Insulation- to insul or not to insul

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

It's too hot here in the summer so we go to Canada to fish.
When the lakes warm up here the Walleyes go deep and can be hard to catch. Heading to Manitoba ,Canada on Sunday for a week of fishing .
Temps are supposed to be in the 50's & 60"s and no snow is predicted , so almost perfect weather. If you ever get the chance to make a fishing trip to Canada ,go for it . There are 3 guys in our fishing group and this will be our 37th annual Canadian fishing trip .,One nice thing about Canada is that they speak a dialect of English so if you pay attention you can almost understand what they are saying.

Hi: steve dunham... "Stay where you're at and I'll come where you're too". Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by runnergirl

Clearly you haven't been to the east coast yet!

I've been to New York , does that count as the East Coast ?
If you are referring to Quebec then No, and going there is not on my bucket list but BC is.

[Jim Bennett]

At the rally, Reace said he is quite impressed with the acoustical performance of the new foam insulation they are using instead of Reflectix. He said standing inside with nothing more than the foam installed, he was pleasantly surprised by how the sound was deadened. This foam is 1/2" thick, so thermal insulation should be a bit better too, though there is no real way for Escape to accurately measure the R value. This thickness, along with the floppiness of the material, does create some installation issues for both the foam and other components, though I imagine the crew will get better with it over time.

I have always maintained that the first option I would get would be the added insulation, and the dual glazed windows. This insulation keeps the heat out in warm temps, and the heat in in cold temps, a benefit in any climate.

I am still not sold on spray foam for underneath, and at this time I am forgoing it, as it or another alternative could be added at a later date quite easily.

[Losangeles]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

At the rally, Reace said he is quite impressed with the acoustical performance of the new foam insulation they are using instead of Reflectix. He said standing inside with nothing more than the foam installed, he was pleasantly surprised by how the sound was deadened. This foam is 1/2" thick, so thermal insulation should be a bit better too, though there is no real way for Escape to accurately measure the R value. This thickness, along with the floppiness of the material, does create some installation issues for both the foam and other components, though I imagine the crew will get better with it over time.......

this is great news.

and

my only concern about maybe adding the under belly spray foam later is... can the underside be made clean enough to then have a 100% clean surface for the foam to stick to?

just curious.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by Losangeles

this is great news.

and

my only concern about maybe adding the under belly spray foam later is... can the underside be made clean enough to then have a 100% clean surface for the foam to stick to?

just curious.

A quick spray wash will do it, that foam sticks very well to everything it touches. When we use it at work and get it on our skin, it has to wear off to be removed.

Besides, I like the idea of using rigid foam like Ron in BC did too.

[Greg A]

Originally Posted by Losangeles

my only concern about maybe adding the under belly spray foam later is... can the underside be made clean enough to then have a 100% clean surface for the foam to stick to?

Yes, it's done all the time aftermarket on vehicles and they can get them prepped for application no problem.
In addition, Ron in BC posted not long ago an excellent retrofit using sheets of foam board type insulation that in my opinion is probably a superior solution for a number of reasons.

[Brian B-P]

If you insulate under the floor later, even if you still use the same type of spray foam you can choose where to put it, and whether or not you want to mask anything off to make later work easier.

Originally Posted by runnergirl

Clearly you haven't been to the east coast yet!

Originally Posted by steve dunham

I've been to New York , does that count as the East Coast ?
If you are referring to Quebec then No, and going there is not on my bucket list but BC is.

In Canada, the "east coast" would normally refer to the Maritimes (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island) or Atlantic Provinces (Maritimes plus Newfoundland and Labrador). Although Quebec certainly has coastline, that's not what people mean by "the east coast" in my experience.

Although New Brunswick is bilingual (the only officially bilingual province in Canada) so you'll hear some French, even the English can be a distinctly different dialect from what you'll hear in Ontario or Manitoba.

[gingerh]

I have the thermal windows, extra insulation and underneath foam and never had any issues with condensation.

[The Quilting Lady]

Talking about surviving a rainy night. You may have heard about the flooding in Texas. Well...We sold our Casita yesterday. The couple was so anxious to get it, like waiting for Christmas for them. They decided to pick it up although the forecast of thunderstorms was known. We escorted them and the trailer to our local state park in Abilene. They got settled in and were enjoying the beautiful camp site when the camp director drove up and demanded they leave immediately as she led them out of the park through some low lying rushing water. They had time to grab their medicine and get out. My husband was still with them and led them back to our home for Chili supper and cornbread, some dry clothes and bed for the night. They really didn't want to leave their new to them trailer. This morning we were allowed to drive around the barricade and get them hooked up and they drove back to their home in Louisiana. They called to let us know they got home safely. I felt so sorry they had a rough first night and my husband and I did what we could to make it a little better for them.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by The Quilting Lady

Talking about surviving a rainy night. You may have heard about the flooding in Texas. Well...We sold our Casita yesterday. The couple was so anxious to get it, like waiting for Christmas for them. They decided to pick it up although the forecast of thunderstorms was known. We escorted them and the trailer to our local state park in Abilene. They got settled in and were enjoying the beautiful camp site when the camp director drove up and demanded they leave immediately as she led them out of the park through some low lying rushing water. They had time to grab their medicine and get out. My husband was still with them and led them back to our home for Chili supper and cornbread, some dry clothes and bed for the night. They really didn't want to leave their new to them trailer. This morning we were allowed to drive around the barricade and get them hooked up and they drove back to their home in Louisiana. They called to let us know they got home safely. I felt so sorry they had a rough first night and my husband and I did what we could to make it a little better for them.

Glad to hear that all of you are safe .. The pictures on the news of Texas and the flooding are very frightening. .

[Mary F]

Oh my! I'm glad their new-to-them trailer was okay. I had read about Abilene having problems, although it was just a mention among a long list! I'm near Austin and we're still in a Flash Flood Watch until Friday morning...

[cpaharley2008]

Seems like this happens every year around this time in Texas, flash flooding. Every time we drive through it seems we have to be mindful of the storms. On the other hand, can not beat a good chili and cornbread dinner.....

[Ray N]

Originally Posted by freespirit

There are a number of reasons not to buy the spray foam underneath, which probably the most logical is any repair needed underneath the foam is real bummer to do....

I can attest to this. I had to replace the drain valve to the black water tank and had a miserable time - there was absolutely no flex with the insulation in place. I couldn't even remove the old valve until I cut away much of the insulation.

[sunrisetrucker]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

One nice thing about Canada is that they speak a dialect of English so if you pay attention you can almost understand what they are saying.

You made me laugh Steve because last spring my wife and I were down in the Los Angeles area and while we were doing some sight seeing I got talking with one of the locals. I mentioned to him that I was from Canada and he got a real surprised look on his face and then said to me "I never would have know that, because you don't even have an accent"
We talked for quite a while, he asked me all kinds of questions about Canada and Vancouver Island. That's one of the things I like about traveling, you meet lots of good people.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by sunrisetrucker

You made me laugh Steve because last spring my wife and I were down in the Los Angeles area and while we were doing some sight seeing I got talking with one of the locals. I mentioned to him that I was from Canada and he got a real surprised look on his face and then said to me "I never would have know that, because you don't even have an accent"

We toured a plantation home in Louisiana and at the end of the tour the guide asked who was willing to play along with his game: he tried to guess where people are from based on their accent. He did well with others, but pinned us as being from North Carolina. No - both of us have lived in Ontario and in western Canada, but have never even visited North Carolina.

Everyone has an accent, and they are often identifiable, but as people become more mobile (not staying their entire lives in one area) and hear people from other areas much of the time (TV and movies), accents (like all other aspects of culture) are becoming less distinct.

[steve dunham]

I took some teachers training at the University of Tennessee
at Knoxville. We had an orientation class on the first day and they handed out an English to Southern translation work book.
I never did master the Southern language, even after four years but my Canadian is not half bad. I lived on Minesota's Iron Range for a while and they speak a dialect of Canadian , so when we went to the UP of Michigan , I was able to translate for the others in our group.

[Bentnotbroken]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

At the rally, Reace said he is quite impressed with the acoustical performance of the new foam insulation they are using instead of Reflectix. He said standing inside with nothing more than the foam installed, he was pleasantly surprised by how the sound was deadened. This foam is 1/2" thick, so thermal insulation should be a bit better too, though there is no real way for Escape to accurately measure the R value. This thickness, along with the floppiness of the material, does create some installation issues for both the foam and other components, though I imagine the crew will get better with it over time.

I have always maintained that the first option I would get would be the added insulation, and the dual glazed windows. This insulation keeps the heat out in warm temps, and the heat in in cold temps, a benefit in any climate.

I am still not sold on spray foam for underneath, and at this time I am forgoing it, as it or another alternative could be added at a later date quite easily.

I agree with your hesitation on the PU spray foam Jim, and like yourself, have experience with it's ability to stick to anything! However, I plan to get down to cold(er) RV adventures as soon as I receive my 5.0 in November. I can't see myself on my back for days applying a thorough 2"-3" XPS foam underbelly in the cold wet. I think XPS "glued and strapped" followed up with a brushed on application of flexible hard-coat would be an excellent choice for the belly. I will live with the spray foam, which in my case is better than nothing. Thanks for the quote on Reace's thoughts of the newer 1/2" PE foam as an add-insulation option. Makes sense to me that it would out-perform the reflectix.

[Bentnotbroken]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

I took some teachers training at the University of Tennessee
at Knoxville. We had an orientation class on the first day and they handed out an English to Southern translation work book.
I never did master the Southern language, even after four years but my Canadian is not half bad. I lived on Minesota's Iron Range for a while and they speak a dialect of Canadian , so when we went to the UP of Michigan , I was able to translate for the others in our group.

Steve this is very funny! If true I'm going to cry.. not a pretty sight

[Mike Lewis]

Yes, the Southern language can be inpenetrable to outsiders. It's not just accent-- it's vocabulary, idioms, and usage. When I lived in Maryland and visited my parents in northwest Florida it took about a month afterward to get it out of my system. Since moving back home I've reverted to the lingo of my childhood.