[JRTJH]

When we were stationed at Lowry AFB in Denver, we had friends that dragged their 12x65 ft mobile home from Florida to Colorado. They parked it as close to Denver as they could find a spot in a mobile home park. That was out near Strasburg (on the plains). Two by four walls, "maybe 3" of fiberglass insulation between the inside pressboard paneling and the outside "tin siding" made for some pretty cold nights. When the cold winds and snow came, it seemed there was as much snow inside as there was outside. The aluminum framed windows that leaked as much as they stopped sure didn't help. They wound up spending a number of nights with us because they simply couldn't keep their trailer warm enough for their two kids.

Yes, mobile home construction has improved significantly, and in some ways, travel trailer construction has improved. But it seems the manufacturers are still "sort of" thinking along the lines of the automotive industry than the home industry with their "R value" and "energy savings" agenda. They seem to think, "As long as the furnace is running, it'll be comfortable inside." Like the auto industry, they really don't consider "when the furnace is not running."

Next time you're in a big box store, take a look at the square footage recommendations on the side of a window air conditioner box. They recommend 8,000 BTU for a 350 sq ft room. A 36 ft fifth wheel with two slides (sort of an average fifth wheel in size) is about 345 sq ft of floor space and we need two 13.500 A/C's to cool it and often wish for two 15K A/C's because they cool "better" That's more than 3 times the BTU required for a home room of near equal size, just to sufficiently (note I didn't say efficiently) cool the inside on a "warm day."

I wonder when (if ever) Keystone and other manufacturers will get their act together??????

Is it any wonder if we can't keep the heat out in the summer that we can't keep the heat in during the winter?