Wrapping my Foamie Camper in Fiberglass and Epoxy Resin
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- Опубліковано 9 тра 2019
- Here is part one of wrapping my foamie in fiberglass. Months in the making! I wish I could've completed it in this video but it wasn't in the cards.
Very special thank you to my Dad Carlos and Karen. I couldn't have done it without you two!!! Thank you so much!
Music credit: Jingle Punks, 'In the land of Rhinoplasty'.
Follow my journey as I build my first foamie camper.
• Foamie Camper Build
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Thank you so much for subscribing, sharing and liking my videos! It really means a lot to me! If you have any questions or comments please feel free to leave them below. - Наука та технологія
I actually build a very nice fishing boat and I used polyester resins and CSM and 1708 fiberglass materials. CSM is cropped strand Material and it adds lots of strength to what ever you are building. Problem with polyester is, that resin will dissolve the foam. So in your situation you have to use epoxy resins over the foam. If you would have covered the foam with lauan sheeting, you could have used the polyester resins and the CSM and 1708. But different ideas when you use different resins. I will say this, the more you use either resin, the better you get at applying it and working with it. Like everything, there is a learning curve... Thumbs Up!
James, you’re doing a great job! I enjoy watching your progress. Thanks for sharing your successes and your “learning moments“! Temporary setbacks are a part of life. Don’t get too discouraged. Your videos are inspiring. I’m in the planning stage of building one myself. Looking forward to seeing the finished product!
Thank you! Thanks for subscribing!
So glad to hear that you got to meet your Dad. I learnt of mine at the age of 45, and tracked him down and met him about a year later. turns out I have a new brother as well. Who knew? Nice project by the way. I'm thinking of doing a small camper as well.
Very cool, appreciate you sharing your mistakes. It's looking great!
Thanks!
Great job well done
Thank you!
Great job
Thank you!
Very nice. Great job. I've built 2 travel trailers with plywood finished with Rustleum paint. 3 years and Rustoleum still keeping them waterproof. My next one will be as you did,
Fiberglass over foam. A lot of work, for sure, but very satisfying work. Thanks for the inspirational video
Happy to help! Don't forget to hit that thumbs up button for me! Thank you!
Also the more Resin you use the heavier it will be. Topcoat for fiberglass will help sun protection. It's smoother to touch if you rub against it. We used the green board you used and made a flat bottom boat. Those pieces made the seats, live well and storage compartments (flotation).
Just Perfect !!!
Thanks!
No so much mistakes but great learnings .. jolly good carryon pip pips ..😁
This is great! I've been considering different methods for building a hard shell roof top tent. This might be the best way.
Happy to help!
Nice project, and you do not have to worry about what kills most campers and trailers, water coming in and ruining everything. Nice job.
Very true! Thanks for watching!
Good job, exelent ...
Nice video! you did a good job😁👍
Thank you! 😁
Awesome build ,I may have missed it but what weight fiberglass did you use on your trailer ? And how may layers of glass? I'm looking at building a 5x8 foamie. Probably 2 inch walls because I can get 2 inch cheaper the 1.5.
This is the camper construction process that I think is probably the best. Foam core fiberglass has the strength of fiberglass, the insulation of foam, great weight savings, and should not rot. I want to know is how well this camper has held up.
its been great. The doors leak unfortunately. I might make a video about that. One damaged the wood wall with water.
Sir, be kind to yourself and have fun. I'm a perfectionist too, and honestly it's only a source of suffering and nothing else. You're doing great and going to have a really sweet little camper when it's all said and done!
Thank you so much!
Hi James!! Enjoyed watching u do the fiber glass wrap. Pls help list the materials u used - the cloth, the epoxy etc. much appreciated - Ari ( a planning to be DIYer )
James, got to have balz to tackle something newer, never done before. Good job.
Love seeing people that don’t understand the materials they use! Really becoming a UA-cam trend. Look guys I’m YOUTUB Educated!! 😔
Please expand on this comment if you don’t mind.
At least he tried and something good happened.
What kind of resin did you use to not melt the foam
What kind of foam board did you use and what type of glass resin
Man my camper build is chock full of stuff like that. I've had to rip stuff out to do it different.
The end result is all that matters. Your build is coming along nicely.
Thank you so much!
Am I right to think that there is no wooden structure forming the shape of the camper? I am thinking about a frameless structure using a thin plywood skin on each side of foam insulation. I think there is a tendency for the roof to sag over time so I was thinking of using some wood rafters with a very slight convex shape to avoid the future sag. I am impressed with your build.
There is some in the roof. I had it in one of my videos but I cant remember which one. There is also wood at the rear door. I made a wood frame for the rear door to make that whole area stronger.
Hi James, Really inspirational! I have a question about the resin you used with the polystyrene board. I cannot find it. One that does not eat away the foam. I read that it needs to be polyurethane resin. Can you provide a link for this? Thanks so much. Lou
I'm very curious.. where did you find the doors?
Do you know what the final weight was after paint etc?
Hello James,
I just discovered your channel and I was very happy because I was thinking of building mine with an iron structure, but I don't know how to work with the welding machine. I will try to review my project.
Do you have any video of the construction of the structure that supports the extruded polyurethane?
I documented the whole thing. Watch my foamie build playlist.
I used some dowels to line things up but thats it. The goal with a foamie is to be as light weight as possible so any wood that you use is going to add weight. The strength comes from the fiberglass wrap. You could punch it and break your hand.
Great video! Thanks for inspiration too!
Questions:
1: how many layers of fiberglass did you use on the outside and or how many layers of epoxy on the outside?
2: did you use epoxy to bond the wood panel to the foam? If not, what did you use?
3: I'm sorry if I missed any of this in your videos but did you end up painting yours?
Thanks again! You've truly inspired me to COMPLETELY redesign my camper. Starting from scratch and at your inspiration. ✌👊
Hello Andy, Thanks so much for watching. 1. I only used one layer. It was a heavy layer from Tap Plastics. It included S Glass and matting. Heavy stuff. Worked great. 2. I used 2 different types of calk over the build. One was a foam glue and the other was a guerrilla glue. That bonded the wood to the foam nicely. You need lots of weight for 24 hours though to keep it glued. 3. I did have it painted by a local guy with a body shop. I do have a video that talks about it. The paint is great but the finish isnt perfect. Its limited by my sanding and filling of the rough spots. Now that its painted though I could fill it with bondo and repaint if I wanted a perfect finish. It looks great from 10ft away haha
@@JamesKlafehn You have done a great job with your videos! Thanks for that. I just wanted to follow up on this question. I went to the Tap Plastics website and they have a ton of options could you point us to the actual fabric you used? My son and I are about to start our build on a foamie for him and you seem to have the most comprehensive videos on covering a foamie with actual fiberglass, not PMF. I appreciated your test video as well where you tried using the maps as an alternative to painting your trailer.
Use a skim coat of body filler to smooth it out then a good quality paint it'll look fantastic! Good job.
Hey James, what resin/hardener combo did you use for this build?
I used supplies from Tap Plastics in California. I used slow cure hardener because I did so much work in the cold and I wanted longer working times.
What thickness of foam did you use. ?
Well done. I learn a lot from you. The problem with holding the mat on the underside could have been solved on the spot. You’ve got some lenght of wood laying there? Could have squeezed it up from the ground ? I never thought of the dooropenings, but now I see you I guess it is an option to cut out all the door and window openings later, after covering the whole body with cloth/epoxy
Hi James, I just watched “Wrapping my Foamie Camper” It caught my eye because I am building a teardrop and am fiberglassing it also. So after 3 years how is the camper holding up? I’m going to check out the series. Thanks for documenting your work.
Thanks for watching! Its been great. One of the doors leaks and messed up the wood. But because I fiberglassed everything its all 100% solid. I just need to do something with the door eventually.
Where do you get the green foam board?
What weight chop strand mat did you use for the outside?
It was thick and heavy. It’s been a while so I don’t remember. I believe I commented below to other questions. I should make a video describing the products i used
its gonna be a nice trailer when done 1 thing I've been wondering though why would you make it so low looks like have to be on knees inside
Hi, you look like you need a little help. I can suggest some tips. Fiberglass doesn't like corners!!! Round all corners using the green board you used for sidewalls. Use small narrow strips fiberglass cloth to wrap those fillers in corners. If you wait till cloth is almost set you can cut along the edges with a razor knife. We made 2 Pero's
You could use butyl tape to seal the door gap
My biggest concern would be the blue tape losing it's adhesion
Blue tape has no effect on anything. Its just there to cover wires and seams. The fiberglass and resin are the structure.
Excellent job! What kind of foam and resin are you using? What was the cost per sheet of the foam? Ed
I used products from Tap Plastics in California. Shipping was expensive to NY but its great stuff. I am using slow cure epoxy resin and a really heavy fabric with mat built in.
People like me want to know which kind of fiberglass, which resin, where did u buy it? Links please. I enjoy your videos
I just found your channel and watched... beautiful build my friend! One question though, I couldn't find a video addressing the radiator on the front... please explain or post a link so I can see. Seems interesting.
Thank you so much! The radiator is to cool the Tesla battery that is in the floor. The foamie is a range extending trailer that doubles as home energy storage for my house.
@@JamesKlafehn that's very smart! I like it even more now!
@@joshuaimoe Thank you so much for watching. Im glad you found me
@@JamesKlafehn as a Tesla owner I need to know more about this range extending.
Nice build
Did you do a test sample of Fglass on foam to see how well it bonds. I have seen recommendations to put a bunch of small preferations in the foam before application of the Fglass to get a higher bond, but that might have been for doing poor mans Fglass version.
Cheers
Yes I did. I made a couple videos about it. You dont need to make any perforations. It sticks really well. Really though the foam is just holding the shape. The fiberglass has all the strength and structure.
@@JamesKlafehn I was thinking of doing the same, but concerned epoxy heat would melt the foam ??
Hurricane Alley Epoxy resin does not melt foam polyester resin does though. Polyester resin sucks to work with don’t use it
@Ronald Reed Ive never seen anyone use any other type of foam. Its been pretty well documented online that the foam board that I used and the pink foam from HD are the only ways to go. Anything else will give you lots of trouble.
Is that xps board underneath, sometimes the resin dissolves the insulation board what type of resin are u using epoxy?
I am pretty sure i have said this before but its epoxy resin. Polyester resin will melt foam but epoxy resin will not. I believe they call it xps. It comes in green at lowes and pink at home depot
How much of the epoxy resin did you end up using?
How much thickness does the Fiberglass add? I’m looking at building a “foamie” and trying to figure out how thick the walls will be after. Thanks for the helpful videos too!
Around 1/8" I thought it was going to be more but its somewhere around 1/8 and 2/8". Thin even with really heavy X- Mat fabric from Tap Plastics
Cool!!! Thanks for mentioning the heavy stuff. I live over in Connecticut so I was going to go heavy due to some of the highways we’d be on.
@@ljl003 Happy to help. Thanks for subscribing!
I want the welder
Sorry if I missed this in another video, but how did you prevent the epoxy resin from just eating up the foam? Is that not an issue?
Epoxy resin doesn't react with foam. Polyester resin does though.
Looks nice! I have a 2003 Winnebago RV with torn up fiberglass (filon) roof. Can I do the same thing on my roof? The roof consists of thin plywood, thick foam and another layer of thin plywood and then the filon. Could you name the material and the supplier and approximate cost? Thanks
I would think so, yes. I purchased all the supplies from TapPlastics.com
I spent a lot. Probably around $2000 on supplies plus $2000 for paint.
Choice...
How many oz is the fiberglass cloth?
18.42 oz Its really good stuff. Here it is. www.tapplastics.com/product/fiberglass/carbon_specialty_fabrics/knytex_x_mat/91
Thank you for not deleting “semi hard” 😅
Have you had any issues with the wind wanting to tear it apart?
None at all. Its still rock solid.
@jamesKlafehn that’s amazing! Great idea!
Thank u, i learned something today. To use only epoxy resin on foamboard. I was like...oh man hope he has paint or something on that foam to protect it from the resin but so glad you knew about it better than i..was really waiting for the foam to melt..lol thank u for sharing. Btw, how much did it cost to fiberglass it? Cloth and resin alone.
It wasn’t cheap. Around $1600 for the resin, supplies and fabric
@@JamesKlafehn how much of each materials did you use?
@@JamesKlafehn What type of resin did you use?
I need a supply list please
Hey liked what you did, I randomly passed by this, I have a similar concept I wanna make, just a small camper that follows a bike, since this camper was an investment, what figures did you come up with regards the resin, I’m wondaring how much it’s gonna cost me to do mine, my campers half your size, and do you intend to palms and the camper smooth then apply a paint coat? I’m curious what the finish product looks like!! Thanks Dean
My camper wasnt an investment, well, it was a bad one lol. It was very expensive and my wife refuses to go camping so it was a total waste lol. I have around $2500 into the fiberglass and supplies and $2000 into the paint job. Whole thing was around $25000
@@JamesKlafehn okay awsome thanks for the your help!
@@deanraddick9041 Glad you liked the video. :)
Update on the foam epoxy build please
Keep watching. I have a bunch of videos after this one.
SMALL STRIP OF WOOD WORKS GREAT TO HOLD BOTTOM...NO RIPS!
1:35 I would have used a wad of foam rubber.
What oz weight is the cloth?
This is the mat I used. www.tapplastics.com/product/fiberglass/carbon_specialty_fabrics/knytex_x_mat/91
Is this one layer of fiberglass cloth?
Its a heavy cloth. Its a mat and cloth layered I talked about it in a few videos.
Are you using resin are epoxy resin and witch brand
Did you finish this project?
I did.
Luck you weren't using metal, well guess that would of been easier. Because you can put on and take of if you like, unlike wood. But I've found so many tough things too when designing plus building.
Did that strengthen it? That's my main concern is someone just punching a hole through it
no one will ever punch a hole through that. Not saying it is impossible, but it will not happen. Once painted it look much more sturdy! Punching even through only 2 layers of 450g chopped matt is very hard.
Vandalism should be your last concern when building one of these.
I ❤ this Foamie idea!! Last week I saw a video called "Pop-Up Cabin Designed to be Built in a SINGLE DAY" by: The Outsider.
The design is so simple that I think even I can do it. I ordered the design plans, but the cost of the Lumber is going to be way too Expensive & too Heavy for me to pull on a trailer with my car. So do YOU think that I could use his design out of foam/fiberglass?
.
Playing with Sticks did an interview with someone who built a Foam Tear Drop on a Trailer in Just 1 Day for $1,500 and only weights 350 pounds! It includes: Harbor Freight Trailer, Door, Foam Boards, Fiberglass Cloth, Exterior Latex Paint, 2 Cans Great Stuff Spray Foam & a Fantastic Fan!
My micro cabin will be 4x8.
Hi, nice build. Do you know how much epoxy you used on the matting to make the entire shell? Thanks.
Thank you! I used a lot. The guys at Tap Plastics were very helpful in estimating how much I needed however I used more and need to buy a few more jugs. The mixture was 1/2. I think in total I used around 5 jugs of hardener and 10 of the epoxy. However that includes doing the entire floor, walls, cabinets and kitchen area. It was a lot of work.
Thanks James. I was able to read the size of the jugs in Filling and Sanding video. So effectively 5 gallons hardener and 10 gallons of epoxy. :)
@@prssurfer3596 Yes they were 1 gallon jugs :)
You could have built those corners up with fiberglass filler, then just epoxy.
Swpeet...!
Forgive the ignorance, but I thought the resin would eat the foam board and that the only way to wrap it was to paint about 5 layers of latex paint before wrapping it?
You have to use epoxy resin. All others will eat through the foam.
Not wood framing?
mike jones not for a foamie. With a foamie the goal is as light as possible. Ie no wood
Looks like it got hard finally 😂
hahaha yup.
So it's not for sale?
I dont understand. Why do you say that on this video? This video is from 2019
@@JamesKlafehn My bad! I thought it was a new upload. Didn't see the date!
You look just like forrest galante
You should have built that camper on the garage floor, then mounted it to the trailer.
should of watched (life on the Hulls)
Glassing over masking tape areas will lose bond creating air pockets!
In theory but the painters tape that was exposed was very minimal. It’s been something like 6 months of use and there are no issues. The fiberglass matting was very thick and heavy. The paint was also very heavy. Nothing is going to break loose
@@melissahill7930 Youre welcomed to pass on by. No need to leave shitty comments. My ego? Really? You obviously arent a follower of my channel. I am a very modest and honest person. Take your clicks and snark elsewhere.
I thought fiberglass resin melted foam?
dave haag polyester resin does, but many epoxies don’t.
Exactly, polyester resin does but you will be fine with epoxies.
No way I’d glass over tape. You are depending on the tape for your bond.
I think he got away without melting the foam because the long cure time hardner generated less heat?
Epoxy resin doesn’t melt foam
it is not the heat that melt the foam! It is the in the *polyester* resins solvents. duh.
dont do to airtight. you need fresh air ports.
Its not. I have a max air fan.
Nice build. Check out my homemade camper.
Beside a good Idea and an interesting project: There is too much talking, too much close-ups, a buzzing microphone and an unbearable wavy camera-style. I am sure there is very much potential to do better. But this way, it is very exhausting to watch. Sorry.
Morton Usher I understand. I’m not a very good UA-camr. I’m not going to spend thousands of dollars on equipment just to make $100 a month on UA-cam. I also hate editing LOL. But the information is free to you so take it or leave it LOL. If you want you could become a Patreon supporter and help me buy better equipment to make better videos.
@@JamesKlafehn Yes, of course. Not waving your camera is a question of your equipment. And close-ups are also a question of equipment. That, i am sure of, too. Sorry, if it doesn't seem to be appropriate for you, to get some constructional criticism. Evolution is a thing of trial and error, but your answer is avoiding the issue. Nevertheless: It's a nice project and - yes - it's free (As "free" in: "you are free to watch it, or not". ). But if it is difficult to watch - so what is it for, on a "Video"-Channel?
Now, your answer has motivated me to stuck with: "leave it". Have a nice life. Hopefully w/o any criticism anymore ;)
Morton Usher Thank you for the input. I hope you have a great day.