Greetings,
I've been reading this forum for a long time and just joined officially after finally receiving my 2022 cargo van. Like Tickbus, I ordered my van in November and was finally able to pick it up at the end of March. Since ordering the van, I've been researching how to do a few simple things, so this forum will hopefully come in handy.
There is so much I don't know, and I don't have the vocabulary to be able to Google what I want to learn about. I'll be asking for information (like...what is this thing called?) and I hope people here can point me to other sources of information where I can read and learn about specific things.
The very first thing I need to do is insulate the van. I have 3 boxes of Havelock wool, and I've also ordered DuraTherm wall and ceiling liner. My plan is to stuff the wall and ceiling cavities with wool batting, and then have the DuraTherm installed over the top of it. This seems simple enough, but I have so many questions about how to even get started. I'm hoping someone here has some experience.
Question 1. Removal of foam pieces in the corners of the ceiling
(Picture #1)
The van has triangular shaped foam pieces on the ceiling. These are in the way of the ceiling insulation and liner, and probably need to be removed. I don't actually know what these are, and my dealer didn't either. He surmised that they are for sound dampening, but did not know for sure. Does anyone know what these are? Does anyone have experience with removing these for insulation? Did you put them back after the insulation/ceiling panels were installed, or did you leave them out permanently? My next question is about the star shaped screw. I'm assuming this is called a Torx screw. Does anyone know the size of these screws (or even better, does anyone know of an online resource where I can look this stuff up)? I don't have a star screwdriver or drill bit and will need to buy one. I'd like to buy the one I need and not a bunch of extra stuff that I don't need and have no use for.
Question 2. Removal of foam jack holder
(Picture #2,3)
The van has what seems like an excessively large foam housing for the jack and tire kit. It is attached to the wall behind the wheel well and takes up a ridiculous amount of space. I have no idea why it's so enormous. Is there a reason for it? Did people take it out? If so, how did you take it out? There are two "things" (here is where my vocabulary is non-existent) that look like they could be what is attaching the jack holder to the wall of the van. One is a star screw, and the other thing is something I don't know the name of. I don't know which one is actually holding the jack cover to the wall, or how to properly remove this thing without damaging it.
Question 3. Bags of foam flake insulation stuffed into some of the wall cavities
(Picture #4,5)
I was digging around in the wall cavities, and I found that a few of them have plastic bags with foam flakes stuffed in them. I'm assuming these are for stopping things from rattling. The bags are kind of in the way of where I'd like to push the wool insulation into the cavity. Plus, the bags are really flimsy and tear easily, which leaks foam flakes all over the place and makes me grumpy. Did people remove these and replace them with whatever other insulation you were going to put in the wall anyway?
Question 4. Headliner
Did you remove the headliner to add additional insulation between it and the roof?
Question 5. Removing the pre-installed door paneling
(Picture #6)
I need to remove the pre-installed paneling in order to put wool insulation behind it. Again, this is where my vocabulary is non-existent. What is the name of the screw thing that's attaching it to the frame, so I can get the right tool to detach the pre-installed paneling.
Why I chose Havelock wool and DuraTherm, even though they are expensive.
I have never done anything like this, and I plan on making a lot of mistakes and changing my mind as I learn. I am trying to avoid drilling holes and putting permanent adhesives in the van until I actually know what I'm doing and have some experience behind me. I also want things to be removable, so I did not want anything like spray foam, or anything else that will only come out in a million pieces. Part of learning means I'm not going to do everything at once. I will have to remove and replace the wall/ceiling liner at some later date, in order to run infrastructure behind it. I don't yet know where I'll need to run electrical for lighting and for running the solar panel cables to the battery/charge controller.
The Havelock wool is meant to be installed by friction only, not glue. You are supposed to run a nylon twine net/mesh through the holes and gaps in the ribs and then stuff the insulation batts behind it, then put the wall/ceiling liner on to permanently hold it in place. The nylon twine is supposed to be just good enough to temporarily hold things in place until you can sandwich the batts behind the wall liner.
The DuraTherm was very interesting to me because it's pre-cut and easy to install. It is "expensive, but done." It's also an insulator in itself.
I look forward to learning a ton from this forum and sharing my knowledge with others. Oddly enough, it's a little difficult to find info on the Metris. YouTube is packed full of information about Sprinters, ProMasters, and Transits...but very little on the Metris.
Cheers
Tracey
Picture 1. Triangular Foam pieces
Picture 2. The "jack housing of unusual size" (someone please tell me they love The Princess Bride)
Picture 3. The "thing" that looks like it might be what's attaching the jack housing to the wall. What are the metal tab things that are on each side of the star screw? They don't look like they're meant to be removed. They almost look like they were bent to lock them in place. Like a permanent button/button hole.
Picture 4&5. Bags of foam were stuffed here
There is also a bag stuffed in the hole that looks like where you'd put a light...where the red circle is pointing to:
Picture 6. What is this thing called, and what is the best tool to remove it?
I've been reading this forum for a long time and just joined officially after finally receiving my 2022 cargo van. Like Tickbus, I ordered my van in November and was finally able to pick it up at the end of March. Since ordering the van, I've been researching how to do a few simple things, so this forum will hopefully come in handy.
There is so much I don't know, and I don't have the vocabulary to be able to Google what I want to learn about. I'll be asking for information (like...what is this thing called?) and I hope people here can point me to other sources of information where I can read and learn about specific things.
The very first thing I need to do is insulate the van. I have 3 boxes of Havelock wool, and I've also ordered DuraTherm wall and ceiling liner. My plan is to stuff the wall and ceiling cavities with wool batting, and then have the DuraTherm installed over the top of it. This seems simple enough, but I have so many questions about how to even get started. I'm hoping someone here has some experience.
Question 1. Removal of foam pieces in the corners of the ceiling
(Picture #1)
The van has triangular shaped foam pieces on the ceiling. These are in the way of the ceiling insulation and liner, and probably need to be removed. I don't actually know what these are, and my dealer didn't either. He surmised that they are for sound dampening, but did not know for sure. Does anyone know what these are? Does anyone have experience with removing these for insulation? Did you put them back after the insulation/ceiling panels were installed, or did you leave them out permanently? My next question is about the star shaped screw. I'm assuming this is called a Torx screw. Does anyone know the size of these screws (or even better, does anyone know of an online resource where I can look this stuff up)? I don't have a star screwdriver or drill bit and will need to buy one. I'd like to buy the one I need and not a bunch of extra stuff that I don't need and have no use for.
Question 2. Removal of foam jack holder
(Picture #2,3)
The van has what seems like an excessively large foam housing for the jack and tire kit. It is attached to the wall behind the wheel well and takes up a ridiculous amount of space. I have no idea why it's so enormous. Is there a reason for it? Did people take it out? If so, how did you take it out? There are two "things" (here is where my vocabulary is non-existent) that look like they could be what is attaching the jack holder to the wall of the van. One is a star screw, and the other thing is something I don't know the name of. I don't know which one is actually holding the jack cover to the wall, or how to properly remove this thing without damaging it.
Question 3. Bags of foam flake insulation stuffed into some of the wall cavities
(Picture #4,5)
I was digging around in the wall cavities, and I found that a few of them have plastic bags with foam flakes stuffed in them. I'm assuming these are for stopping things from rattling. The bags are kind of in the way of where I'd like to push the wool insulation into the cavity. Plus, the bags are really flimsy and tear easily, which leaks foam flakes all over the place and makes me grumpy. Did people remove these and replace them with whatever other insulation you were going to put in the wall anyway?
Question 4. Headliner
Did you remove the headliner to add additional insulation between it and the roof?
Question 5. Removing the pre-installed door paneling
(Picture #6)
I need to remove the pre-installed paneling in order to put wool insulation behind it. Again, this is where my vocabulary is non-existent. What is the name of the screw thing that's attaching it to the frame, so I can get the right tool to detach the pre-installed paneling.
Why I chose Havelock wool and DuraTherm, even though they are expensive.
I have never done anything like this, and I plan on making a lot of mistakes and changing my mind as I learn. I am trying to avoid drilling holes and putting permanent adhesives in the van until I actually know what I'm doing and have some experience behind me. I also want things to be removable, so I did not want anything like spray foam, or anything else that will only come out in a million pieces. Part of learning means I'm not going to do everything at once. I will have to remove and replace the wall/ceiling liner at some later date, in order to run infrastructure behind it. I don't yet know where I'll need to run electrical for lighting and for running the solar panel cables to the battery/charge controller.
The Havelock wool is meant to be installed by friction only, not glue. You are supposed to run a nylon twine net/mesh through the holes and gaps in the ribs and then stuff the insulation batts behind it, then put the wall/ceiling liner on to permanently hold it in place. The nylon twine is supposed to be just good enough to temporarily hold things in place until you can sandwich the batts behind the wall liner.
The DuraTherm was very interesting to me because it's pre-cut and easy to install. It is "expensive, but done." It's also an insulator in itself.
I look forward to learning a ton from this forum and sharing my knowledge with others. Oddly enough, it's a little difficult to find info on the Metris. YouTube is packed full of information about Sprinters, ProMasters, and Transits...but very little on the Metris.
Cheers
Tracey
Picture 1. Triangular Foam pieces
Picture 2. The "jack housing of unusual size" (someone please tell me they love The Princess Bride)
Picture 3. The "thing" that looks like it might be what's attaching the jack housing to the wall. What are the metal tab things that are on each side of the star screw? They don't look like they're meant to be removed. They almost look like they were bent to lock them in place. Like a permanent button/button hole.
Picture 4&5. Bags of foam were stuffed here
There is also a bag stuffed in the hole that looks like where you'd put a light...where the red circle is pointing to:
Picture 6. What is this thing called, and what is the best tool to remove it?