underway! So far, so good. I towed the trailer about 120 miles today and barely knew it was behind me. It handles very well and it's nice to have a bed up off the ground, and one that I can easily reposition without needing to hook up to my hitch!

The door install was meant to be a temporary test and tonight I discovered it is just too small to seal well, so i will be using the other door blank to make a replacement in the coming weeks.

Had one electrical issue before departing today but got lucky and found the bad connection quickly. No other issues thus far so it's time for me to get some sleep.

But first...proof of camping for my daughter and any other skeptics out there.





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[KCStudly]

[aggie79]

:applause:

I agreed! Awesome!

[SummittDweller]

Did some interior planning while camped this weekend and got a bit of a start on that tonight...but I also have to do taxes, ugh. So no more for tonight, or maybe the next couple nights. Oh well, I do plan to pull the TD to work with me on Thursday, camp for an event I'm attending that night, and return to work on Friday morning with the TD in tow again. Should be interesting.

I also wanted to post how nice it is to have something that I can tow with my RAV4 and still get 25 mpg, while towing! I remember days pulling my 5th wheel when I was lucky to get 5 mpg! It's also really nice to be able to pick up the tongue with one hand and re-positiion the rig, carefully, without having to hitch up!

And thanks for the foam dust advice and applause. Hope to post more later in the week or weekend.