roll insulation

[LDB]

What about putting a continuous roll of this up over and down the other side in the channels filling in any gaps with the foam and covering it with something like 1/4" plywood with the reflectix roll covering it all?

Owens Corning R-13 Kraft 15 In. x 32 Ft. x 3.5 In. Mini Continuous Roll, 40 Sq. Ft. - 139697 at The Home Depot

GREAT STUFF 16 Oz. Window And Door Insulating Foam Sealant - 4643 at The Home Depot

Reflectix 4 Ft. X 25 Ft. Double Reflective Insulation - BP48025 at The Home Depot

 

[Jack_Berry]

leo, you can fiberglass if you want. that was the way it was done back in the 70's. you must make sure that you have the fiberglass completely sealed with a vapor barrier and no gaps or you start breathing that stuff when it starts to break down.

 

[LDB]

I was looking at it for the higher R value but with it partially compressed it may be no better than the sheets. It's not worth the risk and I didn't think about that part so I'll stick with plan J or M or S or whatever it was.

 

[RLENT]

Read up some on that type of insulation - what you will find is that it becomes essentially ineffective when wet.

By nature of the design of your vehicle and the insulation itself, it is likely to become moist in an enclosed space, in a vehicle. The (proper) installation and use of it in homes requires a vapor barrier - and getting a good vapor barrier in vehicle is likely to be next to impossible. And there are health concerns as well, as Jack rightly points out.

Don't waste your time or money - do it right - either have the vehicle spray foamed by someone professionally, or, if doing it yourself, use a combination of foam board (for the larger cavities) and Great Stuff to fill the small areas.

Remember to cover all exposed metal on the interior - it acts as a heatsink and transfers heat - usually in exactly the opposite direction that you want it to.

 

[LDB]

Where would you find someone to spray it and how would they keep from spraying seats etc?

 

[Turtle]

Google should do it. Look for Spray Foam Insulation dealers. There's a guy in Center, TX, just northeast of Nacogdoches, who does it. He's a chicken farmer, too. I delivered 4 drums of the foam to his farm. Out of curiosity I asked him what he'd charge to do the Sprinter, from the back of the seats, ceiling and walls, not including the rear or sliding doors, and he said about $500. That would have saved me 3 or 4 days, as I'd still have to finish it off and do something with the doors.

Incidentally, I looked it up 'cause I couldn't remember. Closed cell foam is 2.5 pounds per cubic foot for most applications, and for rooftops (to support more traffic and weight) it is generally applied at 2.5-3.5 pounds per cubic foot. Open cell foam is between 0.5-1.0 pound per cubic foot. That's why you want open cell foam in a van. However, however, however... it depends on the type of foam you use, latex (most professional spray insulation) or polyurethane (Great Stuff).

I was misinformed and then made some bad assumptions about the Dow Great Stuff. I simply didn't research it thoroughly. Turns out I picked the right foam, but for the wrong reasons, and I don't want to mislead you or anyone else about it.

Closed cell foam is dense, dries rigid, and being closed cell is an air and moisture barrier. Open cell foam is far less dense, dries soft, will be an air barrier, but can absorb moisture unless it's completely sealed. These two different characteristics are the same primary characteristics between the rigid and soft foam of the various Great Stuff products, so I merely assumed that the soft Great Stuff was open cell. That's wrong. The open-closed cell thing is for latex foam, not polyurethane, which is what Great Stuff is made from. Looking back on it, since both types of Great Stuff are air and moisture barriers, it would make sense that both are closed cell foams, but I was fixated on the rigid versus soft characteristics and assumed the other characteristics would follow.

Great Stuff Door and Window is closed cell foam, and is a moisture barrier, but all of the other characteristics are the same as open cell foam, most import of which are the density, weight and flexibility.

 

[Moot]

Great Stuff comes in non-expanding and expanding formulas. I used the expanding (3x) to full the side door pillar and side ribs. Once it dries, a knife can be used to cut the overflow.

 

[Turtle]

My non-expanding Great Stuff expanded like crazy.
It non-expanded right into the door locking mechanism and seized the latch and locking bars on the rear door. That was fun.




The Great Stuff™ Big Gap Filler is the triple expanding foam, dries rigid, and can certainly be used for larger voids in lieu of foam board (though foam board is a lot cheaper). Inside pillars and ribs is a good place to use it. The ribs on a Sprinter as so small that the regular foam expanded more than enough, tho.

All the other Great Stuff™ foams are "minimal expanding" which means it just about doubles in size of the newly applied wet bead. It's a little more than double, as the triple expanding is also a little more than triple, so don't go crazy.

In the above picture on the right you can see where there was overflow on those three openings at the top. It would have been a booger to cut that or sand it down, but with the flexible foam I just smooshed it back in (smooshed being the technical term).


I think the non-expanding formula is called caulk.