How to build your own Carbon Fiber Camper making your own Composite/Foam panels.

[ebrabaek]

They've changed. Mine's a five-year-old Renogy 100 watter. It's still doing great.

I think they make real good stuff, and as I never had any issues with the one on the smitty, I also thought that it did a real good job capturing the light exiting the electrons. Ie..... it created a lot of power with the available light as compared to other ones I tried.

 

[ebrabaek]

As the year draws to a close, I am happy to report that everything is holding up great on the camper. Not even a small crack in any joints or laminate at all. We have treated that camper shell to Colorados finest wash board many times, and nada. Now focused on finding that ever so elusive rear window over winter.

 

[ebrabaek]

I just realized I have not posted any of the interior LED light pods and controller. Coming tomorrow. Stay tuned.

 

[ebrabaek]

There are 4 LED pods inside the camper ceiling and will be 4 on each outside corner perimeter. I have been using these pods from superbrightleds.com since 2010, in a verity of applications and none has ever failed. I think the wattage is 2.5 each and they have an amazing lens that spreads the beam very well. I drilled the plastic cap on the right side and installed two mini lighted switches, then just routed the power point from the solar controller via those switches before it reached the left hand side power station. Red is for the inside, and green is for the soon to come outside. Links are on the bottom.



https://www.superbrightleds.com/1-r...00k-6500k+color-Cool~6500K+housingcolor-Black

 

[Snoutandabout]

As mentioned, it is now time to fine tune the camper. As with anything you create from a piece of paper, it is a complicated process, and the propperbility of needing to go in and fix, improve or expand, is fairly high. This is no different. I have identified 4 things that needs remedy'ing. 1 I was expecting. 1 I was not, and the last pokes its ugly head up once in a while.
They are as following.

1) Rear door to truck tail gate interface. I knew of this one, but did not have a solution of full design at the time of built, so I decided to get the lower flange within 3-5mm of the truck tail gate and go from there.

2) Some one asked if I had delam. There are about 5 small 2x3'ish patches that have experienced thermal delam. As the truck is parked in the sun the temp of the skin does go in the range of 150-175 deg. F. Any air pockets in the matrix will expand, lifting the skin ever so little.
It is almost impossible to create a panel as I did, or outside a hydraulic or vacuum press to not have small voids. Specially when you are conscience of resin to fiber ratio's. I treat them as norm and part of the deal, so I will show you how to stop them in their tracks.

3) The two sharp forward top corners are bugging me a bit. The 2023 F-150 is stoopid quiet. 80MPH on the freeway and quiet. On the maiden trip we had a freeway haul to a wedding that put us 10 miles into a 40 mph headwind, and I heard just a little wind noise. Curse you, quiet truck..... The fix is what will make you spit out the double expresso all over the computer screen, and perhaps make you think I'm lagging a few chromosomes....... I'm gonna cut them corners off with a saw...... I think..... I really do....... I think.

4) Countersink the hinge on the door about 2mm to get a bit more pressure on the big wiper seal.

Stay tuned

Do you have any knowledge or experience of how perforating the foam prior to laminating can help mitigate delam versus maintaining core integrity? I would think epoxy bridges through the foam wouldn't decrease the strength of the foam core and placed at regular intervals would decrease delam and maybe even increase the uniformity of adhesion. I have no idea about thermal bridging effects either, as that's a concern is some applications, but I'm sure that small enough enough perforations would cause negligible issues there. That way, there are regularly spaced epoxy connections like a toothpick through the sandwich.
And thank you for this post.

 

[rruff]

Do you have any knowledge or experience of how perforating the foam prior to laminating can help mitigate delam versus maintaining core integrity?

I do. If you really want to use 20 psi Foamular, I'd recommend texturing the surface with a wallpaper perforator. Then work a layer of epoxy into the surface, remove as many bubbles as you can, let it cure for a bit but not hard, then apply your composite layers. This makes the core stronger and harder under the composite and improves the bond.

A better choice IMO is to just use a better foam in the first place. The PVC foam from Carbon Core is what I used. It's a lot stronger (nearly 10x), plus the cells are much larger which improves bonding. An added bonus is that you can cut it with a circular saw and not have little foam particles floating on the air and going everywhere.

I drilled holes through the foam and filled them with epoxy where I need extra core strength, but I definitely wouldn't do that for the whole sheet... just buy better foam.

 

[gator70]

I need some guidance on composite core panels. My habitat is made of 55mm composite core panels. I don't know the correct way to fasten a ladder to the rear, for climbing on top. Any suggestions?

 

[ebrabaek]

Do you have any knowledge or experience of how perforating the foam prior to laminating can help mitigate delam versus maintaining core integrity? I would think epoxy bridges through the foam wouldn't decrease the strength of the foam core and placed at regular intervals would decrease delam and maybe even increase the uniformity of adhesion. I have no idea about thermal bridging effects either, as that's a concern is some applications, but I'm sure that small enough enough perforations would cause negligible issues there. That way, there are regularly spaced epoxy connections like a toothpick through the sandwich.
And thank you for this post.

You are quite welcome. It is a subject that is often discussed with various suggestive solutions. I offer the following as my opinion and what I have experienced working the best for my applications.
No need to perf the foam. When you do you can inadvertently create a pathway for resin to go and as it draws into the core it can create a void, which is the exact thing you were trying to avoid. Depending on your resin viscosity this can happen even after you have applied all your layers. Remember small or big, a void can lead to delams no matter the size. Another drawback is your resin to fiber ratio will increase as you are dappling a bit more resin into the foam. The later may not really be important but none the less is a factor. It has been my experience that the resins I use bites into the red foam panels extremely well. So well in fact that I done even sand the surface. Nothing wrong with sanding if you dont mind spending more time, but it is not needed. The delams that I documented in this thread were thermally driven, and it is almost impossible not to have a few when you dont have a press, due to small imperfections in foam board warpage, resin application etc. Then as the surface hits 185 deg. F it will bubble due to the expanding airmass. It is however so easy to just drill it and problem solved. Just like I did in this thread use a syringe to back fill the void. Once done ( I think i had 7'ish of them) no more issues. Mine has been through several 100+ days here in the grand valley and no more issues arose. The best thing I can suggest to you is to do a test lay up before you go big. Cut out a 12x12 inch, or whatever size you prefer, and do a layup just like you plan on your big piece. After curing, then test it by pulling on it etc... etc. Just remember that in order for it to recieve full strength, you have to lock corners and edge. If the composite sides peal easy or at all, look at a different epoxy or different foam. The right combination, you will split the foam when peeling. It is that strong.
I hope this offers a bit more insight, but please ask away.

 

[ebrabaek]

I need some guidance on composite core panels. My habitat is made of 55mm composite core panels. I don't know the correct way to fasten a ladder to the rear, for climbing on top. Any suggestions?

That is a difficult question without knowledge on what is used in your layup. The following is a guideline.
When you bolt anything to a foam core composite you have to create an anchor for the screw, or bolt to fasten to. The simple method i use is illustrated as I fasten the rear door hinge, so have a look there. But that is not all. You also have to consider that some panels are not made with enough surface tensile strength to be able to hold a ladder with a human on it. I think the best thing for you is to reach out to the manufacture of the foam core that you used and consult with them as they know the strength of their product and can guide you through it. Generally it will involve strengthening the top layers of composites with additional layers to spread the load but it really depends on the construction of your layup.