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Old 08-01-2014, 06:12 PM   #1
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cab insulation?

I think I have the cargo area figured out. What's the best way to thermally insulate the cab? Is there room to fit 1/2" polyiso above the headliner or behind the door panels?

Are reflextix or ez cool the only options for these areas?

BTW - On a side note, I looked under the plasticy floor liner that came in the cab of the van, and the padding was soaked. How do I deal with this?

Thank you

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Old 08-01-2014, 06:19 PM   #2
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Re: cab insulation?

I used Ultratouch foil backed denim insulation above the headliner.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/UltraTouch-4 ... /100656748
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Old 08-02-2014, 08:08 AM   #3
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Re: cab insulation?

Quote:
Originally Posted by grin
I think I have the cargo area figured out. What's the best way to thermally insulate the cab? ......cut.......
In my opinion it is to do an excellent job on windshield and side windows. Proportionally speaking a lot of heat comes in and out through cab glass so if not done right the rest can have little effect on total.
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Old 08-02-2014, 10:14 AM   #4
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Re: cab insulation?

Are you asking from a camping or daily driving POV?
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Old 08-02-2014, 08:44 PM   #5
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Re: cab insulation?

Quote:
BTW - On a side note, I looked under the plasticy floor liner that came in the cab of the van, and the padding was soaked. How do I deal with this?
Check for a leak around the windshield.
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Old 08-02-2014, 09:46 PM   #6
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Re: cab insulation?

Quote:
Originally Posted by WVvan
Quote:
BTW - On a side note, I looked under the plasticy floor liner that came in the cab of the van, and the padding was soaked. How do I deal with this?
Check for a leak around the windshield.
x2. Your windshield is leaking or has at some point. It just about never dries out…..until the floor rusts through and then the water can drain.
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Old 08-05-2014, 09:41 AM   #7
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Re: cab insulation?

I haven't had time to check the windshield yet. Do I just visually inspect the exterior of the seal and see if there are any cracks?

Is a sheet of refelextix suitable to insulate the windows, or will I need more?

This van isn't a daily driver. Currently, we use it to get back and forth from bicycle races, but I'm working towards being able to camp in it.

I haven't pulled down the headliner, but do you think a sheet of 3/4" polyiso will fit in there? If so, I'll just need to worry about what to use in the doors.

Thank you all for the suggestions!
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Old 08-05-2014, 11:00 AM   #8
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Re: cab insulation?

We are doing this exact thing.

There is a ton of space above the headliner in our cargo van. We'll probably double up some Ez-Cool for that space. Our vinyl mat padding was wet too, we didn't think to check the windshield so that's now on the list. We ordered a new vinyl floor for the front expecting a different padding material and it's the same water absorbing crap. We're going to use EZ-Cool to re-create the padding pattern and swap it. We're also going to use the EZ-Cool in the doors and to make window shades.

If you don't have one, adding a passenger swivel was very easy.

-John
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Old 08-05-2014, 11:11 AM   #9
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Re: cab insulation?

a passenger swivel is on the list! What did you go with? I am looking at one of these: http://www.discountvantruck.com/rvvanse ... tbases.htm $250 shipped though. I'm still keeping my eye out for something cheaper.

I'm curious about your plan for the floor. Are you just going to pull the padding off the vinyl and replace it with EZ Cool, or will you be covering it with something else?

Thank you!
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Old 08-05-2014, 11:40 AM   #10
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Re: cab insulation?

We got the 96+ SWIVEL Base for OEM Seat Bases from DiscountVanTruck. It's sturdy! We were trying to find a junked RV with one but came up empty. After all of the time spent we just sucked it up and ordered it. Our van is a 2001 and the swivel was an exact match. IIRC, we added our model year when ordering so they sent a true bolt on solution. Mandi removed the seat from the factory base and attached it to the new one while I was wire brushing the cab floor. Four bolts to attach the seat to the base and four attachment points to the floor.

Tricky part is the Torx bit needed to remove the seats. The two front bolts for each seat are Torx Plus T55. We were able to use a hardened T55 by going slow, making sure not to slip or bore out the bolt. We keep meaning to order a Torx Plus 55 to add to our kit.

Yup, we're going to use the existing padding as a template for making one out of EZ-Cool, attach it to the vinyl with the recommended 3M adhesive and re-install the vinyl. We may modify it for the new swivel base since it has a different foot print. We already cleaned, wire brushed and treated the rust we found on the floor with Por-15. At this point the interior of our van is almost entirely black, we've put Por-15 everywhere we were unsure of. It has that creepy "free candy" look inside.

We have added FatMat to the front doors, the absolute exterior skin, to the cab ceiling and the cargo walls. Rule of thumb we got from this forum is 35 - 40% coverage. The Ez-Cool will be adhered to the inner skin of the door and it will replace the padding that is attached to the door panels themselves. We'll be living in the van so we're hoping we won't have to revisit this, only time will tell. We've read quite a bit about insulation, keeping cool will be our priority at first, so we'll share what we do as it may be helpful. A lot of what we will do has been pieced together from here and from websites from those that have lived in these (or other) vans, BadgerTrek comes to mind.

Our tripping point right now are the cargo supports. To foam or not to foam... we have a ways to go before we get there but that will need to be solved as we add the walls.

We added our own windows, actually installed larger ones than what the van came with. That was the first thing we did. It definitely was both a confidence builder and an ego buster. We've been meaning to update our build thread. Point is, you can do this!

-John
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