Jake its probably too late now for your build, but for those who follow you I have found that a great way to spread out the epoxy is to use a foam roller instead of a squeegee. I usually save the squeegee just for the last coat to even out the coat and squeeze all the excess epoxy to the edges where it can drip off. I don't know how much experience you have with epoxy/foam construction but I have learned a few things while building my home built aircraft years ago. You are doing a great job, and with each project you will learn something new.
Thanks for the tips Jim! I have to admit wetting out the cloth is often a tedious and boring endeavor. Ill give the foam roller a shot next time I have some surface area to cover. You airplane fellas are a wild bunch! Already dreaming of foamie v2🤫
@@ThatJakeWorldWide I guess some would call us crazy. My longest and most complex layup was the turtle back for my airplane. It took 11 hours with 2 people working straight through with only a short break for a meal. It really helps to have someone mixing epoxy while the other does the wetting out.
Absolutely! I time-warped 6 hours into the future on some of the bigger layups. Having someone around to mix, as well as chat with certainly takes the edge off.
Im a complete fiberglass beginner. Where do you even buy the stuff to get started? Is there a beginner project to learn on, before i have to drive around with my learning curve displayed on the back if my truck for the whole world😂 to see?
LOL. Hey everybody come look at all my mistakes! All the epoxy/fillers are from uscomposites and the fiberglass cloth is from thayercraft. Maybe start by building a cooler or a paddle board? ill be doing videos on both coming soon!
Amazing idea and great vid Sir. Ya can use a squeeze bottle like a old mustard bottle to get those vertical areas to save spillage. Plastic picnic plates as catch pan. That dog rocks.
Burt Rutan's work is a huge inspiration in the techniques used in this project. I read and studied some of his early publications including "Moldless composite aircraft construction" and "Moldless composite sandwich aircraft construction" Thanks for watching!
After many hundreds of hours doing layup, I've found that a regular chip brush and a small paint roller (either foam or fine nap) works great for wetting the surface. I only use the spreader at the end to draw across and level everything out for even wet out.
The foam mini roller comes in clutch! I was near the end of this build when another commenter suggested it, and boy am I glad they did. Thanks for watching!
Thanks! A cabover bunk is a possibility, I would add some additional structural members just for piece of mind. It is possible to spray epoxy, but that comes with some additional health risks, and I shudder thinking about the spray gun cleanup!
For sure. I am planning a 6ft long cabover and over the tailgate For my new Ford Maverick. I want reasonable climb-in height so I am thinking 3 ft at the opening with a nice curve to it sleep lengthwise with feet towards the cab. I think 3ft side walls that are fiberglassed will be supper strong for support the overall length but for sure the floor of it will need some supports side to side to support. One of the, as Jake put it, head scratchers, will be tying the cabover to the rear box section and also making sure the tie down portions going to the bed are strong taking repeated on and off loading and wind loading. So many ideas running through my head for this but is a toy hauler cargo trailer conversion for next yr. Hopefully someone beats me to the cabover so I have to do less thinking for it 🤣 Another thing -- even thought this will be light 250 300 lbs for mine - I want to add jackstand lift attachment points - at 57 now and always no one around to help - I want to avoid the slide on and off deal. Use the jackstands to lower to the custom Dolly to move to back yard. Best wishes to all.
Hi Jake, I like the way you made camper. We are planning to make on my 2019 Toyota pickup shortbed. Among all others I like the way you made it. Can you tell me what kind of materials we need? I already bought ceiling fan and 2 windows from Amazon. But I see you put some kind of white sticky things -Is that a glue? what kind and where do you buy all the materials? In the front of RV what did you put it on? It looks pink? Is that a foam? If you could tell me the names of materials and parts I need, It would be very appreciate.
Joanie, thanks for watching! All of your questions are covered throughout the build series, as well as answered multiple times in the comments. Start from the beginning of the build and read the comments section for each video. This should plenty of research for your project!
Great to see someone doing what I've been agonizing over....lol. I've got a design I'm ready to start building. What are some of the biggest surprises you've run across, or is it as straight forward as it seems? Great job!
@@ThatJakeWorldWide Jake, I have started! Bought the supplies yesterday and within a couple hours have both sides and one of the full length 'stringers' cut and one side has the seams taped and fiberglassed! What weight cloth did you use? I have about 50 yards of 9oz figuring if it doesn't provide the stiffness I want I'll double it, making 18oz. I'm doing a trailer camper for two, with an overall length of 12'. (Wish I could attach pics as I would love your input!) It's either going to be a great design or an expensive miscalculation....lol Keep up the good work! Inspiring!
Michael, Thats RAD to hear! My go to for most of the project is 7oz cloth with most of the exterior being 3 plies. 18oz of cloth sounds perfect to me. Check out the foamie section at tnttt.com. Im there a couple of times a week and there's plenty of other projects and builders/builds for inspiration.
@@michaelbowman4607 I know this comment is old but I’m researching to build my own foamie camper. I’m wondering how it turned out. I’m designing a full 14’ and I’m stuck at how to fiberglass the roof and sides before assembly and then glass over the joins. My garage resources are not enough to build it inside and cover it whole.
I want to make an octagonal deer blind using foam board and poor man’s fiberglass. Insulation and appearance aren’t a concern, but I’m struggling with deciding how I should build it and I’d like to hear your thoughts I could build a wood frame with glued foam board between the frame (similar to what you did here), or I could build a frame and put foam board around the outside using ‘box joints’ with the foam. I’m leaning towards the 2nd since having frames inside the blind might actually be a good thing to add shelves and such, and I feel it’d be substantially stronger. Thoughts?
For something like this I would lean more toward traditional construction methods. Frame it and then cover. It will be better insulated, and a much faster build.
@@ThatJakeWorldWide thanks! I subbed and binged about 8 of your videos last night. Great build and cool camping vlogs. I’m from Fort Worth, always cool to find another Texan
oz for oz fiberglass cloth is stronger and better in most every way than fiberglass mat. Theres a reason high end composite construction only uses cloth(Aircraft, Racecars etc) Also I'm using epoxy which is not compatible with Mat. Fiberglass mat is held together with styrene which traditional resins will dissolve and epoxy will not.
The filler is 3M hollow glass microspheres, AKA micro. It's a dry product mixed with epoxy to the desired consistency. It makes for a lightweight easy sanding filler. Thanks for watching, I'll give Dale some pets on your behalf!
Hey Dave! Most of it is 3x layers of 6-8 oz cloth. I think on the next build I will be aiming to reduce that to 15ish ounces per sq yard on the finished panels.
In one of your vids you peeled some cured fibreglass sheet off of the XPS foam and it looked easy.... in my testing this is a concern. If your roof rack rails are just epoxied to the top fibreglass sheet isn't it possible for wind to get under the solar panels and tear the top fibreglass sheet away from the XPS foam?
Good eye! In that clip im pulling the glass at a perpendicular angle to the surface and the foam just below the glass/foam interface is failing. When the shell is complete this is of little concern as there will be no edges for the wind to catch.
In order to make, I need to know the names of materials to find it but don't know the names to search for it. Can you give me the list of brand names so, I could buy? Am I asking too much?
Jake, I am in the process of building a custom Foamies on a Northern Tool 5x8 trailer. Would love to get your take on some things but it's been so long since I've been on T&TTT, I cant get back on with my email and any password/log-on name I can think of. Doesn't seem to be anyone to contact to resolve the issue.... Using 1" and 9oz cloth and epoxy. Doubling layers where I think it needs it. Using a "stitch and glue" technique I have built a boat with and so far seems to be doing very well. I'll have 6' headroom, queen-size bed, tons of storage and designated place for indoor Porta Potty. Also AC and 18x27x72 galley/storage that is accessed through a side hatch. So far, I can still lift the whole thing! 😮 Almost concerned it will be too light! However, with mattress and gear, I'm sure it will be ok (I hope). If not, it is going to be a very expensive experiment that will end up in the yard as an Airbnb! LoL If you have any suggestions on being able to get back on to T&TTT please pass them on! Great job! Thanks for the inspiration!
Hey Michael, sounds like a cool project! I wouldn't be worried about being underweight. Mine doubled in weight when I added all the creature comforts (mattress, electrical system, kitchen etc) and gear. The windows themselves are surprisingly heavy. The T&TTT forum is so slow these days I hardly ever check in anymore. If I were in your situation I would probably just make a new account, you could add "formerly (oldusername)" in your signature line if you are worried about continuity. Happy building!
Hi Jake, I just discovered your channel looking at foam build campers. What a fun rabbit hole, thanks so much for sharing! I have an 04 F150 Flareside to which no cap really fits because of the barrel shaped box rails. I have started cutting foam! Question for you about your side windows; how did you mount them given the 2” thickness? I was thinking about buying a used cap to repurpose the windows. Toss the frisbee for Jake from me. 😁
Congrats on starting your build! Some blabbering about the windows can be found here ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-NT35fmVw7is.html There is additional window information in the upload prior to the linked content as well. Thanks for watching!
Glass balloons / or microspheres mixed with epoxy to the desired consistency. Hence the "Micro" slang, common in composite construction of boats and aircraft.
can i ask a question here? could you have put the matting on the top rolling it down the end upright part while dry, them mix the epoxy and roll it on instead of coating it first using the 4 inch plastic trowel?
Instructions unclear, cat stuck in epoxy. Doing a layup on a vertical/overhead surface is a challenge. The best option is to position the workpiece so that your work area is level and flat. That will yield the best results.
Theres too many complex shapes to cover it in any kind of sheet material. The structures strength comes from the fiberglass, and the complex curves and radii. Most frp panels have 12-15 oz/per sq yard of fiberglass in them. The camper has 18oz minimum everywhere. Very similar materials but with the hand lay up I determined the final shape, layup thickness, and have a seamless one piece shell.
Has anyone told you that you sound just like the project farm guy on RU-vid? lol. I enjoy your build. What is the stuff you add to your epoxy to make it white and pasty? Thanks
Haha I haven't heard that one yet, but I do love me some project farm head to head product testing. Ray Romano is my most frequent celeb sound-a-like. The white filler is 3m micro balloons mixed into the epoxy to the desired consistency. It makes a lightweight and strong filler. Thanks for watching!
Yes its two part epoxy. The filler is epoxy mixed with glass microballoons aka "micro". More microspheres results in a thicker consistency, just adjust the mix to what you need.
I don't know if it will matter for your build....I've always seen/heard you should let each layer dry, and then give a light sanding to help next layer bond better....just saying....
Hi Jake, i have done some but minimal fiberglass projects before but nothing of this scale. I'm planning out my own foamie build but have some questions. What weight and how many layers of cloth did you use and how has it worked out? Im debating on going with 1708 biaxial but never used it before. Do you think i could just do single layer 1708 or maybe single 1708 then second layer using 10oz cloth? Also how many gallons did you use to do this entire build?
Most of the camper is 3 plies of 6-8 oz/sqyd plain weave cloth. If I were to do it over again, I would cut that by 25%. I think I used 5ish gallons? maybe 6?...its been a while!
Looking good. Wanting to build something similar. Are you worried about foam off gassing and delaminating of FG? What do you think total weight will be?
In my testing the foam itself fails before the glass/foam interface. The beauty of the fiberglass construction is its ease of repair. If (ok, ok when) something is damaged just cut out the problem area and glass in some new structure. I have a weight goal of being able to load/unload the unit unassisted. shooting for sub 200 lbs ish. Ill run everything across the scales soon.
Dale is a border collie/aussie mix of some sort. I have a DNA test to know for sure, but speculating is so fun. Regardless of his genetics he is an incredible companion!
Hey Guy !! You need to remove that long sleeve shirt when using rotary tools like table saws and routers, jus so you don't get snagged and lose a limb or get strangled !
Im still a little undecided on that. I might screw them to the roof spars where they intersect, but im leaning toward just glassing them into place. Screws would stiffen the roof assembly with the trade off of creating a potential leak path.
@@ThatJakeWorldWide did u rule out polyester resin? It looks like they r about 1/2 the price of epoxy resin. BTW, how many gallons have u gone thru so far?
I avoided polyester resins due to the extreme smell and extra safety precautions needed. MEKP catalyst is some nasty stuff! Also as Sean pointed out above some traditional resins will melt xps and eps foam.I did some small scale tests and didn't experience any melting, but the extra health and safety precautions pushed me into the epoxy realm. Ive used around 4x 1Gallon kits of epoxy from us composites. A 1 gallon kit is is actually 1.3to 1.6 gallons total volume depending on the speed. (slow/med/fast)
That's awesome! I've been looking all over for a resin that would work with foam. You get what you pay for, for sure! Doing it right with the right tools the first time is way less expensive in the long run! Great Job!
It would also be easier to apply a layer of epoxy with a foam roller, let it cure, then put the cloth on after it is dry(easier to position and smooth), then apply the saturation coat of epoxy to the glass.
Hey Bill, I did start incorporating a foam roller towards the end of the build to layup larger panels. its a great tip. I would avoid doing multi ply layups on top of cured epoxy. At least without washing any amine blush and mechanically prepping the cured surface for a good bond. Just my .02 cents.
In the order they appear, based on the info I have 1. Fun punk opener 2. Sakura Girl-Late at night 3.Winter on the sun 4.Anthony Maveric- Slow Daze 5. Chill Soul 6.Into the night 80's retro synth wave 7.Intrigue fun All from the RU-vid audio library Thanks for watching!
OMG just discovered your channel and loving it. You are doing some great work. Did you consider mounting you hard points directly on your roof spars? Also why didn't you make your roof spars the same depth as the foam roof and just foam in-between. Cheers Colin
Hey Colin, thanks for watching! The spars not being full depth is so that there is a thermal break in the assembly. Without this detail the uninsulated spar would transfer hot or cold through the roof and into the interior. Thats the theory anyway, Im just making this up as I go along!
@@ThatJakeWorldWide thank you very much! I was looking in the videos the amount of epoxy that you need for that and the gr/cm2 of fiberglass you used to stimate the cost, but I can not figure out where is this data. Regards
This build used around 5 gallons of epoxy. If I were to do it over I would order a 5 gallon kit (7+gallons total) , as you generally get a quantity discount. The large majority of it is three layers of 6-8 Oz/yd glass. Im not sure how that converts to your units. The next build will get a few less oz of glass, and likely only two plies. This has plenty of strength and will save some weight.
Hey Chris, all my epoxy and fillers comes from us composites out of Florida. They sell a pump that fits their bottles that dispenses 1oz per pump. Well worth the few bucks! Thanks for watching!
Hey Forrest, Theres plenty of other content available on RU-vid. Maybe give one of my more current videos a go. Im constantly upgrading camera equipment and continually learning the craft.
