FEMA Trailers...from Katrina to Bakken Oil Boom

rbpru wrote:
I doubt that any FEMA trailer that has not been sealed tight has any out gassing left to do after 10 years. I would venture a guess that most have less than a new home or new TT.

Guess you missed the part in article that after 4 years of testing FEMA Trailers the formaldehyde levels had gone down from 105.6 ppb (2011) to 20 ppb (2015) which is still over the safety threshold of 16 ppb.

YES..10 years AFTER

I doubt that any FEMA trailer that has not been sealed tight has any out gassing left to do after 10 years. I would venture a guess that most have less than a new home or new TT.

It is easy to Monday morning quarter back, but the Government is rarely efficient in their emergency spending. They needed homes quick and now, so they got homes quick and now.

I passed through the ND oil boom on vacation last year and I can tell you that any form of shelter was at a premium. The FEMA trailers were a quick solution to a problem and the folks that rent them out; know that after the crews of roughnecks move on to the next oil field, those TT will be probably be scrapped or sold for hunting shacks etc.

Twenty or thirty years from now you will likely find FEMA trailers or their parts in museums across the country; with stories of how they helped rebuild the community after this or that crisis. Time is a unique filterer of facts.

MM49 wrote:

carringb wrote:

Old-Biscuit wrote:

I'm hoping they don't have young kids :E

What makes you think the FEMA trailers are any worse than any other travel trailer built? Few RV makers have formaldehyde standards still, but they can still build them that way because they are only indented for recreational use, not full-time living.

The FEMA trailer were reported to be made with the CHINA manufactured drywall. The china drywall is the problem. I work in China and the use of formaldehyde in paint is everywhere. You can't enter a room without being nocked off your feet. I was working in a laboratory and I had a water bottle that was contaminated just from being exposed to the air in the lab. I took a drink and had to dump it out.
MM49

Never seen a trailer with drywall, every trailer I have seen use's vinyl covered luaun.

carringb wrote:

Old-Biscuit wrote:

I'm hoping they don't have young kids :E

What makes you think the FEMA trailers are any worse than any other travel trailer built? Few RV makers have formaldehyde standards still, but they can still build them that way because they are only indented for recreational use, not full-time living.

The FEMA trailer were reported to be made with the CHINA manufactured drywall. The china drywall is the problem. I work in China and the use of formaldehyde in paint is everywhere. You can't enter a room without being nocked off your feet. I was working in a laboratory and I had a water bottle that was contaminated just from being exposed to the air in the lab. I took a drink and had to dump it out.
MM49

RVIA Formaldehyde Emissions Standards for Wood Products

(The "pocket guide" is enlightening, too)

carringb wrote:

Old-Biscuit wrote:

I'm hoping they don't have young kids :E

What makes you think the FEMA trailers are any worse than any other travel trailer built? Few RV makers have formaldehyde standards still, but they can still build them that way because they are only indented for recreational use, not full-time living.

IF RV mfg. belongs to RIVA then they have agreed to comply on a nationwide basis since 2008 with the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB’s) Phase I formaldehyde emissions standards, and in June 2009, the Board required nationwide compliance with the Phase II standards.

One reason to look for RIVA sticker.

If you buy a NEW S&B house, you are likely to have high levels of formaldehyde. My DD moved into a new house that had been completed and then left closed for 3 months and had allergic reactions to the formaldehyde. She had to stay away from home as much as possible, then open windows, run fans, and sit outside until bedtime only staying inside to sleep and then get out again as quick as possible, along with taking antihistamines.

Old-Biscuit wrote:

I'm hoping they don't have young kids :E

What makes you think the FEMA trailers are any worse than any other travel trailer built? Few RV makers have formaldehyde standards still, but they can still build them that way because they are only indented for recreational use, not full-time living.

Mickey_D wrote:
Some friends of ours bought one and converted it back into a travel trailer (changed the toilet and added a black and gray tank) and have taken it out many, many times. It is a little heavy for the size and took some work to get it outfitted, but they ended up with a good trailer for very little money and have had a lot of good times in it.

I'm hoping they don't have young kids :E

That was a very informative article. Thanks for sharing.