repair/replace undercarriage insulation

magconpres · Jul 14, 2018

I don't use my RV enough ('92 Fleetwood Jamboree), and whenever my wife says "we should take a trip," I have to go and find all the things that need to be fixed before we head out.

Well this year it appears that some critter got up into the insulation in the undercarriage (at least that's my guess), and the insulation has falling off in big chunks. I'll post some pics later, but this looks like some kind of fiber based matted insulation.

Questions:
[list type=decimal]
[*]Can I run without it? If so, what's the downside? I assume noise is probably the worst issue. Is pretty warm out these days, so I'm not concerned about being cold. though I don't like it hot either ;-)
[*]How hard is this to repair/replace?
[*]Should I use the same material? Is there something lese I should consider? It's a '92 RV, so I assume we have better materials available these days.
[/list]

Thanks,

James

Gary RV_Wizard · Jul 14, 2018

Insulation is just comfort factor, so sure you can run without it. Assuming nothing else underneath is damaged, of course. But the insulation usually has a protective bottom cover to help keep road water & dirt out, so you run the risk of that gunk reaching other things that were previously somewhat shielded. You will just have to look and see.

Probably a pain in the keester to remove and replace, but not a major tech challenge. You want an insulation that holds up ok if water gets in, whether from below or leaks above it, but most fiberglass and foam insulation products would survive that ok. The best stuff is the sort of dense fiber used under vehicle hoods and on the engine firewall, but that's probably overkill. Do, though, be cautious around the exhaust pipe for engine or generator.

magconpres · Jul 14, 2018

Thanks for the quick reply Gary.
Good point about protecting the undercarriage. I think I'm going to get under there and replace the damaged sections.

What I have appears to be dense fiber (will post pics later today). any idea how it's held in place?

magconpres · Jul 14, 2018

Here are some pics.
It's not as bad as I feared. It looks like these are pieces of the insulation that covers the transmission.

The one photo shows where I think this goes. That shot is the inside of the cab with the transmission cover (cowl?) removed. Sorry, I think the photo is upside down. I'm holding one of the broken pieces in place where it seems to fit.

It looks like I'm missing less than 2 square feet, so overall I'm not too concerned. Definitely not concerned enough to drop my transmission and install a new pre-formed piece of insulation.

I think what I'll do is pick up some self stick firewall insulation and work it up and around the transmission where I'm missing chunks. At least to the best of my ability & patience!

Any final thoughts?

magconpres · Jul 14, 2018

OK, here are the pics. I had to resize them.

repair/replace undercarriage insulation

magconpres

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