Seeking insulation advice/minimizing heat loss in trailer

[flight301]

Hi, I'm new to this forum and trailer home ownership (or home ownership in general- i'm in my early twenties).
My Fiance and I recently purchased a 1988 Poloron 14x70, the trailer is in good condition and the price was really reasonable. Its going to be our starter home (price of this trailer = less then one year of cheap rent). Just in case my questions require a look at the interior/exterior of the trailer- here is an album of pictures I took: https://picasaweb.google.com/tintin301/ ... directlink
We plan on doing some remodeling too, as the trailer is rather dated looking and the decor (specifically carpets & wallpaper) is hideous.

I have done some reading on this forum, I looked through some old threads involving insulating questions, but I would like to ask my own question pertaining to my trailer model. I REALLY want to minimize my heating costs- I believe from what I've been told trailers are generally not insulated well or designed to hold heat well- our trailer has a propane heating system which can get pricey. I want to insulate the hell out of this trailer- if possible- I realize trailers are not designed like houses and the walls may not be fit for insulating, but I don't know this for sure. My step-father is a professional spray foam insulator, but not an expert about trailer homes or how to insulate them. I wondering if I can get recommendations from folks who have insulated their trailers & minimized their heating cost through insulating/other methods. I would like any advice about fixing my trailer up to hold in heat as efficiently as possible!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Greg]

Hi & welcome. Insulating a Mobile can be tough. I can't tell by the photos how thick your side walls are but I would guess 4". If so the problem is that the amount of insulation is limited by the room in the wall cavity, You want as high of R value per inch as you can get. Foam may be a good answer there. I can't recall anyone here actually doing a foam job on their home, so you may be a first if you go that route.

It looks like you have the original "trailer" windows. They are one of the largest heat loss sources, many here upgrade to a quality double hung window to help.

The underbelly & Skirting needs to be tight with the insulation in place, no holes or gaps. The belly is designed to hang like a blanket under the joists to allow for warm air to flow under the floor to keep pipes from freezing.

There really is not a lot that you can do as far a ceiling insulation goes since most homes are sealed and you would need to add an access panel to reach the area.

There are other heat sources that you could look at in addition to the furnace as well. We use a Monitor 20K Kero. unit as a primary heat and the furnace only on the coldest (-20*) days to keep the pipes from freezing. Pellet stoves are another option. Make sure that if you go that route that the unit is MH approved.

Greg

[joedirt63]

hello, pretty much agree with greg, would like to ad if your going the spray foam route i would do the remodel first if you're going to be moveing or adding eletric outles or fixtures. once it's foamed it's sealed and good , real pain to have to remove it to work on something in the wall. I noticed that some ceilings are flat , if the are at they ends of the house,check the gable area outside , there may not be any sheathing behind the sideing,open space under the roof. meant for roof venting ,but very good for cold air to get in,plus can be any acess point to add insulation. then you can close the gable area and just add a smaller roof vent. that is what i found with my 14x60 astro. couldn't figure out why the 2 ends rooms were always cold. As greg said windows in these things would be my first upgrade plan.

[flight301]

Thanks for the advice. I will have the fiance and step father read the responses so we can check out the trailer and see what kind of wall thickness/access point are available. I made an error my step father is a spray cellulose insulator! Not that it makes much difference if the wall thickness limits this. We are planning on remodeling just enough to add a wood burning stove initially, and doing further remodelling over time.

The first thing I want to do is replace windows/doors! Good advice.

I doubt we will mess around with the ceilings right away, we will probably avoid insulating that area until later.

[DCDiva]

I looked at your MH and it looks in great shape,new carpet or laminate, some new light fixures, a good primer and paint for the walls(Looks like you have the vinyl printed wall board ,not paper wall paper) with new trim and maybe crown molding,new curtains and you will have a wonderful home. The kitchen put a tile back splash Lowes has really nice tiles the tiny ones on 1 ft mesh for under $5 a foot,easy to do and cut,and you can paint the kitchen if you want to,just prepare correctly with a nice handles. As for insulation you have the newer homes that are well insulated I would frame the underpinning on 16 or 24 inch centers and insulate between,then put up the underpinning,if replacing metal is a great way to go,it comes in all colors,just order it --we did this plus al lot more but our mh is a 1973 totally different lol--but my dd's MH is all electric and the electric bill summer and winter is $75 or less and we have 100 degree summers and minus 15 degree winters. You can call the utility companies to see how high the avg bills are on the MH.
Looks like a great home,Good Luck,Melissa

[flight301]

Hey, thanks a lot! We are thrilled with this find, it was quite cheap. Right now we are planning the move and doing some preliminary research on costs of improvements, moving, remodelling etc. I'm getting very excited about doing some redecorating (while being very budget conscious ) .

My Fiance has a question about reflooring- he wants to know if wood laminate flooring will help insulate the trailer? Or at least what affect this will have on conserving the heat. We are planning our reflooring project and pricing and what not right now, but we are obsessed with using a flooring that will hold in as much heat as possible. I hate carpeting, I do not want to install ugly carpets again! But I'd consider it if it were better at holding in heat. We do plan on insulating the bottom of the trailer ASAP, to limit heat loss through the floor but we are still concerned on using flooring to minimize heat loss as well.

I have a question about wood stoves- We have a wood stove, but its not trailer home rated, or at least its not labeled as so on the wood stove itself. My Dad and my Step father have 30+ years of construction experience each, my father built my Mom's/step father's house (before the divorce of course), and they claim to be experts at installing wood stoves (both my parents homes are heated primarily by wood stoves, they have installed several over the years). I originally thought my Step dad didn't have experience with trailer homes because he has never lived in any, nor did I know he ever worked on any- but he claims he has a working knowledge of how to install a wood stove safely into a mobile home. We do no plan on getting insurance, but I don't want to burn the trailer down with us in it. Is it acceptable, if done safely, to install a non mobile home rated wood stove (my step dad and father would not install a wood stove unsafely, i'm sure of it)?

Hopefully these questions will not get lost in this thread, maybe I should have just started a new thread...

[Greg]

I think ANY type flooring will have a minimal amount of change in R value. Insulated skirting would make more of a difference than flooring.

Wood stoves. The reason for a MH rated stove is two fold. First a rated stove uses outside air for combustion, the theory being that a mobile is both tighter and smaller than stick built homes so air depletion is a factor ( or could be). The second is the insurance company. Many will find ANY reason to deny a claim. Should a fire break out heat sources are looked at first, Kind of a guilty until proven innocent idea.

Make no mistake, Wood stoves CAN be safely installed and used in a Mobile, But if you are insuring the home it may be difficult to keep it covered if the insurance co. finds out.

Greg

[flight301]

Ok thanks for the info. We have not decided whether we are going to insure the trailer or not. I think if we invest a lot in fixing it up/remodeling, that will effect our decision. We purchased it fairly cheap, I'll have to check if the insurance is expensive or not. So far we do not plan on living in it for more then a few years. That being said, I do not want to burn our trailer down because of a wood stove, so we are going to install it as safely as possible. I mentioned the air combustion issue to my step father, and he seems to think he install the wood stove in such a way to make up for that issue (as in put a air duct in). I trust my 2 fathers to install it safely...

I'm overwhelmed by all the remodeling that I would like to do in the place. I wish there were more websites dedicated to trailer interior decorating! I've looked, and haven't found much. I'm trying to figure out what flooring to get right now, I've ruled out laminate wood due to wear and tear issues (we live on a farm! its inevitable that the floor is going to get messed up. Plus we have a Rottweiler mix who is going to get into the trailer eventually). I was thinking ceramic/porcelain tiles but I read they don't work well for trailers due to floor instability. Now I'm looking at vinyl tiles. I want the most durable flooring possible that isn't $$$$$$ and isn't too ugly.

[Greg]

I would not count laminate out, there are differing grades & quality of flooring. The first floor that I put in a few years ago had the following cleaning instructions, Wash with soap & water, for tough dirt use Acetone. I will say that laminate & dogs are not a great mix, it is VERY slippery for them. I have a Lab with a bad hip (possible caused by slipping) so we use throw rugs on it.

As for insurance, you are still going to want Liability insurance, I'm not sure if you can get it with out a homeowner's policy. As I said wood stove CAN be safely installed, many here have them.

Greg