06 3500 Express with 20k on the clock.

[907KHAM687]

Haven't owned a van in 20 years.  Used to have a 79 chevy conversion.  Black as black can be, bed in the back, most comfortable seats I've ever been in.  Was a decent home for a couple of summers, but I never tried to fulltime dwell in it.   Bought a 06 cargo express today, grey, slider door with no windows, and I'm looking forward to calling it home.  The 79 felt like it had a more spacious cockpit,  the 06 seems like it used up all its space with a giant dash and plastic protrusions everywhere, but I was a lot skinnier back then.   And I kind of miss putting my left foot on top of the wheel well, but this new van feels like the most natural thing I have driven since the 79 died.  

So i'm going to start work on it when it warms up a bit.  I'm going to use gasoline as my insulation and drive somewhere warm, but I still want to insulate for sound.  I'm all over the place with ideas there, all seem bad in the right light.  I wouldn't mind insulating for heat, but I know what happens when your vapor barrier is on the wrong side of the insulation, and I want zero condensation on the steel.  I also don't want to have an installation that I can't inspect.  The 79 had a leak around the brake light, by the time I discovered it the interior was shot.  So some weird ideas that have been kicking around my head, and i've been trying to figure out if any of them have any redeemable qualities.  So here it is, I'm way outside of the box on this one so if anyone has any suggestions I'm interested, no matter how weird.  
 
My priorities are no water damage, sound deadening, low cost, and insulation.  I get the OEM liner for the back,  cover it with a layer of carpet pad and a fake turkish style rug cut to fit that I already own.  Sucks to have a carpet down to collect dirt and mud, but it will be removable.  Fill the walls and roof with fiberglass or Roxul(primarily for sound)  probably just taped in.  Ideally sheet the whole thing in MDF for sound, but I want to be able to pull all this stuff out if I think I have water collection, so 1x2s (pearlin? i know the word just can't spell it) running the length of the van attached to the ribs, and then attach heavy cloth or carpet to the wood.  Im thinking about just stapling wool blankets to the wood.  Added plus of flame resistance.   All of this would be easily removable for inspection.  

With that all typed out in words outside my head it sounds kind of bonkers.  But I was watching van build videos on youtube, and all I could think about was condensation.  If a teaspoon of water a night sneaks past your foam board or paneling and condenses on the metal your going to have one wet ride after a few nights.  And there is no way to make an vapor barrier on the warm side of insulation that is going to beat the metal vapor barrier on the cold side of the insulation.  

Anyways, thats my intro post, there is lots of great info here and i'm going to use all of it.  


Hank.

 

[cyndi]

Welcome to the CRVL forums, Hank! Your preaching to the choir, here. None of that sounds crazy! 
 
There's an entire forum dedicated to insulation, here: https://vanlivingforum.com/Forum-Insulation. Perhaps, you've already read through that and not found what you're looking for.

To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips & Tricks" post lists some helpful information to get you started.   We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[Tin Can Express]

Welcome to the forum Hank!
I had the same concerns about condensation and sound when building my van. I wanted the wall covering to be removable for inspection too. My build write up is at tincanexpress.com/camper-van-build-walls/ if you want to see it. So far it's working great.

Good luck with yours, post pictures for us !

 

[907KHAM687]

Mike, the mats were the great idea I was looking for. Im going to use that and then use magnets to hold wool blankets on the ceilings and walls so it doesn't look like the inside of a van. And if I am anywhere really cold I can pull the blankets down to sleep under, so I won't have to back the two giant sleeping bags I currently use in the RV.

Hank

 

[SoulRaven]

Greetings & Welcome Hank!

Insulation is tough, and I would like to applaud your correct consideration about condensation. Too many people overlook or ignore this very important consideration.

Good luck in your build and I will be looking forward to progress reports.

 

[Tin Can Express]

Mike, the mats were the great idea I was looking for. Im going to use that and then use magnets to hold wool blankets on the ceilings and walls so it doesn't look like the inside of a van. And if I am anywhere really cold I can pull the blankets down to sleep under, so I won't have to back the two giant sleeping bags I currently use in the RV.

Hank

Brilliant minds must think alike, I am planning on making wool blankets for the vans partition. Magnets are a good idea.
It's warming up here already so that project will likely get put off till next fall.