After being par-broiled a few times entering my dark cargo van, I figured there had to be a fairly simple way to do ceiling insulation. Feel the roof of your van after a few hours in hot sun and it's almost too hot to touch and all that heat is radiating inside.
So, I needed something simple. Also something I didn't have to glue in place in case the whole thing didn't work or if I wanted access to the roof (permanence is a real pain sometimes). Did I mention inexpensive as well? No reason covering a van roof should cost a fortune.
Simple, flexible and cheap, love it.
First aha moment is realizing that the cable holders along the roof line sit about 1/2" below the roof line and have a convenient horizontal shelf on top. Off to the home improvement store and find this nifty stuff. Rigid, with pretty good flex and reasonably durable. Now we don't want this ugly construction finish messing up our pretty benz mobile, so how about facing the inside surface with this stuff? Which is also conveniently enough a sound deadener, and doubly convenient self adhesive.
It's not a real easy project. Lots of measuring, cutting, fitting, recutting and refitting. The tighter you keep the panels the better insulated and better stabilized it becomes. I used one panel for the back two roof sections and two smaller pieces for the front two sections. I trimmed off the tops of those two bolsters that stick out above and behind the seats for support and added mending brackets to the cross beams for mid-line support.
There's about a 3/4" air gap above the rear panel and about a 1/4"- 1/2" air gap above the front panels. The difference is huge and immediately noticable. The inside stays considerably cooler in the sun and the AC works much faster in cooling the interior down.
Two 4'x8' insulation panels, one roll of Noico Liner, a handful of hardware, and about 8-10 hours. Total cost- $100.00, a days work and I can have it removed in about 30 minutes if needed. Not too shabby.
So, I needed something simple. Also something I didn't have to glue in place in case the whole thing didn't work or if I wanted access to the roof (permanence is a real pain sometimes). Did I mention inexpensive as well? No reason covering a van roof should cost a fortune.
Simple, flexible and cheap, love it.
First aha moment is realizing that the cable holders along the roof line sit about 1/2" below the roof line and have a convenient horizontal shelf on top. Off to the home improvement store and find this nifty stuff. Rigid, with pretty good flex and reasonably durable. Now we don't want this ugly construction finish messing up our pretty benz mobile, so how about facing the inside surface with this stuff? Which is also conveniently enough a sound deadener, and doubly convenient self adhesive.
It's not a real easy project. Lots of measuring, cutting, fitting, recutting and refitting. The tighter you keep the panels the better insulated and better stabilized it becomes. I used one panel for the back two roof sections and two smaller pieces for the front two sections. I trimmed off the tops of those two bolsters that stick out above and behind the seats for support and added mending brackets to the cross beams for mid-line support.
There's about a 3/4" air gap above the rear panel and about a 1/4"- 1/2" air gap above the front panels. The difference is huge and immediately noticable. The inside stays considerably cooler in the sun and the AC works much faster in cooling the interior down.
Two 4'x8' insulation panels, one roll of Noico Liner, a handful of hardware, and about 8-10 hours. Total cost- $100.00, a days work and I can have it removed in about 30 minutes if needed. Not too shabby.
