Insulating van doors

[LookinUp]

Hi All,
I've completed the floor and wall/ceiling insulation. Yay! I used polyiso for the floors topped off with plywood and and pink rigid insulation for the walls and ceiling.
I'm not sure how to handle the rear and side doors.  I've removed the factory plastic coverings and there's a lot of uneven space in the doors, and I'll have to work around door handles/locks.
This is all new to me and I'd love some suggestions. Thanks!

 

[Vagabound]

Hi All,
I've completed the floor and wall/ceiling insulation. Yay! I used polyiso for the floors topped off with plywood and and pink rigid insulation for the walls and ceiling.
I'm not sure how to handle the rear and side doors.  I've removed the factory plastic coverings and there's a lot of uneven space in the doors, and I'll have to work around door handles/locks.
This is all new to me and I'd love some suggestions. Thanks!

This is not a suggestion, but a thought.

Haven't given this much thought yet, pre-build, but for door panels I was pondering DIY spray insulation.  However, I probably won't do that for three reasons:  1)  Cheap, easy stuff is not closed cell;  2)  closed cell spray foam is expensive; and 3) I can't imagine the hell involved if something inside a door panel (electric, handle mechanisms, window stuff) ever needed to be reached and fixed later.

Vagabound

 

[Almost There]

Just do the best you can and don't worry about 100% coverage...it's not going to happen.

With the door panels off, examine all moving items for clearance space, then add some extra space for good measure!

 

[highdesertranger]

Ensolite closed cell flexible foam. you can get it as peel and stick or use spray adhesive. highdesertranger

 

[Vagabound]

Just do the best you can ...

General life advice ... or spray insulation ... or ? ;-)

Vagabound

 

[GotSmart]

I saw one Hillbilly use packing peanuts in a garbage bag.  He had fun doing it.  

My conversion has R11 fiberglass in the doors.

 

[MrNoodly]

You could cut the polyiso into smaller pieces, like a puzzle, so you can get them inside the door frame and around the locks. You could stick the pieces to the door with silicone or some other adhesive. Fill the joints between the pieces with silicone or duct tape. If you have room, do another layer and cut the pieces so they overlap the joints of the first layer.

 

[Vagabound]

In real life, no matter what we do, some heat and cold are going to travel in the directions that we don't want.  What we're really talking about, and striving for, should be practical maximizing or minimizing.  Nothing near perfection is every happening with vehicle insulation.

I'm going to try to keep my own "wise" words in mind when my time comes to struggle to fill every gap. ;-)

Vagabound

 

[One Awesome Inch]

Build over the doors with insulated doors. Works for me.

 

[Solitary Spell]

I keep coming back to my large-sized bubblewrap fixation. In the house I live in now, there are 3 very old single-pane windows that were forming condensation like crazy during winter, with just the 68 degree indoor temp. You could feel the arctic blast coming from them 4 feet away. So I made up some little wooden frames and staple-gunned a double layer of large bubblewrap to them, put weatherstripping around the edges, pressed them into the window frame, and it worked perfectly. I wonder if anyone else here has tried big bubblewrap? I can imagine how easy it would be to stuff sheets of it into a door panel. No glue needed, either. Then just cover the openings with whatever you like.

 

[DannyB1954]

I might stuff mine full of plastic gallon size freezer bags filled with whatever. Maybe cellulose. When I installed my Maxxair roof fan I seen there was a lot of space between the ceiling plywood and metal roof. I hate the idea of pulling out the interior,(van conversion), so I might drill a few holes and blow in cellulose. I live in a dry climate and don't see myself going anywhere humid.

 

[LeeRevell]

I favor a combination of polyiso pieces glued to the inside of the outer door skins, combined with smaller plastic bags filled with styrofoam peanuts. I am thrilled to have found a practical use for those peanuts.
As said, we cannot totally insulate the doors, but we can reduce the heat/cold loss.

 

[TrainChaser]

I don't really know what is inside a van door, but I recently had a Duct Tape Moment:  Use duct tape to close all of the openings on the sides and bottom of the door, and then pour styrofoam beads [NOT peanuts] into this new 'container' from somewhere near the top.  If you have to do something with the interior of the door, pull of the duct tape off at the bottom and catch the beads in a container.  Then Fix, Repair, Refill.

But would it work?  It sounds too simple. I feel that I'm missing some crucial piece of information.

Styrofoam beads for refilling bean bag chairs:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ace-Bayou-Bean-Bag-Refill-Polystyrene-Beads-3.5-cu-ft/5691347

 

[Virgil Jones]

I keep coming back to my large-sized bubblewrap fixation. In the house I live in now, there are 3 very old single-pane windows that were forming condensation like crazy during winter, with just the 68 degree indoor temp. You could feel the arctic blast coming from them 4 feet away. So I made up some little wooden frames and staple-gunned a double layer of large bubblewrap to them, put weatherstripping around the edges, pressed them into the window frame, and it worked perfectly. I wonder if anyone else here has tried big bubblewrap? I can imagine how easy it would be to stuff sheets of it into a door panel. No glue needed, either. Then just cover the openings with whatever you like.

I've worked with bubble wrap for packing items in my business for years.  Overtime (several months to 12 months) the pressure in each bubble lessons.  The rate of decrease seems to vary depending on manufacturer.  I've never had a roll of bubble wrap loose all its air, but some become pretty wimpy.  This seems counter-intuitive, but I've never had bubble wrap that stays as pressurized as when it was first delivered unless it's been used within a couple of months.

 

[highdesertranger]

great point Virgil. it's true plastic can not hold air long term. highdesertranger

 

[DannyB1954]

I don't really know what is inside a van door, but I recently had a Duct Tape Moment:  Use duct tape to close all of the openings on the sides and bottom of the door, and then pour styrofoam beads [NOT peanuts] into this new 'container' from somewhere near the top.  If you have to do something with the interior of the door, pull of the duct tape off at the bottom and catch the beads in a container.  Then Fix, Repair, Refill.

But would it work?  It sounds too simple. I feel that I'm missing some crucial piece of information.

Styrofoam beads for refilling bean bag chairs:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ace-Bayou-Bean-Bag-Refill-Polystyrene-Beads-3.5-cu-ft/5691347

Water runs down the window from rain or dew. Some of it goes into the door. Having loose styrofoam beads in there may keep the water from evaporating quickly.

 

[TrainChaser]

Okay, Danny. Does that mean that doors shouldn't be insulated? I don't think that styrofoam beads are very moisture-absorbent. I should find a thrift stove pillow and find out.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

Too much valuable storage space in doors to fill with insulation. I'd do a think layer at most and use rest for storage

 

[TrainChaser]

ERLH: What would you store in van doors?

I hope you aren't going to tell me something I should have know when I lived in a van for months, carefully pointing out that I had wasted, unused space in that little Ford!

 

[highdesertranger]

if you store clothes or towels in your doors, that's almost as good as insulation. highdesertranger