Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[eaglesdare]

NOTICE : Anybody wanting to Organize it is most welcome to !!!!
Nobody is being forced to read this thread … Read it if you WANT to … or Not … This is the story of the Foamie trailer Evolution … Some may find it Interesting and informative. Some may not … Your Choice … !!! Don’t blame me if it’s too long, it’s the ONLY thread we had for a very Long time ...

Yes you must remember that this thread WAS the ONLY thread we had for foamies.

Also I think there are so many pinned threads already. Many build threads posted. I see no reason to do anything more with the "Big" thread, except to read it if you want.

[John61CT]

You mean you think a summary with annotated links would not be helpful for newcomers?

Seems a bit like "well, back in my day, we had to. . ."

[GPW]

J’ , were all Volunteers , we don’t get paid Anything for all the work and years invested here, so "it is what it is" … Like we said , if you want to jump in and help organize these Volumes , you’d be Most WELCOME !!! Just please check with Eagle first ( our Moderator) Big Thanks if you do !!!

[GPW]

Excuse my analogy , but we’re all like a Family here , for many years now every body pitches in with their Knowledge and Experience , nobody just sits down at the table demanding a FREE LUNCH …

[eaglesdare]

You mean you think a summary with annotated links would not be helpful for newcomers?

Seems a bit like "well, back in my day, we had to. . ."

This is what I said and this is what I meant: Also I think there are so many pinned threads already. Many build threads posted. I see no reason to do anything more with the "Big" thread, except to read it if you want.

[jim_manley]

Our Magnum Opus has stood The Test of Time, or at least hasn't completely bit-rotted away, despite the loss of easy access to the content pointed to by "dead" links. I especially like the first page of said Opus that begins, "It was the worst of times, it was the even worse than worst of times ... " It's the long-dreaded sequel, "A Tale of Two RVs", if I recall, by Charles "Scare the" Dickens "Outta 'Em!"

That said, we do have the "index" that was done a year or three ago by a stalwart member, which is an Opus in its own right.

[linuxmanxxx]

GPW hey buddy I've been looking off and on for alternative coatings for the foam mostly plastic based. I've found one for coating props that is hard and paintable for UV protection and has good coverage finally. 350 sq ft a gallon and only $60.89 for the gallon. https://www.sculpturalarts.com/foamcoating.htm and a more expensive but probably easier to find is foamcoat https://us.rosco.com/en/product/foamcoat and neither of these are 2 part combos or such like styrospray 1000 and pretty much harmless as long as you don't drink it.

[John61CT]

Wow sounds like amazing stuff.

Were you thinking **instead of** Gripper or TB2?

Or as a hard-shell weave-fill coating over the top of the finished PMF?

I'm inspired by their mention of solidifying a muslin / gauze fabric over a skeleton-shape, maybe for Dymaxion-style curves, or painted canvas canoe hulls.

Spray-foaming the interior for insulation and added strength.

Any build threads along those lines?

[linuxmanxxx]

I'm looking at using it without any cloth just applied straight over the foam. That would make it cheaper than pmf and tb or gripper and harder shell too. Says can thin with hot water and get even more coverage.

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[John61CT]

Well they mention 20 times how even gauze greatly increases its strength.

With my understanding of the process, it's the fabric that actually hold things together, the coating /adhesive only sticks to a very shallow layer of weak foam otherwise.

An eggshell may be **relatively** strong, but very heavy forces are at play hurtling down highways, bouncing on rough roads, tree limbs etc etc.

[linuxmanxxx]

I'm pretty sure the fabric addition is because they do standing props and not closed structures that have much higher strength properties. It dries to a plastic shell that is sandable so that's pretty hard in itself. They have a smaller sample to try which I'll try on down the road but not soon. I have a gut feeling this stuff will work rather well.

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[GPW]

Steve, sounds like a great Test !!! The RC Foamie guys mentioned it a while back , but there was no real resolution …

FYI seen here … https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthr ... tyro+Spray

[linuxmanxxx]

I found three different variations of this stuff. Styrospray which is 2 part mixed and pricy for large coverage. The other 2 I listed above are just mix and apply and the cheaper one says no foam prep and higher coverage. I'm making Cornhole boards and this might make an intriguing set from foam possible as well as a camper.

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[John61CT]

Not being argumentative just for S&G here.

Imagine two simple 8x4 box, one end open

foam panels glued only, one end open.

One wrapped around with standard PFM including canvas

The other just coated with whatever paint/sealant/adhesive, no fabric underlay.

Now apply equal forces to both boxes, from the sides and/or top outside or from inside like someone desperate to get out.

Of course either box will be pretty easy to "wreck" aesthetically.

But I'd bet a fair amount the one with the embedded fabric will fail much les catastrophically from a structural POV.

Especially wrt separation / collapse at the edge joins.

[GPW]

Wow , I must be living under a rock , and had to look up what a cornhole board was … No Idea it was a backyard game …

John , just a WAG , I’d think the fabric skin would hold things together while a surface film would just snap all at once … to be effective for trailer work , I’d think it would have to stay fairly flexible … something more like “ Flex Seal “ as seen on TV … just guessing , thinking testing would be the only way to really tell ...