Hello all ! I am in need of some advice on what kind of insulation to use to replace the old mouse house that I have now. Under the floor I think something that won't soak up water would be a good idea. Otherwise I am open to any suggestions. Goin out to work on the "ol aluminum bank".
I am going to install hot water radiant heating on top of my Polyboard floor. Because of that I decided to install reflective foil insulation on top of the floor (and under the radiant heating pipes). Otherwise I would have used the foil underneath the floor. I would have figured out a way to mount it about 1" below the floor so that both sides have an air gap. I liked the thought that it would not be able to soak up moisture and would not be all that usefull to rodents as nesting material.
The type of camping I do does not require floor insulation....
On the canned foam thing - too much would be a really bad thing, also, most closed cell foams eventually absorb some amount of water, and most importantly - it´s a real beeatch if you ever try to remove it...I´ve had to cut some out before...cussed the installer.
One plus on the canned foam - it works great for the uses it was designed for - getting into hard to access places to close off öpen¨areas that should be sealed to prevent airflow and/or drafts.
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Dennis
"Suck it up, spend the bucks, do it right the first time."
I'm in mid process of replacing the floor, and repairing the frame in the front 8 feet of my 1975 Sovereign. The frame is now repaired and the new belly pan is on (too bad that shiny new 2024T3 is where nobody can see it!) and ready for floor. I layed some thick plastic on top of the new pan, then I insulated the around the belly pan/banana wrap, next to crossmembers, and around the front hitch A frame with the expanding foam. Then I cut the pink R board to fit in the spaces between crossmembers/outriggers and am going to shoot a little foam between them and any other gaps. The foam and the R board will not absorb water and will protect the frame from future water (I think I have all the leaks stopped for now) seepage. It should last another 30 years (I'm only 24, so I might own this trailer for that long ) if I keep her watertight.
I just finished mine and used the factory method. The professionals I talked to said that using fiberglass insulation was definently the best way to go. They said to use 3" non-faced insulation. Since I could not find that I bought the closest thing to it which was 3.5" faced fiberglass. I pulled the paper backing off along with .5" of insulation to make it 3". I'm about done installing elevator bolts and the floor is very nice to walk on, feels solid and well insulated. I almost went with the foam board but in the end changed my mind because there seemed to be question as to it being able to hold up to the vibrations in a trailer. The original insulation job has lasted almost 50 years and is still working so I decided to replace it the same way.
I used reflectix aluminum bubble foil insulation inside the walls, and 1" closed cell foam under the floor.
I went by Malonium's method, with closed cell foam spacers between the outer skin and the foil. I applied the closed cell foam with construction adhesive directly to the bottom of the floor from underneath. So far I am happy with my choices. It is certainly a clean way to insulate a trailer.
I firmly believe that fiberglass insulation will cause frame rust and also offers great shelter to rodents and insects. Done 2 trailers, and ran into the same issues with both of them.
Did they say why they recommended fiberglass? FWIW, we started tearing our trailer up this weekend. Generally, we found that in most places, our vintage (about 45 years old) insulation batting is in surprisingly good shape. In one area, fluid from a battery leak collected. There, the batting disolved, along with the steel frame members...
We are thinking of replacing the batting between the floor and the bellypan with rigid foam insulation, for sake of added water resistance. Curved surfaces--like the wall, will get replacement batting...
Or at least that's our plan at this point.
Mary
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Mary Dotson, WBCCI/WDCU #9026
Our Airstream reconstruction adventure continues! Read the details at Tales of the Toaster
Just saw your gut job in the photo section. Wow! You've really started it. It think your AS will be as good as new when you're done. Keep us informed!
As far as insulation, I think something that will let our floors breath here in the wet Northwest would be great. I like the idea of sprayed in foam, but worry about water vapor being trapped between the floor and the foam, causing rot. However, Janet and Gary used spray foam (I believe) and haven't had any problems. I just hate the idea of the fiberglass. I too am worried about "visitors" living in it. The foil bubblewrap insulation seems neat also.
Let us know what you decide.
Marc
Just saw your gut job in the photo section. Wow! You've really started it. It think your AS will be as good as new when you're done. Keep us informed!
As far as insulation, I think something that will let our floors breath here in the wet Northwest would be great. I like the idea of sprayed in foam, but worry about water vapor being trapped between the floor and the foam, causing rot. However, Janet and Gary used spray foam (I believe) and haven't had any problems. I just hate the idea of the fiberglass. I too am worried about "visitors" living in it. The foil bubblewrap insulation seems neat also.
Let us know what you decide.
Marc
The foam has been in a year now without problems. Easy to use but rather expensive in compairison with the other types of insulation.
I am still thinking about this and will do some investigating at HD. I know that I prefer not to use the same type of fiberglass if I can help it. I just took off the old stuff under there today. Lets see..hmm.. how many dead mice can one trailer have in it anyway ? what a mess. I do plan on using the AS during the winter months, taking it up skiing for overnights and to the coast etc. so I want something under there. I was leaning to the closed cell foam board. But, I wonder about it wearing out from the natural movement of he AS.
The tops of the frame rails are rusted, while I still have black paint on the sides. Seems the fiberglass held the moisture against the steel.
PS - my coach was, at one time, totally infested with mice and had to throw away most of the insulation. I will be putting the original type back in the inside walls.
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