FoamStream...

Canvas covered foamies (Thrifty Alternatives...)

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Re: FoamStream...

Postby GPW » Sun Sep 16, 2018 5:16 am

HMK, Thanks !!! I’m sure a lot of people are relieved it wasn’t as bad as it first looked …. but no Picnic … We still pray for everyone affected ... :worship:
There’s no place like Foam !
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Re: FoamStream...

Postby GPW » Fri Oct 12, 2018 6:06 am

And just when we thought it was safe …. :NC Those poor people in Florida …. :frightened:

Part of getting the FoamStream ready , aside from Storm avoidance, was also moving a small boat trailer out the yard to make room ( and make the wife happy ) … The boat trailer was left over when a friend came over and picked up the boat … The poor little trailer sat in the yard , got buried in the weeds and eventually one wheel got buried in the mud with predictable results …. Half the wheel rim Rotted Away ( gone ! ) :shock:
So we dragged it out of the weeds , cleaned it up a bit and then fought to get the rim removed from the hub … :x That was all OK , just filthy and some surface rust … So we cleaned it up a bit and got a lesson in changing bearings and bearing cups … Getting them out was fairly easy , but reinstalling the cups was a challenge . We didn’t have a tool or press for that so we got out the hammer and wood block ... :o That didn’t work so well , so in desperation , we took one of the old bearing cups and ground down the outside surface till it became a slightly loose fit , flipped it over and used that and the Hammer and block to seat them … That worked fine …We hung the tool on a nail for “future use” ;)
I was surprised how inexpensive the bearing kit was ( $13.00 tax included …) Something learned every day !!! And soon we’ll have a perfectly usable trailer ... :D Never enough trailers eh … We’re down to only 4 in the yard now … :R The wife is still suspect of my motives … although I promised to sell the trailer or donate it to someone in need. I don’t know if we can be Happy with only three trailers … :NC
  Pics as soon as it gets light …
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Re: FoamStream...

Postby GPW » Sat Oct 13, 2018 7:55 am

There’s no place like Foam !
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Re: FoamStream...

Postby John61CT » Sat Oct 13, 2018 11:07 am

GPW wrote:Pictures on my Facebook page … https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php? ... on_generic
Need to join to see pics.

Any other platform you use for sharing?
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Re: FoamStream...

Postby GPW » Sun Oct 14, 2018 5:48 am

Apologies , I was in a big rush and didn’t have time , but here’s the pics ...
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Re: FoamStream...

Postby GPW » Sun Oct 14, 2018 5:52 am

Now , curiously , a friend in MS expressed he may want the trailer , but he didn’t want me to paint it up nice , wanting to avoid attention … So looks like we'll be getting it in good mechanical shape and not worry about the rest …. a “Rat“ Trailer ...
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Re: FoamStream...

Postby John61CT » Sun Oct 14, 2018 1:29 pm

Hope y'all work in a way to take advantage of that launch tongue, tons of length there.

Hmm nice 18' boat trailer on CL near me for $700, says 2yrs new brakes
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Re: FoamStream...

Postby GPW » Mon Oct 15, 2018 6:47 am

John , it’s really not much of a trailer ( could use more bracing IMHO ) but it’s got that really long tongue :R … Also has those little 10” tires on now , but there’s room for larger if needed … I originally wanted to convert it to a kayak trailer … kayaks are long and light , probably could fit several on this one with some kind of rack …
Or it may be perfect for a small travel trailer … The square part is 48” X 48” , the triangle is 48” long and that tongue goes on another 8' feet … to the coupler … could be a small 48” wide travel trailer … or hauling wood or stuff ( foam ) from the store as is … :thinking:

A Trailer is a terrible thing to waste !!! :D
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Re: FoamStream...

Postby John61CT » Mon Oct 15, 2018 9:50 am

Foamstream type for me, maybe that jacknife popup idea

I'd want to put crossbars under the main rails extending the side walls out to allow a 7" inside width for sideways beds.

Also acts as part of the extra bracing needed.

Heavier loads like batteries & big propane in back, extend the box forward same width to the point my standing on the corner got too wobbly, then start to narrow the nose for lighter storage space, maybe a little genset, solar etc electrickery gear and smaller propane. Or slider kitchen area, fridge not too heavy.
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Re: FoamStream...

Postby GPW » Tue Oct 16, 2018 5:40 am

Foam allows you to design a trailer that fits your needs …. Commercials are designed for cutesy eye appeal for the ladies … But in use they’re poorly planned for most people ( Uncomfortable ) … And their appliances are terribly expensive , not that reliable, and Dangerous … Foamies bring their own stuff ( what You want) Commercial trailer make you bring their stuff that’s not that reliable … and sometimes even catches fire … One only has to read any Non factory RV forum to discover their many problems …

It’s a Giant scam on the public …. Ever wonder why RV dealers can afford TV advertising all day and night :o … They make a Shedload of Profit on the shady work they do …

“ membrane roof "… :laughter: And they made fun of Foamies ... :R
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Re: FoamStream...

Postby GPW » Tue Oct 16, 2018 6:01 am

John , that folding trailer sure looks cool and I think it could be designed to be Simple yet roomy inside … All those folding panels make for a more complicated setup and takedown. I keep thinking the trailer doesn’t have to be completely Flat when folded , so the higher the wall ( as long as it’s a reasonable height , and fits in the garage ) The less need for separate folding side panels … A trailer could be 4’ high folded and 7’ ( ?) when opened ... :thinking: Schmaybe ? Huh ? Foam lets us do things that would be too HEAVY made of wood …
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Re: FoamStream...

Postby John61CT » Tue Oct 16, 2018 6:25 am

Yes, still trying to source simple 4-corner lifting hardware.

Fact I need to figure 200# solar on top complicates things.

No longer a pure foamie I know, but it's not a religious issue.
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Re: FoamStream...

Postby LostCajun » Tue Oct 16, 2018 1:40 pm

GPW wrote:Foam allows you to design a trailer that fits your needs …. Commercials are designed for cutesy eye appeal for the ladies … But in use they’re poorly planned for most people ( Uncomfortable ) … And their appliances are terribly expensive , not that reliable, and Dangerous … Foamies bring their own stuff ( what You want) Commercial trailer make you bring their stuff that’s not that reliable … and sometimes even catches fire … One only has to read any Non factory RV forum to discover their many problems …

It’s a Giant scam on the public …. Ever wonder why RV dealers can afford TV advertising all day and night :o … They make a Shedload of Profit on the shady work they do …

“ membrane roof "… :laughter: And they made fun of Foamies ... :R


Having a 12 year old 34 foot unit that two people have lived in for almost 7 years....not much of it is original....and what is left is falling apart....

Most of the original appliances were scrapped in the first year of living in it....

Fridge will catch on fire...at some point....don't believe me? If you run it on propane ever.....do some looking inside the compartment that the fridge lives in....(my parents 18 foot Terry caught fire in there driveway in 1973.....some leaves had blown in the vent and they were running the fridge in prep for a weekend at Grand Isle....I was loading the trailer and saw this small smoke trail coming out the vent.....I took out one of the compartment walls....but got the fire out in time for the trip to take place....if I had not been on the ball....probably the trailer and old shotgun house I grew up in would have burned down).....thats fridge.....I have a 110 volt 3/4 size house fridge in mine....the one a lot of solar people use....

Oven: its still there.....good for pot storage, only.....use a toaster oven....so why not just start with one?

Microwave is only thing still original, untouched, but a royal pita.....with having to 'load balance' current loads under a 30 amp breaker...So, even here....this forced me to install a separate electrical sub panel....50 amps....and plug my 30 amp current service into a 30 amp breaker on it....(kiss) and add a couple of 20 circuits isolated from all original wiring....

Sink, Sinks, tubs.....I have a replacement $200 Moen moduluar faucet over the kitchen sink....that $5 faucet....of course this was a no brainer when I tore out the kitchen cabinets and rebuilt them, and installed a Danby portable dishwasher in place of an awkward designed cabinet.....of course the decision to tear up the cabinets was easy since I needed to replace the kitchen floor in the first couple of years I was living in it full time....not because of water.....no....some idiot.....had installed the 2x3 flooring stud....on a 45 degree angle...with a sharp point that was cutting a break into the subfloor with every step (it felt like we were going to fall through)....

Tubs....I had fiberglassed one in 19 footer for a relative in the past....nice big crack in the bottom....same thing in this one.....I used some stuff that a aircraft guy let me use (can't remember the name or type....but...it ain't cracking where I fixed it....and to prevent it from happening elsewhere.....I just braced it underneath..(with foam)..like it should have been braced to start with....

Propane heater: this is even more dangerous than the fridge.....ask me how I know.....I have the scars from a old natural gas converted to propane furnace that was burning dirty.....easy to tell....find out what a clean flame looks like....anything else is dirty.....This must be serviced often.....I had an old mobile home I lived in for a year while building a house back in the early 90's....I relit it when it went out on one of those rare mornings in south lousiana when its in the teens.....and the unburnt gas, flashed out that little pilot lighting hole.....yeah.....a week on morphine....debriededment and whirlpools.....and just a few percent short a ride to a proper burn unit.....When I noticed that mine was not burning clean...I serviced mine in my RV by pulling it out....and using electric heat.....when it get to single digits....I have a buddy heater that I run for 5 minutes.....good for a 4 hour boost....

For some reason....my roof air is still working....but too expensive an electric current draw to run full time (it would never stop)....I have a window unit in the slide out window.....to properly cool this unit....it would have needed two of those roof hogs.....

I do have a 3 season unit.....while mine is not even mid grade....it ain't no where near the bottom.....it is a true 3 season unit.....if it is still holding together....but with single pane windows? Have to place inserts in the windows to keep heat in the winter and cool in the summer...and a constant issue for condensation.....mine actually is insulated pretty well....side walls are foam after all.....foam sandwich....roof is 2x6's....I still can dance on the roof, we do it every time we caulk.....

Waste....3 waste tanks.....just bypassed the kitchen gray water.....4 years ago....had a heart attack a week after dropping black tank and replacing the RV toilet with a house toilet....the whole waste treatment idea is flawed....if...and only if....everything else lasts any reasonable amount of time....the buildup in the tanks....will become so heavy as to create a weight problem.....or it will be even worse and become blocked.....this is black and gray....doesn't matter.....and don't even get me started how my kitchen grey water tank 'vent' was left 'open' under the 'roof fridge vent cap'......to allow everything and anything that might float or fly out of the kitchen grey water tank back into the RV......

Forget about replacing that expensive awning.....look on pintrest and spend $5 for a tarp and about $3 dollars for some plastic standoffs.....to 'run' in the awning track....and for 8 bucks.....I have a replacement awning.....instead of a big bucks.....and it won't blow off in a storm.....or on the highway.....

Roof.....so much wrong here.....but here is root of all your problems......with a house its the foundation......with a RV its the roof.....you can't spend enough time up there to keep your RV from falling apart......the only way to protect it is to cover it with another structure......and that defeats its purpose....there is NO way to 'seal' a RV roof with the way they are manufactured......and the roof membrane is probably the thickness of one of my bedsheets......so many things could put a whole in this......for me it was a shopping center sign that I choose to back under......clipped a quarter inch slit in the center of my roof about an inch long.....easy to repair.....but so much easier to destroy....and I manage to damage the vinyl insert that cover the screws that lie in a channel all around the perimeter of the roof.....actually holding the roof on to the top of the wall....and on one side actually taking the whole weight of that big bulky 20 foot plus awning.....

With that vinyl missing.....those screws will let in water......yes.....the good stuff.....and the ants will take up residence in there.....and carry some dirt in there......and leaves will compost in there.....amazing all the bad things that can happen in such a small space.....

you know.....while it might seem like I have run out of problems with bashing manufactured RV's....not really.....I have run out of energy to spend on it....

I think the point is made....

what GPW said......

I too think there are alternatives to the RV industry....and from my long experience of trying to manage and/or replace the 'standard RV industry offering.....one of the places to get good ideas is from right here.....from GPW and from quite a few others on this forum....that is what I am doing...

and you know I have jinxed myself.....that hot water heater will fail for sure now.....either the electrode or just flat corrode a hole in it.....it has to be in bad shape as the water here eats a metal hose fitting in just a couple months.....much better at this point on this one to be just reactionary.....otherwise I would have no time for anything else.
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Re: FoamStream...

Postby John61CT » Tue Oct 16, 2018 2:37 pm

The US manufacturers expect their customers to replace / upgrade every say 5-7 years.

No one cares about longevity much past that, except the lower-wealth secondhand buyers.

And few care about them.

If you're gutting and rebuilding maybe, but even then don't think it's the greatest platform to start with.
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Re: FoamStream...

Postby LostCajun » Tue Oct 16, 2018 3:32 pm

John61CT wrote:The US manufacturers expect their customers to replace / upgrade every say 5-7 years.

No one cares about longevity much past that, except the lower-wealth secondhand buyers.

And few care about them.

If you're gutting and rebuilding maybe, but even then don't think it's the greatest platform to start with.


John....you are much too kind....

to the RV manufacturers....they don't care if it last through the warranty....

and to 'lower-wealth'....buyers....I have been called a lot of things but 'lower wealth' is a new one...I am going to have some fun with this one....thanks

But, I think a lot of people who have spent cold hard cash, or have went into debt on the 'american plan' would disagree about 'who' is concerned with longevity and for how long.....someone with a 10 or 12 year note....doesn't stop caring at 5 to 7 years at something that is unsaleable....not being disagreeable just disagreeing with your assumptions.....

sorry for the hijack.....I was trying to show the extremes to keep one of the things livable for 12 plus years....doable....but who would want to....'lower-wealth' for sure.... 8)

and I want to learn more about this FoamStream....ifn I wasn't expired and lower wealth.....I would build me one of those.....I will at least 'steal' a few ideas....and if I got 12 years from RV junk.....think how many years my foamy will last....
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