The HOLYBUS

[lornaschinske]

INSULATE!!!!!

[putterspitt]

where at in florida?

[putterspitt]

good luck, there is so much info here, its almost scary

[lornaschinske]

It get's pretty cold in Central FL. My grandmother's pond used to freeze over thick enough for the hunting dogs (big hounds) to walk on. Back on the late 60's my cousin walked on it once when it got cold for so long. He was about 11 or 12 at the time so he had to of weighed over 100lb. Come to think of it, some of the hunting dogs probably weight more than he did! And that was in Pierson which is farther south.

Besides insulation isn't just to keep the warmth IN during the winter... it also keeps the warmth OUT in the summer. Carpet does not insulate as well as you might think... as I sit here in my stick-n-staples RV with cold feet on my 1 1/2 " thin insulation with 1/2" plywood on top and a layer of carpet (commercial grade) plus a thick braided rag rug over that. My feet are cold and it's 53*F outside. As some one who camps in public (also known as DIRT) campgrounds a lot, carpet is a horrible mess to keep clean. The sand gets down in it and cuts the backing causing it to break down faster than normal.

Skimp on most anything else except the insulation. Almost anything else can be retro fitted.

[bus-bro]

My bus floor was 10 bucks a foot for 1 inch pink polysteyrene topped by 3/4 T&G plywood. Home Depot prices--of which my local store still has a pile of 3/4 inch cabinet grade plywood for 26 bucks a sheet.

[swinada]

Welcome to the Big Skoolie family.
I also encourage you to go through with the insulation. Also one thing I recommend is to rip out the rubber flooring and paint the metal floor before laying anything on top. The rubber stinks and hides all the wet spots and rust. So do it now or it will never get done.
An other added benefit of insulating besides the ones already mentioned is sound proofing. Our ride got way quieter after adding insulation and flooring.
Wish you all the best and keep us posted.

[MRFUNKTASTIC]

I have to say I should have listened to all the advice that was given about the insulating the floor. We moved into our bus and the first winter we froze our booty's off and we live in florida. The first winter was brutal on our feet not to mention impossible to keep warm. So I insulated the floor like I was told and its a lot better.