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Unconventional "Wrapping" of travel trailer (Unconventional)

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posted 3 years ago

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Hi there.

Anyone have idea(s) about unconventional ways to wrap a travel trailer for insulating purposes in temperate winter climates for full time living?

Anne Miller

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posted 3 years ago

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Kevin, Welcome to the forums!

I don't recall anyone suggesting something like this. Do you mean wrapping in something like Tyvek or saran wrap?

The problem I see is securing it so that the door can be opened, have you figured that out?

Here are some threads that offer suggestions for prepping a travel trailer to be warmer in winter:

https://permies.com/t/134199/Living-Trailer-Hoop-House

https://permies.com/t/147066/Winter-preparation-living-trailer

I have heard of folks using strawbale or cordwood to build a wall around the RV to be something like an RV inside a building.

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Kevin Sullivan

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posted 3 years ago

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Anne Miller wrote:Kevin, Welcome to the forums!

I don't recall anyone suggesting something like this. Do you mean wrapping in something like Tyvek or saran wrap?

The problem I see is securing it so that the door can be opened, have you figured that out?

Here are some threads that offer suggestions for prepping a travel trailer to be warmer in winter:

https://permies.com/t/134199/Living-Trailer-Hoop-House

https://permies.com/t/147066/Winter-preparation-living-trailer

I have heard of folks using strawbale or cordwood to build a wall around the RV to be something like an RV inside a building.

Hi Anne,

Well to answer your question. Common more conventional practices some of which utilize a vinyl cover which covers the entirety of the trailer leaving only the door accessible. So my beginning thought was to give consideration to an inexpensive means of blanketing the entirety of the trailer and then possibly covering over that with the vinyl tarp. From there going in the direction of straw bale around the base and then perhaps a skirt of some kind. So to be more specific with my initial question, do any, preferably natural materials, come to mind that might be utilized as the "blanket" under the vinyl tarp? With that said what are the "costs" associated with the potential for minimizing the breathability by this thought of a "blanket" approach?

R Scott

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posted 3 years ago

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How mobile does it need to be? Do you park in the same place all winter, or move every month? Week?

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Anne Miller

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posted 3 years ago

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I have experience with using both the RV cover and a tarp.

I can't recommend the RV cover as the wind ripped ours to shreds.

Our hunters are currently using a Truck Tarp like a person would use on an 18 wheeler to cover merchandise.

Their trailer is 36 ft with slides. They use straps to hold it over the trailer. These straps go from one side of the trailer to the other and are anchored to the ground. There are probably at least 4 straps if not more. Wind is really hard on the tarp.

As for a natural covering to go over the tarp I can't think of anything other than strawbales or cordwood.

There is a least one thread on the forum about a guy who used cordwood to build a building over the RV. I have forgotten his name as I don't believe he is active anymore. The way he did it it was like building a cordwood house with a walkway inside going all the way around the trailer which gave the trailer an insulating factor.

I found the thread, it was in the second like that I gave you:

https://permies.com/t/32322/permaculture-projects/Camp#387385

This has a diagram with the trailer inside. He calls it a shed.

Invasive plants are Earth's way of insisting we notice her medicines. Stephen Herrod Buhner
Everyone learns what works by learning what doesn't work. Stephen Herrod Buhner

Kevin Sullivan

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posted 3 years ago

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R Scott wrote:How mobile does it need to be? Do you park in the same place all winter, or move every month? Week?

Hi Scott.

It will be parked in the same place all winter.

Kevin Sullivan

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Thank you Anne,

The trailer is a 20 foot no pull outs. Materials I have access to most readily are old automobile tires and straw bales... When you mention tarping the trailer and then using straw bales, How so specifically?

Anne Miller wrote:I have experience with using both the RV cover and a tarp.

I can't recommend the RV cover as the wind ripped ours to shreds.

Our hunters are currently using a Truck Tarp like a person would use on an 18 wheeler to cover merchandise.

Their trailer is 36 ft with slides. They use straps to hold it over the trailer. These straps go from one side of the trailer to the other and are anchored to the ground. There are probably at least 4 straps if not more. Wind is really hard on the tarp.

As for a natural covering to go over the tarp I can't think of anything other than strawbales or cordwood.

There is a least one thread on the forum about a guy who used cordwood to build a building over the RV. I have forgotten his name as I don't believe he is active anymore. The way he did it it was like building a cordwood house with a walkway inside going all the way around the trailer which gave the trailer an insulating factor.

I found the thread, it was in the second like that I gave you:

https://permies.com/t/32322/permaculture-projects/Camp#387385

This has a diagram with the trailer inside. He calls it a shed.

Cris Smith

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Location: Louisiana

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posted 3 years ago

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Old auto tires are a primary component of Earthship construction - they stack them up and ram earth down inside - just google "earthship construction" and you'll find plenty of info. I gather the ramming earth process can be pretty labor intensive, but it would give you a nice thermal mass.

Anne Miller

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posted 3 years ago

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Kevin, I am not sure what the best way to do it would be. We have never used strawbales for insulation though I have read about people doing this.

Seems to me it would be good to have something between the strawbales and the Rv then cover with a tarp.

We had friends who transferred from Texas to Wyoming just in time for the hard winter up there. They lived in their rv through the winter and for many months afterward while their home was being built.

They used haybales to insulate the outside of the rv and as I recall, they stacked them underneath and almost to the top of the rv to shield against the wind leaving ample space to ventilation.

I remember the weekly email reports from them: they were definitely cozy, a bit cloustraphobic, but never heard anything about critters. Personally, I don't see how any critter can survive a winter in Wyoming!

I know it's done regularly in colder climates, but I would definitely check out all the potential hazards before doing it.

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f59/hay-bales-to-keep-warm-59650-2.html

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Everyone learns what works by learning what doesn't work. Stephen Herrod Buhner

R Scott

pollinator

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Location: Kansas Zone 6a

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posted 3 years ago

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Best answer I have seen for semi permanent is a greenhouse. Poly in the winter, shade cloth in the summer.

It still gets cold at night, but no wind really helps.

Emily DuBord

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Location: New England, USA

posted 2 years ago

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Kevin Sullivan wrote:Hi there.

Anyone have idea(s) about unconventional ways to wrap a travel trailer for insulating purposes in temperate winter climates for full time living?

If you’re still looking for suggestions, perhaps wrapping like a boat for winter storage? I live in a boat year round in water, so in the winter it’s framed out with wood and wrapped tight with clear wrap which acts like a greenhouse.

Still chilly at night as that’s all I’ve done, but keeps the wind, rain and snow off! If it’s sunny, even in single digits, it’s warm inside!

William Bronson

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posted 2 years ago

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Hi Emily, welcome to Permies!
Your boat sounds very interesting, any chance you could post photos?

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Emily DuBord

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Location: New England, USA

posted 2 years ago

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William Bronson wrote:Hi Emily, welcome to Permies!
Your boat sounds very interesting, any chance you could post photos?

That’s how it looks all wrapped up.

B68F290D-A3DA-416B-B72B-E2E3325C8E28.jpeg

William Bronson

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posted 2 years ago

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Very cool,I love it!
A very practical way to improve living conditions.

Eating Bindweed
Eating Buckwheat Greens
Paul explains why I spend time here,better than I could myself.

Jennifer Davis

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posted 2 years ago

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Thanks for all this info about wrapping rvs. I might try something like the boat. There needs to be a way to ventilate also. Maybe make holes in the top with elastic around the edges and put them over the roof vents to let out sewage gases and allow the roof vent fan to work.

Emily DuBord

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Location: New England, USA

posted 2 years ago

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Jennifer Davis wrote:Thanks for all this info about wrapping rvs. I might try something like the boat. There needs to be a way to ventilate also. Maybe make holes in the top with elastic around the edges and put them over the roof vents to let out sewage gases and allow the roof vent fan to work.

Yeah you could have the plastic going around anything that needs to be vented and then heated to shrink tight around that. And for desired ventilation on unusually warm days we have zipper windows that are made of the same material that you can just unzip and pin up. You can have them placed in the same position as any interior windows you would desire to open.

Cristo Balete

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posted 2 years ago

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I inherited a motorhome, a trailer with the driver's seat inside, and had it at the coast, which is very foggy and damp. For insulation, the original wall paneling, that seemed rather like plastic-covered "wood" always had condensation on it in the morning, there was maybe an inch or two of fluffy insulation behind it, which wasn't really enough. We went through quite a bit of propane heat in a mild winter area.

We took off the original paneling, got housing insulation, R 19, in the ceiling, the floor and walls, then put in wallboard that absorbed moisture better. It was a fussy and time-consuming job. The dashboard "wall" between the engine and the inside never was sealed very well, so it was the weak link in insulation. The compartments under the bench seats/table seats also needed insulating, as did any exterior storage compartments. A trailer would benefit from this more than a motorhome. Then it became much more comfortable and easier to heat.

From my experience in covering greenhouses with plastic for the last 20 years, the plastic doesn't last very long and becomes a big landfill item, and is more and more expensive as time goes on.

An important distinction: Permaculture is not the same kind of gardening as organic gardening.
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Jennifer Davis

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posted 2 years ago

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Yeah, I really hate the idea of throwing all that plastic film in the landfill every year. But they're starting to make biodegradable plastic film for greenhouses now. Looks like it's a specialty item that you have to go through a supplier to get.

Emily DuBord

Posts: 10

Location: New England, USA

posted 2 years ago

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I try to reuse what I can each year. Or use zero waste groups or freecycle to offer it up if I can cut it up into big sheets to use as small home greenhouses or for other purposes.

Grow a forest with seedballs and this tiny ad:

Heat your home with the twigs that naturally fall of the trees in your yard

http://woodheat.net