insulating the floor of a cargo trailer

[yycwrangler]

Has anyone insulated the floor or felt the need to insulate the floor. I've seen folks talk about applying rigid insulation to the underneath side of the floor but I wonder how that would hold up in the rain.

I've wondered about laying down a second layer of plywood with insulation in between. In fact in Canada, I see them selling at lowes, squares which are wood on top and a layer of insulation attached to them. I think there for use on a concert floor to provide insulation when developing a basement. Only concern is it would add a bit of height.

thoughts or any other suggestions..
Cheers
Al

[John61CT]

Floor insulation helps more with cooling in hot weather, walls and ceiling more critical for winter.

The adhesive-backed stuff for sound- deadening helps a bit, cork rolls/tiling or rubber gym-floor sheeting and carpeting itself all have decent insulation without raising the floor too much.

But yes rigid foam under flooring is best, google videos plenty out there.

[CoventryKid]

Al:

I insulated the floor of our NEO trailer with 2x2 framing and 1.5" rigid pink insulation on top of the "factory" floor. With 7' interior height, losing 2" of height wasn't a big deal. I thought about doing it from underneath but decided too many issues with that approach (for me).

You are right about the 2' squares at Lowes, HD. They are more for concrete basement floors. While they interlock, I wouldn't trust them to stay tight together with the movement of a trailer over time.

My wife and I full-time in our trailer - 1 year anniversary today as a matter of fact.

Hope this helps!

[yycwrangler]

Thanks guys

My only problem is my Neo is 72" interior height. Cover up the ribs on the roof and it will most likely drop the height down by a inch or so. Then an inch or more on the floor.

maybe it's not worth insulating the floor as we will be camping 3 seasons not winter. Some carpeting might be all that's needed

Al

[Padilen]

I insulated mine from the underside. My thread.http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=62418&start=135
Sorry I tried to get it to the "page". But it's around the 10th page.
I painted it with UGL waterproofing paint.
Well I was able to recover the pic so here it is.

[MtnDon]

We purposely bought a trailer taller than actually needed. Then insulated between and under the ceiling ribs with sheet foam. The floor received sheet foam on the plywood and then a skin of thinner foam on top of that.

[McDave]

Just FYI,
My wife works at a furniture store and she got a wool rug on clearance sale 500.00 marked down to 50.00. about 1 inch thick. Almost an exact fit for what I needed. Made a HUGE difference in the insulating and ability to heat. My floor is not insulated and I'm in Montana. I would recommend insulation up here.

McDave

[aggie79]

Has anyone insulated the floor or felt the need to insulate the floor. I've seen folks talk about applying rigid insulation to the underneath side of the floor but I wonder how that would hold up in the rain.

Hi A/,

Take a look at this thread: http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?p=1154695#p1154695. Harvey (forum name "Nobody") talks about how well his exposed insulation applied to the bottom of the floor has held up for 9 years and 25,000 miles of travel.

I've been wanting to do a CT conversion for years - lack of funds is what's holding me back - and if/when I start the build I'll insulate the bottom of the decking like Harvey did.

Take care,
Tom

[yycwrangler]

Aggie

Thanks for showing me that link..That's amazing that the insulation head up for 9 years..makes me have second thoughts about putting it underneath. Padilen, thanks for your link, I'll have a look at that ASAP and McDave as always practical. Might be the way to go

Cheers
Al

[Rainier70]

I put 2 inches of insulation under my CT. It made a huge difference in mine.

Gonefishin put the interlocking foam tiles in for his flooring. It seems to be holding up well. It looks great, and they really like it. See about page 6 in his build. viewtopic.php?f=42&t=33924&start=75

Lots of ways to address the issue.

[hankaye]

Howdy All;

I've mentioned it before so here it is again. There is an old hunter's adage that
simply states that to sleep warm you should have much more under you then over you.
Now, they were referring to sleeping on the ground, but the principle is still the same.
I think, the ratio was something like 7 X's under to what is over. Think about the
mattress to the blanket/comforter/duvet ... as an example.

hank

[Padilen]

Howdy All;

I've mentioned it before so here it is again. There is an old hunter's adage that
simply states that to sleep warm you should have much more under you then over you.
Now, they were referring to sleeping on the ground, but the principle is still the same.
I think, the ratio was something like 7 X's under to what is over. Think about the
mattress to the blanket/comforter/duvet ... as an example.

hank

I plan on adding at least one more inch to mine. I used 2" with spacers to insulate in side framing. So there is some "air gap" between insulation and bottom of my CTC. But I want to now add over framing.


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[McDave]

Some sort of skirting could be a big help as well.

McDave

[hankaye]

Howdy All;

As McDave said, adding a "skirt" does help, keeps the wind from sucking heat away from the bottom.
Around the base of my 5th wheel (home), I have some rubberized nylon type of skirting that was made
for my RV. Yup, a tad spendy but it does help (as I keep reminding myself. The skirting also doubles
as a UV blocker for the tires and gives Rascal (border collie aka fur dispersal unit), a grand place to
roost in the shadows yet remain vigilant (so he keeps reminding me). It also provides me with somewhat
of a garage for my bicycle and a few other incidentals. I'll caution y'all to NOT use bales of straw or any
such large chunks of vegetation. That stuff draws rodents large and small in YUGGE numbers.
I used plywood (painted), for my older Travel Trailer (predecessor to the present 5er), and survived 2 winters
in central Utah comfortably.

hank

[OverTheTopCargoTrailer]

My trailer is insulated walls, floors, ceiling doors.

I do not need to heat unless exterior temp drops below 32F. Can cool interior with solar ac.....using about 250 watts in 100F parked in full sun.

Cheers

Overthetopcargotrailer