Wood planking for walls

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gjguest

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Has anyone every used 1/2" x 5.5" wood planks for the walls in an RV?  I know the major issue would be the weight?  The RV does not have anything in it that is heavy including no furnace, no tub/shower, no water heater, no water tanks, no propane tank and no AC on the roof.  Quit empty as of now. :D
 
gjguest said:
Has anyone every used 1/2" x 5.5" wood planks for the walls in an RV?  I know the major issue would be the weight?  The RV does not have anything in it that is heavy including no furnace, no tub/shower, no water heater, no water tanks, no propane tank and no AC on the roof.  Quit empty as of now. :D
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Are you sure that's an rv? 
Seriously,do you have a scale?  Weigh yourself,then weigh yourself holding a plank,subtract.  Multiply by number of planks you expect to use.  That will give you an idea of weight.  What is your tow vehicle?
 
1977 Champion Motor home.  Yes I am sure it is an RV.  I removed everything.
 
I would just figure out square feet that will be used, then weigh a square foot of the wood. You should look at the GVW, then go weigh it and start weighing everything you will put in. On mine I added solid surface countertops which are heavier but the old cabinets with high density frames and drawer boxes were heavy so i would think I ended up pretty close even with the new cabinets.
 
Besides weighing the planks to be used, you need to consider the RV's actual weight (without planks) vs the GVWR, thus determining how much weight you can add without exceeding the GVWR.  If you use up all the weigh capacity on the siding, you may have to leave your clothing ad food at home!

The only other factors in choosing materials is that RVs are typically subjected to wide variations of moisture and temperature, so you want materials that are stable (don't expand/contract much) and resistant to heat & humidity damage. Along with that goes ease of cleaning, because mildew is a common problem in those temperature/humidity conditions. It would be best t avoid a material that makes a good home for mold or is difficult to clean the surface.  If you use wood planks with open pores, seal it well. I would also suggest a smooth sanded surface rather than coarse textured.

 
I would strongly recommend against using wood planks for the walls. In addition to the weight, the wood will creak as the cab twists going down the road. Everything on an RV is made to flex at least a little bit. I would estimate that in 5 years, your walls would sound like a creaky staircase doing down the road.
 
We used extremely light cedar planks on the back wall and the side walls partially up when we had to replace them due to a water damage repair. The planks weighed very little and the finish was nice.
 

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Are the boards tongue and groove or do you plan to just butt them up to each other. If you're butting, take them to a wood shop and have them planed down to about 1/4". Then before you put them up, paint the wall black so that if the joints do open up a little from drying, you won't see the wall behind the boards because of the black paint the boards
 
Our cedar planks were tongue and groove. Hubby used an air stapler on very low pressure to attach carefully. The planks are so thin I could easily snap them in half over my knee, or possibly just using my bare hands and a good bend. Very light weight. We have a ?99 fifth wheel, so we didn?t mind the special customizing. I love the look of it. We had to do something as we replaced the walls due to the water damage repair we were surprised with after purchasing it. I suppose the disappointment from the damage was surpassed by the satisfaction of the final result  :)
 
seen a couple youtube vids of guys in vans that have them trimmed out like that.  just watched one this am you could probably find... lint hikes is the channel, he was hanging a hammock inside the van
 
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