Insulation

[cpaharley2008]

I do not know if it gets cold without it but I can tell you it does not get cold with it, camping below freezing with the heat on, the floor is not cold, with the foam on the bottom. With the foam thickness on the bottom of the holding tanks which retain heat, very little cold gets to the floor.

[Ruthe]

I know that somewhere on this forum there is a picture of the insulation on the underside of the Escape, but I can't figure out how to find it. Does anyone know how to locate it?

[cpaharley2008]

here are 2 pictures and I know there is a video here on the forum, I'll look for it after dinner.
The foam covers the entire bottom front to back, not just the tanks.

[cpaharley2008]

Here is a good discussion of the foam and it's insulating values
http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f7...anks-1057.html

[cpaharley2008]

Here is the video
Insulation Video by KINGJ182 | Photobucket

[Ruthe]

Thanks very much! We're leaning toward the insulation package without putting the insulation underneath.

[GaryH]

Hi, in ours, there is no insulation under the floor & we find that our feet can get cold. What we've done is to use some blue foam pad leftover from backpacking down under our feet. If we were ordering a new trailer & had the opportunity, we would have the foam under the trailer installed.

[Ruthe]

This whole conversation about insulation is making us wonder about possible toxicity from the inside insulation. Does anyone know about this? I've been reading about "sick" FEMA trailers that outgassed formaldahyde. It sounds like Escape uses higher quality construction materials which would limit the amount of formaldahyde (particle board vs. plywood) outgassing. Any thoughts?

[Jim Bennett]

my wife found two nice floor mats the same size that fill up 95% of the floor space, not including under the table. One runs from the door to the bath, the other along the kitchen cabinets.

I am a bit torn with the spray insulation, and am curious as to how it holds up over a longer period of time, though do like the idea.

[Jim Bennett]

After just a few days, our trailer seemed to lose it's 'new' smell which is often caused from off-gassing. The wall foam insulation is covered by a layer of vinyl, so not much chance of off-gassing there.

[dbailey]

If you are sensitive to the chemicals involved, even the vinyl itself can cause off-gassing problems, let alone the foam underneath. I don't know with any certainty, but I suspect the urethane spray insulation will cause problems to sensitive people.

[cpaharley2008]

The foam outside underneath is not noticed inside, at any time.

[Parker]

I appreciate seeing the video. There is nothing pretty about all that foam underneath! I just washed our Casita, which has the continuous fiberglass shell underneath and could almost wax it if I was that fanatical (not). I don't think the foam's appearance will improve with age, ice, mud, etc., but everyone who has it seems to like it. We'll probably get it on our new 19, and I just won't look under there any more often than necessary.

[cpaharley2008]

I have seen it painted black on some models, maybe you can get white to make it blend in?? Escape will make it anyway you want, just ask!!

[Parker]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

I have seen it painted black on some models, maybe you can get white to make it blend in?? Escape will make it anyway you want, just ask!!

Good idea. I might ask about something darker maybe. I know it would take forever, but I wish they would sand/grind that stuff down to something a little flatter and less likely to pick up a bunch of road crud. It must work okay, though, or folks would be commenting on it, I'm sure.

[gocamp]

Is it true You can get the two layer wall insulation without the thermal windows? I thought I read someone ordered that but could not find the post. Thanks.

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by Parker

Good idea. I might ask about something darker maybe. I know it would take forever, but I wish they would sand/grind that stuff down to something a little flatter and less likely to pick up a bunch of road crud. It must work okay, though, or folks would be commenting on it, I'm sure.

Nothing really sticks to it so any road grime washes off with rain.

[Ruthe]

Yes -- Here's the answer I got about getting insulation without thermal windows:

"The insulation packages are a great option. Just to let you know, the thermal windows do open. The only windows that do not open are the front and rear windows of the trailer. All the other windows open. If you would like to just have the insulation, it is $500.
The sprayfoam option ( underneath insulation ) is applied in a manner that any parts that need to be accessed are available."

[schmucko]

A couple thoughts on insulation.

We picked up our fully insulated (including heat pads on the tanks) last September. We live in Colorado and sometimes like to camp in the cold. Two weeks ago we went to Big Bend National park and when returning camped in Las Vegas NM. The temperature dropped to 7 degrees F. The furnace ran pretty steady to keep the inside at about 60-65 degrees, but the double 6V batteries still had about 75% of the change left in the morning.

We put a pot of coffee on and in a matter of minutes its up to 70 degrees inside.

Thoughts?

The insulation under the floor keeps the floor far warmer and substantially deadens sound.

If I were to do it again, I would have Escape paint the insulation black to match everything else underneath. The "white insulation" looks terrible once it get road grime on it....

[Parker]

Originally Posted by schmucko

A couple thoughts on insulation.

If I were to do it again, I would have Escape paint the insulation black to match everything else underneath. The "white insulation" looks terrible once it get road grime on it....

That's probably what we'll do. Did you get the 12V heating pads? We often get caught out below freezing, but wouldn't set out to do winter camping for days at a time at the really low temps you mentioned. More likely occasionally cold overnights in otherwise warm Yellowstone and that sort of thing. For that reason, I was going to pass on the heat blankets and just get the foam.