Conversion vans well insulated from the factory?

[gnx547]

I'm looking to buy either a GM, Ford or Dodge conversion van with a high top.  Are these vans well insulated from the factory?

 

[GotSmart]

It depends.

http://petesrv.com/news/2013/12/determining-a-campers-insulation-r-value-petes-rv-buyer-tips/

 

[Canine]

I'd say no, owning one. Different up fitters did things differently yet none of them wanted to put money into something Joe customer couldn't see. It was more impressive and dollar smart to have pretty wood and leather chairs...

I don't think that anybody used much in the way of insulation like is talked about for your cargo vans... No pink fluffy stuff, no hard polystyrene... What was behind my finish fuzzy gray carpet was simply a 1/4 inch foamy looking material. Don't quite know what to call it. I'd say, unscientifically, it's maybe R2. What it does is keep the condensation from forming and keeps a little bit of sound out. That's all. I don't know if new conversion vans are any much better, I've never been in one newer than a 2002.

A conversion vans pluses are many but insulation isn't one of them. It's minimal and they were never built to keep heat or cold out. That's what the heater and ac were supposed to do...

 

[GotSmart]

My 91 has a good layer of R11. After 24 years it has not compacted or fallen apart.

 

[Canine]

My 91 has a good layer of R11.  After 24 years it has not compacted or fallen apart.

Surprised they squashed r11 into yours. I did see one that had kinda like hot water heater wrap, it was yellow and about 3/4 inch thick with vinyl on the outside. That would have been decent. Still better than mine. I dont know if Explorer used a better quality materials but Starcraft didn't that's for sure. At least the ones I've seen or owned.

 

[Canine]

All the RV's (not conversion vans, but the same mentality applies here as well I'm sure) I've investigated for insulation are substandard. There are gaps that you can often see daylight. There are places that aren't insulated because those little nooks are hard to get to or make it hard to work on the plumbing/electrical should the need arise. And like has been mentioned- cost. It bugs me to no end a $30,000 slide built for winter conditions doesn't have the best possible insulation. It isn't rocket science and isn't super duper expensive.

There are quite a few sites that show how to better insulate Arctic/Desert Foxes and other brands with "arctic packages". No matter what kind of high top van, I'm sure improvements could be had.

 

[Almost There]

Whether or not a conversion van is insulated well, almost well or pretty shoddy depends in large part who did the conversion.

When conversion vans first became popular with the buying public there were probably in excess of a 1,000 mom and pop shops all over the US that got into the conversion business.

Dealers were buying the vans off the production line as incomplete vehicles and shipping them directly to the conversion shops and there was a waiting list at the dealers for the finished vehicles. The dealers were the ones specifying interior trims/seats/carpeting etc. including the insulation. There were absolutely no standards for any of this although most benefited from easily available parts like the captains seats.

The reason there were so many small conversion shops was strictly financial. To finish them on the production line would have added thousands to the sales price of them since all the work would have been done at union rates. To circumvent the union shops the dealers farmed the work out to local shops literally working out of the barn out back.

I didn't realize how extensive it was until I went to bring my Astro home to Canada when I was moving back after 14 years in the US. StarCraft was the ONLY conversion company that ever got Transport Canada paperwork done for importing vehicles into Canada. Whatever little shop did mine wasn't on the list so I could never title the vehicle in Canada. I had to sell it in short order and make arrangements for a friend to come down and pick up myself, the dog and 1/2 my stuff.

 

[highdesertranger]

back in the day when I did van conversions insulation was a extra add on(cost more). very few vans were insulated and the ones we did insulate was the pink stuff. highdesertranger

 

[Canine]

Interesting. I never knew that you couldn't take a conversion van and go across the border with it permanently. What's the rub? There used to be plenty of US make big 3 assembly plants in Ontario. I know that I have seen Canadian plates on conversion vans down here in Phoenix, but not many and don't know which converter. I just look at the chassis brand...

I'm still really "on the fence" so to speak about conversion vans. The large irregular windows, while good for the highway view out, are a pain to block out and let a lot of heat and cold in. 99% are half ton chassis... Brakes usually aren't so great and GVW is often at or near maximum...

I had to remove all the seating to make room, and have been paying to store the seats cause I don't want to try and sell it as a 2 seater... However the lack the of condensation is nice, even if the insulation is virtually nonexistent. The mid-high roof is nice too, but it's not flat and makes a vent or solar install difficult. Trade offs... Always trade offs...

 

[Almost There]

Interesting.  I never knew that you couldn't take a conversion van and go across the border with it permanently.  What's the rub?  There used to be plenty of US make big 3 assembly plants in Ontario.  I know that I have seen Canadian plates on conversion vans down here in Phoenix, but not many and don't know which converter.  I just look at the chassis brand...

The Astro I owned was actually produced in Oshawa Ontario and shipped stateside. I'd done what I thought was all my research on repatriating me and my stuff. 2 weeks before moving date I phoned to get the clearance started on the van. That was when I found out that it had been sold as an 'incomplete vehicle' off the production line - the VIN told the story. I even had the name of the dealer to whom it was sold - someplace in Georgia!!

So then I started checking trying to deal with post manufacturing clearance for it. There was no way in hell I was ever going to be able to register the vehicle in Canada. Transport Canada rules make it such that every piece of wire, wood, upholstery etc. etc. etc put in by the conversion company would have to have been approved by T/C because the conversion company hadn't been pre-approved by them. To the best of anyones' knowledge, the only conversion company that had gotten clearance for 'conversion vans' was StarCraft.

Don't confuse conversion vans with Class B RV's....there's several RV companies stateside who have Transport Canada clearance. There are also Canadian RV manufacturers putting out Class Bs.

I ended up parking it in MI, a friend drove 600 miles to come get me, the dog and as much stuff as we could pack in his pickup. I was planning on heading back stateside anyways to complete a show schedule. Fortunately my aging mom decided that it was time to give up driving and gifted me her mini-van. It took six weeks of struggling with Canadian bureaucracy to get my Ontario drivers' license back, transfer and title her van in my name and get a passport before I could head back stateside...total nightmare but that's another long sad story. I got the Astro sold 2 days before I was headed back to Canada for the final move.

 

[Canine]

Wow! That would give you grey hairs or ulcers... Glad it worked out, kinda. I wonder if the Canadian class b makers do a better job with this nsulation considering where they are located... I know a lot of Canadaian weather is no worse than Fargo ND or upstate NY but still...

 

[Almost There]

Wow!  That would give you grey hairs or ulcers... Glad it worked out, kinda.  I wonder if the Canadian class b makers do a better job with this nsulation considering where they are located...  I know a lot of Canadaian weather is no worse than Fargo ND or upstate NY but still...

 I wouldn't count on it - our labor rates are higher than the US so cutting corners any way they can is the norm.

RVs of all classes are generally not made for 'living' in, they're designed and marketed to weekend warriers for 3 season luxury camping. There are some that offer 'winter' packages and most have still found them to be woefully lacking in a lot of areas.

Heck the Class B's are marketed as sleeping 4 when we all know that more than 1 to a van is problematic....