Makin a foam pit?

[N400Ex]

How hard would it be for me to build my own foam pit.... i was figurin 10' wide, 20' long, and 8' high....i have a loader to get my quad out of the pit but do you guys thing this is a good size? I just dont see the why other people dont make there own... lemme kno wut you think...

[#1rmman220]

it really depends on what you are going to use the pit for.
if your just gonna jump into it and not flips or rotations then that is a good size pit.

[theTman]

foam=$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[#1rmman220]

go to a wallmart they practicl give that stuff away bc they ship all there big stuff there with foam

[Rip_Tear]

I/we've thrown away more foam then I can even think of just from packaging etc, it'd be pretty easy if you told a bunch of people to save their foam and give it to you. Size is really what you feel comfortable with though.

[theTman]

yeah you can get free foam.....but not fire retardent, the engines get pretty hot, and foam is a conductor, so unless you wanna see your quad go byebye...

[hondajoe05]

:confused: i don't think it would get hot enough to start a fire maybe melt some onto your engine or something tho...

10 feet wide seems a little sketchy to me i was thenking maybe 10' deep
25 feet long
20 feet wide

yea i like space lol

[#1rmman220]

Originally posted by theTman
yeah you can get free foam.....but not fire retardent, the engines get pretty hot, and foam is a conductor, so unless you wanna see your quad go byebye...

Pal if your quad gets that hot it deserves to blow up
the pros do it all the time with dirtbikes and they get hotter so its fine to use foam.... my neibhor has been in the x games 15 times and he used a foam pit all the time so............its fine buddy.

[reed13]

and ur friend is who

[Titanium]

Originally posted by #1rmman220
Pal if your quad gets that hot it deserves to blow up
the pros do it all the time with dirtbikes and they get hotter so its fine to use foam.... my neibhor has been in the x games 15 times and he used a foam pit all the time so............its fine buddy.

Ya i kno wat you mean my neighbors on both sides have been to x games but they've been there 16 times. there names are ryan nyquist and dave mirra. ya i ride bikes with them all the time you should see. NOT!!!:eek2:

[#1rmman220]

Originally posted by Titanium
Ya i kno wat you mean my neighbors on both sides have been to x games but they've been there 16 times. there names are ryan nyquist and dave mirra. ya i ride bikes with them all the time you should see. NOT!!!:eek2:

ok have you heard of snocross? Ya its were people race snowmobiles and his name is chris vincent colchester vermont.
PAL

[welpracing]

Ok i agree with the fire retardant foam.

Yes your head pipe would get hot enough to start a fire. (it really doesn't take much)

You may see pros doing it. But i am sure they are useing Fire retardant foam too.

Plus why take the chances. I don't know about you but when you have 15Gs in a quad, i should would hate to see it go up in flames.

But i am sure it wouldn't be to hard to find the fire retardant foam. Most factorys that make the foam will make it that way just to reduce fire in there plants and warehouse.

Just my 2 cents

[ImWhite]

but #1rmman220's neighbors does it and he is in the x-games...15 times,im sure it would b fine,especially if big pros are doing it...lol

[theTman]

Originally posted by #1rmman220
O YEAH YOUR FOUR WHEELERS SUCK..


:rolleyes: someones looking for a ban

[N400Ex]

i would think that most of them big stores package stuff in fire retartant foam anyway... if i went to them and ask to buy some off of the them...do you think its worth a shot or wut?

[welpracing]

get the movie I think it is Nitro Circus 3

it has Travis Pastranas pit in it. You could judge the size of it and plus check out the foam. it is like foot and a half square blocks. from what i saw on this, you wouldn't want any smaller. You don't want to make the pit to small cus in the air if you over shoot it is too late. and they did in the movie and it looked bad.

[mxquadracer]

Originally posted by #1rmman220
Pal if your quad gets that hot it deserves to blow up
the pros do it all the time with dirtbikes and they get hotter so its fine to use foam.... my neibhor has been in the x games 15 times and he used a foam pit all the time so............its fine buddy.

Actually foam pits light on fire all of the time...ever heard of a rider named Mike Metzger? His pit went up a while back and he lost about 30,000$ in the process...it doesn't take anything for them to light. All that foam/dust is a HUGE electricity conductor...

There are many pre-cautions you have to take when jumping into a pit...such as turning your gas off right before you jump so it doesn't leak as you're getting pulled out. Hence leaving you with a small amount of gasoline in your carb/lines to jump quick...

They are sketchy, and flame retardent foam is almost a must...do some research before you start bashing next time...buddy

[N400Ex]

haha i didnt even think of that...that would suck big time lol thanks

[N400Ex]

were seriously thinkin about makin it...so if you have any links to information...let me kno...

[hondaracer305]

pastranas pit is 40x40' and it didnt seem all that big, i wouldnt go any smaller than 40x40. his is fire resistant too.

[raptor146]

You don't need flame retardant foam. I can name three foam pits that aren't. Anyone here of a fire exstinguisher just it case it happens to catch on fire. Dustins Millers foam pit is just scrap foam so is that one it Michigan and the one in the Bomb Squad movie. I think Metzgers burnt down because of a japanese rider new to jumping into foam pits didnt shut off the gas.

[N400Ex]

alrite... so where the hell can i find scrap foam? lol

[8my_Cash]

well a fire extinguiser would help the whole problem with the fire is the fire that you cannot get to. the stuff that is burning that you cannot see until it is way to late. i kno there are pits that dont have the expensive foam that are out there. bu myself being a fire fighter i know that i would try to make it less of a hazard towards fire and sometimes extinguisers dont cut it to put a fire out.

im not bashin anyones ideas...i would just try to do it the safest way possible and if i couldnt i would just make sure i take all the safety steps involved with jumping into a foam pit if my foam wasnt the expensive stuff.

hey N400ex where in south jersey you from because im a south jersian myself

[N400Ex]

Originally posted by 8my_Cash
hey N400ex where in south jersey you from because im a south jersian myself



haha... im down in green creek... just south of cape may court house.... im a firfighter in green fire co. too lol where are you at?

[8my_Cash]

Originally posted by N400Ex
haha... im down in green creek... just south of cape may court house.... im a firfighter in green fire co. too lol where are you at?


im in mullica hill, in glouster country right near commadore barry bridge.

[N400Ex]

thats awesome... i pass through there when im headin to rausch or breezewood... wut do you ride?

[mxquadracer]

Originally posted by raptor146
You don't need flame retardant foam. I can name three foam pits that aren't. Anyone here of a fire exstinguisher just it case it happens to catch on fire. Dustins Millers foam pit is just scrap foam so is that one it Michigan and the one in the Bomb Squad movie. I think Metzgers burnt down because of a japanese rider new to jumping into foam pits didnt shut off the gas.

Foam pits are impossible to move in once you're in there...the foam just wraps around you...it would be very tricky to send someone into the middle of a pit if a fire started there with a fire extinguisher before the whole thing lit up...

HIGH powered hose would do the trick I suppose if someone always had one on hand

[raptor146]

Yeah i agree its better to have flame retardant foam. But only one pit burnt down that wasnt flame retardant. And I'm sure the other non flame retardant pits have bikes jumping into them all the time. What I'm trying to say is that scrap foam could work if flame retardant foam isnt available.

[raptor146]

Oh yeah i think the metal mulishas foam pit isnt flame retardant either. They just got theirs from a furniture store I think.

[N400Ex]

thats pretty awesome... wut did they just call them up and ask for scraps i guess?

[JLanphear]

Originally posted by #1rmman220
ok have you heard of snocross? Ya its were people race snowmobiles and his name is chris vincent colchester vermont.
PAL

Chris doesn't live in Colchester anymore does he?

sorry off topic

[N400Ex]

yo thanks for the info... look for some pictures of a homemade foam pit on here in a few months lol... i just hafta pay off the bill for my quad being blown up haha i dont even wanna see how many zeros are on that bill lol... but as soon as i can rake in some money... ill have some pictures for you guys.... thanks-

[raptor146]

Yeah same here. Right now I dunno if we have enough foam to jump a fullsize quad in. But definately a bike or 50. Have some pics up in a month or 2.

[pooman576]

we had a foam pit for our 50's
it was 10 feet wide and 20 feet long and 7 feet deep
what you want to do in make the bottom layers of old tires then stack up some old mattreses then funiture foam
then for the top and middle you want to get this fire foam its a buck per block(1 cube foot)
it was like 400 for the foam
but it was pretty nice




do not use packing foam the gass spills onto it then it getts soggy and **** then you have a pit of paste and once the sun hits it long enoughf it will blow up
im not jokeing ask my lil cuz tony his went in flames on him

[pit/wood]

Originally posted by N400Ex
alrite... so where the hell can i find scrap foam? lol I called a foam product producer in grand rapids mi.and asked about the cost,$900.00 for a compressed bale(he said that is about 1/3 of a 50 foot trac.trailer when uncompressed.didnt ask about fire retardent foam.but I will call him monday.the yellow pages are a great place to start your search.about the gas leakage problem,seems that it could be solved by developing a fuel recovery system for the overflow line/breather line.

[SRH]

static electricity +race gas/gas fumes=fire


running only the gas in the carb even with and over flow catch its still going to produce gas fumes or vapor and static electricity is what usually causes the fires not a hot exhaust

[pit/wood]

vapors in a big box.wonder what some high cfm fans would do ,I would start with one that would reverse,it wont be that efficcant,but once you figuired out wheather its better to suck out the vopers or blow them up through.,.,I think there is joke there hummm think about it.I had never heard of that problem.static problems just need to be grounded,that can be done

[8my_Cash]

pit seems like you dont like to use spaces after punctuation marks haha :p but yea you can ground with some tires at the very bottom, i believe

[pit/wood]

I ride a little better than I type.how to ground static elec. is no problem.you hit the same line on the ramp most time,a ground wire connecting the pit/foam with a hook that sits on the lip can be picked up by the axle of a quad(just takes a little detail work).Be a little harder for a bike,but it aint rocket science boys!dont know if any of that will work,but this is what I plan on doing,straight up.

[pit/wood]

forgot to call yesterday on the foam.I talked to 2 foam product producers in Grand Rapids,both told me that 90-95% of what they produce is flame retardent.they can not sort it before they bale it unless you want the cost to go up.they both told me that they will show you what is f.r. and which is not so you can sort it yourself. I did get prices. Grand Rapids foam rubber,616-361-2722(ask for Jim)400-600# bales@75 cents a pound. g/t industries 616-452-8675(speak to John)$850 a bale this week.thier price fluctuates with the price of crude.I am sure you can get it dropped shipped to you if you dont mind paying freight.both told me that they have bales ready for shipment.

[Rip_Tear]

pit/wood, I'm glad to see you've put a good bit of effort into your research! Too many people just all talk and no action. These are #'s and useful facts.

Good job!

[pit/wood]

Thanks Dude,I came to learn and share what I know,kinda what a forum is about aint it.I feel the need to go higher,what I do when I get there is yet to be seen.But I dont see any reason to be stupid about it.alot of you guys have taken the nocks for me,thanks.The school of hard nocks hurts like hell.when I was 20something I did it the hard way,my bones wont take that anymore. But I feel the need,I felt that sweetspot after hangin 25' in the air,didnt know what the %#ll to do when I was there. I aint as fast as I used to be.so I need to find a better way than a 40' dirt double.

[hard one]

the pros dont all use the flame retardent stuff in my bros mag one of the pros had his pit and bike burn down to the frame

you have to remember that your tank will leak if you flip the quad with the fuel in it then your hot bike it will go up fast and you wont beable to put the stuff out


use a pond or dig a big hole and file it with water and drag the bike out win u are done and youll get strong doin that .:devil:

[pit/wood]

theres got to be a way to keep a pit of foam from goin up like that.from what I was told by John at g/t,most all recycled foam goes to padding manufacturers,wheather its for automotive use or carpet padding it has to be 95 percent flame retardent base material(still burns,but it takes a more intense heat to set it off)if you put an accelarent on it,like gasoline,you are right back to highly flammable.I feel that there has to be a way to deal with these risks.But I dont know much about foam pits,yet.

[mxquadracer]

Guys, you HAVE to turn your gas off before you jump. There's no risking that

[exrider008]

Originally posted by JLanphear
Chris doesn't live in Colchester anymore does he?

sorry off topic

yes chris relly dose live in colchster but he just moved about 3 weeks ago...and the guys that didnt belive #1rmman he relly wasnt lying

[rpyfz450]

Originally posted by pit/wood
about the gas leakage problem,seems that it could be solved by developing a fuel recovery system for the overflow line/breather line.

One nice thing about fuel injection is you don't have the leaky breather tubes required by a carburetor's float bow.

[NET450r350x]

you can get free foam from gymnastics centers. they have to replace the stuff about once a year so they'd probably be happy to have someone haul the old stuff away.

my friend got a whole bunch and built a foam pit for their bikes.

heres a pic of it

[N400Ex]

that is awesome... thats probubly wut ill do

[coolex]

how can people possible shut of there gas while there in the air

[rpyfz450]

Originally posted by coolex
how can people possible shut of there gas while there in the air

Actually, the best way to do this would be to install the fuel petcock from an LTz400. The fuel petcock has a vacuum line that connects to the manifold. When the engine stops running and the vacuum disappears, the fuel petcock automatically shuts itself off.

I'm told this type of petcock is also used on street bikes.

[pit/wood]

Originally posted by rpyfz450
Actually, the best way to do this would be to install the fuel petcock from an LTz400. The fuel petcock has a vacuum line that connects to the manifold. When the engine stops running and the vacuum disappears, the fuel petcock automatically shuts itself off.

I'm told this type of petcock is also used on street bikes. I dont realy know how an ltz petcock works,but for years we have had vacum operated fuel pumps on small engines.kinda sounds like what you are describing.they dont create alot of pressure,more like just a positive flow.tell me if that is not what you have.sounds interesting.If it is a safety feature that just shuts off the fuel I am gonna have to get a look at one.

[rpyfz450]

Originally posted by pit/wood
I dont realy know how an ltz petcock works,but for years we have had vacum operated fuel pumps on small engines.kinda sounds like what you are describing.they dont create alot of pressure,more like just a positive flow.tell me if that is not what you have.sounds interesting.If it is a safety feature that just shuts off the fuel I am gonna have to get a look at one.

No, this does not appear to be a pump, just a safety shut off. It's way too small to be pump.

[pit/wood]

I find that very interesting.Thanks

[desertrats]

I am going to have to build a foam pit now, lol.
If I do I will put pics up.

[coolex]

do it (starsky voice)