Insulation and Dust February 18, 2019, 12:48:10 pm Hello All,I've put my name on the list for a new LD (but am also open to buying a newer used 24', should I be lucky enough to find one).In the meantime, I have a couple questions I'm hoping you can answer:1. We currently have a 4x4 Sportsmobile and one thing I don't love about it is camping in cold weather. Even with the pop top down (which is warmer), the van heats up nicely when the furnace is running, but as soon as it clicks off, it gets cold fast. When it's freezing outside, the temp inside swings hot/cold/hot/cold as the furnace goes on/off. I know you can adjust a thermostat to have less of a swing in the on/off cycle, but I think the main problem is poor insulation in the van. How does the LD do in cold weather?2. We do a lot of off-road driving with the Sportsmobile and plan to continue in the LD (obviously, not places that require 4x4 but good gravel/dirt roads for sure). Dust inside the van has been a constant battle with our Sportsmobile. After years of use, we've finally managed to isolate and plug most of the spots where dust leaks (or pours!) in. But it's been a battle. How much dust creeps into the LD when driving on gravel/dirt/dusty roads?Thanks for your help! JaneneIf you're interested, you can see our travel blog here: Moby Goes
Re: Insulation and Dust Reply #1 – February 18, 2019, 01:12:47 pm Really enjoyed your blog. Seeing the kind of places you go I have to wonder if you have thought through the decision to buy a new LD. I came off twenty years with a camper on a 4x4 pickup and find the LD to be extremely limiting in where I can now go. Hate to see you spend so much money then decide you don't like it. My advice for what it's worth is buy an old one and try it on for size first. That's what I did and I'm still on the fence as to comfort verses the kind of places I used to go. 1 Likes
Re: Insulation and Dust Reply #2 – February 18, 2019, 01:20:58 pm My LD is better with insulation than a lot of RVs, but it's nothing like a house. The walls are just too thin to expect anything better. A different strategy is to insulate yourself, but it's really not a cold weather camping vehicle if you expect the interior temp to stay at 70. Dust , for us, is similar. Better than average, but no panacea. Some advocate running a roof fan on low into the coach to generate a small negative air pressure. Rich'03 MB in NC 1 Likes
Re: Insulation and Dust Reply #3 – February 18, 2019, 01:41:03 pm Unless you tow a 4X4 with the LD, you will see a radical change in camping style. You may be happier plumbing in an Olympian cat heater. It requires ventilation - but not much, and most of us do not use it while sleeping, but technically, it would be safe to do so.Steve 1 Likes
Re: Insulation and Dust Reply #4 – February 18, 2019, 02:08:04 pm "1. We currently have a 4x4 Sportsmobile and one thing I don't love about it is camping in cold weather. Even with the pop top down (which is warmer), the van heats up nicely when the furnace is running, but as soon as it clicks off, it gets cold fast. When it's freezing outside, the temp inside swings hot/cold/hot/cold as the furnace goes on/off. I know you can adjust a thermostat to have less of a swing in the on/off cycle, but I think the main problem is poor insulation in the van. How does the LD do in cold weather?"Our Sportsmobile is not 4WD, only limited slip differential, but we DO use it for going on other-than-perfect roads in conjunction with our main camping vehicle. The Sportsmobile has served as an able-bodied adjunct to our 40-foot behemoth fulltime unit, and now serves as an auxiliary unit for our Lazy Daze, which is a part-time unit for us.All of our vehicles have sported a cat heater (or two), which solved the problem of the variances in temperature that are provided by a standard furnace. You can use both pieces to quickly heat the rig, and then, temperature permitting, you can run just the cat heater to stay sufficiently warm. We have it sit between the front seats in our gaucho-behind-the-driver model."2. We do a lot of off-road driving with the Sportsmobile and plan to continue in the LD (obviously, not places that require 4x4 but good gravel/dirt roads for sure). Dust inside the van has been a constant battle with our Sportsmobile. After years of use, we've finally managed to isolate and plug most of the spots where dust leaks (or pours!) in. But it's been a battle. How much dust creeps into the LD when driving on gravel/dirt/dusty roads?"Can't help with this aspect. Haven't had the problem with either the Sportsmobile or the Lazy Daze, so either we haven't gone on troublesome roads, or our '98 (Sportsmobile penthouse model), and/or '85 & '05 (Lazy Daze units) are more securely sealed. I can't say which, but I haven't noticed an overabundance of dust accumulating, but then I usually wipe everything down inside as part of each "moving experience", while DH attends to the outside requirements. Virtual hugs, Judie 1 Likes
Re: Insulation and Dust Reply #5 – February 18, 2019, 02:12:51 pm "Really enjoyed your blog."Ditto Sawyer, I liked it so well I added it to my Favorites. Moby Goes 1 Likes
Re: Insulation and Dust Reply #6 – February 18, 2019, 02:55:05 pm Quote from: Lazy Bones - February 18, 2019, 02:12:51 pm"Really enjoyed your blog."Ditto Sawyer, I liked it so well I added it to my Favorites. Moby GoesI envy the guy. Wish I had the time and money. Having said that lifes about choices and if I sold my home I'd have both the time and money to live out my remaining years in a comparable lifestyle. Maybe jT'ea is wealthy or maybe he just made a different life decisions than I did for his retirement years. I wrestle with the idea of selling out and going on the road permanently on a regular basis. Hard to give up a beautiful home you worked all your life to have though. 1 Likes
Re: Insulation and Dust Reply #7 – February 18, 2019, 03:34:07 pm Hello again,Thanks for the great info and insights. My thoughts:* We are unfamiliar with the cat heaters, so we'll definitely look into that. Might solve the hot/cold problem. * My husband and I frequently have the 4x4 versus comfort discussion. We spent about 150 nights away from home last year (in our Sportsmobile or in a tent if backpacking or rafting). But sometimes we're on a road trip that doesn't require 4x4 . . . and then . . . it sure would be nice to have more room. We're not dumping our Sportsmobile in favor of a LD, just thinking about adding the LD and using both, depending on the trip/roads. * As for retirement/lifestyle choices, I can tell you that we're not wealthy. We lived in Portland, OR, where housing prices are high, but after we retired, we moved to Boise, Idaho, where houses are much cheaper (and our grandkids live here!). We bought a 550 sq/ft dump of a house and remodeled it mostly ourselves, nothing fancy but it's not falling down anymore. Fun fact: we paid a lot less for our house than for our Sportsmobile. Having a small crappy house frees up money to be used on other things. Many of our pals who are still working could do the same . . . if they wanted. But, for a lot of people, spending all those days on the road and the rest in a tiny crappy house isn't their idea of fun. I guess it just depends on what you want . . .Thanks again for the great ideas. Janene 3 Likes
Re: Insulation and Dust Reply #8 – February 18, 2019, 03:49:08 pm Quote from: jTea - February 18, 2019, 12:48:10 pmHello All,I've put my name on the list for a new LD (but am also open to buying a newer used 24', should I be lucky enough to find one).In the meantime, I have a couple questions I'm hoping you can answer:1. We currently have a 4x4 Sportsmobile and one thing I don't love about it is camping in cold weather. Even with the pop top down (which is warmer), the van heats up nicely when the furnace is running, but as soon as it clicks off, it gets cold fast. When it's freezing outside, the temp inside swings hot/cold/hot/cold as the furnace goes on/off. I know you can adjust a thermostat to have less of a swing in the on/off cycle, but I think the main problem is poor insulation in the van. How does the LD do in cold weather?2. We do a lot of off-road driving with the Sportsmobile and plan to continue in the LD (obviously, not places that require 4x4 but good gravel/dirt roads for sure). Dust inside the van has been a constant battle with our Sportsmobile. After years of use, we've finally managed to isolate and plug most of the spots where dust leaks (or pours!) in. But it's been a battle. How much dust creeps into the LD when driving on gravel/dirt/dusty roads?Thanks for your help! JaneneIf you're interested, you can see our travel blog here: Moby Goes Janene, what floor plan are you on the list for?Chris
Re: Insulation and Dust Reply #9 – February 18, 2019, 03:51:12 pm Hi Chris,At this point, I'm just on the list. We know we want the 24' but haven't decided on floor plan. It's still a long way off!j.
Re: Insulation and Dust Reply #10 – February 18, 2019, 03:55:04 pm "We're not dumping our Sportsmobile in favor of a LD, just thinking about adding the LD and using both, depending on the trip/roads."Having both at hand really does make just about anything possible. Win-Win!Virtual hugs,Judie 1 Likes
Re: Insulation and Dust Reply #11 – February 18, 2019, 04:21:15 pm Depending on the types of roads one travels, dust and dirt does get into the rig; it's not a hermetically sealed environment, so one expects this. Dust and dirt also gets into the outside compartments, particularly the water heater and refrigerator and battery compartments; these are vented, and allow dust and dirt and leaves and whatnot to get in, particularly when it's windy and/or when one is driving on dirt or gravel 'goat tracks'. Keeping the vents (including the cab vents) and windows closed when traveling in dusty conditions, vacuuming or blowing out the dust from the outside compartments, and vacuuming/wiping down the interior regularly keeps the dirt well within manageable limits.YMMV, of course. 1 Likes
Re: Insulation and Dust Reply #12 – February 18, 2019, 07:28:24 pm "Hard to give up a beautiful home you worked all your life to have though."That's me, in spades! Travel is great, in limited amounts. Oh, I've been out for three months at a time (Alaska) but most of my trips are limited to west of the Mississippi, notably in the south west. Just cannot forgo the attractions of a home base... never had that in my military years. 1 Likes
Re: Insulation and Dust Reply #13 – February 18, 2019, 07:40:40 pm I will speak about the question of cold weather and how a LD does. My LD is a 2008 MB. That means, foam insulation rather than fiberglass batts. My windows are dual pane. I changed my Fantastic Fan covers to dual layer. I insulated the underside of the escape hatch over the loft with 1/2" of flexible closed cell foam. I created a two piece bulkhead made of 1.5" rigid foam with LD paneling on both sides, to isolate the cab from the back area. That, alone, makes a huge difference.In really cold weather, I close the blinds, slowing the air movement over the windows somewhat.Bottom line, I am comfortable in cold weather. Yes, the thermostat allows a fairly large swing between shutting off and coming on again. If you are dry camping, your only alternative to that is a catalytic heater somewhere inside. If you can plug into shore power, an electric heater like a Lasko oscillating radiant tower heater puts all of its 1500 watts into your living space. I have only turned my furnace on once this winter, and night temperatures commonly drop into the 20's here.Ken F in NM 1 Likes
Re: Insulation and Dust Reply #14 – February 18, 2019, 08:44:34 pm Steve, there’s no place like home! If I hated where I live, I would probably be a full-timer!https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zJ6VT7ciR1o
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