Cold weather skirting around RV

Dog Folks wrote:
Please do not use hay bales.

The fire hazard, and the odds of pest infestation too high.

Haven't heard of any fires nor increased pests.

My TH has an open belly and exposed holding tanks. I added 120V Ultra-Heat stick on heaters to my grey and black tanks. I added the Home Depot/Lowes Frost King heat cable to my exposed hot & cold water lines that runs side-side between the two tanks, then covered the lines with foam pipe insulation. I bought the heat cable a few feet longer than needed then taped it to the drain lines of the holding tanks in a loop, then wrapped with leftover fiberglass housing insulation then wrapped with heavy plastic.

I skirted my trailer with the thinnest OSB I could get. I backed it with 1" foam insulation (the stuff with the foil on one side). My trailer does not have an overhang/skirt along the sides. I cut ~6" pieces of 2x4 and screwed them along the floor with them being inset slightly from the edge. I screwed the OSB/insulation to the 2x4s, so the outer edge of the OSB is inline with the outer edge of the trailer. Any holes around the skirting (tongue rails, entry steps, ect) I filled with pieces of a foam mattress; squeeze it up and stuff it in the hole and it expands and reduces air flow.

My fresh water hose got a length of the Frost King heat cable and covered with foam pipe insulation.

My trailer did just fine in -20*F temperatures last winter. The OSB looks like******since it has been exposed to the elements for 12-13mo now, but I never planned on being in the same spot this long. If I would have known I would have been hanging around longer, I would have painted that stuff. It is starting to bow and curl in some spots. I must say I'm on a gravel pad so I dug down a couple inches and stuck the sheets down in the ditch and then backfilled to hold the bottom of the sheets in place.

All this cost me maybe $300. Cost is just OSB and foam (however many sheets you need, and depending on how you frame and attach, a few 2x4s). My neighbor just did his 37' FW just like I did, but he is painting his OSB so it will hopefully last longer, as he plans on staying for a few years.

It might be the most dangerous (fire and insects), but hay bails are probably the best for insulation value. One of the coziest places I've been are inside barns, in the loft, surrounded by hay bails when it's 20 degrees below zero outside. Been there, done that!

An option might be to use styrofoam form board sold at any home improvement store. Attach to a sheet of plywood, cut to the height of the camper from the ground and surround the camper.

But I think (really), the material itself is not so important. You could use sheets of bare tin. The real secret is to get it secured tight from any possible wind blowing through any cracks or gaps. If you can make it air tight, that's what's really important.

If you've ever had a chance to see what types of underskirting is used in mobile homes, you'll be amazed to find most are just aluminum siding. Some go fancy and put fiberglass insulation attached to the inside of the aluminum. But mostly, that's about all they do.

I have seen hay bales placed along the underside edge. And to spruce it up, cheap tarp strips were tacked up to hide the bales.

Please do not use hay bales.

The fire hazard, and the odds of pest infestation too high.

i have seen a supply water hose with a heat tape built in to keep your fresh water line from freezing . i think i seen it on camping world flyer

Friends of ours full-time in theirs and this is what they used when they were wintering here. It can get in the -0 during the winter and stays below 32 for many days in a row.

Polystyrene

They cut it to fit and for $8.84 per 8' sheet, they did theirs for less than $200. They fitted them together using gorilla tape (duct tape) and then they spray painted theirs to match their trailer. It looked very nice.

When the season was over, they did keep it and used it again the next winter with just a little bit of adjustments.

They also had two light bulbs under the trailer for added heat.