2015 170” DirtDevil Build - Insulation
Insulation and Sound Dampening
Finally got around to adding sound dampening and insulating the rear of the van. After some serious thought and consideration as to what I’m going to be using the van for, I’ve decided to run with rattle trap and roadkill for sound dampening. And a combination of Low-E for reflective insulation, and Thinsulate and RMax R-Matt Plus-3 rigid polyiso foam.
Used the rattletrap because a friend had some left over from his build. That got me pretty much good for the entire van except the roof and wheel wells. I ordered RoadKill to finish things off. If I had to do it again, I’d use RoadKill for it all - nice stuff, cheaper I think, and no asphalt. It all came out well though. No need to cover the entire surface area of the van with the stuff though.
Insulation will be a multi-stage deal. After dry testing some combinations, looking at R-values and also looking at where I needed rigidity or not, I decided to go with the following, in order, from the outer van walls toward the inside; will finish off with wall panels as well later:
Upper recesses: rattletrap + 1 layer of 2” thick thinsulate + Low-E
Middle window recesses: rattletrap + 1.5” of RMAX PolyIso rigid foam + Low-E
Bottom recesses: rattletrap + 2 layers of Thinsulate
Roof: 1 layer of RoadKill + 1.5” of RMAX PolyIso rigid foam + Low-E
The walls are pretty much done, except for the fact that I am leaving the Low-E off until I get all my electrical run and situated...
Went ahead and put a double layer of 2" wide thinsulate in the middle channels; Just snaked them through the oblong holes and pulled them the length of the run. Pretty much put thinsulate in all the nooks and crannys I could.
Rear and slider doors got a healthy dose of thinsulate as well - I spend a lot of time working it in those things !! but happy how it turned out. I get a good "thump" when closing them now. Solid sounding!
For the bottom recesses I determined that there was enough room to put two layers of Thinsulate and not really compress it! - So that gives an estimated R-value of about R10 - give or take. Couple that with the Low-e, I think it will be really good. I’m happy with how it’s looking so far.
For the Middle window recesses, I decided to go with the RMax Polyiso because I want some rigidity in those areas since I’ll be running some L-Track and other things along the wall. I’ll be reinforcing the walls and roof in some parts with some metal sheeting of some flavor (SS, or painted steel, etc), so the foam will give a nice firm area to play with, while giving an estimated R-value of close to 10+ with the Low-E.
Lastly, the Roof - I want the most reflective insulation possible; I’m struggling on whether to run with the 1.5” Rmax to get an Rvalue of R13, followed by the Low-E (R6). OR go with the Thinsulate (R5) and the Low-E (R6) - I can get approx R11 with the proper small airgap (specs say that Low-E in horizontal applications gets R6 mostly).
I’m going to be shimming out the roof with some 1/4 boards to provide a surface for the roof panels to mount on, as well as give me just a little bit more gap between the insulation and the Low-e.
Given I have a lot of leftover Thinsulate, ponder if R11 is good enough for me; also considering it won’t cost me any more money. Although, the RMAX isn’t too bad in terms of cost for the amount I’ll need. However the other option could yield upwards of R19 combination with the right air gap. That’s pretty significant. I’m also thinking of the fact that I’ll have upwards of 300-400 watts of Solar on the roof, collecting the sun at times.
Before I seal it all up with Low-E, I need to go and seal the side trim mounting tabs on the inside, everywhere I can - with some sealant. Or do folks think it's overkill ? The thinsulate is hydrophobic after all...
Interested in everyone’s thoughts.
Insulation and Sound Dampening
Finally got around to adding sound dampening and insulating the rear of the van. After some serious thought and consideration as to what I’m going to be using the van for, I’ve decided to run with rattle trap and roadkill for sound dampening. And a combination of Low-E for reflective insulation, and Thinsulate and RMax R-Matt Plus-3 rigid polyiso foam.
Used the rattletrap because a friend had some left over from his build. That got me pretty much good for the entire van except the roof and wheel wells. I ordered RoadKill to finish things off. If I had to do it again, I’d use RoadKill for it all - nice stuff, cheaper I think, and no asphalt. It all came out well though. No need to cover the entire surface area of the van with the stuff though.
Insulation will be a multi-stage deal. After dry testing some combinations, looking at R-values and also looking at where I needed rigidity or not, I decided to go with the following, in order, from the outer van walls toward the inside; will finish off with wall panels as well later:
Upper recesses: rattletrap + 1 layer of 2” thick thinsulate + Low-E
Middle window recesses: rattletrap + 1.5” of RMAX PolyIso rigid foam + Low-E
Bottom recesses: rattletrap + 2 layers of Thinsulate
Roof: 1 layer of RoadKill + 1.5” of RMAX PolyIso rigid foam + Low-E
The walls are pretty much done, except for the fact that I am leaving the Low-E off until I get all my electrical run and situated...
Went ahead and put a double layer of 2" wide thinsulate in the middle channels; Just snaked them through the oblong holes and pulled them the length of the run. Pretty much put thinsulate in all the nooks and crannys I could.
Rear and slider doors got a healthy dose of thinsulate as well - I spend a lot of time working it in those things !! but happy how it turned out. I get a good "thump" when closing them now. Solid sounding!
For the bottom recesses I determined that there was enough room to put two layers of Thinsulate and not really compress it! - So that gives an estimated R-value of about R10 - give or take. Couple that with the Low-e, I think it will be really good. I’m happy with how it’s looking so far.
For the Middle window recesses, I decided to go with the RMax Polyiso because I want some rigidity in those areas since I’ll be running some L-Track and other things along the wall. I’ll be reinforcing the walls and roof in some parts with some metal sheeting of some flavor (SS, or painted steel, etc), so the foam will give a nice firm area to play with, while giving an estimated R-value of close to 10+ with the Low-E.
Lastly, the Roof - I want the most reflective insulation possible; I’m struggling on whether to run with the 1.5” Rmax to get an Rvalue of R13, followed by the Low-E (R6). OR go with the Thinsulate (R5) and the Low-E (R6) - I can get approx R11 with the proper small airgap (specs say that Low-E in horizontal applications gets R6 mostly).
I’m going to be shimming out the roof with some 1/4 boards to provide a surface for the roof panels to mount on, as well as give me just a little bit more gap between the insulation and the Low-e.
Given I have a lot of leftover Thinsulate, ponder if R11 is good enough for me; also considering it won’t cost me any more money. Although, the RMAX isn’t too bad in terms of cost for the amount I’ll need. However the other option could yield upwards of R19 combination with the right air gap. That’s pretty significant. I’m also thinking of the fact that I’ll have upwards of 300-400 watts of Solar on the roof, collecting the sun at times.
Before I seal it all up with Low-E, I need to go and seal the side trim mounting tabs on the inside, everywhere I can - with some sealant. Or do folks think it's overkill ? The thinsulate is hydrophobic after all...
Interested in everyone’s thoughts.