Jfet wrote:
Was thinking EPDM or TPO as an alternative. Certainly they seem easier to handle/bond to the marine ply than aluminum. Probably cost the same or less.
Or the other alternative is to coat the marine ply in fiberglass...messy though.
free radical wrote:
x2
EPDM maybe?
My Blue Heaven wrote:
Having had two aluminum RV's, I learned the hard way that aluminum dents from hail or rocks. You might want to consider alternatives.
Having had two aluminum RV's, I learned the hard way that aluminum dents from hail or rocks. You might want to consider alternatives.
x2
EPDM maybe?
Was thinking EPDM or TPO as an alternative. Certainly they seem easier to handle/bond to the marine ply than aluminum. Probably cost the same or less.
Or the other alternative is to coat the marine ply in fiberglass...messy though.
you could also use Cold cure or WEST epoxy,
it waterproofs the wood completely,
and is aplied with a putty knife or squugee as its very thick kinda like honey,
however it still needs to be painted over to protect from suns UV light.with paint or UV resistant Varnish.
downside is,its very messy very expensive job,And I would not recomend it unless its for small job such as kayak or a canoe where you need to see the beauty of the wood grain
to insulate your interior easiest would be to use the Blue or Purple Expanding foam thats sprayed on,dont know the Trade name,only seen it on Holmes house improvement show..its vater proof and vapor proof,just need to be covered with plywood
or paneling for protection as it soft and most likely flamable.
ticki2 wrote:
There would be no need for a vapor barrier between the aluminum and plywood , the aluminum , especially if one sheet , is in effect a vapor barrier . Add to this that is the wrong placement of a vapor barrier which should be on the inside wall ( warm side of insulation ) it becomes a negative . On a TC which usually has an impervious material as an outside skin I question if a vapor barrier should be used at all , even on the inside . Some how the wall has to breath or condensation will be trapped and eventually cause problems . Unless of course you can vacuum seal it or fill it with gas as in thermal windows , but I doubt that is practical .
Jfet wrote:
Steve, very nice job on your aluminum roof. I am now unsure if I want to go aluminum though. I see you used a vapor barrier under the aluminum (smart) but this would not allow me to sikaflex the aluminum directly to the marine plywood. Perhaps TPO or that other EPDM? stuff would be the better way to go for me, so I can bond it to the plywood that is screwed/glued to the metal roof joists.
Hmmm...
Steve, very nice job on your aluminum roof. I am now unsure if I want to go aluminum though. I see you used a vapor barrier under the aluminum (smart) but this would not allow me to sikaflex the aluminum directly to the marine plywood. Perhaps TPO or that other EPDM? stuff would be the better way to go for me, so I can bond it to the plywood that is screwed/glued to the metal roof joists.
Hmmm...
There would be no need for a vapor barrier between the aluminum and plywood , the aluminum , especially if one sheet , is in effect a vapor barrier . Add to this that is the wrong placement of a vapor barrier which should be on the inside wall ( warm side of insulation ) it becomes a negative . On a TC which usually has an impervious material as an outside skin I question if a vapor barrier should be used at all , even on the inside . Some how the wall has to breath or condensation will be trapped and eventually cause problems . Unless of course you can vacuum seal it or fill it with gas as in thermal windows , but I doubt that is practical .
True - there was probably no need to install any sort of barrier there. I wasn't originally going to, but then someone mentioned it so I thought it would do no harm. My logic being that because I am using quite thick aluminum I cannot guarantee to get it completely flat against the plywood (especially once it deforms slightly under the heat of welding). I don't live in the driest of places and so some humidity was likely to be sealed into that slight air gap. It occurred to me that when the temperature drops towards freezing point that humidity would condense on the underside of the aluminum, then run down to the lowest point and soak into the plywood. This barrier was an attempt to keep it off the plywood.
If you are using thin aluminum that you can glue directly to the plywood you wouldn't have this worry.
Note another thing I was careful about was keeping the aluminum electrically isolated from any steel components to avoid corrosion.
Keep up the good work - I'm following what you are doing with keen interest.
Steve.
'07 Ford Ranger XLT Supercab diesel + '91 Shadow Cruiser - Sky Cruiser 1
'98 Jeep TJ 4.0
'15 Ford Fiesta ST
'09 Fiat Panda 1.2
Insulation:
Consider the sound transmission properties of different insulation methods to reduce outside noise.
Simple math to calculate weight distribution of fixed equipment carried between the axles: Divide the distance of the center of gravity of the equipment to the front axle by the wheelbase. The result is the fraction of the weight of the equipment that will transfer to the rear axle.
example: water tank full weighs 1000 lbs. Wheelbase is 200 inches. Tank cg is 150 inches from front axle. 150/200 = .75 x 1000 lbs = 750lbs rear and 250 lbs front.
I have a spreadsheet somewheres that will cipher loads including behind the rear axle (which take weight off the front axle) ... it's misplaced at the moment...
![[emoticon]](http://www.coastresorts.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/scratchead.gif "scratchead")
* This post was edited 03/07/13 06:18am by an administrator/moderator *
Clicky...
It occurred to me that most of us just have regular domestic pick-up trucks with regular load beds. However you have a commercial vehicle with a nearly 15 ft flatbed. I imagine the chassis and flatbed of your truck will be designed to flex quite a bit.
I assume the camper body you are building is designed to remain rigid - in which case have you thought about how you are going to attach it to the load bed? I'm guessing you would want to ensure it is not rigidly attached causing all the twisting of the chassis / load bed to be transferred into the camper frame, breaking something.
Steve.
sabconsulting wrote:
Jefe 4x4 started this other thread talking about how to handle twisting of the truck frame:
Clicky...
It occurred to me that most of us just have regular domestic pick-up trucks with regular load beds. However you have a commercial vehicle with a nearly 15 ft flatbed. I imagine the chassis and flatbed of your truck will be designed to flex quite a bit.
I assume the camper body you are building is designed to remain rigid - in which case have you thought about how you are going to attach it to the load bed? I'm guessing you would want to ensure it is not rigidly attached causing all the twisting of the chassis / load bed to be transferred into the camper frame, breaking something.
Steve.
Jefe 4x4 started this other thread talking about how to handle twisting of the truck frame:
Clicky...
It occurred to me that most of us just have regular domestic pick-up trucks with regular load beds. However you have a commercial vehicle with a nearly 15 ft flatbed. I imagine the chassis and flatbed of your truck will be designed to flex quite a bit.
I assume the camper body you are building is designed to remain rigid - in which case have you thought about how you are going to attach it to the load bed? I'm guessing you would want to ensure it is not rigidly attached causing all the twisting of the chassis / load bed to be transferred into the camper frame, breaking something.
Steve.
Some of the military trucks use a spring mount that allows the frame to flex more than the flat bed. An example would be the older 2-1/2 ton trucks. The bed is seperated from the frame with wood and the front bed mount has springs.
Ford F-350 4x4 Diesel
1988 Avion Triple Axle Trailer
1969 Avion C-11 Camper
sabconsulting wrote:
Jefe 4x4 started this other thread talking about how to handle twisting of the truck frame:
Clicky...
It occurred to me that most of us just have regular domestic pick-up trucks with regular load beds. However you have a commercial vehicle with a nearly 15 ft flatbed. I imagine the chassis and flatbed of your truck will be designed to flex quite a bit.
I assume the camper body you are building is designed to remain rigid - in which case have you thought about how you are going to attach it to the load bed? I'm guessing you would want to ensure it is not rigidly attached causing all the twisting of the chassis / load bed to be transferred into the camper frame, breaking something.
Steve.
Jefe 4x4 started this other thread talking about how to handle twisting of the truck frame:
Clicky...
It occurred to me that most of us just have regular domestic pick-up trucks with regular load beds. However you have a commercial vehicle with a nearly 15 ft flatbed. I imagine the chassis and flatbed of your truck will be designed to flex quite a bit.
I assume the camper body you are building is designed to remain rigid - in which case have you thought about how you are going to attach it to the load bed? I'm guessing you would want to ensure it is not rigidly attached causing all the twisting of the chassis / load bed to be transferred into the camper frame, breaking something.
Steve.
Thanks. I have had some concerns about mounting to the flatbed, but mostly concerns about giving enough clearance between the camper overhang and the Isuzu cab such that when the frame/flatbed twists, it does not cause the camper to contact the truck cab. The 20 foot steel flatbed is quite thick and rigid and is u-bolted in many places to the frame. I drove a tire on a curb and the frame/flatbed seem to stay as one unit, meaning there may not be issues with twisting being transfered to the camper frame (except the cab/camper overhang clearance issue, which I have given almost 5 inches allowance).
So all of that said, I am thinking of using your typical camper tiedown devices directly to the flatbed.
edit: After looking at the link you posted, I also see that they were refering to mostly wood frame glue and screw campers. I do wonder if my fully welded tubular steel frame might hold up a bit better to flex...
* This post was edited 03/11/13 07:24am by Jfet *
Snowdance
We spent most of our money traveling... Just wasted the rest..
Chevy 7.4 Vortex
2000 Jamboree 23b Rear Kitchen
http://www.flickr.com/photos/snowdance38
Jfet wrote:
Thanks. I have had some concerns about mounting to the flatbed, but mostly concerns about giving enough clearance between the camper overhang and the Isuzu cab such that when the frame/flatbed twists, it does not cause the camper to contact the truck cab. The 20 foot steel flatbed is quite thick and rigid and is u-bolted in many places to the frame. I drove a tire on a curb and the frame/flatbed seem to stay as one unit, meaning there may not be issues with twisting being transfered to the camper frame (except the cab/camper overhang clearance issue, which I have given almost 5 inches allowance).
So all of that said, I am thinking of using your typical camper tiedown devices directly to the flatbed.
edit: After looking at the link you posted, I also see that they were refering to mostly wood frame glue and screw campers. I do wonder if my fully welded tubular steel frame might hold up a bit better to flex...
sabconsulting wrote:
Jefe 4x4 started this other thread talking about how to handle twisting of the truck frame:
Clicky...
It occurred to me that most of us just have regular domestic pick-up trucks with regular load beds. However you have a commercial vehicle with a nearly 15 ft flatbed. I imagine the chassis and flatbed of your truck will be designed to flex quite a bit.
I assume the camper body you are building is designed to remain rigid - in which case have you thought about how you are going to attach it to the load bed? I'm guessing you would want to ensure it is not rigidly attached causing all the twisting of the chassis / load bed to be transferred into the camper frame, breaking something.
Steve.
Jefe 4x4 started this other thread talking about how to handle twisting of the truck frame:
Clicky...
It occurred to me that most of us just have regular domestic pick-up trucks with regular load beds. However you have a commercial vehicle with a nearly 15 ft flatbed. I imagine the chassis and flatbed of your truck will be designed to flex quite a bit.
I assume the camper body you are building is designed to remain rigid - in which case have you thought about how you are going to attach it to the load bed? I'm guessing you would want to ensure it is not rigidly attached causing all the twisting of the chassis / load bed to be transferred into the camper frame, breaking something.
Steve.
Thanks. I have had some concerns about mounting to the flatbed, but mostly concerns about giving enough clearance between the camper overhang and the Isuzu cab such that when the frame/flatbed twists, it does not cause the camper to contact the truck cab. The 20 foot steel flatbed is quite thick and rigid and is u-bolted in many places to the frame. I drove a tire on a curb and the frame/flatbed seem to stay as one unit, meaning there may not be issues with twisting being transfered to the camper frame (except the cab/camper overhang clearance issue, which I have given almost 5 inches allowance).
So all of that said, I am thinking of using your typical camper tiedown devices directly to the flatbed.
edit: After looking at the link you posted, I also see that they were refering to mostly wood frame glue and screw campers. I do wonder if my fully welded tubular steel frame might hold up a bit better to flex...
Driving up on the curb empty is quite different that having a load then driving up on the curb. With additional weight the flexing well be more with the weight trying to push the lower tire down.
I don't know if it well flex or not enough to cause you problems.
Butch
I try to always leave doubt to my ignorance rather than prove it
2021 Winnebago View
We couldn't resist trying out a sheet of 5mm Okoume marine mahagony plywood on the curve section. We have had this stuff for 20 years due to a aborted wooden sailboat build. It will be nice if we actually get to use it in a project now. It seemed to bend over the curve without steaming or kerfing.
![[image]](http://i1051.photobucket.com/albums/s435/IGBT/frame31113side.jpg)
![[image]](http://i1051.photobucket.com/albums/s435/IGBT/frame31113bend.jpg)
'03 2500HD CrewCab SB 6.0 Gas 4x4
'04 Northstar Laredo SC
Bilsteins 5100
2014 1500 Silverado 5.3 Double Cab
1951 Chevy 3100
Formally OBXcamper
