FoamStream...

[dales133]

Mines pretty heavy in the floor and the galley wall area.
I can lift the whole front on my own easy enough but the galley areas alot heavier.
Its not a foamie so to speak but its closer I guess than skeliton used ply. Most of the structual integrity is similar to kcs,foam glued to the same size internal skin he used but ive got a bit more framing and a wafer thin hardwood single ply skin.
One thing I ment to ask you Glen is after 4 coats of paint on my hatch canvas ive got a small bubble about the size of a watch that needs fixing.
Was glued down with tb2 .
Can I iron that or should I get tracy to get a hypodermic syringe from work and inject some glue into the bubble.
Your thoughts are apreciated

[GPW]

Might try the iron first , don’t set it too hot or it will melt the foam ... use a damp towel or cloth in between as a safety measure ... Theory is, the heat re-melts the T-2 and sticks the canvas down ... It’s also good to put a tiny vent hole on the edge of the bubble , so any heated air can escape, allowing better contact ... Apply even pressure with a folded cloth till cool ...That should do it ...

Curious , I was going over the FS looking for any skin problems , and there were none (no bubbles) although we knew of one for sure that we had looked after ... now vanished ... But I could see where certain seams had opened up due to shrinking of the material ... OVER TIME !!! The measured shrinkage was 1/16” , which over the length of 13’+ could be quite substantial for “After the fact” shrinkage ... That explains why Foamies “tighten up" after a while ... further proving the “sock“ theory ...

[GPW]

We wanted to show how the fabric skin shrinks over time and exposure ... These close up pics are ~ 1/16” exposed primer where the seams pulled apart from shrinking .... only two we found and on the nose . We’ll fix those before the intense FS washing/Fall cleaning coming up , likely tomorrow ...
note: seams with generous overlap did Not show any signs of separation.. and another good reason for the reinforcing strips underneath ...

[GPW]

Apologies , the FS is FILTHY !!!

[GPW]

Had a nice visit from Mary (“Grits") to inspect the FS. Got to view her trailer which seemed to work pretty well ... and looked really Good with the matching truck ...
BTW , her traveling companion was so cute ...

[GPW]

Curiously enough , I found an actual small tension split on Mary’s trailer hatch ,similar to the FS shrinking ^ ... Reinforcing the notion that the canvas skin does in reality shrink very tight over time , maybe a little too tight ... More long term observation is needed ... We’ll have to look closely for more little skin aberrations .... some minor patching should cure all problems ...

Like I was discussing with Mary , After two years of mine living outside in the weather , this is only a very minor problem compared to other trailers ...

[KCStudly]

Does there seem to be any correlation to the amount of overlap (or lack thereof) at the seam?

Wondering also if it is some difference between glue bond to foam vs. glue bond to self (canvas). Do you get a sense if the canvas is only shearing at the bond to itself, or are there signs of the bond with the foam failing too?

[GPW]

KC,mine was the overlap stretched , on Mary’s was a tear (split ) in a clear area , no seam ... something unanticipated ...

[GPW]

Just got a message that Mary and “Grits" is stranded at a Wal Mart parking lot awaiting truck repairs ... Lets all hope she gets on her way soon !!!

[KCStudly]

Any updates? I sure hope it was something simple that could be easily fixed for not a lot of doe-ray-me.

[GPW]

Haven’t heard anything .... I hope it wasn’t much ... Truck seemed to be running fine when she drove away ...

[GPW]

Still haven’t heard from Mary (grits ) .... starting to wonder if she’s OK ...

[KCStudly]

I wouldn't worry about Mary too much. She's tough. Got grits ya' know. It's not unlike her to "go off the grid" for a bit, but it would also be nice to hear that things went okay.

[GPW]

Good news !!! Heard from Mary , she’s home and OK !!!

[KCStudly]

Thanks for the update.