Thermal / Accoustic Insulation

[brenchk]

On the basis I am trying to get the most out of the van before the cold weather hits I am planning a trip to the South of France in late October.

I have been thinking about investing in some insulation mainly for keeping the cold out as opposed the noise aspect. Idea came to me when looking at campershak.co.uk

http://www.thecampershak.co.uk/products.php?subcatid=11" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I just wondered if anyone had an opinion on whether this is a good idea or am I just wasting my money. Has anyone had this done? Do you notice any difference?

I trust the Campershak team, they built a cracking kitchen station for the van... cooked many a pasta dish...

Thoughts?

 

[flynster]

fella i used foiled wrapped bubble wrap from wickes , two rolls for 13 squid a go enough to do the whole bus including under seats at rear and above most of the headliner....good for thermal qualities and with panels and interior replaced not bad on acoustics either ...mind you i did revert back to stock exhaust instead of a terrible monza four tip
hope this helps fella
:wink: ste

 

[Guest]

i used the foil backed camping mats from Lidl, they are closed cell so water proof and foil backed for heat retention. £6 for one and measures 2m X 0.6m, they are about 1/2 inch thick so sound deadening is superb! oh, and also fire retardant.

i hope the £125 includes fitting?

 

[aircured]

Have you got any pictures of the installation?

 

[matt-me]

Am considering insulation options myself and will be interested to see opinions. Being from a technical building background, i do know that the specs of acoustic insulation and thermal insulation are almost opposite in their properties. If you want to reduce sound then the heavier mass of a material the better. Thermal, it needs to be light and designed so trapped air insulates and keeps the inside of the bus warm, hence rockwool was very cheap and effective in houses. However, this is no good for vans as there is a high risk of condensation (warm moist air hitting cold surfaces), so as Johnny says whatever you put in can't absorb or hold water.

The foil bubble wrap type stuff works by reflecting the heat back in and trapping air also, but wouldn't be v good for acoustic. I quite like the sound of johnny's sugestion as there is a mix of both. It is important to tape joints and edges.

Have also heard of people sticking pads of 'flashband' in the middle of panels as sound deadeners, this should help but could also be quite weighty if alot used.

It might be an idea to waxoil the inside of panels in case of condensation getting trapped. If possible and after using the van for camping or long times with alot of people, try and leave windows slightly open for some time (use a breathable cover if you don't have a garage) as this will help the moisture to evaporate.

Here endeth the lesson....hope this helps, will decide myself soon, a winter job i think.

If anyone wants to get really techie try http://www.siderise.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; a specialist insulation supplier we used for a sound studio.

 

[ronmidg]

matt-me is right, you need mass and damping for acoustic, and layers of trapped air for thermal, and cover every inch or you will get condensation.
I used construction bubble wrap like ooro for thermal.
Wickes do another product which is good for acoustic which is cold self adhesive flat roofing, for roofs its two layer, but the under layer is like 2mm thick rubber, one and a half rolls does the whole van with two layers on the engine bay panels.
I was nervous about sticking stuff to the floor 'cos there will still be condensation on the windows and if there is any moisture running down its hidden, so the floor is lots of paint, 15mm ply and hotel grade carpet which comes with a thick rubber backing.

 

[matt-me]

Ron, i like the idea of the sticky underfelt, does it reduce the sound alot? Did you then put the foil bubble wrap over the felt?

 

[ronmidg]

matt-me, sure did, its on the split, Jane's bay is part way through getting the same treatment, I can hear the engine faintly from the front if I have the heater vent open, or through the open window driving past a building, but not from the back. Above 3500rpm there is a general increasing noise level coming from the back, but the noisy engine higher frequency stuff is completely absent. Its important to cover every bit of metal, the old style approach of a patch of dynamat in the middle of the panel might help if there is a panel resonance but does virtually nothing for general noise level, thats what the van came with and I ended up chipping it off. Used screwfix spray glue to stick the bubble wrap on top of the rubber.

edit, dont want to oversell this, it transformed the van from what it was, but its not comparable to modern cars.

 

[pinheaduk]

flashing tape is good for both also stops some panel vibration.

can get it from toolstastion

http://www.toolstation.com/search.html?searchstr=flashing+tape&Search=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;