Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Hello folks ,
What a great website . Been reading about " cookie cutter ' walls & was thinking that the % of insulation isn't much . Has anyone built their cookie cutter wall with the standard rigid insulation pieced into the wall & then added a full sheet of 1/2" polyiso to the outside before an 1/8 " or 1/4" skin ? I'm thinking it would help a good bit to cut down on thermal bridging, as well as the benefit of additional insulation . Thanks for any input .......

Bob

we built ours with 1/2 ply on the outside, 1-1/2" polyurethane insulation board, and 1/8 paneling on the inside.
Made for thick (about 2") walls, but solid, quiet, and warm.

Sam

Sam ,
Was the 11/2" rigid insulation solid throughout except for some wiring ?

yep, except there are a few wood 2x2 imbedded in the foam where I was planning attachment points.

Take a look at my build journal under "Horny Tow'd" for some pictures or go to :

http://photobucket.com/horny_towd_teardrop

for more pictures of the build.

Sam

I built my "Honeymoon house Trailer as an extra light.I ended up with a 250# trailer before I added the Air conditioner and microwave. I used the original magazine article- 1/8" hardboard with 1x1 framing for the basic roof line and roof beams. I have been up on the roof and I can stand on it. The ceiling and walls were insulated with 3/4 inch styrofoam and covered with 1/8 inch luan for looks. I have a 5000 btu air conditioner installed and in summer in Lone Pine ,Calif. in direct sunlight I ran the air on low cool and low fan- 95 degrees outside, 68 degrees inside. The only problem we have is in winter it gets so hot inside (40 degrees outside) that we have to leave windows open. Not having the aluminum out side helps reduce heat gain/loss. On my next build which will start this week I will not use insulation. This time the build will be a Wild Goose.
Cal

cal...most of my camping is in the owens valley from big pine north...but that is good to know...i dont know if i will go the ac route and wont use a heater unless i get hookups...maybe a swamp cooler (homemade)...my inside will finish out at appx 6'6" x 8'...but i think i will use 1.5 foam on roof/walls and 3.5" on floor

I was doodling around the very same thought in my head. though worry it will be heavy

hubby wants to use 1/2" ply for the walls. was thinking the idea of the ply for the outer walls and leave space between the inner and outer wall and fill with the blown-in type insulation (at $11 a bag its a thought and no itchy pink stuff) or spray-foam though I don't know the total area a can will fill up

tried to sell him on making a foamie but no luck

Don't use the blown in insulation, it will just settle in the bottom of the walls and leave the tops uninsulated. It's easy to do 1-1/2" solid insulation, just use 1"x2"s and turn them on their side. I skinned with 1/4" ply on the outside and 1/8" on the inside. It turned out solid as the rock of Gilbratar. I don't think the walls are any heavier than any other method.





Bruce

I used 1 1/2 inches of blue foam with 1/8 inch cedar strip interior surfaces and floated my aluminum over the framing and insulation much the way MadJack did his builds. Plenty solid and very light for all the toys and extras I added to my build. I would insulate if just for the quiet factor if I were to build another tear.