Van Color

[BrentFinn]

This might be a silly question but has anyone done a conversion on a black colored van? The reason I ask it is I can buy a black promaster at a price that fits our budget the only downside I can figure is it is black in color. I do live in Canada not the desert but our plan is to travel for a year through Canada then down to the southern US in the winter months. I will insulate the van which may help with the heat but is Van color going to make a huge difference? Or am I just worrying about nothing.
Thoughts of those that van travel would be appreciated.

 

[user 423]

Do you plan to put solar panels topside?

 

[BrentFinn]

Do you plan to put solar panels topside?

Yes which I realize it means parking in full sun. That's my worry with the back van I thought white was used cause that's the colour of 99% of all cargo vans. I don't want to roast just to be different.

 

[John61CT]

The cheap paint job places are, well cheap.

Make a deal you take care of a lot of the prep they do the extra coats to go to a light color.

 

[SoulRaven]

There is a huge difference in heat draw just between white and off white. I can't imagine black, refuse to even imagine that.

 

[user 423]

If you have several panels on the roof, it would help shade you from the hottest midday rays.

All of the vans I've owned have been white or some lighter color but I don't think it would make a huge difference and it's hard to say how much.

Here's a link to a guy that did some extensive testing on the subject:

http://www.tom-morrow-land.com/tests/cartemp/

 

[BrentFinn]

Thanks slow2day interesting read
I can not believe how much I am worrying about this decision. I would save myself $1000 dollars right now if I went with a black van, and if I was somewhere and it was 95-100'F out I don't think I would be sitting in any colored van during the day.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Down here in the south you pay a PREMIUM if you want a black cargo van...


Wanna trade?


I would have to special order one and pay out the wazzzooo...the $sale$men $ee me coming...


As long as you insulate and ventilate, its not that much hotter, but...if its parked all day in the hot sun it will get pretty hot in there without airflow.

I'm willing to deal with it...I would use roof solar panels, an awning, spray foam insulation, and a good roof fan, or AC if really needed.

 

[SoulRaven]

130 degrees for the black, and 113 degrees for the white, well, either is hot. https://www.autotrader.com/car-vide...ck-cars-really-hotter-in-the-sun-video-242940 Autotrader did a test between two like vehicles, one black, one white. After 10 minutes, the white car cooled down to 84 degrees, while the black one cooled to 91 degrees. A similar test, more scientific, showed pretty much the exact same results: https://phys.org/news/2011-10-silver-white-cars-cooler.html and this article claims both white and silver reign supreme. I don't know how much of this matters in real life, but I know a lighter colored TTs are much easier to cool, the white over the off white does make a difference. It depends on how one is going to use what they have.

 

[CautionToTheWind]

Black / dark brown is quite popular in the south where it is hot in the summer. Overland community loves black/brown too.

You're following the cooler weather so I wouldn't worry. Insulating is more important for cold...many van dwellers have experienced a well-insulated van to be very uncomfortable in the heat as it doesn't cool down for hours after the sun has gone down. Of course, you didn't detail what you meant by insulating and that isn't the context of topic however related.

 

[BrentFinn]

Black / dark brown is quite popular in the south where it is hot in the summer. Overland community loves black/brown too.

You're following the cooler weather so I wouldn't worry. Insulating is more important for cold...many van dwellers have experienced a well-insulated van to be very uncomfortable in the heat as it doesn't cool down for hours after the sun has gone down. Of course, you didn't detail what you meant by insulating and that isn't the context of topic however related.

I am thinking of insulating the walls with polyiso foam board and great stuff and of course a fan for ventilation. The insulation should help retain heat in the cooler season as well as slow the conduction of heat from the sun hitting the van right?

 

[CautionToTheWind]

Bob Wells recommends in the heat only using polyiso. http://www.cheaprvliving.com/heating-insulation/understanding-insulation-van/

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

If you're not traveling everyday, this blog post by our fearless leader on using shade cloth in the desert will probably be useful to you:

http://www.cheaprvliving.com/blog/using-shade-cloth-desert/

 

[deadwood]

My van is charcoal gray so it's just about one step up from full black. I'm in AZ right now so if I'm in the sun it really doesn't matter what color the van is because it is just plain too hot. When I first got the van if it was parked in the sun you could feel the heat radiating off of the ceiling. After insulation went in I can park in full sun and not feel any heat being radiated in at all. So proper insulation makes a huge difference.

I also have a 315 watt solar panel up top so that keeps a lot of the sun off the top of the van as well. When I'm urban camping I'm usually somewhere where the weather is not too bad anyways. If it was too hot I could park in the shade. Then it would make no difference of the color because the sun is not shining on it. I would not be generating any solar at that time though.

If you can get a great deal on the van and it happens to be black I just wouldn't worry that much about it. If it is hot out and you are in the van I guarantee that you will be looking for shade to park under anyways. And if you insulate it might still get hot on the outside of the van but it will keep a lot of that heat from radiating inside.

 

[TrainChaser]

My thoughts:

1. Buy it, make minimal conversions, bring it here to the U.S. and sell it to some guy who thinks black is 'kewl' [*choke* *gag*] for more than you bought it for. :dodgy: :exclamation:

2. Buy it, add a roof rack, solar panels (will provide shade), and roof vent/fan, and carry some kind of reflective material (Reflectix, or tarp with reflective material on one side) to fasten on the sunny side when you're parked.

 

[eDJ_]

I like the Fleet White so many commercial cargo vans come in.  Much like the white of a Refrigerator.

In my part of the world it makes sense.  I once had a Red Van and in the hot summer it was like an oven.
I had the roof painted a bright white and that made loads of difference but it could still be unbearable. (even with the windows and door's open and mosquito netting in them.   So I learned to find sites with tall trees for shade.

If I were in that situation again,  I think I'd find painters tarps (thin fabric that's white in color) and pitch a "fly tent" to pull under.  (rigging it between trees).

But this is the stuff you learn with experience.

 

[user 423]

After insulation went in I can park in full sun and not feel any heat being radiated in at all. So proper insulation makes a huge difference.

How much insulation did you put in?

 

[Snikwahjm]

Paint the roof white?

 

[tx2sturgis]

My thoughts:

1. Buy it, make minimal conversions, bring it here to the U.S. and sell it to some guy who thinks black is 'kewl' [*choke* *gag*] for more than you bought it for. :dodgy: :exclamation:

lol...

 

[deadwood]

As much as I could. I used denim insulation to fill in all the cavities I could reach and used the 3m Thinsulate on the ceiling. Love the Thinsulate. With it on the ceiling I don't feel any heat radiating in. However simple or complex your build gets I think insulation makes one of the biggest differences you can make.