Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

mikeschn wrote:If I wanted a slightly curved roof, how much could I curve the foam without having to kerf it?

I'm looking to improve the water run off, and make it look cosmetically a little more appealing. any ideas?

Mike...

I am going to crank up the front jack until the water runs off

Could also pull onto a rock with one tire, park on an incline, run over speed bumps, do a hill climb - the possibilities are endless !!!

Just kidding - you have a CNC - put in a slight curve on the sides and push down on the foam til it conforms - foam will bend pretty well even without steam, compression or heat. All my bowed walls from the factory confirm it

Just in case you haven't seen it ....

viewtopic.php?f=55&t=56441&start=270

Vs, how many new members per month and the retyping of all the information ... over and over again ... There’s only so much we can say about a simple Foamie , and that’s already been said many times ... I’m OLD now !!! My typing fingers aren't what they used to be ( both of them) ... I say Read the Big Thread and learn ... Nothing really Good ever came with no effort , and they can skip the bits about all the nay sayers ( they were WRONG!!! ) , and the PET pictures ... That saves at least half for the good reading ... ...

And then if everyone would just take it at face value , and just build , we wouldn’t have to say hardly anything ...

I agree, everyone that's interested in a foamie should go thru the big thread...

Mike...

mikeschn wrote:I agree, everyone that's interested in a foamie should go thru the big thread...

Mike...

I did that - it took me 6 years.

It took that long to Write it , and Live it !!!

If you look at the first post on my summary thread, I now recommend building a foam boat before tackling a camper.
I noticed that the same questions were being asked again and again, by new people, with only a few new ideas every so often.
I built my foamie mouseboat to learn what works best through hands on practice. The boat also proved how tough a foamie really is.
I could then build my foamie teardrop with no back tracking, or big mistakes, and with the only plans being in my head.
The boat also only costs a bit over $ 100 instead of the thousands a teardrop does.

Just like everyone in the General Discussion accepts plywood as a a trailer building material , will one day they will accept Foam as well ... With so Many Foamies' on the road now and Thousands and thousands of miles travelled already .... It sure is the “proof of Concept” ... We KNOW it works now !!! And Row , likely that my foamie confidence level all goes back to the many Foam planes we built for RC (most still around in various “collections” ), and that one Foamie Sailboat we had , some 40 years ago ... Molded bead foam , plastic skin on the outside , we got it second hand , sailed it a lot , and had a great time with it , and re sold it to some other kids .... it just held up to everything ... Figured if it works for all that then it’s be a chinch for a camper trailer ... JMHO , very few trailer manufactures have hit on a good trailer , or the use of materials in it at least ... They won’t talk about foam because now it’s suddenly affordable to everybody ... making all their overpriced “stuff” obsolete ...

Another option, for people that don't really need or want a boat, but do want to build a "confidence piece", would be to build a foamie tongue box or home built ice chest.

This is what I did when I wasn't sure I wanted to commit to fiberglass for TPCE. First I did some samples then I built my TB. Once I was happy that I could successfully work with the materials, it was much easier to make the decision... and the TB will be used on the camper. Same thing applies to canvas and glue, pick a small project that contributes to the build and start with that.

Yep I wanted to practice with the techniques and it was mid winter. So I built a capsule for my bike trailer for my dog. viewtopic.php?f=50&t=59274 I learned a ton, including how much Gorilla Glue is too much. How kerfing works. Canvasing practice. All for the cost of 1 sheet of 1" foam and some canvas I had laying around, and some linen scraps. I liked the linen part so much better that's what I did on my big one.

If you find yourself flush with cash and want a virtually indestructible Foamie trailer ... Try EPP foam ( Expanded polypropylene) which is the foam they use to make car bumpers , motorcycle helmets, and all kinds of things requiring a TOUGH but softer (shock absorbing) product . It’s incredibly TOUGH ,glues with most anything (not TB2) has a real Memory (returns right back to shape) comes in many densities , and doesn’t even need a skin ( just paint) ... And it’s a bit PRICY ... about 3-4 times as much as EPS ( the Blu foam) ... With a dense EPP floor and polypropylene hinges , there would literally be nothing to rot ... ever...

Best of all , it’a NOT readily available and you’ll have to really hunt for a supplier that can cut the sizes you need...and ship it ...

mikeschn wrote:KC,

You're right about doing as much on the bench as possible. I've cut my fair share of pieces after they've been installed, and it's harder. But in my CAD program it was really easy to do!

Gluing canvas over a steel frame only theoretically works where the body is the same size as the frame. Some people don't like to see the frame, which is why I suggested it. In retrospect, it's probably more cosmetic than structural, and you'd probably have to use gripper instead of TBII. The internal baseboards are more structural. I'll go and update that post to reflect that.

Thanks for taking the time to read this thread thoroughly and making positive suggestions that improve it!

Mike..

From what I know, glueing the fabric to the frame is a very bad idea. TBII is very base chemically, causing rust on steel.
My razor blades and scissors all get rusty quickly after a TBII coating happens

mikeschn wrote:If I wanted a slightly curved roof, how much could I curve the foam without having to kerf it?

I'm looking to improve the water run off, and make it look cosmetically a little more appealing. any ideas?

Here's where we are at with the flat roof...



Mike...

Do you think this could be done with doors on the back [entry and cargo] 7' wide x 14' long and 6'9" inside headroom at the back, with 3" of slope from the back to the drop at the front? I am thinking this may be the style for me. I already have the 7x14 aluminum trailer...

When doing that large, you probably want to use framing like they do on the cargo trailers.

Look at Glen's large build to get more ideas... you can see the ribs on page 20
http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?p=966179#p966179

Mike...

P.S. This is the largest foamie I've ever done... http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=44091

Or perhaps a good chance with such a Big trailer to use some of those built in furniture /braces , or Arches , foam beams, and all all the other bracing ideas ? ... But some nice wood ribs/framing wouldn’t hurt ...

PS. The aircraft guys keep screaming Sitka Spruce , because of it’s extraordinary strength and light weight .. A Nice SS 2X4 ripped on a table saw would make more than adequate framing ... PLUS the added structure/strength of the foam which is not inconsiderable ... All those little things add up !!!