Unconventional Insulation ...Oh My!

[Bikerman]

Hey everyone.....it's been awhile! Sometimes we just get off track and finally find past dreams that were unfulfilled.....getting back to the outdoors and travel.

Well, to the point. Can someone tell me why you could not insulate a CT as follows"

Outside aluminum skin, 3/8 plywood, 1" insulation board, then aluminum insulation wrap, then 1/8 or 1/4 paneling for the interior wall.

OK, granted, first off, there is lost interior space, it seems minimal since the only loss is between the siding and the exterior plywood wall. Seems this air space could be vented providing a positive insulating barrier.

I'm buying a new (unless I can quickly find a great used) CT 7x14 to convert. We are going to hit the road this March, so time is of the essence.

This dawned on me as I was thinking of house siding, homes have metal siding, then exterior sheathing, then insulation, then interior sheet rock or paneling, why not do the trailer in the same manner.

A huge plus for me is much less labor, I don't need to gut the inside and replace the plywood after insulating.

I think electrical runs would go quicker over the exterior plywood wall on the inside before adding insulation.

Flexible pipping type trim rounds off window and interior doors, so trimming isn't a big deal.

The ceiling can be as conventionally accomplished.

Please comment and suggest away, I'm a newbie

[Modstock]

Welcome back.
I think they way you are referring to would add weight.
If you pull the walls and add the 1" insulation inside then you could eliminate one/two of your steps.
You can ask for thinner wood to be installed to save weight or swap it out.

I've asked a ton of questions about this in my "getting ready to convert" thread. Lots of good info there.

Basically it's all about weight savings and simplicity.
March will come up quickly. Im in the same boat with a trip due in April. Still need to sell my other trailer and build a cargo. Starting to freak out.

Sent from my H1611 using Tapatalk

[Bikerman]

Very good point Modstock, it will be heavier that weigh.

My 1800 VTX Trike weighs about 870lbs and the only other stuff would be food water and usual camp gear. But, I'll be hauling extra weight, not so good for mpg.

OTH, it may well be a stronger wall system with upper cabinets and furniture attached. Hadn't thought of it like that.

Has anyone done this before and what are the pros and cons?

[featherliteCT1]

OTH, it may well be a stronger wall system with upper cabinets and furniture attached. Hadn't thought of it like that.

Not sure what you mean by “aluminum insulation wrap” but if you mean something that works as a radiant barrier, there needs to be at least a 3/4 inch air gap for the radiant feature to work. That is a lot of wasted space. Air itself has a low an R value of about .3R per inch.

Like you said, I like the 3/8 plywood as the interior surface so you can affix things to it.

[Bikerman]

Thanks Featherlite. yes it is the radiant barrier bubble wrap stuff. It is a vapor barrier as well as a radiant reflective material and you're right it would not be at its optimal performance, but its better than nutin and its in my garage left over from a van build.

Truth is, I'm hurting, bad shoulder, leg cramps, I'm 69 in March and I'm getting out there touring before I really get old and broken. I'm looking for the quick easy way to fill in a CT and get on the road asap.

We plan on hitting military installations and recreation sites, they will have electric hookups and I'll have A/C and heat. Solar is in the plan for seasonal boondocking.

Insulation is critical so I don't bake in a metal box or freeze, so any suggestions toward that goal are welcomed.

[featherliteCT1]

Bikernam, I hear you brother! Getting old is not for sissies.

[featherliteCT1]

I insulated my cargo trailer with about R16 poly insulation all the way around, floors, ceiling and side walls. It is my first trailer. I was naively surprised to learn that when the trailer sits in the hot sun all day long, say when I am travelling, the interior temps typically rise to about 100 plus degrees F in the summer time. If I do not have acess to shore power for the AC, it takes a long time to dissipate that heat, even with plenty of open windows and a Maxxfan running. Consequently, if I am just staying overnight after a day of travelling, without AC, I think less insulation might be better because the trailer would cool down faster.

However, if I am staying in one place for more than an overnight, after I get the trailer cooled down, it is relatively easy to keep it that way.

The reverse is true in the winter time.

Not sure if it would make a difference with a teardrop.

[Modstock]

Color is a thing to think about. White reflects heat better. My teardrop does good in the heat, if we have a decent breeze it makes it even better.
My last jeep wrangler had a black soft top , no A.C. that was terrible in the heat.
I switched it out for a white hardtop. Made a world of difference.

It's those stale nights (no wind) that are awful.

Sent from my H1611 using Tapatalk

[McDave]

If you are looking for a quick and easy way to "cool" without A/C consider a pop-up canopy(can- o- peas?) large enough to park the trailer under. If you can avoid collecting and storing all those photons during the day, then you won't be waiting all night to release them, only to start the process again. Insulation is a great help in slowing the rate of transfer of heat in either direction. However, if you do not add or remove heat by some mechanical means your trailer is just like any outbuilding and will eventually assume the same temp as the surrounding objects. Insulating will slow the swing of temps, but swing it will. If you can use the solar gain to heat, then leave the trailer in the sun with largest wall generally facing south. As was mentioned color can have a pronounced effect, you can use that to your advantage as well. And of course, keep trailer shaded as much as possible if you are trying to stay cool and paint the roof with reflective roof paint like Henry's. Ultimately if you want to be comfortable without A/C or heater, you will have to be nomadic and go where the weather is of your liking. Might not be a bad way to live for a change. Research Heliodon and see if you get any ideas.
Just my thoughts....

McDave

[Bikerman]

Hey guys, I found a similar thread from years past.

viewtopic.php?f=42&t=69820&start=15

You're right Modstock, NTGOT, but, few years ago I was putting a metal roof on my lake cabin and discovered R values, reflective values for different colors. I was surprised to find the pure white wasn't the highest, but second to a light tan and silver. Flat black was the worst, unless you wanted a solar oven. I ended up with a dark green that wasn't that bad from white, another surprise. So, yes, color makes a big difference from one end of the color spectrum to the other, but not that much off between lighter golds, tans, greens or yellows.

Talked to the trailer guy yesterday, so far so good, but he said they had to have ply walls up for shipping, they would pre drill holes to make it easier to take the wood off.

Translation; The structure isn't strong enough to go over the road without the plywood attached!

I think I see a good use for a couple rolls of steel banding straps inside on this build.

Guess now I'm going with a 7x14 @ 6.5 H, extended tongue and the guy said they could come very close to matching the "warm sand" (light tanish gold) F-150.

Here's a link to the trailer I think I'm getting:

https://www.ozarktrailersales.com/eagle ... 7Celg.html

Prices are posted and seem pretty good, although they wanted $500.00 to insulate the walls and ceiling

I'll be doin that!

So far, I think I'll build up the inside as I mentioned and accept the weight and inches lost.

Featherlite, gettin old is not for whimps!

Oh, BTW, Happy New Year everyone!!

[dirtsailor2003]

Which ever way you go I'd opt to use the foil faced rigid and lose the insulation wrap. Typically you want the foil side facing the interior if you are looking to keep heat in. Foil facing the exterior if you are wanting to keep heat out. You can also get (is a special order in my neck of the woods for 1") foil faced on both sides. Time wise I think you'd be better off pulling off the wood and putting the insulation in. Then putting the sides back on. Why? Because the sides are already cut and in place. If you install the insulation over you are going to have to furr out the metal studs, cut panels and install them. Another concern I would have with your plan would be being able to get to wiring if its run in the walls. If you ever have to get in a repair you'd have a lot of work ahead of you. Most of my wiring is at the ceiling level, but there are runs down the walls to get to side markers, etc.

[Bikerman]

Hey Dirtsailor, very good points to consider. I've not seen foil facing on both sides so I'll check that out, thanks!
I'll be visiting the factory before I buy and I'll see what can be worked out.

As for electrical, I'll run lines before insulation around the top and drop down, just in case I have to ford any rivers

McDave, I have a new, never deployed, Army medical tent, huge that I'm thinking about hauling. Talk about an awning....and the tent is tan coated with pvc, special heat/thermal treatment for very low heat seeking image stuff and best of all it doesn't smell like moth balls like the old GP Mediums. This thing would swallow 4, 7x14 CT! Bad part, it's very heavy and I'd need to cut it up to use it, possibly in several projects, but that will be hard making that first cut in a new tent!

I'm going to try to be a little stealthy about this whole thing, I have a lot of coroplast sign material that may help insulate over my windows......

Guess I'll mention that I intend on making a channel around my windows on the outside and slip signs in the tracks. The signs can say "LAND SNAKES ALIVE!" and "MAN DEFIES DEADLY SNAKES"

That should keep people from knocking

I'll probably need to hire some help for this project, I do have my afternoon naps to consider.