Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Talked to a friend who makes boats .... He told me about this ... May be some possibilities .... This is just FYI , and not an official endorsement .... yet ...

His words “ yesterday I spoke with the guy who owns the DuraSip laminate company out of union, ms. and told him of my idea of forming the canoes from six strategically shaped panels of his material, sewn together and glassed at the seams, interior ribs/ seats to be done in closed cell foam under glass...sheets are available any length you want, up to 8ft wide, in .040 or .050'' thickness, phenolic sandwich of chopped strand with a light woven roving in the middle. “

I’m sending off for samples , as this may apply to a foamie ( or others_) ... May be that hard finish everyone is looking for instead of canvas texture... We’re investgating ..

Interesting. Buying panels for sides seems cool if price is not too high but not seeing curve for top/ends. Maybe more rectilinear design.

Glen, that is very interesting. http://www.durasip.com/products.html - is that the company?

Yes, I believe that’s it ... and although the idea of just ordering profile sip parts is intriguing ( probably not “that” expensive or nobody could afford it) ... I was just thinking about their “skin” , for an outer skin on our Foamies... Everybody wants a smooth strong skin outside , maybe a nice paint job ... my buddy wants to make a boat out of it and foam ribs ... We’re waiting on some samples he requested ...
Please don’t take me wrong , I still think PMF ( canvas) is the "Bee's Knees" ... this is just maybe something else to consider ... Naturally we’ll have to test this to see if it really is suitable for purpose .. It does come in a size most of us would be pleased with , no splicing like plywood ...

We have to find out what to glue it with ... ???

I have a sawfish kayak builder who is testing a new idea for skin.
He uses muslin, glued on with TBII, then fills the weave with two layers of GG, using a bondo spreader to spread it.
He glued a second layer of muslin onto the first with the second layer of GG, then fills the muslin with more GG.
He says a test section has a very tough skin, almost like vinyl.
I just wonder what it costs

Interesting ... Seems there’s more than one way to skin a Cart ...

GPW wrote:Yes, I believe that’s it ... ... I was just thinking about their “skin” , for an outer skin on our Foamies... Everybody wants a smooth strong skin outside , maybe a nice paint job ... my buddy wants to make a boat out of it and foam ribs ... We’re waiting on some samples he requested ...
We have to find out what to glue it with ... ???

I was also thinking about it as a skin, if only it is substantially cheaper than Filon. Did you hear of approximately how much it would cost in a roll? Looking at the product specifications, the skin is pretty similar to a decent fiberglass plastic panel properties, because this is what it is, just need to paint it. I like that it comes 8ft wide, can do any size trailer with it. About glue... I would use epoxy if gluing to XPS and PL to EPS.

OP , we’re waiting on samples and gluing info (my friend the boat builder is investigating this ) .... It’s supposed to be affordable ... supposed to , especially since he makes it right there , eliminating all the middlemen with their hands in the pie ...

GPW,

You have my attention! I'm interested to here more on this product and "field testing."

Much to the chagrin of my wife, I've been itching to start another project and have been thinking about lightweight building concepts and designs.

Take care,
Tom

Yesterday , we got to see the material samples , and they seem to be pretty good ... Three thicknesses , the thickest way too heavy unless you're e making a TANK ... The thinnest is a bit on the thin side yet still stiff though ... The middle weight seems to be “just right”...
The price is $1.25 a square foot for the thickest material ... so is “affordable” ...
Curiously the surface has a light texture that would likely be great for gluing , So far as we know Epoxy is the glue , which gives advantage for perforating the foam , and forming “epoxy nails” better securing skin to foam ...
My friend is going ahead with his boat idea , so we’ll follow that as it happens ...

So epoxy to attach it to the foam and just regular exterior paint on the outside?

Yes , and that gives those that don’t trust canvas skins with “ puncture resistance “ , a nice alternative ... I’d guess some nice uniform fiberglass tape on the edges ... so easy ... and with a little filling , priming, sandng , I’d guess you could do a really slick paint job ... ( smooth , no canvas texture ... )

I guess the best thing is that it comes up to 8’ wide so there’s no splicing foolishness to contend with ...

Problem for me would be shipping as I'm in remote area. Shipping would most likely be a deal killer. Along with the fact our UPS service could break an anvil !

It’s not for everybody ... All these materials are only good if you can get them ...

GPW wrote:The price is $1.25 a square foot for the thickest material ... so is “affordable”

That's a good price! How thick is the "just right" thickness? On their site they say that .03 to .052" is typical. http://www.durasip.com/products.html

Premade panels could save a lot of time in some builds.