Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Well after a little over a month on the forum and a ton of research I'm starting my build. I bought a 6x12 small v-nose used. Got it off an older guy that used it to transport his motorcycle in, but only used it a few times. My plan is to turn it into a home for my wife and I for up to a year. We are going to take a year before we have kids to travel around the US. The tow vehicle is a Nissan Frontier 2007 V6 4x4 115xxx miles. We are in the insulation/window install stage right now. Order my windows today, 24x15 and a 30x20, should ship tomorrow. The first questions I have are about a vapor barrier and walls.... Do I need one? Does it need to be on the skin side as well as the inside side of the insulation? Has anyone tried the liquid nails method of attaching the walls to the studs?

Hi and welcome!

My wife and I lived in our 7x16 trailer for 6 months this year. We toured northern BC, Yukon, WA, OR, and northern/central CA before returning home to Vancouver Island for the winter.

I insulated with 1" and 1/2" rigid insulation (walls and ceiling) before reinstalling plywood walls. I didn't even consider a vapour barrier.

I installed 1 1/2" rigid insulation on the floor between 2x2 joists before I added my own 1/2" plywood floor and lino.

With the windows cracked a bit and our MaxxAir ceiling fan on low at night, we've had no problems with condensation.

NEO uses real sheet metal screws so it was very easy to remove the interior plywood walls intact. I screwed the walls back in place after insulating to my thermal break "strips" (3" wide 1/2" plywood strips on each rib), not directly to the aluminum ribs.

Hope this helps.

My build page is below.

Good luck with your build!

Welcome to the madness Islander. You and your wife taking a year to travel . . . that's such a good idea! Definitely keep us posted, especially with the final product. A lot of us have the same size trailer, so you have lots of ideas to choose from, and can shed some new ones on us. Long travels or "living" has different needs than weekenders. We sometimes go for a month at a time with ours. Will definitely be watching.

Ordered windows, RV latch for the door, city water hook up, 30 amp power hook up, and a hand pump sink faucet!! Nothing worse than waiting for parts..... Think Im going to forget the vapor barrier and go with the wood strips and then the walls. Thanks for the support and will post more when the parts get here.

Hello Island29926,
I don't know where you are located or plan to travel, but here is some info on vapor barriers. http://energy.gov/energysaver/vapor-bar ... -retarders
Good luck with your build and travels.
McDave

Ok, so here's the questions; When I run the vapor barrier over the insulation, do I just screw through the vapor barrier to the metal studs with the walls? Wouldn't this just put holes in the vapor barrier? Should there be an air gap between the wall and vapor barrier?

Thanks
Matt

In my TD, I did not use a vapor barrier and haven't missed it. We live and camp in higher humidity areas. The inside finish of my walls are "breathable" so that any moisture or vapor that accumulates in the wall can escape.

I'm hoping to do a CT conversion some day and will not use a vapor barrier.

Sorry, I don't have the answer to your questions. But I have a plan, for my CT. We live in a "very cold" region. It is also a low humidity area. I have a "used" floating thermal blanket, for swimming pools. It is very similar to bubble wrap packing material, although much heavier gauge material and larger bubbles. One side is "metalized", where the bubbles protrude. The other side is smooth. The purpose is to float on the pool and "seal" in the water (evaporation) and to reflect the heat back into the pool. My plan is to place 1 layer metal/bubble side out, which will allow for some air gap/drainage in case of leaks/ moisture buildup. Then a layer of 1" foil faced foam insulation, followed by a layer of the thermal blanket, metal side facing inward, then interior siding/ceiling. I believe the screw holes will seal up as the screws tighten. Perhaps the self sealing screws used for metal roofs?
You may want to consider where you will be, and heating/AC usage, water vapor from showers/cooking/breathing, and venting. Then, take your best guess. But, it is a lot easier to install or omit now rather than later.
I know that wasn't a lot of help, but it's all I got.
Good luck,
McDave

Niiiiice keep us posted

Island29926, Howdy;

We had a visit from a member that has been on the road as a fulltimer
for the past 4 ... (yep 4), years. Here's a link to his thread, might be
some help.
viewtopic.php?f=42&t=47175
Good luck with the build and the year on the road ...

hank