RV Mod: adding insulation to the pass-through storage bay in our Outdoors RV

In this video, we share how we added more insulation to the pass-through storage bay in our Outdoors RV 21RBS travel trailer. Even though Outdoors RV brand trailers are insulated very well (and are 4 season travel trailers), we felt we still could improve the storage bay insulation as that is behind our bed-side tables.
🚙 Are you looking to buy an RV or travel trailer? Do you want to know what makes a good quality RV? Do you want to find the best RV for your budget category?
We spent two years researching what RV is best for our particular situation. We discovered Outdoors RV brand from an ebook published by RvReviews.net which educates on what to look for when buying an RV and ranks RV brands by quality and Outdoors RV ranked at the top in it's class.
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We had heard that the pre purchase inspection is a very important step and quite often can uncover issues. It is a must when buying a used RV, but it really doesn't hurt to do your diligence when buying a new one. Since we couldn't get in a professional inspector, instead we purchased the Pre-Purchase Checklist ebook, printed it out, and went through it during the inspection. It was well worth it! We found few small things right away that the dealer promptly fixed (affiliate link). rvreviews.net/...
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Music from KZbin Audio Library.

[@ibdaffy]

Hello Matt and Diana, I hope that Outdoors RV sees this video and takes it to heart that THEY should have had this section insulated all along! Great video, missed seeing Diana though!

[@AdventurousWay]

Agreed, it would have been nice if it had been done at the factory. That being said, Outdoors RV have sooo much more insulation than the other trailers we looked at - this is the only gap we found. They even insulate the storage bay doors so you could argue that the front bay is already insulated. For less than $10 of insulation though, this seemed like an easy addition.

[@ibdaffy]

@@AdventurousWay I agree! I have spent hours going over which company offered the best and most versatile 4 season OFF ROAD trailers (the off road part being very important as I wish to boondock off the beaten path). You do pay a premium for them, however, they are worth it. But going the extra step would be beneficial for their reputation. As always, love the videos and I am living vicariously through your adventures until I can retire and do the same as you and Diana. Many thanks for sharing with us!

[@AdventurousWay]

I'm often hesitant to call ours an off-road trailer because to me that phrase refers to the hardcore teardrop / utility trailers like Patriot Campers, etc. But the reality is our Outdoors RV 21RBS is a very competent trailer when it comes to getting us to boondocking spots. I don't think we've yet found one we couldn't get to, yet we've found plenty that friends in other rigs have had to skip as they couldn't get their rigs in. I really believe Outdoors RV is committed to building high quality trailers for real boondocking. We see it in everything from the over-speccing of key components (e.g. we have two 5,000lb axles on a 7,500lb GWVR trailer), to the external design (high clearance and good tires) to the layout inside (good weight distribution, well-built cabinets, etc). As people who live on the road full-time, we're always going to find little things we want to tweak and change - not all of them make sense for the manufacturer to do on all vehicles, but maybe this is one they could consider....

[@ibdaffy]

@@AdventurousWay You both have obviously done your homework! Given the attention to the insulation of the unit (making it 4 seasons) to it's off road abilities (special attention to the frame and suspension), one would be hard pressed to do better than a trailer from Outdoors RV! Happy camping to all!

[@masonpugh3637]

I bet that even works great in the cold and hot weather just the same to keep it cool great job

[@ruthkuzmanic6813]

I did this yesterday. Thank you so much for the clear explanation. It went in super easy. No glue required. I cannot wait to camp in 40 degrees and see if it helps.

[@AdventurousWay]

Awesome job!

[@volcom21d]

for as much as some of these RV units cost (5th wheel or smallest tow behind) you'd think this little bit of extra insulation would be standard

[@vpanetta1993]

Also have a small Mountain Series (2019) laid out similar to yours, so especially like your vids. What I did was put a layer of Reflectix under the bed, which helped significantly. It's a trick I learned backpacking,...putting foil under the sleeping bag. Heard that the 2020 models are insulated in the Pass-Through. With the extra Reflectix, made double panels to fit in the two skylights, and a few windows. Love the insulation job you did,...I will do the same. I'm looking to improve my trailer for boondocking and want to heat the rig with a 2A 250W portable electric heater run off my solar. The biggest purchase has been three 100A battleborn's. Put two solar panels up,...was easy with the Zamp pre-wire.

[@AdventurousWay]

Yes, the insulation mod that we did for the storage bay has now been incorporated by Outdoors RV into all their new trailers. They really do listen to customer feedback! We also use Reflectix at the windows when it's cold. As good as the windows are, a little extra insulation never hurts. It also helps to keep the light out too. Your electrical upgrades sound great - our Battle Born batteries have been working fantastically for us for over a year now. Love it!

[@jernplays1815]

I did the same thing with ours and ohh man does it make a difference. Ours is a fifth wheel and we did the ceiling might do back of bay too because then it will be nice and warm. Our water hookups are in there and there is a pass through for heat to get into there to help out bay from freezing.

[@KeriKalmbach]

Exactly what I did with the van. XPS has great R value. Nice video!

[@AdventurousWay]

Thanks Keri!

[@benmoran6973]

Can't believe they used staples to hold that board in.

[@gingerreid8569]

Great job and information!

[@AdventurousWay]

Thank you!

[@ForgottenWinter]

Another job done. It looked pretty easy too!

[@AdventurousWay]

Yup, as far as mods go it was pretty easy.

[@deepnature6117]

I hope their ceiling trusses are not built with the same staple system as that wood wall was. You did a great job.

[@AdventurousWay]

In the Part 3 of the Factory Tour which comes out tomorrow, you will be able to see how the roof trusses are made.

[@vickibarringer513]

Great job! Hope you are enjoying your journey.

[@AdventurousWay]

We are! So many new beautiful places to see! Thanks for commenting!

[@laragreene8328]

My next project and you made it look easy 👍

[@AdventurousWay]

Yes, go for it! The hardest part was probably emptying and reloading the storage bay with all our stuff, lol!

[@jessicalong-vl8zk]

Does it matter which side faces out?

[@ronglickman2641]

Nice job, pretty simple!

[@AdventurousWay]

Thanks!

[@skipwilliam5639]

Great idea thank ya eh

[@jameshodgins1937]

Nice job. I am sure that will help you out.

[@AdventurousWay]

Thanks James!

[@juspain1]

I have a 2015 outfits rv camper. Been contemplating using this method but putting it underneath the entire camper. I don’t ever move it around and just live in it. I don’t want to skirt it as it’s kind of ghetto and I like being able to storage things under the camper. Do you think it would be a good idea to insulate the entire bottom of the rv with this same foam board and aluminum tape?

[@RuaWaterwalker]

nice and snug perfect, did you feel the difference?

[@DanJen]

Good video. Was that in Quartzsite? Looks vaguely familiar...

[@AdventurousWay]

Good eye! :) Yes, indeed, that was Quartzsite back in January (yeah, we are that far behind on our videos).

[@rexxxxxxxxx]

What do you use for the floor protection?

[@cmflowers5496]

Good job!

[@AdventurousWay]

Thanks!

[@nancykeeneysmith604]

Just discovered this great video. Used the styrofoam insulation on our Micro Minnie before we head out to colder temps. My question is did you find this helpful now that you’ve had it awhile?

[@AdventurousWay]

Absolutely! It really helps to stop the nightstands from feeling quite so cold in the middle of the night!

[@georgejones565]

I probably would have cut insulation same size as panel and stapled both at same time

[@stephenmcrae3883]

Question. What truck are you using to pull your RV and basically is it enough truck for the trailer weight. Thanks. Steve

[@AdventurousWay]

We tow with a Ford F-150 and have discussed more about it on our blog: www.adventurousway.com/blog/why-we-love-our-ford-f-150

[@RoadDogMedia]

Thanks for the video Matt. I've been taking inspiration from your upgrades and doing downscaled versions of the upgrades to our ORV 20RD. I was getting ready to add 1.5" polystyrene insulation OVER the same areas but perhaps I'll start with 1/2 - 3/4 " in the air gaps and possibly add wooden furring and then 1.5" on top as we are in Canada and we also 4 season camp, although we don't live in ours. Dumb question: have you thought of adding rigid polystyrene in the "basement" of yours above the coroplast? We haven't had our coroplast down yet but our floor was seriously chilly last winter in -5 degree Celsius weather and I'm looking to increase the wire gauge between our batteries and the load centre anyway so thought about killing two birds with one stone.

[@AdventurousWay]

Adding insulation over the wall I insulated would definitely add more insulation, but would reduce the available space. I'd start with insulating the air gap and see how you get on. If that's not enough, another option might be to better insulate the doors on either side, as although they're already insulated, my guess would be they're the weak spots for cold air getting in - if the storage bay stays warmer then it'll keep the wall warmer too. As for insulating the basement, no, it's not something we've looked at. There's already relatively thick insulation in the floor, and personally we've not had problems with the floor being cold in our RV, even in sub-freezing temperatures - but that's probably because we use the furnace to heat the RV and the ducting for that runs under the floor in the middle of our RV. We've opened up the coroplast a few times for various things, and it's a pretty large cavity. You'd need to find some way to secure the insulation in there, and although it'd be pretty fiddly, I imagine it'd be doable. We bought a temperature gun and used that to find the cold spots in our RV. Even though our windows are "thermal pane", we found a lot of heat loss through them and adding Reflectix at night makes a big difference - we measured a 7F temperature difference between a window we covered with Reflectix and one we didn't.

[@RoadDogMedia]

@@AdventurousWay Glad to hear the insulation in the basement is fairly thick. I've only opened up the electrical access at the front of the trailer so far and the foil backed insulation up there does not inspire confidence. We've had two occasions of the self resetting breakers in there not doing so - I'll be replacing with manual reset breakers and moving them into the pass through - upon opening that access the construction is pretty grim and the insulation looks to be more heat reflecting than insulating so I worried the rest of the basement was similar. Thanks again.

[@viivcreations9161]

lol our cheaper ones dont have anything, just wood. luckily vanlife can teach you alot of self upgrades

[@troynoall793]

Great video. I just purchased a 2020 Outdoor Rv. I'll probably check to see if this area is actually you did is insulated now.

[@AdventurousWay]

Thanks! Outdoors RV started insulating that place in September of 2020 so depending on when your particular unit was built it may or may not have it.

[@troynoall793]

@@AdventurousWay Outdoor Rv will start the update in September 2020?

[@AdventurousWay]

Oops, that was a typo. I meant to say September *2019*. When we were at their factory in September 2019 filming the factory tour we saw the first trailer where they started adding extra insulation on the bottom of the bed-side tables inside the storage compartment. Where I was going with this, is that sometimes, depending on the manufacturer and time of year, a "2020 model" may be built in 2019. That's why I said it depends more on exactly when the model was built instead of the model year to know whether your unit would have that extra insulation.

[@troynoall793]

@@AdventurousWay I did see the insulation under the end tables. I was curious about the insulation along the back wall. I'll find out soon enough. Thanks for the information.

[@joerodriguez6780]

My paneling has a plastic moulding in the corners of the paneling to clean up the edges. Did you remove that an put it back or did yours not have any?

[@AdventurousWay]

We didn't have any plastic moulding on our panelling, but you'd likely have to remove it to pull the panel off.

[@kathyanderson1693]

does mildew gather under the insulation?

[@AdventurousWay]

We doubt it, but we haven't opened it up to check.

[@NK-ox9uo]

ORV says that their RV is totally insulated. Well apparently not.

[@AdventurousWay]

Strictly speaking, it was already fully insulated - the door to the storage bay compartment is insulated. This is just another layer to add to it, the same way adding Reflectix in the windows does help too. Also, Outdoors RV saw this video and they are actually incorporating this change in their future RVs.

[@myohmy839]

Why not just use the panel as a template and cut one big piece to fit right across. Then use screws to put the panel back on?

[@AdventurousWay]

You could, but then the insulation would sit on the wooden framing, rather than in the cavity. That would reduce the amount of storage space available, although would have the benefit of reducing the thermal bridging.

[@georgekatsinis5224]

Should have used 3/4" foam

[@AdventurousWay]

You’re welcome to use 3/4” foam if you like.