Newbie NidaCore question

[Ruffin' It]

OK, so it's strong and light and really neat - I get that part. And you can attach pannels by simply fiberglassing the whole thing into one piece - I think I have that part. But, how do you attach things to it? I think I have a pretty good idea of how to (basically, in theory) build the camper box itself, but I'm clueless as to how to attach things like interior cabnets and the like to the shell? Are there any web sites that a kindly person could point me toward that offers some good (read: simple), explainations of the best ways to go about this sillyness?

Thanks,

Tyler

 

[boblynch]

These guys built their own on a Taco chassis. You might find what you're looking for in the build pics.

http://www.thesupercamper.blogspot.com/

You might also want to google search for boat builder projects. There are plenty that use this stuff.

Keep us posted on what you find. There are several guys on the forum considering custom builds with NidaCore.

Good luck,
Bob

 

[Ursa Minor]

Attaching to NidaCore

For NidaCore or any sandwich construction, how you attach to it will depend on what you want to attach and the thickness of the core where you are attaching. Assuming you're going to use something like a 1" NidaCore, you can:

- Laminate from the NidaCore to the object, good for bulkheads/partitions, extend your fiberglass tape couple inches from either side of joint, number of layers dependent on stresses. Same way you'll join the walls to the roof, etc.

- Rivet through into the core, good for small hardware. This assumes you've put up enough 'glass on the surface to hold a rivet, but you wouldn't have to do this everywhere, just where you're dropping the fasteners. Better in shear than stress loads.

- Bonding direct to the surface, using any of the typical construction adhesives. Good for large surface area parts where the load is distributed

- Through bolting, good for heavily stressed hardware. Good practice is to use a hole saw to drill out core, then refill with a solid laminate, then drill through that so when the fastener is compressed the core doesn't yield.

Most of your questions I'm answering based on boat construction techniques, so you can always search on the web down that line and get much more detailed information.

Hope this helps
John

 

[24HOURSOFNEVADA]

These guys built their own on a Taco chassis. You might find what you're looking for in the build pics.

http://www.thesupercamper.blogspot.com/

You might also want to goolgle search for boat builder projects. There are plenty that use this stuff.

Keep use posted on what you find. There are several guys on the forum considering custom builds with NidaCore.

Good luck,
Bob

These guys are on this site...

 

[Ruffin' It]

cool. Thanks for the input everyone.

 

[Ursa Minor]

Nidacore in SD

Just a heads up, if anyone in SoCal is looking for NidaCore to build a camper with, I was in a supplier's warehouse the other day and they had several pallets of 1.5" NidaCore that was returned when a company went out of biz. Some was cut down to 3' x 8' but there was a lot of full sheets, and it's been there a while so it will likely have a discount + no shipping!

I will likely buy a sheet or two to play with, but if you need some for your project, please PM me and I can put you in touch with the company direct (no upside for me, just passing on info to the Expo community) - John

 

[Ruffin' It]

Poo! Can't do anything right now ..... unless someone wants to loan me a couple grand and a place to store the stuff for the next year...
I'll send them a really nice card!

 

[kjp1969]

Just out of curiosity, what does that stuff cost- retail and typical?

 

[Dave Bennett]

Just out of curiosity, what does that stuff cost- retail and typical?

Good question. Anyone know?

 

[mhiscox]

Just out of curiosity, what does that stuff cost- retail and typical?

Interestly, you can order Nida-Core on-line. If you go to this link:

http://www.nida-core.com/french/order_list.htm

you can see all of the products and, when you choose one, go to a page with the specifications and the prices at the bottom. I have no idea whether a distributor might give a discount off of these prices. Probably depend on the volume.

The stuff is admittedly expensive and, based on some panels I shipped last spring, be prepared for a shock when you get the quote for shipping the panels to you. If you price out everything needed, the cost of shipping and count even a little for your labor, it becomes clear why even simple composite boxes often end up as five-figure projects.

 

[allochris]

yes, nidacore is not cheap! when i got a 4x8 sheet of 16mm plain non-laminated (note: flexible & floppy) it was $80 cad with no shipping. For the laminated one costs about <$300cad after tax!!! (I got mine from the Canadian distributor in Barrie, Ont.)

 

[southpier]

anyone ever use this stuff?

http://www.rhinokore.com/products.html


just curious . . . .