Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Im starting a conversion on a 6x12 tandom axle with rear ramp and side door!
my question is im gonna be living in this full time an will be moving from high up in Colorado in summer to the gulf coast during winter and wonder if keepin with or ahead of the weather,,,,,could a person get away with not insulating?
Ive got a lpg infared heater that i used to heat a 26ft bumper pull during acouple of bad winters here in Oklahoma,,16inchs snow and down below freezing for couple weeks at a time and stayed toasty with a fan to cirulate air to rear of rv but I wonder more about the days the sun is shining on that metal,,,granted down on the gulf during winter its 40-70 day time so I wouldnt think it would heat up very bad,,,,maybe some insul in the roof?,,,also i will have 2 very large solar panels that will cover most of the roof area,,,just enough room for roof ac unit,,,maybe?,,lol!,,,,730 watts should boondock pretty well im hoping?
The cargo is black, ,,but have visions of a light metalic gray sprayed over the black to give it some reflective properties
So what do you fine cargo trailer builders,rebuilders an engineers think?
Im guessing ,,ok!,,lets hear it!!,,,and thx again an again for such a great site!

I'm a fan of insulation for warming, cooling and sound dampening.

I'm 3/4 done insulating my 8 1/2 X 16 trailer and it'll be less than $200 using the 2x4 foam sheets from Home Depot ($3.38 at the moment).
They're easy to work with and I'm adding rolled Reflectix insulation to ceiling for additional barrier because Hot bothers me more than cool.

Like you're saying, a good propane heater can take care of a small space if it ain't Arctic cold but cooling is my biggest concern as I head to Arizona.

Another step I'll take is to put up material to block sun from directly heating trailer because that makes a huge difference (notice temps in shade versus direct sunlight).
I've used Sun Screen fabric cloth http://www.easygardener.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_ID=164 from home improvement stores (Saddle Tan goes great in the desert) because it gives great shade but passes some wind so stronger gales may not destroy it like regular tarp.
It also looks better and isn't as noisy.



Keep us posted on your progress!

Such changes in Temperature and humidity through the year will reek havoc on the inside of your CTC if you don't "assist" things.
I'd suggest if you're going to be living in it full time as you say, invest in it and be the wiser for it later. Would you want your home uninsulated?
A Black trailer in any terrain/climate is not going to be pleasant if you live in it. My trailer was originally painted a log look and it sucked hugely.

Yeah, if your trailer were white you might be able to get away with only insulating the ceiling. But with black or even a gray I personally would recommend insulating all walls and the ceiling. As mentioned above if you don't do it now, you will probably wish you had later. YMMV

It shouldn't cost too much and if you're doing any wiring inside the walls that would be a good time to insulate.

As mentioned twice, already, if you don't insulate now you will later wish you had. It isn't that expensive to do, not at all difficult to do, and silly not to do it, no offense intended. CT's need all the help they can get in terms of insulation. They are thin hot boxes regardless of color. My CT is white and insulated and it still gets plenty hot when sitting in direct sunlight in our typical Boise 100 degree summertime temps. We most notice the insulation difference in the winter. It gets cold here, easily sub-freezing and it takes only a tiny electric resistance heater with a built in fan to heat the inside of the CT to comfort. This will be our first summer with a portable a/c unit installed so will report more on my build thread as to how it works out, but I have no doubt the insulation will be a big help in keeping the CT cool.

Don

Hey

I recently moved to Billings, MT and my 6x12 ceiling is so hot, i cant touch the roof with my bare hand. I am planning on using the blue sheet foam for insulation; do I need to use some type of construction adhesive to glue the foam to the roof metal or let it float. There will be 1in. foam held in place with wooden slats and then another 1in. layer 90 degrees to the first and then the final ceiling layer of paneling. Suggestions Needed, thanks.

Pete Wilson
Bigfoot....Still searching.

pete.wilson wrote:Hey

I recently moved to Billings, MT and my 6x12 ceiling is so hot, i cant touch the roof with my bare hand. I am planning on using the blue sheet foam for insulation; do I need to use some type of construction adhesive to glue the foam to the roof metal or let it float. There will be 1in. foam held in place with wooden slats and then another 1in. layer 90 degrees to the first and then the final ceiling layer of paneling. Suggestions Needed, thanks.

Pete Wilson
Bigfoot....Still searching.

I suppose you could use adhesive to hold the blue foam board in place. I tried that on mine but it didn't really work. I simply learned it is easier to cut it as a tight fit and then simply press/force fit it in place. That worked out best for me. I then put up Luan paneling overhead to hold the insulation in place.

Don

You won't need to use glue just cut it really close and it will stay in place on it's own,I used duct tape to seal any space I had I don't think it did much I just wanted to do it that way.
It helps to have a work table like a 4x8 sheet of plywood and a long board as a guide I used a long blade kitchen knife that had a serated edge,you don't have to cut all the way through just the whole length and then you can break it in half.
if your going to use 2 sheets = 1inch insulation which I think is best after you make the 1st cut and break it in half you will have that sheet as a guide and can cut the rest off.
If you measure right it should fit tight.

I'm doing the same, cutting to fit. I am using the blue foam 4'x8' sheets from Lowe's. I measure what I need, make pencil marks on the foam, lay a straight edge (I use a 4' level) along the pencil marks, and cut with a utility knife. If you cut just a little larger than you need it will fit snugly and you won't need adhesive. I also take the utility knife in the trailer in case I need to trim to fit. If you have any gaps around doors, windows, etc. you can use the smaller pieces and trimmings to fill the gaps.

Hey

Thanks for the advice; I think I will skip the adhesive and just make it a tight squeeze.

Pete Wilson

If you plan on boondocking a lot and relying on just solar power I wouldn't just stick a single layer of 1/2 bluboard up there. I would have alteast two layers of something. With mine I went with 3/4 foam and a layer of that 1/4" foil bubble wrap stuff.. Heck on my ceiling have that plus another layer of 1/2 foam below it. You have to think a black metal box with no insulation is pretty much just a solar OVEN.. Silver paint won't really help much either. Even if your heater is oversized it still uses fuel. The better the trailer is insulated the less fuel or power you will need to keep it comfortable. I can park my trailer out in full sun and with just a couple fantastic fans running on low its the same temp in the trailer as it is outside in the shade..

In a word Insulate!!
I am in the process of insulating my trailer right now.
For the sides I am fitting in 3/4" aluminum sided foam board sheets to make a tight fit.
In the ceiling I am gluing with Gorilla Glue a layer of 1/2" aluminum sided foam board sheets. Over that I am then putting in 3/4" aluminum sided foam board sheets.
Once all that is finished I will use spray in foam to fill in all the gaps.
The ceiling will be covered with paneling to have a nicer look and keep the foam board from being damaged.
The walls are covered with plywood that was already in the trailer.
Being that I have been tent camping and had to deal with a cold front moving in or a hot lingering front move in over nice you can not always rely on the weather man. The last time tent camping in the hill country it was in the 70s when we went to bed and in the low 20s when we woke up.
You can expect the same types of weather changes to happen when you least expect it when in your trailer.
Just do yourself a favor and take the time to insulate now.

I did a similar insulation job on my shed in the back yard and it has been bearable in the heat of the summer staying much cooler than out in the sun.
BTW after I am done insulating the trailer I will be painting the roof of the trailer with the RV roof paint. Someone has a link to the stuff from the big orange box store.

Dont forget the rear ramp and and or doors..its been in the 100's here, and i went inside to see where the heat was coming from and the rear ramp door was really hot compared to the rest of the insulated trailer...i pulled off the plywood and put in the same 1 inch I put in the rest of the trailer. My side door doesnt have much room for insulation as its a lot of wood filler unleess i went the foam route...for me its not worth doing the side door.

Well after reading all the post there is no doubt that I will unsulate the CT,,,,,I cant stand the thought of removing the cabinets etc to do it later so,,,im on board!,,, going after blue foam board soon along with some reflective bubble stuff,,lol!,, I guess if its worth doing its worth over doing with the insulation anyway and in the long run it will save money on lpg, fuel for the gen and since im boondocking 95% of the time it will help out with the solar too!
Im going about my build alittle different as i am going to do the wiring and insulation at home in the shop but will be building it on the road!
I will tow with my 88 chevy camper van so will have everything i need in there,, bed,cooking, bathroom etc so it will allow me the pick up items from lumber yard as i need them and as im up in the nat forest or down on the gulf i can build as i go in no hurry and after i complete the build I will probley end up selling the van,,buying a later model pickup with topper and using the CT fulltime as i continue my 2yr+ roadtrip!!
I will have around 460 to 690 watts of solar power along with a honda powerd Randsom 3000watt gen so i should gave enough power to boondock and use any of my tools without worry of depleting the batteries
And thx so much for the feedback and am lovin this site!!!

Re: cutting for snug fit.....

I used the same 3/4" foam board for my garage door. I cut it exactly to size....to edges of perpendicular metal...NOT the overhang. Then, I cut partially in the middle and snapped the board so that it hinged but was still in 1 piece. This allowed me to slip in under the overhangs and make it snug. I then taped with aluminum tape over the open-hinge.