A Foamie as a Overlanding Trailer? I guess it is now....

[GHCOE]

Some people said the Foamie would not make it down the freeway. Well we have proved them wrong. Now it is time to venture into the overlanding scene.

This is what I call the Bug Out. It is economical to build and super light. Working out the "BUG's" to get it to be a capable overlanding/off road trailer now. Took it out on my last trip and it did great!

 

[Todd & Meg]

The problem with foamies is they got a reputation for being cheap, budget builds, with no frills, and no design or style. I have seen two foamie campers in person and they were junk. Poorly built, looked awful. My wife seen them before we started our teardrop and said no way are we building a foamie.

That said, and I would never say that at the other site because I would probably get flamed.

There looks to be some nice builds. But there are trade offs. If you are okay with the look of a brick on wheels, then they are great. If light weight is the main concern, then go foam. Are okay with exposed wires instead of them being hidden in the walls, hard to build storage and galley unless you build with wood. And the fact there is little easy to find information on how to build without wading through hundreds of pages of build threads to find some ideas to build.

For me I like the classic teardrop look, I wanted it to have form and function. I don't know if I did it but it should work for us. Just because we are camping doesn't mean it has to look like we are roughing it.

I'll probably look into building with foam after I finish this one. Or aluminum.

I am farther along than this but I don't have any current photos.

 

[Cpyonker]

My only question, I’m unfamiliar with off-road trailers. I prefer to keep my rig without one off-road.

I’m not sure how tight of trail you run, but would the foamie get more damage easier from trees?

 

[Todd & Meg]

My only question, I’m unfamiliar with off-road trailers. I prefer to keep my rig without one off-road.

I’m not sure how tight of trail you run, but would the foamie get more damage easier from trees?

Trailers are not for everyone or every trail. If you can carry all your gear, food, people in your rig then no need for a trailer. But for some of us it is worth the trade offs.

The foam used is XPS or rigid blue or pink. Not the white bead board. The inside and outside are covered with something like fiberglass and epoxy or canvas and tightbond glue. It does make for a strong panel. But I have not seen anything showing how strong it is to trees, rocks or other trail hazards. On the plus side it is easy to repair.

Ghcoe has done a lot groundwork on foamie trailers. For some people they are an ideal option.

Todd

 

[Cpyonker]

Gotcha, I was under the impression it was not covered by a hard sheet. Even if I wanted a trailer I couldn’t afford one. I think they are neat. They just don’t make much sense for my needs.

 

[GHCOE]

The problem with foamies is they got a reputation for being cheap, budget builds, with no frills, and no design or style. I have seen two foamie campers in person and they were junk. Poorly built, looked awful. My wife seen them before we started our teardrop and said no way are we building a foamie.

That said, and I would never say that at the other site because I would probably get flamed.

There looks to be some nice builds. But there are trade offs. If you are okay with the look of a brick on wheels, then they are great. If light weight is the main concern, then go foam. Are okay with exposed wires instead of them being hidden in the walls, hard to build storage and galley unless you build with wood. And the fact there is little easy to find information on how to build without wading through hundreds of pages of build threads to find some ideas to build.

For me I like the classic teardrop look, I wanted it to have form and function. I don't know if I did it but it should work for us. Just because we are camping doesn't mean it has to look like we are roughing it.

I'll probably look into building with foam after I finish this one. Or aluminum.

I am farther along than this but I don't have any current photos.

They can be cheap and in general a budget build over a traditional built trailer. Design is in the eye of the beholder for sure. A foamie can be simple, but it can be so much more too. This is my first build as proof of concept. This one came in under $1500.00 and weighs 510lbs.



My wires are not exposed. I channeled the foam to accept the wires and then laid the foam back on top of the wires.




No wood in the galley except the swing down counter. Read my build it's 50 pages with little deviation from topic http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=54099 .



Good looking trailer. Good job!
[/QUOTE]

 

[GHCOE]

My only question, I’m unfamiliar with off-road trailers. I prefer to keep my rig without one off-road.

I’m not sure how tight of trail you run, but would the foamie get more damage easier from trees?

In the case of the box style trailer in the video it would be hard for trees to hit it since the body is only 4' wide and my Jeep is 6' wide plus it is about the same height.

I would put a foamie up against a non-back supported aluminum skinned trailer anytime. A backed aluminum skinned trailer would probably fair better against tree branches depending on how hard it hits. Foam absorbs a lot of the impact and keeps that damage localized even on hard hits, usually a easy fix. Traditional builds, at a point, can transmit the damage through the entire structure making for expensive repairs.

A lot of times a foamie will repair itself if left alone. The foam has a memory and will want to return to it's original shape. I have had fairly large dents pop out over a few weeks.

This is why I am fixing this foamie up for Overlanding/4x4 use to see just how durable it can be and to see what mods will need to be made to make it more capable.

You would be surprised just how strong a foamie is.

I am switching to a trailer for these reasons.

Without a trailer:
You want to go camping/overlanding so you have to pack up all your stuff into your vehicle. Then when you get to where you want to camp and you have to unload and setup everything. Then your ready to go again and you have to load up everything ect, ect. Then you get home you have to unload everything and put it away.

You get to your camp spot and it's raining! You have to setup camp in the rain. Plus it is raining....

You get up in the morning and it's raining. Now you got to take down a wet camp and throw it into a dry vehicle. When you get home you have dry out everything before you put it away.

With a trailer:
You want to go out camping/overlanding so you hook up the trailer and grab the food you want to eat and cloths you want to wear. Everything else is in the trailer. When you get home you grab leftover food and the dirty cloths and you unhook the trailer.

You get to camp and it's raining! Go to the trailer open the door and your nice and dry. Plus your nice and dry....

You get up in the morning and it's raining! Open the door and get in the vehicle and go on your way.

You can lock up everything when your away from camp.

Just a few ideas.

 

[Cpyonker]

That’s true, my current setup has me sleeping in the truck.

 

[GHCOE]

Water crossing test.....Check!

Water was deep and swift enough to push #2 sideways. Don't worry camp gear and bedding where still dry. Not a drop of water got inside....

 

[GHCOE]

Now with video....