Floor insulation

[David D]

I have a 79 Surfside (with FG bottom). The original floor was half inch plywood directly on top of FG. Has anyone insulated the floor with a layer of insulation between the plywood and the FG? If so what did you use?
Dave

[kirkman]

I bought the foam pads that lock togeather like a puzzle. I got them at Walmart in the workout section for $10 they work great.
I camp in my egg camper all winter!

[David D]

Originally Posted by kirkman

I bought the foam pads that lock togeather like a puzzle. I got them at Walmart in the workout section for $10 they work great.
I camp in my egg camper all winter!

Thx Kirkman,
Good idea!
Are the foam pads below a layer of plywood or do you walk right on the pads. I am curious about condensation below the wood, with and without insulation.

[John in Michigan]

We do the same as Kirkman (puzzle shaped 1/2" thick 2'x2' foam tiles). On top of that we have small rectangular area rugs that cover the foam tiles. The foam tiles result in a much warmer floor.

[SilverGhost]

I have a 2011 Egg and I like kirkman's idea. We camped one winter and the bed sheets froze to the fiber glass wall. Maybe that and add a layer of foam board (from home improvement store) right to the under side?

Jason

[David D]

Originally Posted by John in Michigan

We do the same as Kirkman (puzzle shaped 1/2" thick 2'x2' foam tiles). On top of that we have small rectangular area rugs that cover the foam tiles. The foam tiles result in a much warmer floor.

Hi John, thx for that. Are your foam pads overtop plywood or fibreglass. My fibre glass floor is flexible and therefore it needs plywood on top. I think the foam pads would work under the plywood.

[Gerry]

We use the same 2 x 2 x 1/2in foam pads, from home depot in our Boler and it just lays on top of the fiberglass and we walk on it.
We use to camp 52 weeks a year up here in central NH and Maine and it did help keep the cold out.

[John in Michigan]

Dave, on our Trillium 4500 we put the foam pads on top of the floor. The floor of our Trillium 4500 is built like this from top to bottom:

1. rugs
2. foam pads
3. floor top (fiberglass)
4. plywood layer for strength and rigidity
5. trailer bottom shell (fiberglass)

If you want to put insulation under your plywood, you should probably use a rigid dense material such as extruded polyurethane board. Others may have suggestions.

[David D]

Thanks for the help on this everyone!

[kirkman]

Originally Posted by David D

Thx Kirkman,
Good idea!
Are the foam pads below a layer of plywood or do you walk right on the pads. I am curious about condensation below the wood, with and without insulation.

I walk right on them. I laid them right over the existing floor.

[meryone]

what are your thoughts on using these foam pads then plywood then vinyl? I love the feel of these foam pads but not necessarily the look/ease of cleaning, particularly with my dog, as vinyl.

[Gerry]

This could be done but I think the squishing of the foam may take the insulation factor out of the equation.

[meryone]

Are you referring to the addition of plywood and then the vinyl? Other than the to the touch it would be different, wouldn't it still provide the insulation? This is considering we've removed the carpet down to the very uneven sub floor I guess you would call it. We would use these interlocking pieces as a means of insulation and cushion to then place a thin layer (size ?) of plywood that would then take the vinyl. Does this sound right or no?

[David D]

Originally Posted by meryone

Are you referring to the addition of plywood and then the vinyl? Other than the to the touch it would be different, wouldn't it still provide the insulation? This is considering we've removed the carpet down to the very uneven sub floor I guess you would call it. We would use these interlocking pieces as a means of insulation and cushion to then place a thin layer (size ?) of plywood that would then take the vinyl. Does this sound right or no?

Hi meryone, i recently removed the old plywood, installed reflextix insulation, then installed new plywood, then I will install vinyl. This should provide better insulation than the original and it only adds 1\8 to the floor height.

[David D]

Originally Posted by David D

Hi meryone, i recently removed the old plywood, installed reflextix insulation, then installed new plywood, then I will install vinyl. This should provide better insulation than the original and it only adds 1\8 to the floor height.

The reflextix is considerably cheaper than the interlocking foam pads. In Canada the pads are 24.00 CDN each Ouch!

[meryone]

Hey David. when you removed the old plywood, do you mean you removed the plywood down to the trailer frame? If so, yikes, I'm new at this and don't know that I want to go that far. I must wanted to get rid of the carpet and put in vinyl but when I read all the posts on how great the foam pads were, I thought that would be a great cushion and insulator. We put the foam pads in this past week end and really like how they feel underfoot but definitely don't want that as a finished floor.

[David D]

Originally Posted by meryone

Hey David. when you removed the old plywood, do you mean you removed the plywood down to the trailer frame? If so, yikes, I'm new at this and don't know that I want to go that far. I must wanted to get rid of the carpet and put in vinyl but when I read all the posts on how great the foam pads were, I thought that would be a great cushion and insulator. We put the foam pads in this past week end and really like how they feel underfoot but definitely don't want that as a finished floor.

No, my Surfside has a FG bottom. So now I have from bottom to top: FG, reflectix, plywood, vinyl.

[meryone]

What/how did you do to remove the plywood above the fiberglass given all the molded benches, cabinets, shower, etc.?

[David D]

Originally Posted by meryone

What/how did you do to remove the plywood above the fiberglass given all the molded benches, cabinets, shower, etc.?

I gutted the Surfside exposed the floor then removed it. The Surfside does not have molded FG benches. The benches are framed with wood. photo shows the new plywood floor.

[meryone]

Since I've already purchased and installed and when I say installed I mean interlock the pieces and cut to fit, does it matter if I just leave the plywood in, have the foam and can I add another piece of plywood, if so how thick, and then proceed with my vinyl?