INSULATION QUESTIONS

jjtwister · 07-04-2012, 05:58 AM

Thinking ahead on my build...after the floor goes in I want to insulate the 4 barn doors and both sides of the van. I was planning to use Reflectix to do this with RHINO GRIP Double sided Acrylic adhesive strip tape to hold it in place. Will this hold it in place? Especially in high temps. One of my questions/concerns is that the Reflectix is "thin" and will not fill up the entire void between the metal side walls and the actual finished interior sidewalls.....is this going to be a problem? I definitely don't want to use fiberglass insulation for this. Suggestions welcome.
Also want to insulate down in those little crevices (sp) I could try and get some Reflectix down there but thought it might be best to use some of that expanding foam insulation si it fills the voids. What type to use? Any ideas out there? Hopefully something on the market that will not cause odors etc.

I imagine the wheel wells will generate a lot of noise so I was planning to use Dynamat to cover them.

Hope you experienced forum guys/gals out there can give me some advice

thanks,

jjtwister

**BroncoHauler** · 07-04-2012, 07:17 AM

I made insulated panels for all my windows using a double radiant barrier version of the insulation from teh link below. The insulation is made from bonded together parts of shredded denim. Definitely don't have to worry about outgassing.

http://www.bondedlogic.com/construction ... nt-barrier

Herb

twogone · 07-04-2012, 07:23 AM

I put Reflectix (in some places 2 or even three layers) in w/ extreme spray adhesive, then filled all voids with dense carpet padding to the point that the walls had to be pressed in ever so slightly before screwing down. This filled all of the available airspace. Fiberglass ins. doesn't provide much soundproofing and rodents love the stuff because it compresses enough for them to nest easily. Carpet pad doesn't stay compressed, and for a rodent to nest, it will have to remove some of the padding. While my van was gutted, we welded up some holes that Henry Ford and crew left in the van that a rodent could easily enter.

Somewhere on the forum is a horror story of a fella using expanding foam and it pushed out the outside "skin" on his van... never did see a final outcome.

Hope this helps a little bit.

Gnarvan · 07-04-2012, 08:05 AM

Out here in dampland or the Pacific Northwest I was a concerned about using insulation that would hold water next to the body. The main use for my van is chasing whitewater which increases the damp factor quite a bit. All winter long I'm constantly dumping wet river gear inside the van. I made the decision not to use any cotton based insulation. I didn't insulate the walls though. If or when I redo my interior I will probably insulate the walls.

Expanding foam is a nice product as long as you are very careful with it. Plan carefully if you use it. Once it's there you will be hating life if you need to remove it for some future install application.

Ford_6L_E350 · 07-04-2012, 10:25 AM

An air gap between the wall and the reflectix isn't necessarily bad. A gap of 1/4" or less is actually very good insulation. It is too small for the air to circulate freely, so it insulates. Air is almost always the actual insulation medium. The other materials only serve to hold the air in place and keep it from moving from hot to cold and transferring heat.

Expanding foam can be good. Or it can be bad. It can outgas. It can also exert more force than you think when it expands, it can bend the van sheetmetal if too much is used. I'd stay away from it.

Mike

2horsegarage · 07-04-2012, 09:44 PM

I used the reflectix on the walls with the rhino tape as you mentioned and have had no issues with the recent 100+ degree weather. In the bigger/deeper voids I used sound deadening material against the outer shell of the van and then used a few layers of reflectix taped together to fill the rest of the void. I can't tell you if it works or not, as I had no experience in the van without this set up, but I can tell you the inside of the van is more comfortable after a day in the heat than my car.

twogone · 07-05-2012, 07:27 AM

I would think that Reflectix is most effective as the outermost layer, right against he "skin" of the van, as opposed to being put in after sound-deadening... but I actually don't KNOW that for sure.

Wise@ss alert: When I think of RHINO, I really don't get he "grip" corollary. GORILLA, yeah, but RHINO not so much. I think of rhinos as a critter that punches holes in stuff, or stomps the crap out of it. Rhinos ain't packin' nuthin' to grip with

Ultrasport12 · 07-05-2012, 11:11 AM

When I did my van I used Dynamat first on places like the window cut outs in full and then I covered anywhere I thought needed dampening. Dynamat is not an insulation so after that I used Automotive insulation that is a synthetic pad about 1/4 inch think that has a foil backing. After all that I used Reflecttix on top of the rest. I did it on the walls and in all of the doors including the front door this way. Some places like the side door step wells (a place often missed but lots of heat tranfer is there) have to be trimmed in spots as thrre layers is too think. With the roof done I left a bare spot for my roof vent and using a heat gun the difference was over 20 degrees with the sun beating on the bare roof vs the insulated part. So it has been working really well. It is very quiet and cool on hot days and warm on col days. The heater and A/C are much more affective and the audio system sounds better. I still have a bit more to do on the floor but its already a huge improvement.

A few things.
Like Mike said, an air gap is necessary for the bubble insulation dont crush it down too much.
Marc I think you might be correct to have it as an outer layer but for me I wanted the dampening of the Dynamat and that had to go on first. If I was do do it again I might try it as the second layer before the pad.
I used spray glue to hold the automotive insulation as well as the bubble stuff in most places. I taped all of the seems with this.

http://www.shurtape.com/Default.aspx?Ta ... oductID=30

Hope that helps..
...Jamie

2horsegarage · 07-05-2012, 06:18 PM

I basically did the same... The Dynamat went in the window cut outs, etc... and over the entire floor, and wheel wells, but with the exception of that the reflectix was next to the metal.

I used the rhino carpet tape which worked great and then covered all the seams with actual duct tape (the metallic kind) and it has all worked beautifully.

cygvan · 07-07-2012, 02:11 PM

im the expanding foam guy lol.

i only used it to fill the space behind the "studs" in my chevy. fords dont have these studs so i dont think it would be necessary or prudent to use it given the monocoque (??) construction

i also used it sparingly in a few nooks and crannies. no issues there, it worked well.

the horror story relates to how the foam, despite having plenty of space to expand and it being applied carefully, pushed the sheetmetal outward at each of the "studs" location. initially, it did so quite a bit and scared the bejesus out of me because i could see the resulting pattern on the outside of the van.

thankfully, the pressure resided after a day or so and the metal relaxed. i mentioned this in a different post. didnt mean to leave anyone hanging. lol

i had experience with the product yet it surprised me so i would only use it for small gaps, nooks and crannies. not as a primary insulation.

i full-time in my van and the efforts to insulate are well worth it.

for the OP....i used 3/4" xps from lowes, reflectix, plywood (various thickness depending on location) and inexpensive outdoor carpeting. oh and before all of that, i applied fatmat rattle trap 80mil sound deadener.