How many have used insulation boards for "Skirting" ?

[lappir]

A goodly number of my neighbors have either just finished putting some form of "Skirting" around their trailers or have had it in place since my arrival in Late October. None of the "Motorhomes" have any. 

I have not done this in the past, but think I will try it on Saturday and see if it helps. It's my first Winter in SEMO and I will be here at least till early summer so I should get a good test. I also may have to pay for electric if my use is over the amount they include in the spot.  First month no extra charge, but it hasn't been very cold yet. 

My "Hydrant" is close enough to my front slide out that I am pretty sure I can include it in the skirting. I will still wrap a "heat tape" around it and add a bit of close insulation, but I'm hoping to be able to keep the water hooked up. Last winter I filled every good  outside day and used my fresh water tank and water pump. I do have to find all the leaks that have started plaguing me in my filter system.  It used to be smaller and attached to the trailer, but it made a mess every time I changed the filters. I have since added a softener and a larger prefilter in a clear housing so I can see what the water is like before it goes to the softener and then the carbon filter, but I just read you should put the carbon filter in front of the softener, so I will do that. 

What would doing an additional sediment filter and then a final carbon filter do other than potentially lower my water flow or pressure? 

Thanks for any and all responses. 

 

Rod

[Jinx & Wayne]

I've never skirted a trailer or coach.  I have, however, skirted a log cabin and a raised building in the mountains during a Maine winter.  It will make a big difference in heating and comfort, primarily in floor temperature.  Skirting can do two things.  First it can reduce the heat loss from windchill - air moving under the RV will take heat away.  Second, it can create an insulating space that remains warmer.  Wind stoppage can be achieved by something as thin as plastic sheeting but it is so thin that there will not be a lot insulating.  Insulating boards should do both, so long as the  joints between the boards do not provide too much heat loss by infiltration/seepage. A combination of the two should be even more effective.  Check it periodically to be sure it isn't too tight and trapping excess moisture.  There are a number of videos available showing how it is done.  Many seem to use vinyl panels.  I would consider backing the panels with insulation board.

Wayne & Jinx
2017 F-350 diesel, dually
2006 Carriage Carri-Lite 36KSQ

[Kirk W]

It has been a while since I last spent the winter in an RV but most of what we did would still apply. I am guessing that SEMO means southeast Missouri? Springfield is about the same distance north/south as Wichita, KS which is the farthest north that I have spent time in winter with the RV, other than years ago when we hunted the WY mountains from one. Long range weather predictions are that you will see above normal temperatures but it always pays to be prepared. 

Stick on, foam pipe insulation is your friend for your water hydrant & hose. If you put on heat tape and then insulation that should prevent freezing and for the water filters I made a Styrofoam cooler into an insulated box for them. If you can then locate all of that under your slide with foam-board skirting out side of it, that should be more than sufficient to keep things from freezing. For skirting I would suggest a 1" Expanded Polystyrene which should have an R value of about 5, or possibly 1.5" thick. 

As Wayne said, keeping the wind out is paramount but added insulation will pay in less problems with cold floors and savings in the cost to heat the RV. Most RVs of any type are not very air tight so it may pay for you to spend time locating all of the places where pipes or wire pass through and use expanding foam spray to insure that they do not have air leaks. I found that sealing air leaks also made our RVs easier to cool in the summer months as well. 

 

[lappir]

Thank you for the replies. 

I'm not quite in the boot heel of Missouri, but close. 

I lived in a Mobile Home in my early years and at the time was surprised by the thin plastic they used to "Skirt" all of them. I'm using they same type of heat tape that I used with it. Never had an issue with below zero temp's in South East Iowa. 

Rod

[Steven@146]

We have never skirted the bottom of our 5er because come January we are in warmer weather, but acquaintances of ours that have skirted their RV using either a vinyl, tarp type or foam board product told us it made a big difference, yes we can see why,  even though we and they have coroplast covering the bottom of the RV and is all enclosed. Using a heated water hose, heat tape and good idea using Styrofoam ice cooler to make an insulated box around water pipes and stand pipes is all a great idea.

Another thing to do is use some window pane shrink film to keep cold air out. We are currently in Richmond Indiana until Dec 28th and shrink filmed our windows with a 3M product using a hair dryer to shrink the film, it made a significant difference. Come January we should me in Galveston, TX

[dartmouth01]

I did billboard tarp on a smaller rig that I ran thru 3 or 4 Sierra Nevada winters (not terribly cold, but sometimes alot of snow with a few deep freeze periods here and there).  It helped immensely, would generally keep the underside area above freezing until about 20 degree lows.  Below that, I had a heater that would kick in at 35 degrees inside the skirted area.  Now I am running foamboard as skirting for a larger 5th wheel, and it works about the same, perhaps marginally better than the billboard tarp.  However, the area is much larger than the smaller rig, so I expect the foamboard on an equivalent rig compared to billboard vinyl would be noticeably better.  However, the billboard tarp was very portable, the formboard not so much.

[bigjim]

No one has mentioned this if I remember but can it be much of an issue if your spot gets some significant high winds on occaision.

Also does it make it attractive to critters wanting to stay out of the elements?

Edited November 26, 2021 by bigjim

[lappir]

4 hours ago, bigjim said:

No one has mentioned this if I remember but can it be much of an issue if your spot gets some significant high winds on occaision.

Also does it make it attractive to critters wanting to stay out of the elements?

The wind for sure can be an issue. I hope my attachment and other plans will mediate that issue. 

As far as critters, those who I have posed the question to report no issues, or maybe they just didn't see them. There is nothing that I can think of under my rig that is exposed, or would be of interest to a varmint. At least I hope that's the case. I will have an access location where I will be able to shine a light around when It's dark and I think If any choose to call the space home, I will be able to detect them. I would then turn my feline loose down there for a bit and see if she would bring me a gift. 

 

Rod

[Wrknrvr]

   We spent last winter in Montana. So we decided to shirt the bottom of out fifthwheel in.

  I started with a 2x4 base all around the outside. Attached it to the ground  by drilling appropriately size holes to attach it to the ground. Are big nails available. Or long bolts. We did this over a few weeks so found stuff at habitat for humanity.

  Then I built a framework to about a inch from the bottom of the rv. But never screwed it to the rv.  That part changed as for different angles or curves. The slides that had the wheel wells  on them I framed it to the inside of angle iron support. The frame work was made from 2x4 s on the corners, with 1x3 and 2x2 s as would fit.  To save a few bucks I picked most of the wood from the scrape pile at the lumber yard. Most of the lengths that I need was about 2’ long. So junk wood worked fine. Add some bracing as needed to the corners.

 

  Since we have a Aquahot unit in out fifthwheel I had to leave the front of the lower section open for the exhaust pipes. But I enclosed the front under the fifthwheel hitch.  Laid old scrap pieces of styrofoam on the floor and the plywood on top. Installed a homemade door to that area and had a sit down shop area for fly tying and gun work when it was bad outside. The front door on the lower section under the fifthwheel was let open. Our Aquahot unit sits there. The heat from there keeps the shop area probably near 60 degrees. And warmed the floor of the bedroom .

  I used 11/2” pink styrofoam as it was the cheapest at the time.  To save time I cut the styrofoam with a saws-all with a fine blade. Coarse blade made a lot of pellets.

   To seal the styrofoam to the rv I used dicor lap sealant. When decided to leave this winter the lap sealant was wiped with mineral spirits to remove it. It was fairly easy to get it off. With no damage to the fiberglass. Also lap sealant can be used to seal cracks and some not so good fits.

 

  I did not put anything under the rv for critter control. But occasionally would put moth balls around the outside edge. That was a good time to look for new entrants hole chewed in the siding.

   We did have some 60 or more mph winds. Nothing was affected.    But I put 11/4” washers under every drywall screw I put in the styrofoam.

 

  The hardest part was sealing around the slideout supports and the hydraulic rams.  I used fiberglass insulation for that area.

 

 Time consuming, but the rv was much warmer. Large external propane tank would make life much more fun in the winter. Since we have the Aquahot I finally installed a 55 gallon drum for a large fuel tank.

 

  Vern

 

  I also put the water line that had a heat tape and foam over it, into 8” ductwork insulation for heating systems. Seal both ends to not let any water in there.

 

 

Edited November 27, 2021 by Wrknrvr

[lappir]

I went the other way. Did see a couple of guys doing what Vern Did, but others just cut and pieced insulation board. I found a 4' tall and 50' accordion underlayment and thought it would to the job. I think it will, once I find some tape that will stick to it. I got a roll of the "Duct" tape, the silver type that HVAC installers use to the duct work. I thought about the other type of duck tape, but the adhesive with it stays on after you pull it off, at least for me. The Silver seems to come off  and  it blends in with my lower diamond plate if it doesn't want to peel off. I did try a different style, it didn't have the paper backing and the roll was twice as long at almost the same price. I might try to return the unused portion as it didn't seem to stick as good as I'd like. When first applied it looked good, but then I'd go to the other side and came back and find it coming off. Will see what it looks like in the morning. 

I wrapped from the wheel wells back and around and almost made it to the wheel wells with the first 50 ft. I had to cut and reposition and overlapped with each one of those  to stay as close to the ground as possible. The 4 ft. came to the top of the lower diamond plate and sort of wedged in under the drain that goes down the side of the trailer. I put tape there too, but stuck it to the underside of the drain. 

I had some 1 1/2 inch Styrofoam from another project that I used under the area where the water connection will be and the holding tanks empty. I also couldn't cover up the "Mini Split" fan. 

It was in the high 50's and I worked in a tshirt and shorts for most of the day. Had to put on the coveralls for the last part as the sun was going down and the wind came up a bit. I got done just as it was getting dark. It already feels warmer inside, but that may be from the sunny warm day. Will see what it feels like in the morning. I turned down the thermostat a bit, because it felt too warm inside when I came in. 

No after photos yet. 

[Kirk W]

I wish that I knew someone who had tried the RV air skirts.

[Chalkie]

15 hours ago, Kirk W said:

I wish that I knew someone who had tried the RV air skirts.

Would you buy some? You have more disposable income than me I think. I looked them up and for our RV it would be north of $3K! I am not sure I could ever get my ROI on that.

[lappir]

6 minutes ago, Chalkie said:

Would you buy some? You have more disposable income than me I think. I looked them up and for our RV it would be north of $3K! I am not sure I could ever get my ROI on that.

For sure. 

 

Rod

[GlennWest]

On our property in Huntsville, our little group wants my Teton underpinned. Only stipulation they asked of us. If we continue rving we likely pick up a small MH. Leave Teton on property. So this is interesting post for us.

[Kirk W]

54 minutes ago, Chalkie said:

Would you buy some? You have more disposable income than me I think.

I do? Since I have no idea what your disposable income is and I am pretty sure that you don't know what mine is either. Since I an no longer fulltime and my RV is stored for the winter, why would I buy them even if I did have unlimited funds, which I do not. 

The reason that I have wondered about someone who does use them is that I did see them demonstrated at Escapade last July and they look interesting but I am not convinced of the simplicity that they claim as well as the storage issues. But I am interested in a lot of things that I'll never have any use for or the budget to buy. 

[sandsys]

48 minutes ago, Kirk W said:

I am interested in a lot of things that I'll never have any use for or the budget to buy. 

Yes, that.

Linda

[lappir]

Maybe I should have my brother start saving all the good tractor tire inner tubes he takes out and replaces with new when he changes tires. Even if they did have a small leak it wouldn't be too hard to keep them inflated enough to block the wind. Of course all the sharp screws that protrude through the floor would have to all be cut off. It's so much fun to lie on your back with an angle grinder and a cutting wheel. At some point the hot stuff coming off the wheel will make it down your shirt. 

 

Rod

[KodiakJack]

We were not in a park setting when we used bales of hay for skirting (most other materials would blow off and away).  Actually used a chainsaw with a 20" bar to taper cut a few bales for a better fit.  Worked very, very well and the horses got a lot of the leftovers.

Later,

J

[lappir]

I have thought about using bales, but then I checked the price of a bale of hay. I couldn't find any straw. 

Found some straw bales here, but the management was not enthused about me using them, until today when I told them it wouldn't be on the outside of the skirting. I'm hoping a few well placed bales with some long screws will secure my rather flimsy wind blockers. 

 

Rod

[TXiceman]

The problem with hay bales is it will draw vermin to  a nice warm winter home.

Ken

[Kirk W]

51 minutes ago, lappir said:

some long screws will secure my rather flimsy wind blockers. 

You will need some really course threaded and very long screws and then maybe if you are really lucky and don't get much wind.