Is insulation worth it for a Texan

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

The foam may help with those nasty pests from entering the tailer escaping the heat down there, also it protects the tanks and other plumbing and undercarriage components, several members had road debris bounce up and take a chunk of spray foam while protecting the tanks from damage.

I got to do a real good inspection of my undercarriage after ovver 6 years with my 10, and without the foam there was no noticeable wear at all. The foam will show much more wear as it is way softer. The 40 year old Trillium I worked on, showed next to no wear underneath, just a wee bit of flattening on unprotected gas lines.

[Jim Bennett]

Another thing to remember, is that even though a floor is better insulated, that the surface will still feel cool. While the heat loss has been minimized to some degree, if there is nothing that heats up the floor, it will still stay cooler than the air inside. It will be a bit warmer due to the air in the trailer, but try checking the heat levels along the floor, and you will find them cooler than the air temps near the thermostat by quite a bit.

We deal with this a lot in home construction, where there is floor space over unheated basement or crawlspace, in places like cantelevers. The floor there, especially with a solid surface floor, though often insulated to R35, will still feel cold underfoot.

What i am getting at here, is that though you may have minimized heat loss by quite a bit, comfort levels are not improved drastically. Nothing will beat that insulation factor underfoot, like a nice floor mat. The 3/8" cork floor I did in my 19 improved this comfort quite a bit, as it provided that good insulation layer directly under my foot.

[Marry]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

Another thing to remember, is that even though a floor is better insulated, that the surface will still feel cool. While the heat loss has been minimized to some degree, if there is nothing that heats up the floor, it will still stay cooler than the air inside. It will be a bit warmer due to the air in the trailer, but try checking the heat levels along the floor, and you will find them cooler than the air temps near the thermostat by quite a bit.
What i am getting at here, is that though you may have minimized heat loss by quite a bit, comfort levels are not improved drastically. Nothing will beat that insulation factor underfoot, like a nice floor mat. The 3/8" cork floor I did in my 19 improved this comfort quite a bit, as it provided that good insulation layer directly under my foot.

Right!!!
We choose to go with the underneath foam due to the fact we have to travel quite a bit of miles on the gravel before we hit pavement, coming from home, and wanted protection.
But yes, when traveling this past September with temperatures dipping below 0c at night, the floor cooled off. To keep my feet warm and comfortable I grabbed a cushion and put that under my feet. What a difference!!

[Mike Lewis]

I wonder how good the in-wall insulation really is. When I'm in cold weather my furnace seems to run almost continuously. Of course I have no way to compare, since I've never had a trailer without the insulation.

I do know the insulation attenuates the wifi signal going from my trailer to my truck, so it probably weakens radio reception in a portable radio inside the trailer with no outside antenna.

As for the double-paned windows, I can tell that they cut down noise: open the window, shut the window. They make things pretty quiet inside.

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by Mike Lewis

I wonder how good the in-wall insulation really is. When I'm in cold weather my furnace seems to run almost continuously. Of course I have no way to compare, since I've never had a trailer without the insulation.

Mike, I've always considered it to be not very effective. But, it's much better than nothing at all.

The new models use a different kind of insulation than the reflectix, and it's supposed to have a higher R-value. It would be interesting to hear from owners of the new models who also owned the previous models, for comparison purposes.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

Mike, I've always considered it to be not very effective. But, it's much better than nothing at all.

The new models use a different kind of insulation than the reflectix, and it's supposed to have a higher R-value. It would be interesting to hear from owners of the new models who also owned the previous models, for comparison purposes.

True, rated on it's own for insulation effectiveness, the insulation value for the walls is not all that great, BUT compared to not having the extra insulation and dual glazed windows, the difference is great.

I really think the new insulation will have a much higher R value, as it is probably a full 1/2" thick, and has way more cells to it than Reflectix.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

I really think the new insulation will have a much higher R value, as it is probably a full 1/2" thick, and has way more cells to it than Reflectix.

I agree. The bubble layer of reflectix doesn't have a lot of insulation value, and the foil component only has an effect when facing an open space (which it's not). I haven't seen an insulation rating for the new foam (which is presumably closed-cell polyethylene), but it has to be better than the large "bubbles"; I see one list of properties for a likely candidate for this material runs R4/inch (so 1/2" would be R2).