Insulating the floor.

[peacetara]

Hi all,

As I get closer and closer to freezing temperatures, I'm thinking I should insulate the floor of my van as well.

Right now, my floor is just the metal floor that came with the van, ridges and all. It's always cold to the touch now, and I imagine I'm losing a lot of heat that way.

Does this sound possible?

Any thoughts on the best and/or cheapest ways to insulate the floor?

It was 41 degrees last night, and did well, without using all of my blankets/warmth, so I'm feeling pretty good about getting into the 30's the end of this week.

With Love,
Tara

 

[Seraphim]

Wood is a good insulator. You could put styrofoam between the wood and floor. Carpet padding and carpet. Any combination of these would offer insulation.

 

[Willy]

&nbsp;You can buy those interlocking closed cell foam floor tiles. Slap down a few sheets of blue polyurethane foam first and you'll have near ecstatic toes. The foam tiles are nice because, aside from a nice high R-value, they cushion the floor. Throw a thin carpet or runner on top to keep wear down. <br />&nbsp;One thing to remember is that heat RISES, so it's somewhat more important to insulate the walls/ceiling/windows. ..Willy.

 

[yesican]

I like your idea Willy...you come up with quite a few good ones...thanks.

Rae

 

[Willy]

I like your idea Willy...you come up with quite a few good ones...thanks. Rae

<br /><br />I'm just chock fulla sh.. ideas.

 

[joey]

Read this about staying warm. It is on the cheapGREENrvliving site,which is a sister site. It will give you a lot of ideas on how to stay warm and get your van/dwelling more tolerable. &nbsp;&nbsp; http://cheapgreenrvliving.com/365_February.html

 

[peacetara]

Yes, I am comfortable sleeping, etc.&nbsp; I'm just trying to keep the heat in when I run the heater.&nbsp; I have insulation along the roof, the walls, etc.&nbsp; just have not done the floor.<br /><br />Willy, I think those foam things is a great idea.<br /><br />The main reason for doing the floor, is because I have various holes in the floor (not big ones).&nbsp; I plugged them with silicone sealant, but there are still leaks.&nbsp; I'm just trying to improve my warmth <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"><br /><br />With Love,<br />Tara

 

[Guest]

Here is what I've done to insulate my van floor:

layered rv patio-rug on the bare metal floor then laid R3 1/2" pink insulation board on top of the patio-rug then covered the R3 with 1/4" marine-grade plywood.

I have blakout material across the van behind the front seats - where the safety wall had been - otherwise no other insulation, yet the inside temp was 61F overnight with a 550W oil filled radiator-style electric heater & the coldest temp at night so far has been down to 19F.

(Still getting the rest of 'Cum-fe' insulated to withstand the upcoming cold Canadian winter)

 

[Seraphim]

Our first van was a '77 Dodge cargo van, and laid down plywood, numerous layers of carpet padding and then a tight weave carpet.&nbsp; We slept on the floor in a sleeping bag.

 

[yesican]

Allergic...I like your idea and then put that mat thing on top that Willy talked about and man...you'd have one warm floor....Rae

 

[rabiesandpeewee]

I did what allergic did, pretty much. Except, we went crazy with the insulation, and used 2" foam for the floor. Particle board on top. Cheap carpet on top of that! You'd have to cut it to make it fit perfectly, which makes Willy's suggestion sound easier.

 

[James AKA Lynx]

I did what Willy did. A good thing about this is WHEN you get a water leak all you have to do is remove them and you can dry out the floor. Also nice if you have to work under your van or change a tire. No sharp rocks on your back of mud.<br><br>James AKA Lynx

 

[highdesertranger]

when I did van conversion's we would take plywood cut it to size glue foam to it then carpet over the top.&nbsp; the carpet was rolled over the edges and stapled underneath.&nbsp; this way you could remove the whole thing to clean etc.&nbsp; highdesertranger

 

[Willy]

&nbsp;Yup, it's not an 'if', it's definitely a 'when' for big spills of some sort of liquid on the floor. ..Willy.

 

[IGBT]

<p>re: the spills <br><br>For the reason of spills, I was thinking about using 2 inches of R10 foam (the pink or blue), then 3/4" marine ply, then a linoleum floor (like in a regular kitchen).<br><br>The linoleum wouldn't be very cozy, but it might prevent spills from soaking into the plywood.&nbsp; Perhaps have a throw rug over part of the linoleum that you could take outside and clean.</p>

 

[highdesertranger]

spills will not hurt marine plywood.&nbsp; highdesertranger

 

[flying kurbmaster]

the way I did the floor in the kurbmaster. Inside, directly onto the floor I laid that snap together wood flooring with a thin foam backing. Under the van I slipped 1 inch foam between the main frames and the floor ribs which run the width of the van. I had ribs under the floor along with the frame so it kinda held it there on it;s own as it is made of alluminium I didn't mind using a bit of spray foam in the cracks and as a semi adhesive I cleaned off the dangling bits then sprayed the whole thing with ashphalt undercoating, I then installed a belly pan down each side and will fill in the middle this year which will create some sort of air space as well. I haven't tried it in the cold yet but assume it should work but I doubt this would work on most vans, insulating under the floor

 

[lost_bone]

<br>&nbsp;<br>I use special foam from "EZ-COOL"&nbsp; it work great!&nbsp; more info&nbsp; http://www.lobucrod.com/<br><br>First must clean floor if rust use sand and primer then PAR-15 black coat&nbsp; then EZ-COOL Insulation spary super glue <br>&nbsp;on floor then add 3/4 plywood board for back seat all way to rear door. then cover carpet foam and new carpet<br>&nbsp;here picture.. <br><img rel="lightbox" src="http://imageshack.us/a/img694/2875/60128641287444979034561.jpg" class="bbc_img"><br><img rel="lightbox" src="http://imageshack.us/a/img24/7464/56224541287448979131626.jpg" class="bbc_img"><br><img rel="lightbox" src="http://imageshack.us/a/img802/2711/30368941287450979189190.jpg" class="bbc_img"><br><img rel="lightbox" src="http://imageshack.us/a/img856/5995/18216142526052343441836.jpg" class="bbc_img">

 

[Ballenxj]

Just taking it all in on this thread. I especially liked the idea of those removable plywood floors. <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" class="emoticon bbc_img"> <br>-Bruce

 

[DollarJoe67]

How have people filled in the spaces between ribs on&nbsp;a van&nbsp;floor?&nbsp; Or does it not matter?&nbsp; I pulled up the floor in my van and the manufacturer had cut what looks like 3/4" neoprene padding to fit the floor.&nbsp; I would re-use the padding except it was only placed in the front.