Questions on Insulating Sliding and Rear Doors

[roadrunner]

I’ve read a lot of threads on insulating in here, but what I haven’t read (or simply missed), is how to insulate the doors on a van? My cargo van has the two traditional rear doors, with windows, and a sliding side door (no window.) The walls are pretty easy from all of the threads I have read in here.

So, how does one effectively insulate their doors?

Thanks for any/all ideas/help!

 

[One Awesome Inch]

A good question. What I have done is completely "wall over" the sliding door on my van with 2 inch rigid foam insulation. I know I lose an entry point, but I think its the best way to insulate a sliding door. Otherwise, there are just too many points of contention.

As to the rear doors what I have done is  walled over one of the doors,  while leaving a space in the wall for a window. Then with the other side I will be putting a small 24 inch wide door in on a piano hinge. That door will also have a space for a window. With that door closed there will be about a two inch space between the wall that I have built and the metal doors of the van. 

In the winter I will likely seal up that rear door to make sure there are no drafts. I will mostly be coming in thru the door of my partition wall, thru the driver's side door as I am 100% urban stealth.

Basically with the sliding door walled over and the rear wall built I will have the van well insulated to outside weather and sound. I will also have 2 or 3 vents for air exchange.

If you check out my youtube channel, below in my signature, I did a vid of how I built the bare bones frame of my rear wall.

 

[Almost There]

I’ve read a lot of threads on insulating in here, but what I haven’t read (or simply missed), is how to insulate the doors on a van? My cargo van has the two traditional rear doors, with windows, and a sliding side door (no window.) The walls are pretty easy from all of the threads I have read in here.

So, how does one effectively insulate their doors?

Thanks for any/all ideas/help!

That will depend on what weather conditions you expect to encounter.

If the sliding door has the plastic cover panels on it, it's easy enough to pop them off and insulate behind them and either put them back on or put on your own panels depending on how you're finishing the inside. The inside of the cargo door is about the same as the inside of the van, maybe missing a structural rib.

The important thing with the sliding door is to be conscious of how much weight you're adding since it will take more effort to open and close it and also will put extra weight on the slide mechanisms - they were engineered for the weight of the empty door. Don't load them up too much!

I don't have a sliding door so I'll be popping of the manufacturers inner door panels and putting the bubble wrap/reflectix in the inside of the door making sure that I miss the moving parts for the door latches.

If you're intent on putting something like polyiso insulation in there then you probably going to have to use metal tape, VHB tape or just plain wedge the insulation boards in there.

Some people simply hang a heavy duty insulating curtain over the door area in cold weather.

 

[LeeRevell]

My plans are to stuff insulation inside the doors. Luckily I have the barn doors on the side.

 

[akrvbob]

Stuffing insulation works well, but remember that fiberglass dramatically loses insulation value if it is compressed. So don't compress it. It will also shed little particles that will make you itch so seal it up also.
Bob

 

[Almost There]

Stuffing insulation works well, but remember that fiberglass dramatically loses insulation value if it is compressed. So don't compress it. It will also shed little particles that will make you itch so seal it up also.
Bob

It also attracts and holds moisture - quite well I might add. I just spent a lot of time removing fiberglass insulation. It's water holding properties allowed me to find a couple of leaks that I would otherwise have missed.

 

[roadrunner]

Thanks for the great ideas and information -- if anyone else has any ideas, feel free to toss them out there! I've been reading this site for a couple of months before registering and posting, as I wanted to learn as much as I could by reading before I started asking questions. I’ve taken several notes, used some ideas already, and modified several others with my own. This site truly is awesome, unique, and packed full great info, thanks to all!

I think I'm going to avoid using any fiberglass, as I've put that in houses before and that is nasty itchy stuff! I'm using Reflectix and Polyiso in my van. As for inside the doors maybe I'll use some styrofoam peanuts, staying clear of the moving parts of course. I will see about putting a sheet of ½” Polyiso on the doors. The back ones would be pretty easy; it’s the sliding door that gets tricky. Adding extra weight to the sliding door is a concern of course, as the last thing I want is something that will cause it to fail or jam up.

I still need to get a handle for the inside of the rear door, as it doesn't have one. I’m guessing a junkyard will probably have one; I’ll just have to call the dealer and get a crosscheck of part numbers and years so I’ll know what will work.

Being a standard cargo van there isn’t any paneling in it, but I view that as a good thing, as it’s basically a clean slate to build in. Now I have several great ideas to work from and a few of my own, including an interesting one I came up with last night, but I'm going to have to see how practical it is first...

 

[GotSmart]

Peanuts... Perhaps in sealed gallon bags for ease of handling and removal?

 

[Almost There]

Peanuts... Perhaps in sealed gallon bags for ease of handling and removal?

They're gonna squeak no matter what though!!

 

[LeeRevell]

It also attracts and holds moisture - quite well I might add. I just spent a lot of time removing fiberglass insulation. It's water holding properties allowed me to find a couple of leaks that I would otherwise have missed.

Fiberglass is not in my plans.

 

[Canine]

Just don't use spray foam, it eats up the steel. You can google it or just take the word of posters for it. Gotta watch the great foam products too, really nasty to get off anything. Ok for small hard to get areas, just resist the temptation to "squirt just a little more in there".