Insulation on Storage Doors ??

[thompwil]

Howdy,

Has anyone added insulation to their basement storage doors? If so, did it help any?

I found some ½” Polyisocyanurate Foam Board Insulation at Lowes that would fit well but I’m wondering if it would be worth it.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Johns-Manvi...lation/3851113

I’m not planning to do any actual cold weather camping other than the trip south after the New Year. There is a small amount of heat sent into the storage/wet area from the furnace but I didn’t want to find out the hard way that it wasn’t enough.

I did use a 100 watt clamp on light in the wet bay last year, it stayed in the 40s overnight, in the teens outside, but that was with electric hookups.

Any thoughts?

Thanks Much,
BT

[BirchyBoy]

I’ve got a bunch of styrofoam sheets that I’ve been saving and plan to add when I can. I think that everything you can would help. There is a post in the other site, maybe here too, where a guy posted adding insulation to everyplace possible.

[Jim_HiTek]

I have learned from travel to Alaska that the 1/2" foam insulation in the basement compartments is good down to 20F overnight. I tried to use common sense so when that was going on, I'd arrange my RV so that I got plenty of afternoon sun to warm up the compartments. So the nose would be facing north or south. That's pretty easy to arrange in RV parks that are mostly empty when it starts getting chilly.


But I would eventually get nervous and stick a light bulb or a small electric heater in the wet bays to ward off any freezing events.

My point is, if you put in 1/2" foam insulation, you can likely safely camp at 20F overnight with no electric.

[al1florida]

As long as you run your furnace and keep the inside temps at about 50 or higher your water bays and holding tanks should be fine as long as the furnace blows some heated air to those areas.

An easy solution is to buy a couple of remote thermometers for about $10 each at Walmart. Put a remote in each bay and monitor the temp.

BTW, the ones I bought recently at Walmart seem to use bluethooth to communicate. The first remote and receiver turned on worked well, but the second pair, I had to take them quite a ways a way to get them to pair up. Other wise the remote would pair with the other receiver. Once paired they all worked fine.

[thompwil]

I have a remote temperature transmitter, that’s how I know it was in the low 40s in the bay with the 100 watt bulb and the furnace running.

The more I think about it I’m starting to believe the steel boxes the storage compartments are made of will transfer more cold than the doors do. There’s no insulation on them at all. The doors are about an inch thick already. May rethink my strategy.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by Jim_HiTek

But I would eventually get nervous and stick a light bulb or a small electric heater in the wet bays to ward off any freezing events.

You could use the electrically heated tape used for water pipes. It should be safer than a light bulb.

https://www.amazon.com/WRAP-Pipe-Hea.../dp/B0002YWM2I

[Jim_HiTek]

Originally Posted by BobC

You could use the electrically heated tape used for water pipes. It should be safer than a light bulb.

Maybe so, but I already owned the 100 watt light bulb and the ceramic socket. In fact the socket was something like 40 years old and the bulb around 15 so I wasn't out much money for that setup. Screwed the socket to a piece of plywood so it couldn't tip over, wired it up, plugged it in, and used it for months.

[Hikerdogs]

Many Winnebago models do have insulation and a finish panel inside the storage compartment doors. Our 2013 Adventurer does, and it does help keep the compartments warmer.

We have camped in weather as cold as 17*F. We have an inexpensive La Crosse wireless weather station with 3 remote sensors:

https://www.lacrossetechnology.com/w...ather-station/

We have one sensor that monitors ambient outdoor temperature, one in the fresh water tank compartment, and one in the water/sewer connector compartment. Even when the outdoor temperatures are in the teens and the gas furnace thermostat is set at 55*F the water tank and water/sewer connector compartments remain in the 45*F range.




several remote temperature sensors