RV University This Week 08/02/2010

...with Mark

Here is how one savvy RVer took care of a hot situation:
One topic I have not seen a lot written about is insulating the engine compartment to reduce heat and noise in the cabin.

We bought a 2004 Georgie Boy Pursuit 3500 (Triton V-10) in March and I perform all the recommended maintenance (using your checklists) before, during, and after each trip, but did not pay much attention to the insulation around the engine. A couple of weeks ago we were coming home from a 7 day trip to when I noticed that my feet were slowly cooking from heat coming off the dog house cover. It was over 100 degrees outside and we were running the generator and house air but could barely hold back the heat coming in through the front window and the engine compartment.

When we finally got home, I pulled the dog house cover to see how the insulation was installed. I was amazed to find only a small 1/4 in thick piece of foil-backed materiel glued to the top of the dog house cover - nothing on the sides or around the floor boards. There were scraps of foil tape flapping around here and there that indicated that once upon a time there may have been more insulating materiel, but it was long gone.

After checking several blogs for information on insulating motorhome engine compartments, I finally ordered a Kit from J.C. Whitney that comes with 48 sq ft (2 4' X 6' sheets) of 3/8 in thick foil-backed materiel, a can of high temp spray glue, and a roll of high temp foil tape. Using this Kit, I was able to completely insulate the entire dog house, and extend the materiel under the flooring of the driver and passenger areas. One thing I did that was not in the instructions, however, was to use a staple gun to back-up the glue whenever the materiel covered the wood flooring (extra peace on mind.

It took about 3 hours on a Saturday morning to measure, cut, and attach the materiel, but the effort has paid off in a much cooler cabin and less toasted feet! There is even a noticeable reduction in engine noise.

Lesson learned: Pay attention to the insulating around the engine compartment and between the engine and cabin. If I had check this out when we first bought our rig and addressed the problem then, we could have had a much more comfortable summer vacation. My next project is to check the generator compartment and install or add additional insulation.

Thanks for your ebooks, sound advice, and insights into RVing.

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