Trailer House Skirting

[tractormarkb]

I'm putting in a 14 x 76 Mobile Home. I have been assured by my local Lumber Yard that all I need for Skirting around the outside bottom is Uninsulated Vinyl or T1-11 type board.
I'm in Michigan, shouldnt the Skirting be insulated to keep the pipes from freezing?

 

[JDseller]

Most trailer skirting is not insulated. Your water pipes in the trailer are insulated there. The fresh water supply is usually insulated and wrapped with a heat tape. The waste water doe not need anything.

 

[Pitch]

Your plumbing should be above your belly insulation. Is the home on a slab or open dirt?
I am on a slab and I just have the vinyl skirting and the only problem I had with freezing is where the water feeds from the well through the floor of the house. I built a 4x4 frame and used 1½ " styrofoam isulation around it with a brooder lamp inside. I"m in upstate NY so my winter temps are probably similar to yours. If you do decide to insulate your skirting remember that you will need to provide for summer air circulation under the house to prevent moisture and mold problems.

 

[old]

The vinyl is what they use and have used for decades. That said it depends on if the under side insulation is still in tack or if it is gone like in my mobile home. If your worried about it use some 2 inch foam board behind the vinyl and then you know your a bit safer. I have been slowly putting old dock foam under the first 2 foot of my mobile home so as to insulate it better

 

[molinebob]

That is all they use normally, by brother has one and we live up in nortern minnesota, his water freezes multiple times a year, first the cats got in to it and tore up the insulation, so i replaced it all for him, now its like the water lines are sagging a bit so they come to the end of the insulation and the plastic keeps it up, but that is here his has been freezing. So yeah it would be advisable to insulate it just in case the waterlines sag of if you have any stray cats. He lives in a trailer park where the cats are dumped off by the truck load, not fun to get a call at 2 in the morning and hey can you come fix my water lines for me they are froze again. its only a 20mile drive one way but its still a pain in the but!! I think when i go up there to insulate it i am going t build a 2x4 stud wall and use 4 inch insulation and then 1 inch on top of that to cure it, that way with the 2x4 stud wall it kinda makes it more sturdy so the cats cant get in to it to cause prob. Good luck Bob

 

[big orange]

When we had a mobile home on the farm, put insulation on tounge and groove plywod, fastened to the bottom of the home and in a peagravel trench, then fastened the skirting to the plywood.Made a difference in the winter heat bill also.

 

[Dean Olson]

You're water line should have a heat tape on it to keep it from freezing. I'll bet theirs an electrical outlet next to the water inlet under the trailer. Back in the day my 1st home was a mobile. Had aluminum skirting. I bought straw bales and stacked 2 rows all the way around the trailer. Lower heat bills and no freeze problems more that offset the cost and hassle.

 

[Bob - MI]

I used to have a mobile home here in Michigan and the only thing that I had to do was use a heat tape on the water line coming in.

For additional insulation it probably wouldn't hurt to add some but if you do that be aware that you may have to add venting also. If it were me and insulation was my goal I would be considering adding rigid foam board to the underside of the floor.

The skirting that I installed was aluminum sheet that looked very much like soffit material. The system was simply a J-channel arrangement up top on the trailer and a U-channel on the ground. You install both upper and lower channels first then cut the siding longer than the gap. Slide the panel into the top until it clears and then slip it down to the ground. All cutting was done with a circular saw and a plywood blade running backwards. I took my time and it came out well. I used to get compliments on the job because it worked carefully to get it straight and level.

I remember calling all over the place to get this material and finally found one guy who was way cheaper than anyone else. When he delivered it he said he under-bid the material but would honor the price. This was back in the day when I would take my bottles back to the store on pay-day to get gas to make it to work and pick up my next check.

 

[El Toro]

When I had mobile home I used a heating tape that was taped to the copper water line then I covered it with isulation and then snaked a bike inner tube over it to keep it dry and to hold the heat. I had skirting around it, but I don't think it made any warmer under there. I bought my first mobile home back in 1954 when I was in the Army stationed at Ft Bragg NC. I had the same setup down there since it would go below freezing at times. Hal

 

[Oldmax]

The only way I could keep the varmets from tearing the insulation off water pipes was first wrap pipe with heat tape then wrap with tape type insulation then wrap with then wrap with reg insulation 4", then cover with 6"or 8" galvinize duct pipe letting pipe go into ground . I also used 2" insultion on inside of skirting.

 

[camju]

If it's a new trailer they are well insulated and sealed off from the bottom and uninsulated scirting is fine. What I find works for me is a heat tape along the water line and build a small 2ft x2ft insulated box around it.If the insulation is touching the pipe, the sensor to make the heat tape come on won't always get cold enough to start heating and the water will freeze.others I know take a chunk of plastic abs. 4 inch pipe and slip down over the pipe and once the trailer is set down they pull it up and pack the dirt back in around the bottom to keep it tight to the top. Then they spray it with mono foam.

 

[bc]

Main thing is to keep it sealed so no cold air ever touches the pipe. I like the box and pipe in ground methods. Those freezing cold nights when the wind is really howling will do it. Usual place it freezes is right at ground level or at the place where it goes into the bottom of the trailer due to some air getting in there. Often the residual heat from the trailer keeps the crawl space from freezing until the wind finds a place to blow freezing air into the crawlspace. And typically the skirting has an access place/panel where the water line is that doesn't always get resealed properly. Use a solid vinyl skirting with no vent holes and you should be ok with plenty of insulation around the pipe. Problem with heat tapes is they are never in the right length and you aren't supposed to over lap them but it doesn't hurt to have it. MI has a deep frost depth but if your skirting is sealed properly, the ground underneath shouldn't freeze as deep like outside. Run your tape and insulation below ground level a ways and refill with dirt.

 

[tractormarkb]

Thanks for all of your input. I just wanted to make sure. Thanks again!