My Trailer Redo - Days 177-180 - Insulation and Ceiling in Seating Area

  The insulation/ceiling in the seating/sleeping area of the trailer is done! I had thought all along that this would be the very last thing, but there were so many times in the past couple of weeks that I needed to find "something else" to do that this ended up being completed earlier. That is fine. It didn't have to be kept till last.

How I got here is a long, long story. At least two years ago, I found a video where a man used this flexible, closed-cell, polyethylene foam to insulate his trailer ceiling. I liked the idea very much because, as you know, the shell of these trailers is curved everywhere.

He used two layers of this kind of foam, and looking back, that probably would have been a good choice for me as well. When I started planning this, the green sheets of styrofoam insulation board were cheaper, so I planned to mix the two. That also gave me options of varying thicknesses to try to smooth out all the varying levels of surface. For some reason, the white flexible foam came down in price and the green board went up. So, in the end it wouldn't have made much difference. Anyway... The job is all done now, and you are about to hear what I've learned.

For sticking the green board to the fiberglass, the Loctite Ultimate construction adhesive works. I have now tried both the white and the clear. They were out of white, so I tried the clear. It dispenses easier, but I don't think it sticks quite as well, and it costs more. NOTE AFTER A YEAR- The Loctite Ultimate did not stick to the fiberglass long term. I believe the vibration from hauling the trailer was too much for it. I'm still looking for another alternative.

Then we come to that funky tight curve where the walls meet the ceiling. That was a huge PROBLEM.

Of course, the only way to cover it was with the really flexible white foam. I had bought 1/2" thick sheets. But I needed to make the surface even with the 3/4 green board. So for the first layer, I had to split some white pieces to be only 1/4 inch thick.

I'm also revising my comment that the Loctite holds to the polyethylene (white). It sort of does, but not well enough. I'll give you the bottom line after some more research. There are exactly two things that will stick to polyethylene: contact cement and butyl.

So... long story, long. I started with the Loctite to glue the first layer around the curve. Nope... the tension of the foam just pulled it away from the fiberglass. OK, fine. I got some more contact cement and glued down that first layer.

Just to keep the thought process in sequence, this is when I realized that I should not do the white foam in one solid piece across that vast expanse. Nothing would make it stick to the "S" curve transition. I realized that I could do the side walls and up around the bulge, then make the ceiling one piece that butted into the walls to help hold them.

But, hold on... I need to get a second layer of white on that curve. By now, I've learned one lesson. Don't even try the Loctite. So, I went on line and looked for double sided butyl tape. All I was finding was black, black, black (would show through- the white isn't really opaque}. Finally found this white double sided butyl tape. I asked if it would stick to polyethylene, and the answer was yes. I ordered some immediately.

Back to the tight curve. I used the tape and applied some strips. Very easy to work with. As with the butyl sealing product, don't let it touch itself... you'll never get the pieces apart.

Looked like it was going to stick.

Next morning, it had sprung right off the wall! The next thing I tried was making horizontal slices in the outside of the curve. Remember, this isn't yet the top layer, so it doesn't have to look good.

Nope, next morning, they weren't completely off the curve, but various corners were sprung.

Then I tried cutting the strips completely through and putting tape on the back of each strip. At this point I learned that you can re-use the tape. The adhesion wasn't ruined by the first application.

The curves stayed in this condition for a few days while I continued filling in the ceiling with the bottom layers of green foam.

I knew Cathy was coming today to help me get the finish layer of white foam on, so I was racing to finish the green. The tape was holding the strips on the curve, but I just became increasingly concerned that it wasn't going to hold well enough to tape another curved layer over the top of that. So I took it all off and used contact cement to put the strips back on. This seemed much more secure.

Cathy came. We measured everything three times, added a little bit more to be sure we didn't make it too small, and cut the white foam for the "finish" layer.

We did the easiest (smallest) piece first. With some careful final fitting (remember nothing is square), we were finally ready. Applied plenty of strips of tape to the wall. We completely covered the curve, and spaced strips below that.

We were really pleased with the result!

We did the other, longer side, and then only had the ceiling to do. This was hardest because it had to fit around the light box and the vent hole, and one of the ceiling braces. Here's our tape "art work" for the ceiling.

And another shot of the whole thing! OK, I still have to cut out around the vent hole, but that is really minor. You'll see better pictures in the future that aren't taken after dark.

Meanwhile, if Cathy hadn't reminded me, I would have forgotten to go to bell choir practice! But she got me there on time. I bought more food to repackage on the way home, then came home and got the light fixture back in place. Didn't eat dinner until 8 pm.

I was being persnickity perfectionist careful with this layer of foam. There is a good chance this will be the actual final layer. It certainly will be for this trip. I tried a sample of just painting the surface of this, and it worked quite well. The foam is lightly textured but smooth, and that looks nice. Doing this would eliminate the need to get yet another layer of stuff smoothly in place.

This is ALL the news. But, sigh, I don't get to cross off anything because I made "trailer insulation" all one entry. There is still the kitchen end to do. But this was a huge accomplishment today!

25 BIG ITEMS to do- I should more accurately say to finish- (37 done), and 38 small ones to do (26 done). 21 days to go. That's three weeks. Yikes. I'm going to finish my dinner and do some more on food tonight.

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