Insulating the floor

[PaintyLiz]

All this talk about foam in the walls got me thinking about the flooring in our camper. I don't think there's any insulation and it's probably only half inch plywood. It sure flexes when we walk on it. Is there any way to insulate the floor? Has anybody tried this? When I took the dinette out and when I had to rebuild the wheel well under the sink after the tire blew out, I added foam insulation on them but not a whole lot. There wasn't any at all.t o begin with. I'd like to put some under the whole floor. I haven't even really looked under there to see what there is. But there is no covering, it looks like just the metal joists and the plywood painted black.

Thanks!
Liz

2008​ FunFinder X​ 189FBR & 2014 FORD F150 148 Nights Camping this year​ ​
Tons of​ ​Creative, Unique and​ ​Inexpensive Mods WackyPup.Blogspot.com

[twinster2]

Liz- You are probably correct about no insulation. I looked at the 2007 brochure and found no mention of insulation. Apparently Cruiser started insulating the floor per their 2009 brochure.


http://sunstate.com/funfinder/FunFinderX-2007.pdf


http://www.oconnorrv.com/brochures/c...nder_x_bro.pdf

[PaintyLiz]

So now what? Too bad I didn't think about this when I took out the dinette and I could have added some foam and another layer of plywood - then my 6' 3" husband wouldn't be able to stand up anywhere in the camper LOL

Liz

[profdant139]

Hmmm. There is a product available at large hardware stores (Lowes and Home Depot) that is essentially big thick sheets of styrofoam -- maybe a little denser than ordinary styrofoam. You could cut those sheets to fit to the underside of the plywood and possibly glue them on, using something like 3M Industrial spray adhesive.

Not an easy job, but I think it would work. The foam is waterproof, so you probably would not need to seal it.

If you were worried about damage to the underside of the foam from gravel thrown up by the tires, you could probably add a final layer of coroplast, also easily available.

Pink fiberglass batts would be easier, but I would worry about the fiberglass retaining moisture.

[PaintyLiz]

Originally Posted by profdant139

Hmmm. There is a product available at large hardware stores (Lowes and Home Depot) that is essentially big thick sheets of styrofoam -- maybe a little denser than ordinary styrofoam. You could cut those sheets to fit to the underside of the plywood and possibly glue them on, using something like 3M Industrial spray adhesive.
.

Funny, that's exactly what I thought of. I use those sheets to make packaging when I ship out paintings. I just didn't know if they would be durable enough to withstand, well, anything. LOL

Add it to my list of future projects. Thanks

Liz

[twinster2]

According to the the 2009 brochure I mentioned above, R7 fiberglass batten insulation is what they started using between the plywood floor and underbelly wrap.

Liz- I am curious why are you concerned about insulating the floor? Do you do a lot of winter camping?

[PaintyLiz]

Well, we went to Washington DC to see the cherry blossoms this year, it was really pretty cold LOL (and dark) - we were dry camping at Greenbelt NP. It got down to 25 degrees at night. And in the summer, it's pretty hot here in Texas. It seems that the trailer stays pretty comfortable so I'm sure I don't really need to do anything, but I like to tinker with it (can't you tell LOL )

There is no underbelly wrap on my camper, just a plywood floor that I saw daylight through as I was removing the screws holding the dinette down lol.

Liz

[profdant139]

If you use batting, be sure to add a vinyl or plastic wrap underneath. My 2012 X-139 came with pink fiberglass, held in by a thick plastic sheet. The trailer is perfectly comfortable down to about ten degrees. After that, it can get kind of cool. (I.e., below freezing inside the trailer -- that is about our limit of tolerance.)

We almost never run the heater, except during shower time in the evening. Otherwise, we dress warmly and use a lot of blankets at night.

[PaintyLiz]

Originally Posted by profdant139

We almost never run the heater, except during shower time in the evening. Otherwise, we dress warmly and use a lot of blankets at night.

We didn't know there were heaters that take no electricity until the last two nights of the cold trip, so we had NO heat, lol. We rarely use heat anyway, we have a nice down comforter and the dogs have blankets. (The fan on the furnace uses too much battery)

My husband just pointed out that we really only need to insulate the walkway area. Our real concern is it blowing off while traveling. So, if I glue/screw the styrofoam to the bottom of the camper, maybe cover it with the plastic left over from the shower to protect it from road hazards? ?? Whadaya think??

Liz

2008​ FunFinder X​ 189FBR & 2014 FORD F150 148 Nights Camping this year​ ​
Tons of​ ​Creative, Unique and​ ​Inexpensive Mods WackyPup.Blogspot.com

[profdant139]

Is the shower plastic too brittle?

And if you only insulate one area, won't the heat leak out elsewhere?

Finally, yes, they make catalytic heaters that use no electricity, and lots of people use them safely. I am hesitant to do so because of the risk of carbon monoxide build-up. But they say that as long as your RV is properly vented, there is no risk, so I am probably being too cautious.

I should add that we live in a warm climate (Southern Calif), so for us, chilly nights are a pleasant novelty. If I lived in snow country, I might feel differently!

[PaintyLiz]

The shower plastic is very flexible. I understand the warm climate, I'm about 2 hours south of Fort Worth. That's why we were so surprised when it was in the 20s at night at Washington DC's Cherry blossom.festival LOL I grew up in North Carolina / Virginia but I guess I forgot that it's not warm in April.

I think I need only insulate the areas of the floor that are not covered by other things that in themselves insulate, for instance the kitchen cabinets, and the baskets under the couch, and the bed. This leaves very little floor space that really needs to be insulated.

Liz