Hoping to get some ideas for durable, cold weather skirt

[Brettmm92]

I had an idea, but after googling I found there are many ways people make a decent skirt. I'm ahead of winter this year and want to make a decent, reusable skirt and was hoping for some feedback. Originally I was thinking some water resistant, mold proof, thicker vinyl (I'm assuming marine vinyl would work) with some snaps epoxied to the camper. But I was wondering if anyone has any experience or advice about it?

Thanks ahead of time!

[mike-s]

Durable, cold weather skirt?

I think they call that a kilt.

[Campingfarmer]

A buddy had a local upholstery shop make a vinyl skirt for his camper. They installed snaps along the sides of the trailer, and the skirt was weighted along the bottom to keep it in place.
He was a welder on a gas pipeline and was all over the upper midwest for several winters.

[Brettmm92]

RollingCondo, ah, I see. Those seem kind of expensive.

Sounds like they are better than what most people make out of multiple materials all in one, mildew resistant package. But are snaps or velcro enough to hold them up?

[westend]

Westend, nice suggestion on the root crop. I'm always in the mood for a turnip =D Why are you and Rollingcondo so into the concrete curing blanket? I looked online and they have alright pricing. But reading this kinda raised some red flags -

We are talking about insulated concrete covers, not that big-box- store poly sheet. Insulated concrete covers have inner foam insulation and are designed for covering concrete placements when temperatures dip below freezing. They typically have a tarp like cover and are 2"-4" thick when all fluffed up. They're not easy to store but would work well for a stationary all-Winter solution.

[Rolling_Condo]

Check these blankets out.
These are not made to absorb water.

[Brettmm92]

Soundguy, thanks, thats good to know. I noticed they have some reasonable prices on those covers online. I might have to get one myself.

Westend, nice suggestion on the root crop. I'm always in the mood for a turnip =D Why are you and Rollingcondo so into the concrete curing blanket? I looked online and they have alright pricing. But reading this kinda raised some red flags -

"Cure Right has a 4-layer technology in which the top layer consists of a white poly which reflects the sunlight and traps moisture under the blanket to optimize a proper 7-day cure, the middle layers store and distribute the water for the entire 7 days"

Something about that alarms mold to me. But I'm definitely an amateur at this stuff. And that specific one (from lowes) implied that it was disposable, which also raised a red flag. But don't get me wrong, I would love to be proven wrong and see how they are perfect for the project.

[westend]

Rolling Condo wrote:
I've been pondering on this for several years now, should I want to skirt my trailer. My choice would be concrete curing blankets.

A great choice and how I might tackle a permanent setup. The blankets would be best if cut and resewn to fit the distance more exactly.
There is a company in CO that uses almost the same material and will come to your site, if local and install a full skirt with snaps and such. They aren't cheap.

FWIW, I've camped in a TT for over a week where the mercury barely reached 0f. We used boards and plywood to fashion a barrier and then heaped snow on the outside perimeter. It helped tremendously.

A member here, camped a full Winter in ND in his TT. He used foam board and blankets as his main skirting. He installed a thermometer on his axles and installed a couple of heat lamps under the trailer. He monitored temps underneath and, in mid Winter inspected the basement installation. Grass and weeds were growing there and may have been a problem if too close to the lamps. I suggested a root crop garden. 😉

[SoundGuy]

Brettmm92 wrote:
Soundguy, that looks like a very snug fit. Did you stay in it with the plastic over it?

The trailer was wearing an ADCO breathable cover. It was parked here at the house over the winter so I never had the need to stay in it but certainly could have had I winter parked the trailer in one of the several campgrounds here in S Ontario that offer winter camping programs. Zippers on the cover's campsite side allow ready access and the DIY skirt totally prevented cold air from blowing around freely under the trailer floor. :B

[Brettmm92]

Oh jeeez, it's definitely for the camper

RollingCondo, I'll check out the concrete curing blankets, I haven't heard of them before

pianotuna, that's good to know, I'm not currently in extreme cold but I'm always looking for a less limited future and want something that will last.

Soundguy, that looks like a very snug fit. Did you stay in it with the plastic over it?

Boogie, that sounds like a well built setup.

jayco, dang that is more expensive than I was expecting. Did you make them yourself or have them made for you?

[jaycocreek]

I had vinyl skirting made for two of my trailers..One or two lights put underneath by the important spots and I never did have anything freeze in Idaho temps.And they look great but they can be spendy..I think I paid 4-$500 depending on how many zippers I wanted to access the underneath.

[boogie_4wheel]

I went as cheap as possible a few years ago on mine using the thinnest chipboard I could find.

I first cut a 2x4 into ~6" pieces and then screwed them in to the underside of my trailer along the edge. They were inset slightly so that the chipboard would be flush with the outside edge of my trailer.

I was at a gravel space so I dug down a couple inches along the edge of the trailer. Then I attached 1" styrofoam insulation to the chipboard and set it in the 'ditch' to hold the bottom in place, and the top was screwed into the 2x4s mounted to the underside of the trailer.

I cut small access doors with a hinge to get to my drain valves.

Holding tanks have UltraHeat stick on tank heater pads.

Used this for almost 2yrs living in my trailer. Survived good winds, and -20° temperatures without freezing issues.

[SoundGuy]

Personally I wouldn't overthink this nor put any more $$ into it than absolutely necessary. I simply used cheap sheets of chip board as a skirt for our TrailCruiser hybrid - worked just fine. :B





If I were to do this again I'd use Reflectix sheeting, perhaps supported with 1"x2" framing. Put a light bulb or two within that enclosed area and it's amazing how much heat can be trapped.

[pianotuna]

Hi Brettmm92,

Vinyl will freeze in extreme cold. Then, if you need to remove it, it may well crack, leaving you with no decent skirt.

Brettmm92 wrote:
I was thinking some water resistant, mold proof, thicker vinyl (I'm assuming marine vinyl would work) with some snaps epoxied to the camper. But I was wondering if anyone has any experience or advice about it?

Thanks ahead of time!

[Rolling_Condo]

I've been pondering on this for several years now, should I want to skirt my trailer. My choice would be concrete curing blankets.