Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Hi All,

I'm gathering materials and have come across some free 1/2" OSB and 2x4s. I was wondering if these are suitable for the floor of the trailer. I'd probably rip the 2x4s so I can get 1 3/4" insulation in there. I was thinking about building a frame with the OSB to the inside of the trailer and then cover that with a laminate or some other interior finish product. After I glue the insulation into the frame, do I need to have another sheet of plywood on the underside? Or do I just use some sort of undercoating on the insulation and frame? If I need to enclose the insulation completely with plywood, is OSB suitable for that?

OSB because of the resins that hold it together are second only to marine grade plywood.

I politely differ with Shadow Catcher.

It's my opinion that OSB has no place in camp trailers. Once it's gotten wet, it swells and there's no shrinking it back down––any associated joinery is done. Exterior grade plywood, such as ACX or CDX will not do that nor will they delaminate. Those plywoods use the same glue as Marine Plywood. OSB is slow to take up water and slower to dry out and thus it's tendency to rot. The RV industry uses it because it will last through their three-year guarantee.

Do a Google Image search of "rotted camp trailer" and you'll see a bunch of ugly OSB.


Tony

I agree with Tony. OSB would be one of my last choices of materials to use.