insulation

[DiANA R]

Hello out there,
I was wondering if there is no-build insulation for a van. I will probably end up with a cargo van-I'm looking into an older econoline. But there is no one to help me with the insulation and I don't have the capability to do a full-on insulation myself. I am far away from help and need to do it myself. Does anyone know about maybe stick-on insulation? Or have any other ideas for me to try?
I am having to get my rig ready and out of where I am during the pandemic in about 5-6 months.
Thank you for any help or ideas that you guys can give.
Diana

 

[MrAlvinDude]

That is indeed a very good question. And one that many people have experimented quite a bit with, over the years.  So I doubt that there are any quick or easy answers to this one.

So most likely you will need to experiment, and learn as you go, and find solutions that work for you.


What kind of outside temperatures do you think you need to deal with?

 

[RvDreams]

Welcome DiANA R to the CRVL forums! To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started.

Most of our rules boil down to two simple over-riding principles: 1) What you post should provide good information (like your introductory post), and 2) Any response to someone else's post should make them feel glad they are part of this forum community.

We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[bagabum]

Dianna,  "you for any help or ideas that you guys can give. )  they make spray foam kits that are self contained, no power or air compressor, etc. They are a bit pricey .  They are  kind of easy to use once you get the hang of the expansion rate. Great R factor. You would have to cover though because the results are fairly ugly.

 

[B and C]

You have to be careful of canned spray foam. Most sold at the home improvement stores are open cell foam. Open cell foam can absorb moisture and lead to mold or rust. Use only closed cell foam if you decide to go this route.

If you will be using a propane heater that is not vented, it will put a lot of water vapor in the van as water vapor is a byproduct of combustion. Opening a window is probably not enough as the water vapor will condense on the insulation.

 

[bagabum]

B and C  good point on closed cell foam.

 

[jonyjoe303]

The best way and easiest is to use a hotgluegun and just hotglue the foam. Cut the foam into small sections and hotglue it like a jigsaw puzzle. You can hotglue multiple layers as needed. I got about 6 layers on the roof. Its a very good installation and won't come by itself. In 8 years never had any foam come off by itself.

Hotglue has no fumes and dries in minutes, and sticks easily to metal and foam. Just wear gloves so you do burn yourself when installing the foam. You can get a 60 watt gun that runs on a small 150 watt inverter. Since it dries quickly it won't take long to finish installing the insulation. Add multiple layers if you plan on spending alot of time in cold weather, it works excellent. All you need is a box cutter to cut the foam. You can buy a 5 pound box of hotglue for 25 dollar on ebay or amazon, the generic gluesticks work good, just make sure you buy ones that fit the gluegun.

I use the rtech foam found at home depot, the 1/2 inch 4x8 foot will cost you about 9 dollars.


This is the gluegun I use surebonder dt-360f

 

[DiANA R]

Hi MrAlvinDude,
Thank you for the reply. I figure to be in AZ or Nevada in Dec or Jan. I will try not to move to far in my first year. But the best laid plans these days seem at best to be fluid.
I actually went to AMZ and checked out Bob's book and could read about his first van. He talks about making his bed on top of 4 18gal Rubbermaid storage bins, which is what I am planning and then for a floor he just threw a rug in and called it good. But I know I need more than that. I wish I knew if the Van Build was happening but again-who knows about these things now.
Bob also talks about Reflectix and space blankets and caulking all the drafts and gettin a cover of something on the roof. I couldn't get to the part where he says what to cover it with. I think I can do something like this, at least for the floor and the bed.
Do you know anything about styrofoam insulation? I also thought of keeping the clothes that I was going to pass on to Goodwill and stuffing them in the crevasses of the steel walls in a cargo van. Now that would be a good reuse of stuff if I ever heard of one
Thanks again I very much appreciate it

 

[DiANA R]

Thank you so much RV Dreams,
I have been mostly on the other channel for about 3 years. I will take more time to read the Tips, Tricks and Rules over again.
I haven't been here for so long. Now I am sort of starting to reach out as the months seem to go by so fast and I need to get my butt in gear and get out of where I am at. And that is going to be hard because I don't even have my DL renewed. The DMV is closed in CA after the latest call to stay at home. It is looking like I will be flying by the seat of my pants in the near future.....Diana

 

[DiANA R]

Hi bagabum,
whoa boy, thank you for the info. Are they styrofoam? I read in Bob's book about styrofoam. But couldn't get much more than that-I was reading his book on AMZ. I don't know if I would have the energy for this. But I will definitely try to find out about it. Does the foam just keep growing and growing? That could give me creepy vibes of like the Body Snatchers or something! Especially if it is really, really ugly! I am joking of course. But I think I would be better to find maybe something with a bit more form to it. And I don't really even know about the R factor but I guess the higher the better? I will look into this most definitely. Who knows what I could manage if it comes to that. Thank you for the info.
Diana

 

[DiANA R]

Hey B and C,
OK, I will be careful. I know that it would be bad to get moisture in the van. But I am not sure about which is good insul or bad. Thanks so much for the advice.
I never even thought of canned spray foam. It sounds a bit like it would be expensive? I guess that it wouldn't be bad to use all different types of insul. Like say use the spray in hard to reach corners and then use styrofoam for bigger openings or cut foam and glue gun it to bigger spaces or the roof as someone else wrote.
I was thinking I had to do it all one way. But with all this info it looks like people have their own special ideas about it. Is that right-could I use different insul different ways??
Diana

 

[DiANA R]

The best way and easiest is to use a hotgluegun and just hotglue the foam. Cut the foam into small sections and hotglue it like a jigsaw puzzle. You can hotglue multiple layers as needed. I got about 6 layers on the roof. Its a very good installation and won't come by itself. In 8 years never had any foam come off by itself.

Hotglue has no fumes and dries in minutes, and sticks easily to metal and foam. Just wear gloves so you do burn yourself when installing the foam. You can get a 60 watt gun that runs on a small 150 watt inverter. Since it dries quickly it won't take long to finish installing the insulation. Add multiple layers if you plan on spending alot of time in cold weather, it works excellent. All you need is a box cutter to cut the foam. You can buy a 5 pound box of hotglue for 25 dollar on ebay or amazon, the generic gluesticks work good, just make sure you buy ones that fit the gluegun.

I use the rtech foam found at home depot, the 1/2 inch 4x8 foot will cost you about 9 dollars.


This is the gluegun I use surebonder dt-360f

 

[crofter]

Here is a link to the insulation thread and glues. I recommend hot glue gun. I used polyisoXPS on a square ish van.
-crofter

https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=38458&pid=495222#pid495222

 

[DiANA R]

Hi Jonyjoe303,
Wow now that is something I wouldn't ever have thought of. You are saying that hotglue really won't melt in the desert heat??? That is amazing. I have been crafty my whole life but I never have used hotglue. I would never have thought of it.
Thanks for the photos too. This seems to be something I might actually be able to do. I mean probably not all the way but I could start and put it on the floor? And get started on the wall. Would it work for the floor?
And do you mean the inside or outside of the roof?
Thanks,
Diana

 

[jonyjoe303]

I mean on the inside of the roof. I removed the original headliner which wasn't doing much. Then I added one layer then 2 layers, eventually around 5 to 6 layers you no longer feel any cold or heat coming from the roof. But I would wait until you install any roof vents or solar panels before you start the roof installation. The roof and driver compartment can get up to 150 degrees in the sun, doesnt bother the hotglue.

For the floor rtech foam insulation won't work because it will get crushed unless you add something rigid over it. They do sell pink foam that is thicker and harder then the rtech but it also cost more.

For foam to work you need install everywhere on roof , sides, rear door and also the sliding door, and make a divider between the front and back of your van. Also all rear windows need to be insulated. Don't let any outside air in your van. You won't regret it doing a good job on insulation especially on very cold nights. Its a ongoing job, if you feel a certain section is too cold, add more insulation. Foam insulation hotglues to other foam insulation extremely well.

Since i maxed out out on foam, I no longer need a heater in winter, even in 40 degree outside weather it rarely gets below 50 in my van. Anything above 50, you don't even need a sleeping bag. Before the foam insulation, I had to sleep in 2 sleeping bags and blankets on top of that and also needed the mr.heater in the morning.

These are some of the temperature I encounter inside/outside. This is the morning temperature when I wake up with no heater.


This is what the roof insulation looks like


inside of my van. I had to work around rear seats etc during construction, straight ahead is the driver compartment behind a foam door. Lot of heat/cold will come in from the large windshield thats why you need to isolate the front from the back. Even my cabinet doors are made out of foam insulation.

 

[bagabum]

Hi bagabum,
whoa boy, thank you for the info. Are they styrofoam? I read in Bob's book about styrofoam. But couldn't get much more than that-I was reading his book on AMZ. I don't know if I would have the energy for this. But I will definitely try to find out about it. Does the foam just keep growing and growing? That could give me creepy vibes of like the Body Snatchers or something! Especially if it is really, really ugly! I am joking of course. But I think I would be better to find maybe something with a bit more form to it. And I don't really even know about the R factor but I guess the higher the better? I will look into this most definitely. Who knows what I could manage if it comes to that. Thank you for the info.
Diana   

Diana, an option would be to buy sheet foam board and take your time and cut and fit small pieces, say 12x12 inch pieces at a time, smaller pieces in the corners. Be careful cutting it!!!!! Do a few pieces each day. I will say that the Great Stuff spray foam is one unbelievable adhesive, "experience" . Spray a blob on a piece of pre-cut hard foam board and stick to the metal and slide it around a little to breakdown the foam, It creates a vacuum and adheres it to the metal very well. You can let go in a few seconds. Insulation makes all the difference in the world. I am building right now with 2 layers of 1" foam board for an R value of 12. My 144" x74" x 84" high DIY camper will only be transferring about 800 Btu on a 20 deg delta day. My 2000 Btu 24V DC air conditioner will work great because of the insulation factor. It will run all night on 2 Ohmmu batteries.

 

[DiANA R]

Hey jonyjoe303,
The pics are very helpful. Sorry for the wait. I had a bad day yesterday. Just getting rolling now.
So the photos are good. How will you cover it up? Or have you gotten that far yet?
It looks like a big job. Did you have a garage to work in? And how did it turn out???
Thanks so much for your help,
Diana

 

[DiANA R]

Hi Sofisintown,
Glad to hear your plans. The Good Stuff/Great Stuff has been mention a couple of times so I think I would work on using that with the insul. Did you add a roof rack? Bob mentions a roof rack with clearance for his fan and with solar panels on it so the van's roof never has direct sunlight hit it. Thank you so much for your input,
Diana

 

[highdesertranger]

warning do not use the good/great stuff. it rots metal. every vehicle I have seen it use on starts rusting around the foam in a few years. highdesertranger

 

[DiANA R]

Here is a link to the insulation thread and glues. I recommend hot glue gun. I used polyisoXPS on a square ish van.
-crofter

https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=38458&pid=495222#pid495222