Airstream Insulation

[lmlfishing]

I was just curious about how well are the walls of a Airstream Classic? Thanks in advance.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

All Airstreams and almost all RV's are "three season" insulation. It's intended for use when there is not a lot of snow on the ground. It's not just insulation, there are also issues with things like plumbing and other odd things.

More details: you have about 2" of fiberglass in the walls. You also have aluminum ribs that go directly from the outer skin to the inner skin. On top of that, the windows are single pane designs. You have some air space under the trailer between the pan and the floor. There often is not a lot of insulation there. Floor loss is generally not the biggest deal anyway.

Heating (or cooling) wise, maintaining a signifiant delta between indoors and outdoors will take a lot of power. The same "30 degrees or so" that applies to cooling in the summer also is pretty close for heating in the winter. You may get the trailer to 70F when it's 100F outdoors under "best case" conditions. Getting it to 70F with 30F outdoors is a bit more do-able, but not by a lot. You can supplement either the heating or cooling with added devices. That's going to up the energy bill pretty fast.

Bob

[lmlfishing]

Thanks Mr. Bob

[dbj216]

I agree with uncle bob. Airstream are at best three season campers. They like 30f to 80f. The walls are rather thin and built with aluminum, one very good heat conductor. Airstream Forum members have improved the insulation in the walls to help with hot and cold days.

There are campers designed for 4 season living, especially 5th wheels. They have thicker walls, better insulation, and better plumbing designs. But they are harder to tow and won't last as long as an Airstream.

David