Insulating the composite bed?

tl;dr: Has anyone used cans of spray foam to insulate the bottom of their truck bed?

Hi all, planning to take the truck on a cross-country road trip this next Christmas, CO -> MA -> CO. We'll have our dogs with us, riding and sleeping in kennels strapped into the bed (beneath a topper). We've taken them on longer warmer weather trips, and shorter cold weather trips, but never something where they'll need to ride and sleep in the bed in the middle of winter for 3 days at a time (we'll be sleeping in our RTT). So, I'm looking at ways to insulate, and to keep them warm. Already bouncing around the idea of going dual battery, and putting heating pads beneath their beds. After that, I started to wonder if anyone has insulated the bed from the bottom with spray foam. If you've never crawled under it, the bed is largely ribbed construction, and I wondered about using cans of spray foam to fill those pockets with spray insulation, that way I don't lose any space inside the bed. Alternatively, I could just get ~1" thick foam panels and attach those inside the bed, should also do the trick. Thoughts?

 

That’s an interesting idea, and I like it. I would worry about the foam trapping moisture and mud and stuff. Is there weather resistant stuff?

 

Maybe spray foam it, then spray with some sort of clear coat? (Starting to sound like a more involved process)

EDIT: that said, so what if it does? As long as it’s not up against any metal, at worst I’m just potentially carrying slightly more weight in water/mud, right?

 

I would build some insulated crates for the dogs if u have room in the bed

If not then foam sheeting inside

Anything under the truck is gonna get soaked shredded and maybe ignited lol

 

A bail of hay would be cheaper and probably warmer. Plus what dog doesn’t like rolling in the grass

 

Idea liked

 

Spray foam will absorb moisture. Do not use it in an application where water will get at it. People try to use it to fill body cavities that start rusting out and it only makes it rust faster. Keep spray foam away from a vehicle.

 

Then when they piss and shit on it you just toss it and get another

 

My dog rides in the cab. He's a person. But on a serious note, Maybe put several quilts all around the bed and then put the crates on top of them. Bet your dogs hate you.

 

Box in the bed with 1/8 ply and spray 3m adhesive some one inch sheet foam to the outside of it.

 

I had several dogs and uncles with hunting dogs that stayed outside all winter. I’m in Mississippi so it’s not that cold but we would spread a bail of hay out in their dog houses about a foot and a half thick.

My dogs also got old blankets and stuff on top of the hay. They never complained or froze to death

 

I’m not worried about soaked or shredded particularly, since they’re out of the way, and spray foams actually end up being pretty tough. As far as ignition, I could look at flame retardant foams, that is a good thought. And yeah, I could insulate the kennels, but I’d rather have the dogs able to see more and breathe more easily. Also, we do take the RTT off and sleep in the bed at times, so it’s be nice to have the bed insulated from the outside for that too.

Yeah, that’s what we do in winter for us, we’ll be throwing nice down filled sleeping pads inside the rtt on top of the provided pad.

Hehe, maybe I don’t like my dog after it’s rolled in that much grass, though.

 

Don't they make insulated wraps that go around dog crates? I see hunters with them all the time. They drive around all winter with their dogs in there with no topper and they seem fine.

Edit: this seems to provide the same visibility as the crate does.

I slept in my truck with a softopper, by far less insulation that a fiberglass top, and I was fine for a night down into the 20s.

 

Heck just put them a buddy heater back there. They will be warmer than you

 

I just worry about our younger dog, he likes to shred ANYTHING he can reach outside of the kennel (even with plenty of toys, attention, etc), can only imagine him shredding that.

 

Insulate the dog instead.

 

Spray foam underside = bad idea. Adding insulation in their dog crate = good idea.

 

Spray foam comes in two varieties : Closed Cell and Open cell
for use in a wet environment use the closed cell it is more expensive but does not retain water and actually acts as a moisture barrier.

https://www.icynene.com/en-us/archi...-open-cell-closed-cell-spray-foam-insulations

 

That is good to know. Hmm.

 

Don't bother insulating the bed. First, you won't succeed in making any notable gains. Second, you'll ruin the truck and never be able to clean that crap off.

Insulate the crates, as suggested above. I suggest you get yourself a cheap, 100% down comforter off Amazon that will be large enough to wrap around the top and sides of both crates (will be under $150, maybe under $100). Then get a 100% waterproof cover for the same comforter. Wrap the comforter around the crates, perhaps even covering up part of the crates' doors (not entire thing - dogs need to breathe). They'll be comfy and cozy.

Don't bother with 12v blankets/heaters. I've tried them in -24C temperatures (including having one under my own dog's sleeping pad) and they were essentially useless.