by RodStRace Sun Jan 19, 2014 12:15 pm
I guess I'll offer another couple cents.
I still haven't come up with a plan I'm set on.
What I want is the following:
Sound damping. I realize a panel or even a blanket hung over the walls cuts down the drumming, but I'd really like a quiet interior, or at least as quiet as you can get with the engine in there too!
Temperature insulation. This means keeping a reasonable temp when camping overnight (Warm inside) and not creating an oven during the day. Color plays a big part, but I want a dark color, so I need to make sure I get the best results.
Moisture control. When you camp, your body and breath pumps out a lot of moisture. While you also want good seals on the doors/windows to keep dirt and water out, you also want to vent the excess moisture and keep it from attacking the van and interior. A good solid coat of paint inside should protect the metal, but you don't want it to pool and sit. You also do not want it to attack the interior components and glues.
So I think I'll start with a good coat of paint. Seal all surfaces as well as possible before covering them. This includes the back of the ribs and the inside of the gutter area as much as possible. Brits use wax in tight spaces, but this is AZ. Gotta come up with a good coating that will remain in place and seal.
Next, knock down the resonance. Bedliner is heavy and very hard to remove. I'm leaning toward the damping pads that require covering only a percentage of each area, like new cars. This stuff is expensive and you need to make sure it stays in place. It also will witness line the outside if the insulations doesn't do it's job or it's stuck on wrong.
Next insulation. This is where I'm not sure what to use. I've heard good and bad about the pink stuff. I'd prefer not to hang dynamat or similar stuff because it's either going to fall down or be extremely hard to remove. Knowing how things work, probably BOTH! There is also the eggcrate stuff used in recording studios, but it's open pored and will absorb dirt and water. I may design and build the headliner and side panels, then attach the insulation to these. I can get more aggressive with attaching if it's not on the sheetmetal.
Then there is the paneling and headliner itself. Obviously, proper planning and installation will cut down on squeaks, rattles and drumming. This goes double for any accessories like lighting, shelves, beds, seating and appliances. You gotta plan ahead. You don't want to have to rip out 3 panels to fix wiring or a loose fastener!
I want solid sides as opposed to just fabric. I'm leaning toward a solid headliner too, but it will depend on my ability to be able to fabricate it.
Having solid sides does allow another face to attach insulation, and you can either damp the backside or create curved shapes to keep from a large flat surface that becomes a speaker cone.
The final surface is the floor. If you plan on crawling around on it, you probably want something flat and cushioned. So you need to consider filling the ribs for a flat surface and padding that surface. Since water pools, all of this must keep water out as much as possible, and also keep from absorbing and holding moisture, while allowing it to evaporate. The standard is plywood sheets, which allows air flow under it. I also want to have something between the floor and wood so there are no squeaks and the wood isn't sitting on the metal, wearing the paint off.
I'm going to look at various padding that has different hardness. I want it to be stiff enough so that all my weight on one knee isn't going to sink to the wood, but also allow my backside to sink in a little. Shag carpet will help this. If you decide on a Berber or cross weave carpet, it's going to need a bit more pad.