Floor insulation

[cornfused]

With the weather changing lets have a discussion on insulating the floors of our CT's. It seem like there are two schools of thoughts on this, either put some insulation over the floor and put in a false floor over it, or put insulation between the floor joists/supports like most do in the walls.

I am most interesting in what people have done for insulating under the floor between the joists. I am considering doing this, but the idea that it might trap moisture under there from driving in the rain or in my case salt/slush in the winter might cause more damage than it is worth...

What I am considering doing is insulating between the floor joists and sealing the entire underside of the trailer with skin like the outside, but I'm not sure if it will be worth it given how much work it will be to do it "right" so i don't make it possible to trap water under there.

The other option would be to put some kind of mesh over it, so it could "breathe"/dry if it did get wet, but that seems a little counter-intuitive to me.

[OverTheTopCargoTrailer]

I tried it both ways , guess which one was 10 times easier & better

put insulation between the floor joists/supports like most do in the walls.

I am most interesting in what people have done for insulating under the floor between the joists.

Question, are most doing it right or wrong ?


Good luck with ur choice

[cornfused]

Haha, that's one way to put it...

The thing is that I still use my trailer for cargo also, it's not a dedicated TT like yours. Adding height to the floor isn't really an option for me. Also I think I would crush the foam eventually with the "cart" that I load into my trailer.

I have found some pictures google image searching showing how the people who build the tiny houses and restore Airstreams do it, but I'm just curious if anyone wants to share how they did it on their CTT.


Examples I've found...

Tiny house...(under floor and on top)
http://www.tinylike.us/insulating-the-floor/


Airstream "pan" to protect insulation and spray foamed
http://mistahlee33.wordpress.com/


Ice houses
http://www.fishhousesupply.com/icehousekits.htm
interesting quote from there...

If you choose to insulate your floor, we advise NOT to sandwich foam between 2 layers of plywood. This method not only traps moisture, but it also adds weight, and not much R-value. We recommend spray foaming under your floor if you have access to doing this.

[Oldragbaggers]

My floor is insulated between the joists, with a skin of 1/8 plywood over the bottom which was then fiberglassed AND has roofing tar on it. (I am truly the Queen of Overkill). And because I couldn't leave it at that I also have gym mat type rubber under my mattress, but that was actually more for protecting the floor if I want to stack my two mattress pieces and carry gear inside the tear, like our folding bikes, which we do.

[OverTheTopCargoTrailer]

Ice houses
http://www.fishhousesupply.com/icehousekits.htm


Built with 2 x 2" wood frame and 2 x 6" wood frame.....
Recommend Dow Blue board insulation
Do I hear OTTCT or CarMate like construction......?????
brother take me to the promised land......

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[Prem]

cornfused,

That Fish House website is fabulous. NICE trailers! I have to totally agree with their statement:

We recommend spray foaming under your floor if you have access to doing this.

It's a lot of work laying on one's back, hence that snap-together, insulated shop mat is a whole lot more appealing for the inside floor.

On the other hand, winter camping is not all that frequent compared to summer camping for some/most of us, so personally, I'd rather spend the money on a plane ticket to Puerto Vallarta in the winter and lay on my back down in warm, sunny Mexico than under my trailer insulating the floor the right way, and paying the chiropractor.



P.S. Becky, very nice job on your trailer!

[cornfused]

Ok, so I did some experimenting this weekend with heating the trailer because it was colder than normal for this time of year. It got down to single digits at night and highs in the mid 20's this weekend. What surprised me most was that I had bottles of water in the trailer and they were not frozen when I first entered the trailer (read no heat source). I put a MRBuddy catalytic type propane heater on low in the trailer in the evening after the sun went down and left it on for about 4 hours. I did have my roof vent cracked a little just to mimic what I would do if I were sleeping it it. I also figured it would help keep the moisture down a little since a by product of the propane burning is water. I went out and checked on it about every hour, it pretty much stayed about 50 degrees inside the trailer according to the thermometer I put it, but it felt warmer than that because of how cold it was outside. At the end of the 4 hours it was around 10 degrees outside. The windows, and inner door trim were completely frosted over on the inside. You could also visibly see condensation forming inside where the steel wall studs are located near where the heater was placed. The thing that surprised me the most was that snow is still present on the roof of the trailer. I would have thought that the sun during the day and the heat from the inside of the trailer would have melted it, at least along the joists, but it remains seemingly undisturbed.

[lrrowe]

Ice houses
Built with 2 x 2" wood frame and 2 x 6" wood frame.....
Recommend Dow Blue board insulation
Do I hear OTTCT or CarMate like construction......?????
brother take me to the promised land......

Jerry,
This link should warm your heart.


Bob

[OverTheTopCargoTrailer]

YEA BOB

FINALLY SOMEONE ELSE SEE WHAT I HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT

millions of hugs &

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Thanks Jerry