RPetersen14
Watford City, ND
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Joined: 12/27/2004
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Looking for advice to skirting a 5th wheel RV for winter in North Dakota. How do I insulate the slide-outs and keep snow build-up on them? Worried about leaks.
Would like to make a storage cabinet under the 5th wheel overhang. Also can I frame 2x4's to act like a support to sabilize the RV and get weight off the wheels? Or other advice to get rid of the bouncy RV.
Thank You for your help.
Ron
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bldrbuck
one or the other
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Joined: 02/11/2001
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Any support should be under the frame. You can purchase skirting that is easy to install. I have seen some people use hay or straw bales to skirt with.
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billb1
Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada
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Joined: 03/05/2001
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This is what I did to our Jayco 3310 when we spent a winter living in it in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada as I had a project to do and driving back and forth from home was not practical. It gets cold there with LOTS of snow. You might get colder in ND but this may help you.
First level the unit and snug down the stabilizers. Use a hitch support on the front if you have one.
Wrapped all exposed water and sewer lines with electric heat tape and then wrapped the pipes and heat tape with aluminized bubble wrap pipe insulation.
Built a 1" x 4" frame all around the 5th wheel. Took it out to include the slides and made it a snug fit which helped stabilize the unit. I built it to include the bedroom at the front and made a door opening so we could use that area to store stuff. I used some loose fiberglass insulation to fill in any gaps between the frame, ground and unit.
Covered the frame with rigid 3/4" foam insulation (thickest I could find here) which had an aluminized surface on one side. I put that facing in. It had a grey finish on the other side.
I rented two 100 lb propane cylinders and got two 6ft lengths of propane hose so I could connect them to the switch over regulator in the unit. The rigs 30lb cylinders were left in the bay but not used. During the coldest part of the winter I went through a 100 lb cylinder a week.
I used 3m window shrink film on all the windows as it did not have duo pane windows. Even if it had I would have used the window film, it really helped cut down on drafts.
I did not put anything over top of the slides and had no problems with snow buildup or leaks.
I was on a 30amp service but was able to run all the appliances and two small heaters. The heaters had selectable heat levels and they were run at 750watts. They helped stabilize the temperature variation in the rig as well as reducing propane usage a bit.
I did not use straw or hay bales as I was concerned about mice and other rodents.
Hope this is some help.
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SnakeRV
SW Idaho
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Joined: 05/09/2011
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Spent a winter in a 5th wheel in Idaho. Make sure the caulking is good on the top of the slideout, and you shouldn't have any problem. Skirted mine with 2x2 framing, and 1/2 inch plywood. The main thing is to get your skirting as airtight as possible with no wind entering under the trailer. Also make sure you wrap your water lines and dump valves with heat tape so they aren't frozen shut when you want to dump. My SIL lives in a 5th wheel at Watford City and he has survived 4 winters there so far. As much money as you guys make, you should be able to hire a guy to walk around all day with a heat gun and keep things thawed out.
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azandy70
Green Bay WI
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Joined: 01/02/2010
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Last winter, we got our unit in February. Tons of snow fell on the slides. No problem. My concern with heat lose is the bottom of the slides is just plywood. At least on ours anyway.
If I were to winter in it cold, I would get skirting for it. Like posted above, use some electric heat too. We did that in March. Worked well to save some gas and equalize the temp some.
2011 F350 SRW 4x4 Crew cab short box
6.7
2010 KZ Stone Ridge. 36UL
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KZCRAZY
USA
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Joined: 04/18/2010
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I used the 2 inch pink foam under my slides, I cut a wedge piece and pushed it up against the bottom between the slide rails and floor. We also had skirting made for ours by a local company called "Sharp Tarps" and well worth the money.
2011 F350 6.7 Dually
2009 KZ Inferno 4012 SL
2008 Smart Car
2 - 2011 M50's
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rats1955
Montana
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Joined: 03/18/2011
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I think you need to park your trailer (and yourself) way further south for the winter. North Dakota winters are very tough and staying in a rv might be very uncomfortable. Good Luck.
2003 Arctic Fox 24-5N FW
2006 F250 4X4 SC V-10
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RV Skirting
Colorado
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Joined: 06/24/2009
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Many of our customers have raised the RV just a bit and put 2" foam under it as a base, jacks under the slides. And a tripod stand helps especially with the 2 legs out front and the single one towards the RV. Some customers have even used the 2" foam on the thinner areas under the RV where it may roll under but we carefull not to put much wieght on it, just enough to hold it in place.
Whatever you use just remember duct tape and the foil tape do leave alot of residue, if you put anything hard next to your RV put the one side adhesive foam tape inbetween to keep it from scratching or rubbing on your rv. We have had alot of customers ask us if we could skirt them above the old Duct Tape Line around the RV.
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RPetersen14
Watford City, ND
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Joined: 12/27/2004
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Thank you for all the info. I plan to use fiberglass batt as foam is real expensive. Will frame the trailer with 2x4 framing and osb plywood painted.
Questions I have are should I support the slideouts? Reading a lot of conflicting info about supporting them. Am trying to keep the trailer from getting bouncy, especially when the teen kids decide to plop down on the couch hard, makes the trailer jump.
Any suggestions on how I can seal the plywood up against the RV if I installed on the outside to keep water from dripping down inside it?
Thanks again for the info.
I would move a LOT further south, but needed a good paying job here and this was the only thing I could find with my job experience.
Ron
Watford City, ND 58854
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