Building our box out of wood?

Fatboyz

Observer
My dad built pretty well what you're thinking on an old 5th wheel trailer frame. He put an RV rubber roof skin on the roof for water proofing. He had painted plywood on the walls outside but eventually he bought rv siding to put over the plywood, watertight and has worked well for over 10 years. For your application I might consider some type of metal roofing material as well. If you were going to have a shipping container originally, if you used colored metal building cladding on the outside plywood you'd have waterproof and no need to paint or anything down the road. wouldn't look much different texture wise tha a sea can. some other options for you. I like the way you're thinking.
 

MTVR

Well-known member
Simons, you are correct in that we do want to try to stay cool in hot weather too...
 

MTVR

Well-known member
Looking at a map of the various "zones" and the recommended R-values for walls and "attics". I'm seeing recommended R-values of up to 21 for walls, and up to 60 for "attics". We'd have to do a 2x8 or 2x10 ceiling/roof, stuffed to the gills with polyiso, to get anywhere near that.
 

IdaSHO

IDACAMPER
As I said, try to avoid using household R-value references.
Our camper is just 1.5" of XPS foam, and we diont even need all of the 6kBTU furnace we have in 20 below......
Built like an ice chest, it doesn't take much insulation to allow for easy temp regulation.
 
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IdaSHO

IDACAMPER
As for roofing material....

My personally recommendation would be a silicone coating.

I use Gacoroof

 

rruff

Explorer
Looking at a map of the various "zones" and the recommended R-values for walls and "attics". I'm seeing recommended R-values of up to 21 for walls, and up to 60 for "attics". We'd have to do a 2x8 or 2x10 ceiling/roof, stuffed to the gills with polyiso, to get anywhere near that.
Like I've been saying, "optimal" R for a camper is much less than in a house. If I get sufficiently bored maybe I'll do some calculations. But I know >3" of foam would be getting silly.

Where do you plan to travel and in what climates? What size box?
 

MTVR

Well-known member
16' feet long, 8'6" wide, and no more than 8' tall.

We'd like to go anywhere we want within the continental U.S., and we're willing to try to plan ahead, so that we're not in the hottest parts of the country during the hottest part of the year, but we also don't want the thermometer to dictate where we can and cannot go.

As far as air exchange, we can intake cooler air from underneath, and exhaust hotter air from the ceiling. We may also be able to run a mini-split or something several hours a day.
 

s.e.charles

Well-known member
the best teacher adjusts his lecture to the audience. gauging some of the questions, I, and perhaps erroneously, took the OP's construction experience to be limited.

mea culpa
 

1000arms

Well-known member
Looking at a map of the various "zones" and the recommended R-values for walls and "attics". I'm seeing recommended R-values of up to 21 for walls, and up to 60 for "attics". We'd have to do a 2x8 or 2x10 ceiling/roof, stuffed to the gills with polyiso, to get anywhere near that.
As I said, try to avoid using household R-value references.
Our camper is just 1.5" of XPS foam, and we don'tt even need all of the 6kBTU furnace we have in 20 below......
Built like an ice chest, it doesn't take much insulation to allow for easy temp regulation.
Most houses are nailed together rather than glued and screwed.

Gluing and screwing your camper together using 4x4s (really 3.5"x3.5"), plywood, and rigid foam insulation would be simple, easy, and give you plenty of insulation for such a small (and well sealed) volume.
 
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MTVR

Well-known member
the best teacher adjusts his lecture to the audience. gauging some of the questions, I, and perhaps erroneously, took the OP's construction experience to be limited.

mea culpa

No worries.

I have decades of experience as a homeowner, and I have always been able to take care of my own framing, roofing, gutters, electrical, plumbing, insulation, drywall, mudding, taping, texturing, painting, tile work, glazing, fencing, and so on...although I'm really much better with vehicles...
 
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IdaSHO

IDACAMPER
Most houses are nailed together rather than glued and screwed.

Gluing and screwing your camper together using 4x4s (really 3.5"x3.5"), plywood, and rigid foam insulation would simple, easy, and give you plenty of insulation for such a small (and well sealed) volume.

Who is talking about 4x4's?

They have no business in a camper build. Period.
They barely have any business in residential construction as it is, for a variety of reasons.

If you design such a thickness wall, use 1x or 2x

There is ZERO reason to consider 4x, and many reasons not to.
 

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