Where To Start... Where To Start.... :P

[SirJoey]

Hi Guys! For anyone who hasn't seen my introduction, I'm a retiree on a fixed & very limited income. Bought a tiny 5x8 CT, new, couple of years ago. I chose this one, cuz it was the smallest one I could find with a man door in the side. Anyway, I put in a window, roof vent & some shelves. To date, that's all. Wanna convert 'er, but geeze... where to start...

Okay, I guess FIRST, if it ever stops raining, I'll take some pics & post 'em here for you pic-mongers!

After that, I'm thinkin' rip out the shelves & start from scratch. First question... insulation... some guy told me I should just drill a few small holes in the top of each sheet of plywood, & squirt the walls full of spray-in foam.

Personally, I'm thinkin' I should take down all the ply, insulate with rigid foam board, reinstall the ply, & paint. Opinions?

Another question, if I do it MY way, how do you hold the foam board in place, while reinstalling the plywood? Thanx!

[astrotrailer]

All lot of the trailers have steel z channel. Cut the rigid foam so
it just fits between the z channel. A bit tight with some friction will
help hold it in place until you are ready to put the plywood back up.

I put 1 inch rigid in the walls and in the ceiling. 2 inch under the deck
and 1 inch closed cell foam below the rigid and supports on the ceiling.
This gives me a total of 2 inches above. The foam ceiling gives my
head a crash pad if I forget that I a taller than the inside of the trailer.
The foam is good for the curved corners since it bends easier than the
rigid.

Jeff

[angib]

some guy told me I should just drill a few small holes in the top of each sheet of plywood, & squirt the walls full of spray-in foam.

And did he also tell you that you'll either rip the interior lining off as the foam expands (if you use too much), or have separate lumps of foam with air pockets in between (if you use too little)? I don't believe using just the right amount is a realistic goal.

If you look at the sort of supports put either side of a Boston Whaler when they inject the 'unsinkable' foam, you would get an idea of just how much force expanding foam can generate over a large area.

Andrew

[SirJoey]

Thanx, Astro. Mine has the U-shaped studs, but I should still be able to cut the foam to fit tight enough to hold itself in place while I replace the ply, hopefully. If not, maybe a little glue will work.

Thanx, Angib. I didn't realize that stuff expanded with that much force, but I DID figure it'd be unlikely that I'd get uniform fill without air pockets. I agree with you that getting it just right is an unrealistic goal. That's one reason I figured I'd go ahead & do it the "hard" way, with the foam board.

[SirJoey]

Okay, here's a few shots of my humble lil' 5x8, & today's miniscule progress, as of this morning.







Here's the interior, with the shelves I had previously added a couple of years ago, when I first bought her:







And then, a little later, after removing nearly everything, & getting back to basics:



She's goin' in the shop Saturday for installation of a used Coleman rooftop AC unit I got for $200.
Installation is gonna be $80 more.

[SirJoey]

Well, I dropped her off at the dealer Saturday, as planned.
Supposed to pick her back up this coming Saturday, if all goes well.

[SirJoey]

Finally got 'er back!

This thing is HUGE! It covers half the roof of my little 5x8!





Can you say "Overkill"?

[steve smoot]

say what, you plan on hangin' meat in that sucker

[BC Dave]

... its a jet pack for more torque when you need it going up hill?.

You'll have no problem keeping cool; just make sure you have a well insulated sleepingbag ...lol.

Jokes aside; looks fine! It'll make a good conversation piece.

[SirJoey]

Yeah, that's it... a jet-pack-powered, rolling meatlocker!

Thanx guys, now I don't feel so bad about spending $300
for a ridiculously oversized AC unit, in the middle of Winter...

[Alan Wood]

As far as I know those units only come in 1 basic size. A bit oversized for a 5x8 given that it's well insulated but should do the job nicely. I suggest that you don't worry about it. That unit looks like the beginings of a very nice one person camper to me!

[Curtis in Texas]

Wow, $200 for a Coleman 1500 btu AC!! Does it have the heat strip in it too?
You will never get hot with that. And with the heat strip you are set in your little trailer.

They dp come in a little smaller version of 1300 btu. But physically they are only a little smaller.

I had a 1500 on my 1207 Jayco Pop Up trailer some years ago and it would freeze us out in Tuscon in the middle of Summer. In the winter the heater would keep us comfortable with the canvas walls, but not overly warm. For an unfolded 24 ft Pop Up that's not bad. We used electric blankets and a small heat strip heater for the bathroom/ shower area
Why can't I find deals like that????

Forgot to add. The Coleman brand 1500 has the pointed covers and the 1300 were blunt or rounded of noses.

[Prem]

Are you sure it's really an air conditioner and not a Chiguagua-size, jet pack-powered escape pod to get back to the mother ship hovering above South Carolina :QM

Prem

[SirJoey]

Alan, thanx for the kind words of encouragement! It's not insulated yet, & in fact, they didn't even wire up the AC, they just basically "installed" it. I'll have to wire it & run the wires inside the walls when I get my insulation. Unfortunately, I don't even have the stuff yet, but that's the next step when I do.

Curtis, this one came out of a pop-camper, too. The people said they couldn't keep the roof from leaking, cuz the unit was too heavy, the roof couldn't support it properly, & they couldn't keep it sealed. BTW, is this what you mean by a pointed cover?



If so, then I guess I got the big one, huh? Unfortunately, it doesn't have the heat strip, so I guess I'll have to rely on other means for heat:



I kinda figured this was a pretty decent deal, since they quoted me a price of around
$800 for a new one! At any rate, thanx for the info. I didn't even know what I had here.



Some donated pallets I tossed in there. Think I can salvage some decent shelf-building plywood out of them:



Prem, you may have a point there!

[Prem]

You've got some excellent plywood in those pallets. Heavy duty and strong. Good scrounging! (ReUse beats buying retail!)

Speaking of retail, 1" or 3/4" rigid foam insulation is inexpensive and your 5x8 trailer won't require much. Same for paneling. (Home Depot)

Prem