New Foamie--The Hermit

Canvas covered foamies (Thrifty Alternatives...)

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Re: New Foamie--The Hermit

Postby LostCajun » Sun Dec 02, 2018 4:00 am

I think we are all breathing easier...

A lot of people over the years have passed on really bad habits in using fuses...and unfortunately its one of those that can hurt you...

I find people misusing the concept of an 'open' circuit and 'short circuit' with alarming frequency....a story for another day....I had a car battery in a 74 monte carlo.....explode....when I tapped a broken post with a wrench...that was in a circuit with a starter with a key turned on (a real dumb move)..it was an enlightening experience....I sort of speak with eh wrench of experience.....of course I didn't do much of anything for about a half hour....except wonder if I still had a hand, and if I would ever see again....

My rule of thumb....never replace an open fuse with a larger fuse, unless I am willing to take a chance on a bigger problem...I am glad you found your real problem....no matter how you got there....But I am real happy that you now understand something that can only help you in having successful future projects.

Now I await your completion.....as I am gearing up to build mine....

Craig
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Re: New Foamie--The Hermit

Postby Jana » Mon Dec 10, 2018 1:21 pm

There are certain experiences that are best learned vicariously rather than by disaster! Craig, I so appreciate the story of your experience!

One other thing you might want to know about our build...we sanded the sidewalls but didn't distress the foam. The screening we put on with gripper under the canvas did not hold as well as we hoped and over time we got air bubbles on the west facing wall only. I think it was from the expansion and contraction of the foam in the summer heat. In 24hr our temperatures can vary 30-40 degrees. We used a syringe with TBII to put glue under the screening/canvas and that worked well to re-adhere the screening. Also used an iron with a pressing cloth. Wonder if this problem would have been prevented by distressing the foam and using TBII to adhere the screening--or perhaps the screening is really only needed on the inside (but we do like the strength the screening provided)
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Re: New Foamie--The Hermit

Postby GPW » Mon Dec 10, 2018 6:22 pm

Guys , I’d wonder what the difference would be by eliminating the screen and just using Thicker canvas ... :thinking: How strong does it really need to be … ?
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Re: New Foamie--The Hermit

Postby linuxmanxxx » Tue Dec 11, 2018 11:07 am

Actually I think you are looking at the inherent nature of using adhesives that really don't adhere too good to foam. The videos Mike made show that almost all of the substances that are being used don't adhere too well to foam. Sure it works when you get complete coverage but since it's not overly strong and sun hits it then it delams just from the nature it hasn't stuck very good.

If you want these to always stay together and almost no maintenance then we still need to find that magical glue that will destroy the foam before it pulls off. Preferably water based but that's going to be hard to find apparently that would also saturate canvas and adhere. That's why I'm looking at water based cheap plastics to get away from this adhesion problem. Yeah its easy to inject more glue iron patch and so forth but what if an alternative doesn't even need this and looks quite good and is competitive in pricing? All the builds I've read seems the canvas ain't as easy as it all seems but it is cheap and fast compared to doing fiberglass.

E6000 shouldn't hurt the foam but I haven't tested it yet. Get that in bulk and use it to adhere the screen on and see if its paintable then you'd have that delam type of adhesion but that stuff needs ventilation and is toxic till cured as far as gassing off during the cure.
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Re: New Foamie--The Hermit

Postby GPW » Fri Dec 14, 2018 9:15 am

Steve , a lot of our Foamie experiences go back to 1974 and that foam sailboat we had access to … Molded bead foam like a cheap ice cooler , but a little denser, with a thin plastic skin only on the outside … Looked sorta like a vacuum formed sheet that was molded with the foam … It worked Great , endured much abuse , and lasted many years ( the children ) … I figured , strong enough for a sailboat , then it's strong enough for a lot of other things too ... :thinking: And here we are now !!! I think a spray coating “skin" would be really Cool , strong , seamless and shiny like everyone seems to want , a "unibody “ construction …
I always think if we had a Mold that would make TD trailer shells like those cheap foam ice chests , then sprayed with a “skin” , we could make a good many viable camper trailers , at a big savings … The “Volkscamper" … :lol: a “ Factory “ :pipe:
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Re: New Foamie--The Hermit

Postby Pmullen503 » Fri Dec 14, 2018 9:39 am

Many adhesives bound just fine to sanded foam. if you peel them off you'll find that a thin layer of foam is still stuck to the adhesive; the foam failed not the foam-adhesive bond.

That said, the delamination people report I suspect was due to poor surface prep. TBII does not adhere well to unsanded foam. Sheets of foam are made from hot wiring big foam blanks. That melted foam surface does not glue well with TBII or Gripper. Scoring with a wallpaper tool helps but not as much as just sanding the glossy surface off the foam boards.
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Re: New Foamie--The Hermit

Postby Wolffarmer » Thu Dec 27, 2018 12:55 am

Hello Jana. I just found your thread. Your journey is interesting. While I do not live in Albuquerque I should be down there in a few days for anywhere from 2 to 5 weeks. I would like to see your foamy sometime if possible.

Randy
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Re: New Foamie--The Hermit

Postby Jana » Thu Dec 27, 2018 6:29 pm

Hi Randy, That would be great! I would love to show you our foamie. May have to unshovel a bit if we do get the blizzard that is forecast. Jan
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