Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Hello from the California desert. I am about to begin converting a new 16x7 Compass cargo trailer into an RV. Can anyone tell me if the polystyrene panels will stop or minimize the very loud banging of the metal roof and sides in high winds? It sometimes blows for days here, and it is unbelievably loud when trying to sleep. And just plain irritating to listen to all day long. I see the roof has that thin strip of wood to give the roof a bit of crown to shed water. This is going to cause there to be a gap between the insulation panels and the roof in that area. To minimize both condensation and noise, I am wondering if I should tear thin strips of fiberglass insulation, and put them between the polystyrene insulation panels and the metal roof? Do you folks who have your roof insulated and finished still have to listen to loud banging in the wind? Thanks for any help!
Dean

when i insulated the ceilings in my 5x8 and 6x12 i added an extra thin strip between the insulation and the skin to minimize the ‘foley affect’ thunder when the wind flexes it

My insulation is packed in so tight, the panels can't move at all.

Thanks guys!
Onehoser, did you use fiberglass for the thin strip, or polystyrene? And gulfcoast, did you do anything to compensate for the thin strip of wood causing a gap between the polystyrene and the metal roof? The wind is only about 10 mph today, but the roof is still making noise.
Dean

Sprayfoam is good for that

Once I insulated the walls and ceiling with the one inch Polyiso insulation, it fits in perfectly and is a tight fit.

You should be fine putting the insulation in. Mine had that board on top of the beam. No banging at all.
1" beams and insulation.

May also look into if any side vents you have to see if a pressure issue.
Maybe tape one off and see if it helps.
Mine only has a roof vent , no side vents.



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astroinfidel wrote:Thanks guys!
Onehoser, did you use fiberglass for the thin strip, or polystyrene?

i cut polyiso board into strips to the thickness required to fill the gap and put a bit of pressure on the skin. i thought i had some pics but i can’t find them at the moment.

John61CT wrote:Sprayfoam is good for that

I thought sprayfoam would be great to fill the small gap just before putting up the polystyrene panel, but not having used it before I didn't think that was possible. I think that to do it all in spray foam will either use a lot of cans or cost me a bundle to hire someone to do it for me.
Dean

]You should be fine putting the insulation in. Mine had that board on top of the beam. No banging at all.
1" beams and insulation.

May also look into if any side vents you have to see if a pressure issue.

Thanks..that is what I wanted to hear. It is just as bad with the side door open, so it is not a pressure issue. It sounds like getting the insulation done will likely solve the problem.
Dean

astroinfidel wrote: cost me a bundle to hire someone to do it for me.
Dean

Way is to haggle with contractors doing house jobs in the area and you bring the job to them, do all the prep then they shoot you with their inevitable excess leftovers.

And DIY of course no cans, use the packs from say Dow, sold by the "board feet".

And yes using it for the spaces / gaps while installing boards is another way if that's cheaper.

Just throwing an idea out to consider here if you haven't already.....are the sides on your trailer screwed on or taped on underneath? If it is taped, you might consider checking to see if any tape is there on all the wall framing members. If they only taped the edges of each piece and not the middle of the piece as well, I could see where that would cause a lot of banging when the wind blows. Might want to check with trailer manufacturer to confirm how it is supposed to be.

I hate being in my trailer just when it rains hard on the metal roof (I have 3-4 inches of insulation in roof); don't think I would be able to stand it if walls and roof banged all the time. Hope you can figure it out soon.

Harry

I had the banging roof issue, very annoying, 1" polyiso pressed between the roof beams didn't help it. I ended up putting an adhesive caulk between the polyiso and the metal roof, then bracing the polyiso with a 2x4 from the floor to ceiling while the adhesive dried. All quiet now.

on the trailtop trailers the way they are made the sheet foam about an eighth of an inch gap most of the skin except where fiberglass skeleton is.

it is back filled with can foam and uses very little but you have to be careful since it has such an expansion rate it will actually deform your skin so just a little bit at a time. . To backfill the fiberglass trailers take a bout 4 to 5 cans. can foam is the best adhesive for skin-to-skin so be careful

Just throwing an idea out to consider here if you haven't already.....are the sides on your trailer screwed on or taped on underneath? If it is taped, you might consider checking to see if any tape is there on all the wall framing members. If they only taped the edges of each piece and not the middle of the piece as well, I could see where that would cause a lot of banging when the wind blows.
Harry

Hi Harry,
I think they are likely taped since it is rivetless construction. But it seems to be mainly the roof that is banging. I can watch it happening.
Dean