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Originally Posted by Motorcycle Jack
DRV uses a thermal layer on the inside before the paneling is put on. On the outside you do see the aluminum studs location but on the inside there isn't much difference between the stud location and space in between. You can see the construction video here: http://drv-owners-manual.com/drv-sid...struction.html on my owners site. |
Yes, I had found online several different DRV brochures from over the years---and the wall construction diagrams worried me considerably. I have a background in construction and building supply--- and the double "moisture barrier"/vapor barriers is a huge red flag that has concerned me. The last thing you want to do is trap moisture between barriers and create a wall which can't breathe. (Therefore, such layers would never be allowed in home construction. Indeed, the layers and their relative positions must be adjusted for the climate or one gets in-wall condensation and mold problems. There's about a 100mile "in-between climate" zone which happens to go through my area of Texas (you can see it on national energy management maps zoned for comparing "heating days" and "cooling days" zones) where NO vapor barrier should ever be used. In fact, until a few years ago, some communities still followed old codes which actually encourage mold instead of preventing it.
My own experiments with humidity/temperature/dewpoint USB sensors in walls have confirmed just how problematic vapor barriers can be. Accordingly, after seeing the DRV and other manufacturer's construction illustrations in their brochures, I got nervous about all of them. Walls should always be able to breathe. A breathable wall is a dry wall because it can dry out in all directions. A semi-permeable barrier can keep out water while allowing water vapor to pass through. (Think of it like Goretex fabrics used in ski and mountain-climbing coats. Sweat evaporates quickly while rain rolls right off. A properly engineered wall breathes in the same way.)
After studying RV construction methods, I'm not at all surprised that dry rot is so very common, even among far too many higher-priced units. Indeed, those manufacturers often advertise and brag about construction method and layers which would cause a lot of building contractors to lose their licenses. (But I suppose a large number of layers in walls and roofs looks like a good thing to many potential customers.)