I think it's time to build another one...

[mikeschn]

Finally someone is starting to talk about foam for the floor! I've been waiting for that...

I was wondering if I could do 1' strips of foam, with something rigid inbetween the strips. Like maybe aluminum, or oak, or even pine.

So it would go, pine, foam, pine, foam, pine, foam, pine, foam, pine etc, until the trailer floor was 78" wide.

Then I can do the triangle shape tongue all the way back to the axle...

Your thoughts?

MIke...

[RAYVILLIAN]

Mike
Your idea should work.
This is my front floor in the bedroom it's foam and wood with luan on top and bottom. the wood was where I had put the 1" angle supports on the frame.



Second pic shows the angles I was talking about in the last post.I only put them where there was wood supports going over them and and few as I could.
I chickened out on the galley area and used 3/4 ply wood. didn't just foam where I was standing all the time. Used 3/4 so the luan top and bottom of the front would slide over the back floor to make it a solid joint.
GAry

[GPW]

How about using 1/4” ply on non walk areas of the floor and thicker in the walkways ... save a little weight there... And really, if you have enough cross braces on the trailer itself it should be plenty strong to support a thin floor ( no excessive jumping) ...

[mikeschn]

Okay, I'll have to model up what I am talking about. I'm going to try to implement everything that we've talked about here, including the hard skin in walking areas and the laminated foam/wood cutting board floor.

Can't do that right now though, gotta catch up on some work outside...

Mike...

[ghcoe]

Brain storming here.

To start I would make the floor 2" foam. Hardboard or OSB in the traffic areas.

Slots or channels could be channeled into the foam for wood, aluminum, or steel to help with side to side, overhang support. With me a hot wire could cut out a channel for a 1"x2" or 2"x2" every so often. They could be channeled inside (for more protection) or outside. Installed with GG it would be rock solid in the foam. Also, a slot could be cut to accept one side of angled aluminum or steel. Just channel and glue in the angle.

Samples of methods. Not all used together like displayed.

Floor sample

Floor sample.png (3.99 KiB) Viewed 440 times

[Wolfgang92025]

Mike,

I built my trailer with the front open to get easy access for the built. Used 1/4" for the floor, wooden frame and 1/8" on the bottom. Walked on it quite a bit during construction. With my 160# the floor had a little flex to it, but not bad. I used 1 1/2" white styrofoam, since that's all I could find in San Diego at the time. Not much adhesion strength between the wood and styrofoam. I think with the pink stuff you would get a better and stronger sandwich. The 1/2 wood channel on each side was to give me some insulation from the steel frame below. If I was you, I would build a test piece, say 2' x 2', set it between blocks, walk on it to see what you think.

[GPW]

Anybody ever try a hollow core door ...? Light , strong , cheap ! As a kid , we slept on one for years ( with foam on top ) ... You can cut them down and fill in the open ends with wood . A Foam /ply sandwich would be essentially the same thing ... and 1/8” or 1/4” plywood skins on 2’ foam is many times stronger than a canvas foam sandwich ... The skins ARE the strength ... the foam just separates them ... The only thing may be to "block in” inner spaces where attachment bolts go ...

Will it be Lighter ? Maybe ? But not “That” much ...
We still like the board floor idea , because that’s the one we can actually see that has survived the longest on an actual trailer ( homemade all steel cargo trailer) ... for the next build I’m still planning on lght (non T&G) cedar ( probably hand picked fenceboards for cost effectiveness ) , left a rough finish , slobbered with the mix , and a floor covering over that ... but that’s me eh ... ?

[aggie79]

Finally someone is starting to talk about foam for the floor! I've been waiting for that...

I was wondering if I could do 1' strips of foam, with something rigid inbetween the strips. Like maybe aluminum, or oak, or even pine.

So it would go, pine, foam, pine, foam, pine, foam, pine, foam, pine etc, until the trailer floor was 78" wide.

Then I can do the triangle shape tongue all the way back to the axle...

Your thoughts?

MIke...

Something like this (but with top & bottom skins)?



http://singcore.com/product/structural-core

[mikeschn]

Exactly... a torsion box, filled with foam!!!

I've been trying to come up with a way to not have to notch the wooden pieces, but I haven't come up with anything.

Mike...

[KCStudly]

Only have the wood spanning crosswise, not lengthwise? Shorter beam = stiffer. The walls will handle the other direction.

[aggie79]

Only have the wood spanning crosswise, not lengthwise? Shorter beam = stiffer. The walls will handle the other direction.

When I built my 4-1/2' x 9' assembly table, I used a torsion box as the primary structure. I did not use a grid and instead only ran longitudinal stiffeners. It has held substantial loads without measurable deflection.

[GPW]

How about CNC some “Egg Crate" style strips out of 1/4” plywood ... A structure like that glued together and then further supported by the trailers crossbars , should be an excellent floor , but a bit of Work to make ... The previously discussed hard skinned foam floor would be sufficiently strong without complicated building ... you’re not going to be jumping up and down on it , and you won’t fall through ...
It might also be prudent to have a sufficient number of metal crossbars made onto the custom trailer to provde all the floor support you need ... 18” on center ... it’s not that many ... ( 8 crossbars for 12’) you could dance on that ...

[pchast]

I've seen the center structure just stapled together when thickened epoxy was
used as the glue.

[GPW]

You guys seen this ... http://intothemystery13.com/ultra-light ... chnique/... just posted in the general section...


And then back on the farm ... Why would you want to skimp on the floor ? ... The floor SHOULD be Heavy, keeping trailer COG low , especially if you’re doing a standy (Penguino?) ... I’d think on the FS , 80% of the weight is the floor and below , the foam structure above and plywood ribs all pretty light ... And with a foam floor , where are you going to attach the walls ?

[mikeschn]

I think this is where we are at so far...

The floor should be as heavy as it needs to be, without being any heavier! LOL, that doesn't say much, does it?

1a) A torsion box of some kind, with wood and glue construction, and a metal tongue going all the way back to the axle or
1b) a torsion box of some kind, with wood and glue construction and standard 5x8 trailer components bolted on
2) A standard trailer with some of the metal in the middle removed, and a laminated foam, plywood sandwich as the subfloor, with thicker plywood for walking on

1a)The torsion box chassis would require inspection in order to get it registered here in Michigan or
1b) The torsion box chassis with bolted on components comes with a certificate for registration
2) The standard trailer comes with a certificate, for easy registration

1)The torsion box chassis requires ballast to keep it from tipping over (500 pounds of beer).
2)The standard trailer doesn't require any ballast.

1)The torsion box chassis can be built with components from a 5x8 bolt together trailer
2)The standard trailer can be built by a custom trailer manufacturer

1)The torsion box chassis can have some cantilevered longitudal members, like that bal trailer, making it fairly stiff
2)The standard trailer could be built with 2x2x1/8" tube, which has quite a bit of flex, that would go away once a ridid foam body is attached to it.

1)The torsion box chassis would be covered with canvas and tb2 to keep it from rotting or delaminating
2)The standard trailer subfloor sandwich could also be covered with canvas and tb2

Mike...