A 12 ft. FEATHERLITE conversion

[Rainier70]

No.

The main reason would be moisture absorption, second would be weight, third would be shifting and compaction from vibration.

[Prem]

You nailed it Cindy

100%

[wtcreaux]

Prem,

Considering the link to supplier describes the product as "UltraTouch consists almost entirely of natural denim and cotton fibers that are 100% recyclable, reducing landfill waste. By weight, UltraTouch maintains an 80% post-consumer recycled content."

In the South, the saying goes "Cotton Kills" due to its lack of insulating ability when wet and its affection for water........I would hate to see the amount of rust after 1 year in a trailer. The site describes it has a fungus-resistant spray to it so at least helps against mold.......

[lrrowe]

I am planning on using it for my ceiling insulation. Why - mainly because of the ease of installing. I do plan on being able to remove my ceiling panels for future wire additions, etc and it should be easier on me to use it. I have 3 1/2" depth to insulate.

This should guve me an R13 plus the 1/2" insulation panel I will use to hold it in place.

But the cost will be higher for me and I must order it through Home Depot.

[Prem]

Cotton denim "insulation"

I would hate to see the amount of rust after 1 year in a trailer.

NO KIDDING! And the wood paneling too. It's hard to think of a worse excuse for insulation than cotton, except maybe sponges.

Perfect formula for massive wet-now-dry rot on RV wood paneling:

[Prem]

Here is something else to consider:

In a small trailer, the people are a primary heat source (98.7 degrees F), But the people are also a massive humidifier, breathing and perspiring especially when it's cold and the inside is warmed by a heater.

As Cindy and others have noted, that moisture is going to find its way into the walls where ever there is a path, no matter how small. The metal skin (aluminum or steel) is going to be cold and cause that water vapor to turn to liquid water on the walls. BUT, if the steel skin is waterproofed, it's not going to rust. Then if inert, non-absorbent foam is stuck to it without an air gap, there's not going to be any condensation. If the skin is aluminum and not waterproofed, the condensation is not going to rust the metal, but streams of water are going to form on it and run down to the wood floor and rot it and the interior wood paneling closest to the floor. My trailer is aluminum and has tight block foam insulation. No matter. There are still micro-air gaps. Condensation forms in the walls and ceiling and then warps and stains the wood paneling close to the floor. Dry rot is on the way. I blew it by not spray foaming the whole thing.

R-Value is far less meaningful in a small trailer than in a house. Why? People/Occupants are a considerable heat source PLUS most of us can only get 1" of insulation in between the interior and the exterior. So don't weight R-Value over preventing condensation. Any R-Value over 3 will do!

What would be the BEST we could do to make this insulation situation right? It would be to either spray foam the walls and ceiling OR to waterproof the interior metal (skin and ribs) with roofing tar or elastomeric roof coating and then to adhere block foam to that while it's still "wet."

The beauty of spray foam is that it's Gorilla Glue (polyurethane!) that expands a lot, and it gets all over everything as a liquid before it expands, waterproofing whatever it has coated. It's messy and well worth it!

Cotton (or other sponges) is the worst possible alternative to this.

FWIW.

[lrrowe]

Ok, I will be the guinea pig here and ask the questions, etc that may produce a whole bunch of comments or opinions. But since I have not made my ceiling purchase yet it is perphaps prudent of me to listen to all views rendered and make an intelligent choice. I just did some quick web inquiries on denim and Owens Corning insulation batts and I think I see where the denium can absorb up to 15% of moisture and Owens Corning batts up to 5%. And from memory, i believe EPS sheets will not absorb moisture.

Ok, with that being correct and with spray foam not really being an option for me right now, that would leave me with EPS sheets. But (1)' my roof is curved at the edges which makes application there very tough, (2), I really do not want to apply the tar like sealant and apply foam pieces to it and (3), I allowed 3.5 inches already for the batt type insulation. I prefer not to go back and redo that part of the modification nor do I want to add 3.5" of EPS at this time.

[Prem]

Bob,

Oh, curves? No problem. IF it were me, I'd glue camping pads to those curved areas. Ensolite or the blue closed cell ones are excellent, waterproof insulation materials. Three layers ought to give you R-3 or -4. In the alternative, and just for those curved areas where the roof meets the walls, I'd get a case of spray foam cans and just spray away. (Heat the cans first in hot water. You'll get more expansion/insulation and more bang for your buck.)

[Rainier70]

On my ceiling's curved sides I used strips and pieces that I had left from cutting my main panels. They worked great. They were about 2 inches or so wide and I put about 3 of them in each curved section. Then sealed the seams with aluminum tape from Harbor Freight. It is fairly thin stuff, but worked fine for sealing seams.

You can see the filled curves in this picture: (The clip on light I just stuck up there to get it out of the way. It is usually on the table.)



Then after I put my ceiling up, I used flashing to cover the curved sides and ends. You can see a little of it in this picture. Apparently I didn't take any pictures of my ceiling finish.

[Prem]

SEE Y'ALL

I'm outta here New Year's Eve.

I've posted a lot here in the last few months that I hope that has been of benefit to you all.

In 2015 I hope you all get to travel and camp a lot.

One of these summers I'll get around to remodeling my trailer and spray foaming the walls and ceiling.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2015!

Sincerely,

Prem

[OverTheTopCargoTrailer]

WOW - I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE WHICH PREDICTIONS YOUR RIGHT ABOUT?

I have 2500 watts of solar, almost 2000 ah of LifeP04 lithium and a trailer full of denium
insulation , seams like my build is more dangerous ,
then a barge with 100,000 tons of nitro, maybe when it
goes it will burn a 6 mile wide hole to the core of the earth, I'll let you know how hot it really is down there.

It's always nice to get expert advice, I wonder what hankaye could add to my troubles ??

[Prem]

A lot to look forward to!

[mezmo]

Check out this mineral wool insulation. It has a bunch of positives.
Not toxic, doesn't absorb water, easier to install than fiberglass.

http://www.roxul.com/
http://diywithroxul.com/en-us/index.html

It comes in batt and board form.

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

[Prem]

I have 2500 watts of solar, almost 2000 ah of LifeP04 lithium and a trailer full of denium insulation

"

Hey, blame it all on hankaye and me. ...or you might just get a bigger truck to tow the increasing weight. Better safe than sorry:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/2008-08-22_Swepsonville_fire_truck_rushing.jpg

P.S. "Then" is not the same word as "than." "Your" is a possessive pronoun. "You're" is short for "you are." "Seam" is where things come together. "Seem" means "appears to be." And "denium" sounds like a new entry on the Periodic Table of the Elements, but it's not there. "Denim" is blue jean fabric.


You can look up correct spelling and word usage on the world's favorite search engine, where you'll find the word "ogle," as in "Go ogle."

[Prem]

mezmo wrote:

Check out this mineral wool insulation. It has a bunch of positives.
Not toxic, doesn't absorb water, easier to install than fiberglass.

Right, but check Cindy's third answer in a previous post.

I'd use it on my house instead of fiberglass.