Spray Foam on Frame Rails

That's got to help a bit on the huge heat / cold sink.

Does the spray foam stick good enough to not let moisture behind it?

Hopefully it is stuck pretty good. I cleaned the painted surface with a green scotch brite and for the most part it seems to have stuck very well. When I was getting ready to spray, I had the trailer in a heated shop, water was dripping off of the roof from snow melting, I had the bottles in front of an electric heater to get the temperature above 75 degrees. All went well, except I forgot to agitate the bottles before I started spraying. Between my respirator and tyvek suit, and planning not to stop spraying for more than 30 seconds to conserve spray tips, I forgot the agitating part. Didn't seem to have any negative effects until I got to the end of spraying when the color changed a little. Still seemed to cure ok. This is a closed cell foam, so it should help block out moisture. I might try spraying undercoating over it for protection from UV.
 
I'm very interested in your results. I took a different route on my 315RLTS. I used reflectix insulation material on the inside of the frame rails.

I'm not a real tech savvy guy but find posting pictures here so easy a caveman could do it. In the toolbar at the top of reply screen, third from the right is "insert image". Click on it, select "from computer tab, click on "browse", find your picture, double click on it. When the file number (jpegxxx) shows in the little window, click upload and done.

View attachment 16684
It worked!
We'd like to see your pics but I don't and won't do facecrook.

How well has the reflectex worked on the inside of the frame rails? This is a good choice also, but more time consuming to remove the belly pan. Does the Reflection have insulation above the coroplast?
 
Looks good, def curious how it works out. Have you considered painting it or are you going to leave it that color? I imagine it will get pretty dirty after driving with it over time. I suppose doing the outside vice the inside saved a lot of time and effort, it's probably the same effect in the long run.

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One reason I opted to spray the outside of the frame rails is that the inside of the frame rails will absorb heat and will not reject the heat to the outside, so it should hold the heat longer once warmed up. I don't know how much help this will be, but the themal mass of the frame rails should stay warm for quite a while. I live in a log home and once the logs are warmed up, they stay warm for a long time. My wife will be staying in the 310 for several weeks, hopefully this helps enough to cut down on propane use. I will set her up with two 100 lb bottles just in case though.
 
How well has the reflectex worked on the inside of the frame rails? This is a good choice also, but more time consuming to remove the belly pan. Does the Reflection have insulation above the coroplast?

Seems to work ok. We don't camp in real cold temps. Been down to mid 20's, no freezing issues.

I dropped the coroplast because when I was exploring for a plumbing leak and saw what a freaking mess was under there from the factory, I couldn't stand it. I'm an electrician, the wiring made me cringe. The foil insulating membrane was just thrown in there. Crushed ducts. I just pulled it down and went to town.
 
One reason I opted to spray the outside of the frame rails is that the inside of the frame rails will absorb heat and will not reject the heat to the outside, so it should hold the heat longer once warmed up. I don't know how much help this will be, but the themal mass of the frame rails should stay warm for quite a while. I live in a log home and once the logs are warmed up, they stay warm for a long time. My wife will be staying in the 310 for several weeks, hopefully this helps enough to cut down on propane use. I will set her up with two 100 lb bottles just in case though.
That makes sense, it def goes along with the theory of the frame rails being a heat sink. I hope it works out, I'm always interested in ways to keep the floor warmer in the winter.

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Did you use open or closed cell foam. Hopefully the latter as open cell will UV degrade fast (turn brown and become brittle) and hold water. A possible solution is to paint the outside (spray gun) with something compatible - probably a latex paint.

Hope this helps
 
Did you use open or closed cell foam. Hopefully the latter as open cell will UV degrade fast (turn brown and become brittle) and hold water. A possible solution is to paint the outside (spray gun) with something compatible - probably a latex paint.

Hope this helps

The product is made by Dow and is a closed cell foam. It still needs a coating to protect from uv.
 
We are testing the new foam in Belgrade, MT right now. Last night was 10 degrees and the trailer seemed to stay warmer than it did on Thanksgiving when we were here last. The heater seemed to run almost non stop last night, but based on temp gun readings the floor isn't bad. I took readings all over the floor and the cold spots are right next to the slide out junctions that average 10 degrees colder than the rest of the floor. Windows are still an issue with the foil faced bubble wrap. Drafts can be felt at the bottom of the windows where the cold air settles. Maybe I should velcro the bottoms. On average the area around the bottom of the windows was 45-50 degrees with the rest of the interior close to 65. Slide out exterior walls were also in the 50 degree range. I have all the holding tank heaters on. Storage area feels warm, but I didn't measure the temp. I still think the furnace in the 310GK is under sized for cold weather. I have two 100 lb bottles hooked up for use until Christmas. Hopefully they last that long. I forgot to bring a thermometer with a remote lead with me to try and measure the temp in the belly, but it has to be a whole lot warmer than before with the spray foam and most of the holes sealed up 95 percent more than when I started.
 
14 degrees this morning, no issues with anything being frozen down below, so that is a good thing. Temperatures in trailer: Trying to maintain 70 degrees. Bedroom around 60 with door closed. Slide out floor around 45-50 degrees. Main floor around 62 degrees. Below windows about 45-50 degrees. Lots of cold air can be felt traveling down the bubble wrap and coming out the bottom of the window. Not very effective in my opinion. Sealing the bottom of the bubble wrap might help. Metal part of step that sits inside of the trailer averages about 45 degrees. Floor underneath rear couch 45-50 degrees. Looks like cold air from windows is settling on floor areas. Fact that heater vents are not in the floor contribute to a colder floor. Work in progress. Haven't looked at frost line on 100 lb bottle this morning yet. 36-45 degrees in storage area. Will update.
 
Something I noticed on my single pane solitude is that there are 1/2 gaps in the window seals on the bottom. Definitely areas for the heat to escape. Now that I think about it, those gaps must be intentional as ever window has 2 of the in roughly the same place. Perhaps it's for internal condensation to drain away? Seems like a bad trade ofd if that's the case.

I also obeserved no insulation in the plumbing area where the grey and black tank drains merge (behind the basement wall between the basement floor and coroplast). Did you have a similar insulation void? If so did you fill it with batt insulation?

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Something I noticed on my single pane solitude is that there are 1/2 gaps in the window seals on the bottom. Definitely areas for the heat to escape. Now that I think about it, those gaps must be intentional as ever window has 2 of the in roughly the same place. Perhaps it's for internal condensation to drain away? Seems like a bad trade ofd if that's the case.

I also obeserved no insulation in the plumbing area where the grey and black tank drains merge (behind the basement wall between the basement floor and coroplast). Did you have a similar insulation void? If so did you fill it with batt insulation?

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Since I spray foamed the entire frame rail, I am hoping this won't be an issue.
 
I could never do this kind of mod to my 375RES. I would be worried about a future buyer would view this application, how it will look a few years later as the product ages, and mostly resale value of my unit at trade in time.
 
I could never do this kind of mod to my 375RES. I would be worried about a future buyer would view this application, how it will look a few years later as the product ages, and mostly resale value of my unit at trade in time.

I will be painting the foam with a latex black paint so it will still look black. It won't be any detriment to resale value and could be a benefit, but I didn't buy this trailer looking for resale value, I bought it looking for being comfortable in 4 season climate and the way it came from the factory, it is sub par. My next upgrade will probably be to have a ceramic window coating put on the windows. For those that add skirting, the snaps can be a turn off to prospective buyers because they detract from the exterior appearance.
 
I will be painting the foam with a latex black paint so it will still look black. It won't be any detriment to resale value and could be a benefit, but I didn't buy this trailer looking for resale value, I bought it looking for being comfortable in 4 season climate and the way it came from the factory, it is sub par. My next upgrade will probably be to have a ceramic window coating put on the windows. For those that add skirting, the snaps can be a turn off to prospective buyers because they detract from the exterior appearance.

I'd be interested in how good the Ceramic Window Coating works out.
I've heard that the Custom Skirting is a good product. If / or when we need to stay warmer, we will be doing that product.
KEN
 
I'd be interested in how good the Ceramic Window Coating works out.
I've heard that the Custom Skirting is a good product. If / or when we need to stay warmer, we will be doing that product.
KEN

One thing I notice with the ceramic window film is that the inside of the windows don't seem to get condensation on them. I still use foil faced bubble wrap to help with the cold/heat. Windows still seem to get pretty warm in the summer if direct sun hits them. The main negative to the ceramic film is that the inside of the trailer is quite a bit darker due to the added tint.

The foam on the frame rails has held up well. I sprayed undercoating over all of the exposed foam and only a couple of places has been effected from sand on the road in the winter. Overall, I think this was a winner. I have a chinese diesel heater in the cargo area and it helps keep the cargo area and bathroom floor warm in cold weather. I think the foam on the frame rails works well, cold spots in the trailer are by the slide openings and at the very rear of the trailer on the floor. I also restricted the openings for the slides so cold air has a harder time getting in.
 
Love to see some pictures of the installation for the CDH.

The installation of the chinese diesel heater is pretty basic. I bought the suitcase version 8kw and mounted it in the front storage area. The exhaust is routed through the metal floor of the storage area. The 3 inch heat outlet is routed through the wall to the basement storage area and I can keep the storage area at 90 degrees easy. This heats the floor in the bathroom nicely too. I bought a duct booster fan and I have been considering tying the diesel heater into the furnace ductwork and sending the heat to the living room area, but I haven't gotten to it yet. We didn't use the trailer this winter, except when our kids came to stay over Christmas.
 

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