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Anyone insulated a camper?

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 Siward 05 May 2014
I am wondering how to best insulate my camper van.Trouble is that it is difficult to strip it right back because it has previously been converted but the insulation is not up to scratch. I can however get behind 80% of the panels though without resorting to removing the oven/fridge and so on.

My first thought was expanding foam. If this is closed cell (not sure- is it?) then it seems a good alternative. Is there any reason why not?

Alternatively is the foil/foam sandwich recommended by many websites. I'm dubious that that this will match the insulation properties of foam and it doesn't deal with the voids in the ribs of the van, which are many.

Finally there is Kingspan type stuff but I think its too rigid and very difficult to retrofit.

So, foam or foil?
 crayefish 05 May 2014
In reply to Siward:

I am always insulting campers... got stuck behind one just this afternoon doing about 20mph below the speed limit.
 jimtitt 05 May 2014
In reply to Siward:

Back in the day I had the same problem with a race van and I used poured vermiculite insulation but you could use poured polystyrene just as well, which evers easiest to get.
 ranger*goy 05 May 2014
In reply to crayefish:

Ha thats how I read it at first
 butteredfrog 05 May 2014
In reply to Siward:

The last one we built, after much web research used, wool based loft insulation behind the panels, expanding foam behind the ribs and a plastic vapour barrier over the top.

Not going to help if you cant strip the interior out though.
 jamie84 05 May 2014
In reply to Siward:

Sheeps wool stuffed into black bags.
 Man city 05 May 2014
In reply to Siward:

The best stuff to use is closed cell "king span" type insulation.
I did a conversion in2010 & used wool type loft insulation, which was a disaster, it collected moisture and turned into a wet soggy mess,had to strip,it out and did it again using cellotex board. Which made an unbelievable difference.

Hope this helps. Have just finished insulating my loft as part of a full loft conversion , got loads of cellotex left over, certainly enough to do avan,your welcome to it, save me taking it to the tip.

Am based on the west side( the best side) of the peak.
 DaveHK 05 May 2014
In reply to Siward:

Kingspan works really well but is a bit of a pain to work with.
 timmyhobby 05 May 2014
In reply to Siward:

ive done a few conversions, the foil stuff is good that looks a bit like bubble wrap, if doing it from scratch i would use that and king span but if you cant get behind the units then probly ditch the kingspan. you can get a material from a company called grass routes (but i think you have to make a bigger order to get a decent price but sure it is available elsewhere) to stuff in the cavity's that looks like a massive role of cotton wool but doesn't absorb water that i normally stuff into the strut spaces but you could maby use wherever you could fit it if getting to it is an isue. be care full of what you use as if it is something that does absorb water then you could get mold! hope this is helpfull
 LP 05 May 2014
In reply to Siward:
I did mine using the double sided silver bubble wrap/recycled plastic/bubble wrap sandwich method which I sealed together in sections using aluminium foil tape. I also wax-oiled any cavities and then taped over any holes with the aluminium foil tape. Now it is carpeted, it is toasty warm as well as a lot quieter (I also used roofing flashband across the panels before insulating to reduce vibration and this made things quieter too, if you can be bothered).

I was told to stay away from fibreglass insulation as this holds water and to be careful with the expanding foam as it can deform metalwork if over-applied.
add6598 05 May 2014
In reply to LP:

+1 for what LP said, how I've done mine as well
 pec 05 May 2014
In reply to Siward:

> My first thought was expanding foam. If this is closed cell (not sure- is it?) then it seems a good alternative. Is there any reason why not? >

I definitely wouldn't go squirting expanding foam into cavities you can't otherwise access. It expands by many times, with quite some force, and could easily end up distorting or even pushing off completley the lining panels etc. If you can't see where you're sqirting it you can't control its distribution and you'll end up with empty spaces with no insulation and it will squeeze its way out of any gaps and it sticks like sh*t to everything it touches.




baron 05 May 2014
In reply to Siward:

Do you bother insulating your tent?
Buy a decent sleeping bag/duvet and a heater/hot water bottle if it's really cold.
You can spend hours and hundreds of pounds insulating your camper but you'll lose so much heat out of the windows or whatever door/window you leave open for ventilation.
All the best camper vans have double glazed windows and night heaters, there's a good reason for this.
Sent from my cold, draughty t4 transporter.

Pmc
 Jonathan Emett 06 May 2014
In reply to baron:

I don't agree.

Condensation
Comfort - heater will work better in an insulated van
Sound insulation. My van has no windows at the back ( where the bed is) and I hear nothing from outside most of the time. Also reduces the noise from rain on the roof.

I used celotex, of varying thickness. You can get 25mm sheets which will fit beneath the roof lining of a t4. In the columns I used the recycled plastic roof insulation stuff, torn into shreds. I pushed it down into the voids using one of those flexible things you use to pick up screws that have fallen behind cupboards.
 mickyv33 06 May 2014
In reply to Man city:

Hi there, I'm actually in the middle of doing a van conversion myself.
If our thread author doesn't want your spare cellotex, could I begsies it?
 DaveHK 07 May 2014
In reply to baron:
> (In reply to Siward)
>
> Do you bother insulating your tent?


Do you have to carry your van?
 alexm198 07 May 2014
In reply to Siward:

I had to make the same decision last year when I was doing mine:

Foam: seems cheaper, seems easier (just blast it everywhere) etc. However, I've heard it has a tendency to go soggy and obviously once it's applied it's a big mess behind the panels, so if you ever need to un-insulate the van for whatever reason, it'd be a nightmare.

Foil: more expensive, a lot more hassle. Generally much better at keeping water out so long as you seal everything in properly. Much neater, theoretically you can strip of the insulating panels (at least if you're smart about it).

I went for the foil in the end - I did the following:

Get flashband from Screwfix - tape over the bare panels as much as you can (within reason, it's expensive stuff) I focused on the wheel arches and on the thinner panelled parts. i then applied a layer of 3mm soundproof acoustic underlay everywhere (ceiling, walls, wheel arches, floor). I then sandwiched panels of Kingspan-type stuff between two layers of foil bubblewrap and sealed everything in with foil tape.

It's worked a charm so far, van is pretty warm at night (though, as has been mentioned, you lose a bit of heat through the cab).
Rigid Raider 07 May 2014
In reply to Siward:
I once insulated our ex-MOD Landy to make it warmer and quieter. The material of choice was acoustic felt, which you can buy from automotive trim suppliers like Segal Motor Trim in Manchester. This works a treat, especially when glued inside the roof and covered in a nice felt finisher. However it absorbs water so in areas where the LR leaked (i.e. almost everywhere!) I used closed cell foam sleeping mats cut up. This does a reasonable job and doesn't absorb water.

Give Segal a call and ask to speak with Mrs Parker, she is very experienced and will give you the best advice.

Here: http://www.segalmotortrimmings.net/
Post edited at 09:59

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