Gutted trillium outback

[Jeremyb]

Hi I am Jeremy. Newby here. Just purchased a 2004 trillium outback. Decided to strip it down right to the fiberglass because of leaks and mold was wondering what people's thoughts are on being non insulated in a fiberglass trailer? Trying to decide if I should just give the inside a light sand and then paint it or if I should throw some foam on it.

I live in Alberta and don't plan to winter camp and I'm used to tenting, but I wonder if it may be foolish to just paint and not insulate. Thoughts?

If anyone has affordable/easy insulate ideas I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

[Borrego Dave]

Originally Posted by Jeremyb

Hi I am Jeremy. Newby here. Just purchased a 2004 trillium outback. Decided to strip it down right to the fiberglass because of leaks and mold was wondering what people's thoughts are on being non insulated in a fiberglass trailer? Trying to decide if I should just give the inside a light sand and then paint it or if I should throw some foam on it.

I live in Alberta and don't plan to winter camp and I'm used to tenting, but I wonder if it may be foolish to just paint and not insulate. Thoughts?

If anyone has affordable/easy insulate ideas I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

Welcome to FGRV Jeremy. Hope you haven't stripped it down yet, not good. Others will chime in on that. These rigs don't do well without interior insulation....such as it is because of condensation. Some have gone that way but....
Suggest you wait till you get other info from members before putting the hands in gear. Don't ask how I learned that .

[Jeremyb]

How about spray foam?

[Borrego Dave]

From some that have tried it they say it didn't work well.

[Raz]

The reason tents are not water proof is to allow the condensation to pass through. If you use a tarp as a tent you get rained on in the morning . You need some insulation on the walls to stop the condensation. And insulating and replacing the wall covering is difficult because of the curves. Raz

[Jon in AZ]

What kind of lining does it currently have? The two most common, closed-cell foam and marine headliner, clean up surprisingly well with a bit of elbow grease.

[BatDude]

FYI the spray foam may really be prone to off-gassing volatile stuff you do not want to breathe.

The rat fur, closed cell foam etc. others have suggested are fine.

[TimR]

If it is just a surface mold on the interior, it can be killed and cleaned to a certain point and then that can be painted over (assuming you don't have "rat fur" already. Even if you don't have plans to winter camp, even cool spring or fall mornings can be cold enough that moisture inside will condense on the cold interior surface. It then runs down and will soak cushions and bedding. If the current insulation is still there, I recommend keeping it if possible after a good cleaning. Pics posted would help with a little more specific recommendations.

I have seen people do spray foam with some success, but they took it somewhere professional so that the thickness and final skin that is on the inside of the trailer is something desirable and not super bumpy. I would think too, that there must be a spray foam rated not to off gas.

[Jeremyb]

Thanks for all the replies guys, I got rid of everything...I know super bad idea but I just needed to make sure all the mold was gone completely. The insulation was just a soft white foam sorta like a thin camping mat, the fur was grayish carpet stuff.

Where can I get the closed she'll foam? Homedepot? How about rat fur?

I know I'm entering some hard times ahead, but I have a lot of time on my hands.

[TimR]

Originally Posted by Jeremyb

Thanks for all the replies guys, I got rid of everything...I know super bad idea but I just needed to make sure all the mold was gone completely. The insulation was just a soft white foam sorta like a thin camping mat, the fur was grayish carpet stuff.

Where can I get the closed she'll foam? Homedepot? How about rat fur?

I know I'm entering some hard times ahead, but I have a lot of time on my hands.

I guess the peace of mind factor is important too. Not sure on the foam. Might be more of a camping store kind of thing. Others have used the reflective buble insulation. As for rat fur, many have used hull liner successfully.

[Jon in AZ]

Reflectix foil bubble insulation is available from big box home stores. Rat fur is a long napped marine headliner available from Scamp. There are other, more carpet-like marine headliner products available from online suppliers. Together they make a decent lining at reasonable cost. They're easier to work with than foam.

You can also find closed cell foam online. It's more expensive and harder to fit to the curved corners than Reflectix, but it provides a little better insulation.

[Jennifer Minogue]

We stripped the interior of our Captain trailer down to the fiberglass. Then put in 3/8" ensolite closed cell foam (from a foam dealer in Kitchener - you can probably get it in a marine store too). On top of that we put boat hull liner which lets water run right through. Looks like corduroy (sort of). You can put velcro on it. We got the boat hull liner at a local fabric store that carries everything from soup to nuts. We didn't even know it was boat hull liner at the time - it just looked like the right thing to use. You could also use car headliner (more color choice) but I'm not sure how thick it is and it might be more "wrinkly".

the Captain is more "square" without the curved upper corners. However, you can cut a pattern. If you managed to save the old liner, you could cut it from that. We used paper patterns. Measure twice, cut once.

We also used the glue recommended by the foam dealer so we didn't melt the foam into a blob with the wrong solvent. They also recommended using a sprayer for the glue and be prepared to throw it out at the end as they are a pain to clean (so buy a cheap spray).

The foam application doesn't have to be perfect as you are covering it with the liner. I think the whole job once the old liner was stripped out took about a day. with the curves, it will probably take you a bit longer.

Jennifer

[sharon_b]

Jeremy, before you reinstall the insulation & wall covering, you might want to find out WHY there was mold inside - where was water getting in to cause mold? the good thing about stripping it to bare walls is you should be able to find the leak pretty easy now. I'd hate for you to go to the trouble & expense of new wall coverings & still have the same underlying problem!

[tigger]

I have a 1977 scamp 13 that never had any insulation installed
I use it for beach camping my interior ceiling is painted like clouds and I have had no problem with condensation, again I only use it in the summer months. and honestly if I get a little I'm no t to worried about it. I was installing my new fantastic fan when I took this pic

[Roger C H]

Here in the Seattle area, we are having a cool, like in cold, summer.
We tented at Bryce Canyon in July one year, and it got down to 25º F at night. We froze. One of the reasons we went egg.

[Jeremyb]

Thanks again for the info guys. Yes, totally found where all if the water was getting in. It was through the vents and some screw holes where some lights were mounted to the roof. Fibreglass/epoxied the holes so I'm not leaking anymore. Just installed new subfloors and about to do some framing of the little beauty. Scored a bunch of commercial grade carpet tiles from a Reno a friend did and am actually thinking if lining the trailer with them after gluing in some 1/2 inch foam for insulation. Anyone have any framing tips before I start?