Foam Trailers

[bullfrog]

Hope you enjoy dust and wind cause you will surely get to experience it! Ha!!!

 

[John61CT]

I'm not saying it'd be easy, or even possible.

But worth exploring. . .

 

[maki2]

But PMF...melamine foam is a soft material. Sure you can use it for insulation but it is not a structural material in itself.

For those not familiar with this material here is something you can relate to that you might have been around made of the same stuff.
Mr. Clean Magic Erasers are made of melamine foam.

 

[bullfrog]

Take a look at tnttt.com foamies fourm. Fiberglass cloth has no structural strenght at all untill you soak it in mixed resin and cure it. But I to had reservations. Get you a cheap foam ice chest the kind they ship steaks in lightly skuff it up, wash off the dust put on a thick coat of Tight Bond II glue. Embed pre-cut pieces of aluminum screen in the glue while still wet. Paint glue on one side of a pre-cut piece of a cheap Harbor Freight canvass drop cloth and brush or roll it over the screen, while doing so cover the top of the cloth with glue while spraying a little water to make sure the cloth is saturated and that you have no air pockets. Try to use a big enough piece of canvass you can cover at least 3 sides with one piece and over lap cuts on corners by at least 2 "and do the inside as well then let it completely dry till next weekend. Go to Home Depot and get some cheap "oops" exterior water basied acrylic house paint and give it at least 3 good coats. One note make sure the lid gets trimmed enough to close even with the extra layers of PMF. If you want to put rope handles on it first step will be to embed some pieces of plywood say 3"x 6" glued in the foam with Gorilla glue but clamp them so the glue does not push them out, you can do the same if you want hinges for the lid. You might want to add a drain plug after it is done using marine adhesive. It will probably out live you so take your time and make it pretty. I wanted something more substanial than foam so I used cheap damaged interior doors filled with spray foam and covered with PMF. I backed into a 3" to 4" cut off limb stub sticking out of the trunk straight on and it broke without damaging the trailer, do that with a new RV or cargo trailer! If nothing else just do a small piece completely encase it on all sides and try to punch through it , then try a hammer finally put it between to blocks and start stacking cans on it you will be amazed. If you want a good custom sized water proof wash basin just do this to a cardboard box, you won't need the aluminum screen for extra strenght.

 

[John61CT]

But PMF...melamine foam is a soft material

Sorry, but why are you bringing melamine into it?

PMF, in the context of DIY mobile camping / living units, is using panels of rigid foam, like expanded polystyrene (EPS), extruded polystyrene (XPS) and polyisocyanurate (ISO) as a base structural material.

Sometimes with some wood, plywood or metal added for framing, but not necessarily.

Then "skinned" using cheap / free dropcloth or canvas and Glidden Gripper primer and / or Titebond II wood glue.

With the end result similarly high strength to weight ratio, compared to more expensive Fiberglass methods.

Hence "Poor Man's Fiberglass".

And yes, both the OP and this method come from that Foamies sub at TNTTT.com, he is one of its pioneers and elder statesmen.

Hope that helps.

 

[highdesertranger]

well I am so happy that the three of you know what the hell PMF is but I don't. please define your abbreviations. if I missed the definition I apologize. as usual I looked up PMF and got all kinds of stuff, none of which you could build trailers out of. highdesertranger

 

[bullfrog]

Post number 15 about two posts before you High Desert Ranger (HDR) defined Rubber Tramp Rendezvous (RTR). Any confussion of any of the terms in this post can be found at tnttt.com foamies fourm. Thanks for the reminder HDR.

 

[highdesertranger]

duh, that totally went right over my head still I would like to see something like,

PMF = Poor Man's Fiberglass

or

Poor Man's Fiberglass(PMF)

we don't need to do it every post but the first time it's used in the thread would go a long way.

BTW thank you Bullfrog. highdesertranger

 

[bullfrog]

It is true mainly the stiffer more rigid forms of foam usually get covered with glue, canvass and paint but many have used this method to make and protect less durable materials making them weather tight with what today is called Poor Man's Fiberglass (PMF). Many early cars and airplanes used material treated with glue, sealants and paint. My first experience was wen attempting a custom roof for a Woody hot rod, later a kayak and a flat bottom boat. Foam is just the latest in a long line of materials treated this way and at tnttt.com foamies they are continually testing different ones. I used it on cheap damaged interior doors make of masonite that draw moisture and most wouldn't make it through one rain storm if left outside but have lasted years and made a strong durable camper that granted requires a maintenance coat of paint every 5 years or so unlike manufactured campers which usually require maintenance every year.

 

[John61CT]

Plenty of websites in the canoe world are devoted to DIY vessels, even ocean-going kayaks! using just heavy cloth over a superlight frame, painted with a waterproof sealant,

originally used to be skins and linseed or beeswax.

Super lightweight!

Rigid foam slabs as a base give much greater strength for highway speeds, occasional tree damage is super easy to repair if skin gets broken, but usually just dents, which heal themselves when it gets warm.

And of course great insulation.

For those checking a new-to-you abbreviation, another word for context usually goes a long way, e.g. https://www.google.com/search?q=pmf+camper
or of course, use the site: keyword
https://www.google.com/search?q=site:www.cheaprvliving.com+pmf
over two dozen hits just for this one

 

[maki2]

PMF stands for poly melamine foam

It is available as the core in panelized sheets with an aluminum skin.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melamine_foam

If you watch this video you will see that one of its properties is being flexible, that makes it unsuitable to use for foamies as you are relying on the foam itself to provide the stiffness for supporting the walls and the roof.

 

[bullfrog]

I think you could use almost any material as long as it is light weight enough and you completely enclose it and any light weight support frame in Poor Man's Fiberglass (PMF). Many trailers use a sheet of light weight plywood sometimes on only one side or both. Small pieces embeded of wood are used for mounting points as well. The canvass actually shrinks to create tight bond although vacuum bonding can be done with some tape, plastic and a good wet dry vac. You never know till you try and that is what it is all about. If it acts as a sponge then coat it with glue and see if it gets hard when it drys, it may surprize you. Other materials would most likely to be easier to build with but you never know. Who would have thought cardboard or hollow core interior doors would work or styrofoam for that matter. If it is light enough it doesn't take much to support it, and if it is totally encassed it doesn't take much to hold it together, but it does take something to hold it's diamentions untill the PMF has completely dried. The PMF encasement adds a lot of the strenght as it is stressed by shrinking as it dries. There were a lot of open areas only covered by PMF streched over light weight wooden frames when PMF was first used. There is a huge section of tests on the foamie forum with what works and doesn't. There is also a design fourm as well.

 

[John61CT]

Nobody here was talking about using melamine foam for use in building trailers.

In that context, PMF means the techniques pioneered at TNTTT.com by the OP and others.

Poor Man's Foam.

Click on the search links in my last post just above

Apologies for any misunderstanding if caused by me.

 

[highdesertranger]

can we see the problem with abbreviations now or are we still going to be stubborn and refuse to define them. highdesertranger

 

[Headache]

I love you! I need something to get me by until I can afford/find what I want! I'll be keeping an eye on this thread.

 

[ghcoe]

I love you!  I need something to get me by until I can afford/find what I want!  I'll be keeping an eye on this thread.

Thanks! Make sure you subscribe to the YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3xVuHPVJm1kSSiploqPyrw?view_ . You might find foam is all you need.

 

[Headache]

I'm very interested in ones that have standing room. Luckily I'm only 5'. Is there any links to tall ones?

 

[John61CT]

TNTTT.com is not well organized, but there are examples of literally hundreds of DIY designs that could be adapted using PMF / foamie techniques.

This will get you started

https://www.google.com/search?q=site:www.tnttt.com+height+Standy+OR+standing

Note Standy is the local keyword for the taller designs, more likely to be a Canned Ham than a Teardrop.

Of course for the PMF technique variations, focus on that specific sub-forum, especially the endless original master thread that started, it all.

 

[ghcoe]

I'm very interested in ones that have standing room.  Luckily I'm only 5'.  Is there any links to tall ones?

There are a few that are standies.
Big Pink http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=56441
Camp Capsule http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=64860
Blue Bird http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=67321

There are others. These are the ones that come to mind right off. Each is pretty dissimilar in design to show you what is possible.

 

[Headache]

There are a few that are standies.

Thanks!

John your link didn't work and again I asked for actual links.