The Mad Dash begins...

[Alan_H]

Just got done reading your build thread.. I definitely learned a couple things, and admire your attention to detail. Great work!

I'm also interested in where you got the wheels.

[mikeschn]

Just got done reading your build thread.. I definitely learned a couple things, and admire your attention to detail. Great work!

I'm also interested in where you got the wheels.

Alan & Tac422,

I bought them at a salvage rv yard, but you can get the same thing in many places online. They are called star wheels. Here's an example. Make sure you get the right bolt circle for your trailer!

http://www.etrailer.com/Tires-and-Wheel ... aQodg38OsQ

Mike...

[GPW]

Those wheels do look very NICE !!! The whole trailer came out so NICE !!! Great Job !!!

Now we know this is your second Foamie’ , and from your extensive experience , would you have some good Foamie’ building advice for the rest of us ... Anything you’d like to discuss or recommend. What you think about Foamies’ now ??? We really would like to know what you think ...good or bad !!!

[GPW]

Mike , will you be making short kits available to the public ? just the walls ... ?? It is a COOL design eh !!!

[mikeschn]

Nope, not planning on doing any kits. I am so busy at work that there's no time at home for anything right now.

I will make the profile available... as soon as I find a few minutes...

I will have some more thoughts on the foamie build shortly. But one thing comes to mind right away. If I ever do another foamie, it'll have a hard skin on the outside. The thinnest skin I can find that makes sense. Would that be 1/8" plywood? I don't know. But foam is hard to keep flat. And even if I did as much work as KC to make it pretty, everytime you bump into the teardrop, you make another nick. Can't think any more tonight.

Mike...

[GPW]

Just asking .... didn't want to burden you with another "business" ...
Dented foam ... Thing is , don't bump into it , or if you do , park it in the sun ... a lot of the dents will mysteriously go away (true !) .... That also brings up the idea of a chipboard protector under the canvas , a hard skin for "stressed" areas ... All in how much "perfection" you want to add to the build process , as KC has so aptly proven .
And then , in the best Foamling' Spirit , a foamie trailer was never intended to replace a "decorative" trailer ... It's just an Easy way to camp ... and Not a tent... All for Fun,and Fun for all !!! Something to make a Mad Dash in eh !!!

[WoodSmith]

Mike,

The Mad Dash looks great! It is a very sleek profile and really flows well with your TV.

As for a hard skin- I have recently done some testing of my own after much prodding by GPW. Not that it comes as any surprise to anyone, he is right. The chipboard skins make for one heck of a lightweight, hard surface. I used a couple of desk calendar blotter backers and glued them with TB2 to each side of a piece of 1" foam. Very nice. I measured them with my micrometer and they came in at 0.040" thick. I have not yet applied a coat of Themix (which is what I call GPW's concoction of cheap poly and mineral spirits) so it will only get harder as the fibers on the outside get fixed in place.

Uline will deliver a pallet of 250 pcs of 40" x 48" x 0.050" for $363. If you can find one or two buddies to split that with, you have a lot of chipboard to play with for a pretty good price.

Woodsmith

[GPW]

Glen , Thanks for confirming that .... We’ve had great luck using chipboard and plan to continue to find new uses for it to replace conventional plywood which as we know has a less than satisfactory history of failure and de-lamination ... Since both Chipboard and plywood are made of the same thing (cellulose ) , the difference is HOW they’re made ... tubes (which conduct water like plumbing ), or an interlocking mass which does not allow water to flow as freely and great distances and is easily sealed (waterproofed) ...


Here’s more that we ever wanted to know ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellulose

That’s Really a GOOD price on the chipboard

[GPW]

While we were outside painting the scaffold pieces , I couldn’t help but go over and give the FS a few impolite “bumps” with my fist ... and although the foam is the beaded type 2# underneath the 18oz. canvas , it didn’t make a mark ... If we want to dent this we’re going to need tools !!! Thinking this result could be due to the time sitting outside “hardening" in the Sun. Or could be just the result of using really THICK canvas. I remember the aged Foamie #1 was difficult to dent even with it’s lighter Linen canvas skin (strong stuff) , but it took a really scary hail storm to make some marks , that eventually went away all by themselves... Now had the hailstorm evenly dented all the surfaces of the trailer , we could have tested the Golf ball dimple principle of aerodynamics ...

[PC44730]

By studying this thread from the beginning I felt that I had entered into the middle of a conversation. Is there discussion of the design elsewhere? How might I find it? Also, can I assume that a Harbor Freight 4' x 8' trailer is stretched and used?

CB

[mikeschn]

CB,

You got the whole conversation. This was a build thread. I did not discuss the design anywhere. Was there a specific question you had?

Mike...

[PC44730]

There are so many ways that a Teardrop appeals. If I can cut costs reasonably and keep it very light, that would be very helpful. Foamies seem a good solution. If I can make it work at five feet wide on an inexpensive four foot wide trailer from Harbor Freight, it would be even better.

Peace,

CB

[redwing1967]

CB,

There are a number of foamie builds that are bigger out there. The first that comes to mind is this one:
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=58559
It's a 5x8 on an HF 4x8 trailer

A couple of other builds are below which could be modified to fit a smaller trailer building a wider platform using the technique in the above build or as seen here:
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=55140

Other builds:
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=45698
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=49879

Even a scaled down version of Mike's Mad Dash could fit on a 4x8 trailer which is what I plan on in the future. I'm thinking 5x9 or 5x10.....Eventually

Hope this helps and good luck in whatever you decide.

Frank

[tac422]

CB,
yet another example...
viewtopic.php?f=55&t=56441

[ghcoe]

Mine is 64" wide by 100" long on a HF trailer. I moved the axle back. See link below.....