insulation

[lou]

we live up north, in Quebec Canada. We are presently shopping for a fiberglass camper.

We saw a casita near where we live, next week we will see a Scamp. We are most concerned about insulation the R factor because we will use it year round up here. Does anybody know the R factor for a Casita or an Oliver? The Scamp has an R=15 pretty good, but we do not like the sealed pressed wood floor nor the rivets. The Casita we visited looked very good but again we are worried about those rivets that pop-up. With the Oliver (more expensive) we are worried about the double fiberglass structure with insulation in between, did anyone have any trouble with cracking and breakage. We know of a camper with this structure where the two layers af fiberglass break.

 

Thank you

[bugeyedriver]

Lou,

 

Currently, Oliver uses a product called "Lizard Skin" as an insulation protection for the trailer. The Lizard Skin is a product used in the automotive racing industry to keep the engine heat from the driver during long races and is applied to both shells. Don't know thr "R" value. You can read about it at:

 

http://www.lizardskin.com/

 

I feel that between the upgraded dual pane windows, double fiberglass shells and this high tech insulation sprayed on the inside, the Oliver is well insulated. My first night out was about +25F, I was cozy running a small electric heater on low.

 

If you ever (gasp) had an accident that cracked the outside shell and water got inside, there are strategically placed weep holes to let the water out of the bottom. Having dead-air space between the shells is insulation also.

[lou]

Thank you Pete,

 

Your informations are very useful, I have discovered a new product and your advices helped us very much. Now we have to see an Oliver near where we live to compare it to the Casita and the Scamp. I will get in touch with Oliver tomorrow and hope they have a referral program like them. We are retired and since now we have been tenting on several continents (even under minus 20 degree F ( weather), it is a big change over for us to move to a camper (more weight to pull, more space, more comfort.... more equipmemt to take care of).

 

Thank you,

 

Lou and JJ

[Oliver Travel Trailers1571927901]

For your intended use we can actully add another layer of "thinsulate" between the 2 shells giving you a third layer of insulation. Call me for more info if you like.

[Scribe with a Stylus]

You said "we can actually add another layer of "thinsulate"  between the 2 shells giving you a third layer of insulation" and "Call me for more info if you like". You did not leave a phone number so I am emailing you. However, it is 12 years later so  the  current phone number and answer may be different.  The question is, "Is there  enough room to add a layer  of  3M  Thinsulate  (or  combined  layers)  of either:

Thinsulate SM400L insulation at 1.02 inches thick and has an R-Value of 3.8 or

Thinsulate SM600L insulation that is 1.65 inches thick and has an R-Value of 5.2 or

a combination of the two at 2.67 inches thick and R-Values of 5.2+3.8 or R-10?

This would help us with August and February camping.

Thank you.

Walk in His Peace,

Scribe With A Stylus

Edited March 3, 2020 by Scribe with a Stylus
Forgot to mention that the R-Values were for Thinsulate and added that brand name in several places.

[Overland]

The "thinsulate" insulation that's described above (it's either Reflectix or a very similar product) is now standard on all the trailers.  It's much thinner than any of the products you listed, maybe ⅛" with a radiant backing.  Reflectix isn't a bad product but they list rather optimistic R-values and they have a clarification document on their website that I suspect the FTC made them post.  It really acts as more of a radiant barrier than a true insulation.  Nonetheless, you'll find that the insulation combined with the double fiberglass hulls and air space between make it easy to keep the cabin comfortable in all weather.  

There are certainly places in the hull where you could add a thicker insulation on your own, but also many places that would be impossible to access.  Plus you'd need to take into account any condensation that happens between the hulls and make sure that anything you add won't trap moisture.  I don't think that Oliver will make any changes to the insulation for you, but it wouldn't hurt to ask your sales associate.  

Edited March 3, 2020 by Overland

[topgun2]

I've added a bunch of "extra" insulation in my Ollie.  Every inch of both hot and cold water piping has been covered with foam insulation.  My original intent here was to help reduce noise from the water pump, but, I believe that this has also helped with retaining the "heat" of the hot water.  Given that I had some insulation/sound deadening material left over in the shop from trying to lessen road noise in an old pickup truck, I then moved onto insulating those "trap doors" that give access to the areas between the hulls.  This really helped in reducing water pump noise and even some minor condensation that I was having under the sleeping mattress.  Next on the agenda was placing additional insulation (Reflextix this time) on the inside of both the exterior shower door and the outside basement door.  This required adjusting the latch and the addition of some standard foam type stick on ribbon insulation (think of the material used for sealing drafts in windows).  Finally, I got into the bowels (as much as I could ) between the hulls and put additional Reflextix anywhere I could stick it - heck, I had the material so why not use it?  I even got to the point of using a roll of the silver "aluminum" heating duct tape to seal around where wires go through the existing insulation and/or where various "panels" join to one another - such as the panel that separates the basement area from the area containing the street side rear jack.

I'm really not too sure that all of this work has resulted in a more energy efficient Oliver, but, the water pump noise is somewhat less, dust/dirt infiltration in the basement door area is greatly reduced, excess materials in my shop have been cleaned out and it made me feel good when the guys in Service were impressed with the job.

In this picture note the silver insulation on the "trap door" on the extreme right of the picture and the extra layer Reflextix over inside of the wall on the extreme left of the picture (the "flap" of extra insulation that was cut out and then left to rest on top of the heat duct is the dead give away).  This is also before I started to insulate the pipes.

Bill

[John E Davies]

It is so cool to see a 12 year old thread revived. I would caution about going overboard by insulating everything that you can touch; consider what it will mean for future servicing, such as identifying and fixing a water leak, or removing an item for repair. I do really like the idea of adding stuff under the cabin access hatches, but since there is a great big return air opening for the furnace on the LEII model, I am doubtful it would actually quiet down anything under that area.,..

John Davies

Spokane WA