Or do we calling it Falling because it’s technically not even winter yet. Any who….living in a camper in the Midwest when it is cold out. How are we doing this?!
Normally underneath of our camper is open and airy. A space we use to store items, tuck them under to get out of the rain. That type of a thing. But not any more.
There is some lingo we have learned and this is what one ought to do when you are going to try to live in a camper where it gets cold…. its called “skirting”….what is skirting you ask? It is wrapping the bottom of the camper with something so that cold air just doesn’t blow under the camper making the floor inside the camper the same as the outside temp. This too helps to keep pipes from freezing! A nice warm little air bubble under the camper if you will.
There are different types of/ ways to do skirting:
Vinyl: that can be custom fit to your exact camper. Perk- it can be taken on and off via snap buttons and re-used. Con- those snaps don’t hold up well in the wind. And it’s about $2,000 for said product.
DIY vinyl: same perks, its usually made with old billboard material and cheaper than store bought custom. Con- you have to cut and piece it together and it still doesn’t hold up well in the wind. Estimated cost was $1,000.
Insulation boards: 1-3 inch thick insulation boards that you cut and piece around the bottom of the camper. Perk- more sturdy, no tarp like noises from the wind and vinyl. Estimated cost was $300. Con- you have to cut and piece it together, not reusable.
We choose the insulation board route. After a little measuring I got 11 one inch 4ft x 8ft insulation boards, duck tape, foil tape, expanding spray foam, and some spray paint. After a few trips to the store (for more paint and spray foam) our total was around $260 for this project.
I cut the boards with a serrated knife and pieced them around the camper. Next I taped them to each other via duck tape. Then I taped the top of the boards to the camper via foil tape…this should not leave any type of residue on the camper when removed and can tolerate varying temps! When there were gaps along the bottom I used expanding foam to fill in the gaps. I made “trap” doors if you will, so we could access the handles for tank disposal and a storage space under the camper. Then I spray painted all of it black so that it did’t look quite so awful 😉. It was a labor of love, all way easier said than done but doable none the less. So glad it is done!
We put an indoor/outside thermometer under the camper. It’s usually 15-20 degrees warmer under the camper than the outside temps so the insulation is doing it’s job and we are very thankful for that!
We also got a heated water hose. When the temp gets to 40* outside it turns itself on so the water in the hose doesn’t freeze. Each of the water spigots at this campground are wrapped with heat tape and insulation. We can plug this in to the electric panel outside so that the actual water spigot itself does not freeze. So with both of those tools our water shouldn’t freeze!
With the water being theoretically freeze proof and our insulation bubble being complete we are feeling great about spending the winter in our camper! Earlier this week when all that crazy wind came through….this all held up 🙌🏼, a great test for it….but I’m hopeful there won’t be another windy test like that for it!
