Have any of you lined a cabinet with insulation so that it doesnt get 90F+ during the summer? Wondering if i should toy around with that idea or just get a cooler and store my dry foods in there during the summer months. Problem is i have a lot of food/toys/tools/adhesives in all my cabinets. They wont all fit in a cooler. Maybe a layer of foam insulation just along the back wall of the cabinet would help significantly?

I don't think insulating the outside wall of a cabinet will do much to keep the temp down.

I was thinking the heat must come from the back wall. Because the ambient air in the trailer is cooler than the closed cabinets. I know some guys will crack them open but its too dusty here. Prefer to keep them closed.

Don't know how much good it will do. You would want to do the top of the cabinets where they contact the ceiling as well. Maybe use a foil faced foam so you can get more R value without giving up a lot of cabinet space.

wopachop wrote:Have any of you lined a cabinet with insulation so that it doesnt get 90F+ during the summer? Wondering if i should toy around with that idea or just get a cooler and store my dry foods in there during the summer months. Problem is i have a lot of food/toys/tools/adhesives in all my cabinets. They wont all fit in a cooler. Maybe a layer of foam insulation just along the back wall of the cabinet would help significantly?wopachop I add a grill at the top and bottom of the pantry. It made a big difference. It even looks pretty.

wopachop wrote:Have any of you lined a cabinet with insulation so that it doesnt get 90F+ during the summer?...yes but not a cabinet that stores food. we bought a MagneShade windshield sunscreen a few years after buying the coach. in order to properly install the magnets on the windshield we had to remove the three-door cabinet above the driver's and passenger's seat. the satellite controller, receiver and other electronics take up about 1/2 of the total space in that cabinet.from day one in hot weather the satellite receiver would shut itself down to prevent damage from over heating. annoying to say the least. so we replaced the solid wood insert from the cabinet's middle door with a piece of metal grillwork and added two adjustable-speed 12v muffin fans blowing out to help keep the interior of the cabinet cooler. that helped but the sat receiver still shut itself down in really hot weather, not as often but it still happened. so when we took the caninet down to install the magnets we lined the rear exterior of that cabinet with reflective foil. that did the trick. the interior of the cabinet is niw essentially the same temperature as the interior of the coach. the sat rcvr case is warm but not hot. we like to keep cabinet doors closed as i have a habit of knocking my head. ouch!

Success insulating cabinets? | Good Sam Community

20 Replies

bucky
Explorer II
Apr 25, 2020
Slide toppers work well for us as most of the cabinets are in the slides.
Naio
Explorer II
Apr 24, 2020
Speaking of wine cellar, if you can increase the thermal mass of the insides of the cabinets, that will slow the temperature changes a lot. Pack them very full :-).
wopachop
Explorer
Apr 24, 2020
Thanks for all the replies. Got some temp gauges setup and yesterday i saw around a 7 degree difference. At 1:30pm the trailer temp was 78F and cabinet was 85F. The sun passes over and shines on the other side of the trailer. Moved the cabinet temp gauge to that side and saw 89F in that cabinet at 7pm. Wasnt even a super hot day yet.

Think i want to go for the wine cellar approach versus venting because of the dusty conditions here. Im hoping the cabinets can remain in the center of the hot and cold spikes. Instead of the cabinets getting hotter than the trailer itself.
pianotuna
Nomad III
Apr 24, 2020
Vents at the bottom and top worked for me. I should double the size.
Cummins12V98
Explorer III
Apr 24, 2020
Unless you are reducing the temp inside of the area none of these things will do any good. It may slow the transfer of heat but that's it!
pianotuna
Nomad III
Apr 23, 2020
Get this type of material--in 1/2 inch thickness:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/SilveRboard-24-in-x-1-in-x-48-in-R5-Radiant-Acoustic-Insulation-Kit-STC-19-5-Piece-SB12AKIT/205975329
Naio
Explorer II
Apr 23, 2020
In theory, the little air space between the outside wall of the camper and the reflectix will be hotter than the air space on the other side of the reflectix, inside the cabinet. I'd be surprised if it made a huge difference, though.

I have a similar problem in the winter. I get a lot of condensation on that cold exterior wall, because of the reduced airflow inside the cabinets. I think what I'm going to do is, 1. Make new cabinet doors with an outer frame of wood, and the panel portion is screen. And, 2. Make boxes that fit the inside of each cabinet, including the curved outer walls, but a bit smaller, so there is about an inch air gap between each inner box and the original cabinet.

I'm hoping that if I do both these things, I can put my clothes in the cabinets and they won't get moldy.

If I were concerned about food storage, I think I would do the grill doors and some sort of thin insulation, and not the inner boxes. Reflectix would work.

I think the grills are important, so that cool air from the inside of the living space can get into the cabinets.
ernie1
Explorer II
Apr 23, 2020
Okay I understand now that it's Reflectix. That's what I use for my windshield cover and it comes in sheets. Does it like repel or reflect heat from inside the cabinet? I don't understand how a reflective sheet of material will block heat from entering a cabinet when the material is placed inside the cabinet.
pianotuna
Nomad III
Apr 23, 2020
far better to use the foam board that has silver foil fastened onto it.
Lwiddis
Nomad
Apr 23, 2020
The grill idea is interesting, pianotuna.