Insulating a Fiberine High Top: DIY or let Fiberine do it?

[JJPDX]

Hello, looking to add a 24in high top to my Chevy Express 3500 Extended.  There are several options to choose from, see below, but the one I'd like some feedback on is the installed insulation. 


Does anyone have experience with the insulation as installed in a high top by fiberine?   I am a complete noobie and would by interested in it being done with all at installation.  But if its generally insuffieceint or low quality, then I'll be back in a few mionths with lots more questions as I do it myself!!

Thank you, jj


List of other options for high top from Fiberine:

Camper Top Options

Wood Reinforcement Strips​

Foam Insulation-Tops with Liner Only​

Gray Primer Gel Coat Exterior​

Standard White Gel Coat Exterior​

Gray Primer Gel Coat Interior​

White Gel Coat Liner Finish ​

Inside 2-12V Wire Set-Tops with Liner Only​

Trim Kit for Standard Flange Tops​

 

[alecperkey]

Hey -- I just installed one of their high tops myself last weekend (cut the hole & added on top, sealed, bolted down).

I think installing insulation will be as simple as cutting out a template of rigid polyiso pieces (maybe 2 or 4 pieces) and then pushing them up in place.
Should stick right in place if cut to the right size, or maybe use a little velcro. 

It should cost like $50 and take about 10 minutes to DIY insulation
Personally I'd call them to make sure by buying I wouldn't be risking getting something unnecessary or potentially losing valuable space to too much/little R value

And dont forget to leave a cut a hole for the fan! 

For anyone else considering a fiberine top:

Since buying the top a month ago I've seen some DIY hightops where they built out a wooden/metal and plywood. One looked pretty cool -- like a log cabin growing out of the top of the van.
Now that I am more confident in my DIY abilities, I sort of regret not just building the top out of wood.
But also like my job... so the convenience is nice. Just take ~$5k for the top minus the cost of DIY (~$1000) divide ~4k by your hourly rate and ask yourself if you'd rather work those hours OR would you rather spend a couple weeks building that top and learning new skills!

 

[Virgil Jones]

Hey -- I just installed one of their high tops myself last weekend (cut the hole & added on top, sealed, bolted down).

I think installing insulation will be as simple as cutting out a template of rigid polyiso pieces (maybe 2 or 4 pieces) and then pushing them up in place.
Should stick right in place if cut to the right size, or maybe use a little velcro. 

It should cost like $50 and take about 10 minutes to DIY insulation
Personally I'd call them to make sure by buying I wouldn't be risking getting something unnecessary or potentially losing valuable space to too much/little R value

And dont forget to leave a cut a hole for the fan! 

For anyone else considering a fiberine top:

Since buying the top a month ago I've seen some DIY hightops where they built out a wooden/metal and plywood. One looked pretty cool -- like a log cabin growing out of the top of the van.
Now that I am more confident in my DIY abilities, I sort of regret not just building the top out of wood.
But also like my job... so the convenience is nice. Just take ~$5k for the top minus the cost of DIY (~$1000) divide ~4k by your hourly rate and ask yourself if you'd rather work those hours OR would you rather spend a couple weeks building that top and learning new skills!

I'm having a 24" top added by Fiberglassme in North Carolina.    They are putting in some wood supports for the vent and solar panels.  

 I'm a little confused about how you will do the Fiberine top insulation.  Did you also buy the top fiberglass liner and will install the insulation in between the top and the liner? 
If not what are you doing about the "ceiling"...how to attach it to the fiberglass?

 The best I can figure is to

1)   add "studs" to the top, insulate between the studs, and then screw the ceiling to the studs.  I'm currently debating between trying to learn fiberglassing and add the wood studs that way or finding a glue that will attach wood to fiberglass and hold up to both the heat generated by the sun beating down on the top in a hot summer and the pull of gravity as the studs will be attached hanging below the roof fiberglass and be subject to the earth-quacking of driving down the road.  And, of course the studs will need to be ATTACHED hanging below the roof.
I did see on the forums here that "ARABELLA" had glue problems with the studs in that rebuild.


or .... 2)  The only other way I can think of is building a self-supporting framework inside the fiberglass top mounted to the top of the actual van walls and wedged in against the fiberglass top.  Possibly both self-supporting and glued to the fiberglass top where possible.   This is possible as the top being installed is relatively (but not entirely) angular.

 

[eDJ_]

I've wondered about this with my own high top.   I was thinking of cutting 2 X 1 inch pieces from old 2 x 4's to fit the contours of the fiberglass roof.  (not much contour except at the top & top edges).  

Then use "Liquid Nails" generously to stick these in place.  Then use spray urethane foam between these wooden
slats and a Masons trowel to work the foam to spread and fill the foam like working concrete within forms. 
Then use a thin piece of straight edged wood that is wider than the wood ribs that were glued to the fiberglass.

When this is cured,  I'd make paper or cardboard templates to cover the ends, sides, ceiling of paneling. (probably white colored paneling so it would reflect light down toward the floor)   Then screws would be used to attach the paneling to the wood ribs.   I'd use the lightest grade of paneling I could find as it would only be a cover to contain the foam.

This foam expands once it is squirted out, so it would have to be used in small areas and worked quickly.

But this is how I've been thinking of approaching the task.

 

[Almost There]

If I had it to do over again, I'd use the same technique  - short pieces of 1 x 2 and 1 x3 adhered to the fiberglass wherever you're going to need them to screw things to. I used the 1 x2 where I only needed one row of screws and 1 x 3 where two ceiling panels were going to meet.

The PL Premium worked fine in probably 90% of the placements. It was more likely it was my installation techniques that caused failure on the other ones.

I didn't insulate per se, I used reflectix/bubble wrap panels adhered to the underside of the ceiling panels since I was only worried about radiant heat barrier not insulation.

 

[Virgil Jones]

If I had it to do over again, I'd use the same technique  - short pieces of 1 x 2 and 1 x3 adhered to the fiberglass wherever you're going to need them to screw things to. I used the 1 x2 where I only needed one row of screws and 1 x 3 where two ceiling panels were going to meet.

The PL Premium worked fine in probably 90% of the placements. It was more likely it was my installation techniques that caused failure on the other ones.

I didn't insulate per se, I used reflectix/bubble wrap panels adhered to the underside of the ceiling panels since I was only worried about radiant heat barrier not insulation.

Thanks for the reply.  Your method certainly seems the easiest. 

  In what way do you think your installation technique went wrong on the ones that failed.  And, by failed do you mean there is evidence of your 1 x 2's or 1 x 3's coming loose and your ceiling panels sagged...or...?

I plan on 1 1/2 inches of polyiso, then light-weight panels of some kind. Most of the roof will be covered with solar panels and, therefore, shaded. I figure this will help with the heat situation.

 

[Almost There]

The ones that failed the most are some of the first ones I installed.

Which leads me to believe that I a) didn't apply enough PL Premium, b) didn't have them braced tight enough against the ceiling and/or c) didn't leave the bracing in place long enough. And probably all three...

The ones in the rear cabinet don't seem to have come down at all. I had a teenager applying the PL Premium for that one and he got good long full strokes with the gun. I had trouble applying it because of arthritis and I was perhaps in too much of a hurry to get the job done.

I need to empty the front storage compartment, take off all the finishing panels and re-attach the 1x2's. Since the cabinet is totally full of kitchen equipment, even emptying it is a challenge...  

I only have 1 piece of wood in the center section of the van that I know is loose and 5 other attached pieces of wood are involved in holding that one panel to the ceiling. I'm the only one that can tell which piece is loose. When I get around to fixing the ones in the front compartment, it will get done too!