Insulating a camper van should be one of the most important things to do in a camper, and you should not cheap out on it. You must first make sure the vehicle is well insulated so that you can insulate yourself comfortably. Here, we’ll show you how to do your own vanlife insulation.
Let’s go there!
VanLife Insulation: Will Insulation be Noticeable?
Yes, but there are some subtleties to the story as well.
Insulation does not work like magic; that is, you can’t keep the inside of your van at twenty degrees while it’s outside temperature is minus 10 degrees. To get a good result, you need to make sure the insulation is put in the right way.
This is what it is used for:
In the winter, to assist in heating a vehicle (with a fixed heater, for example) and to avoid as much heat loss as possible.
During the summer, to keep from shrinking in the first hour of the morning and to be able to sleep longer at night. There is no doubt that when the temperature is 35 degrees and the sun is shining directly on the car, there can be no insulation to help you with that.
Thus, in addition to adequate insulation, it is prudent to follow a set of guidelines when sleeping in and parking our van.
How Much to Use: VanLife Insulation
As long as it doesn’t go over the top, the more the better.
Because there isn’t a law that says how much insulation should be used in a van or camper, you will have to use common sense. In order to do this, you will have to look into how common it is to insulate a house. As a general rule, insulation is usually 3 millimetres thick in places where it isn’t as cold and where there are less extreme storms, like in the Midwest and the South (such as the coastal zone). Insulation is usually between 6 and 10 cm thick in areas with harsher climates (mountains, inland areas with hot summers and cold winters), but this can vary based on where you live.
So, when we try to find a camper van, we can think about these references. Take into account where you live and what kind of trips you usually go on.
Putting insulation in a van doesn’t just keep you warm in the winter. It also keeps you cool in the summer and protects you from both the sun and the heat.
Related Link: Kev’s Travel and Van Life Essentials
Where to Put Insulation?
Insulation should be put in every part of the van that can be used. Getting insulation in the ceiling, floor, and walls is the easiest part. The windows and thermal bridges are the places where insulation usually lacks and extra care must be taken to make sure proper insulation is in place.
Therefore, keep in mind that even if we isolate the “easy” areas quite effectively, if you ignore the weak places, the total insulation will suffer significantly.
Condensation, a Vapor Varrier, and Thermal Bridge.
When it comes to insulating a van, the most difficult thing is to keep condensation from forming. Condensation can make all of your insulation useless, and it could also cause rust to build up on the sheet metal if it gets wet.
Why is condensation generated?
Water vapour is always present in different amounts in the air. When the temperature changes a lot through an intermediate part, like the sheet metal of the van, this causes condensation on the metal sheet. At this point, you may be able to see some condensation.
Vapour in the air rises in a van because it is a small space, and our breathing during the night makes it rise even more. If we have a well-insulated van, the air temperature will stay at a comfortable level, which will keep the condensation from forming. The right insulation in the van will keep it away from the dew point temperature and the water vapour from coming into contact with the sheet metal, which will stop condensation.
What is a vapor barrier?
There are materials called vapour barriers that keep water vapour or moisture from getting through. The sheet must be put on top of any permeable insulation, like rock wool, so that condensation doesn’t form when we’re in a van. During the process, no part of the vapour layer should be left open. This is very important.
What is a thermal bridge?
A van’s insulation is susceptible to thermal bridging.” These places can cause a lot of damage. These are usually the parts of the van that aren’t as well-insulated or that are outside, like the windows or the van’s beams. If you don’t want condensation to happen, you need to pay extra attention to these areas.
Materials
Inflexible Insulations.
Because they are not flexible and do not bend to the folds and curves of the vehicle, they are only useful for isolating straight and easily accessible sections. They can be used on the floor, walls, and ceiling of a place where there are beams to hold them up. These are the things we can find in this category:
Two types of polystyrene: XPS and EPS (EPS)
Both petroleum-based compounds are very good at insulating and are also very good at keeping vapour out of them. Because it isn’t flexible like other materials, it doesn’t fit well into the nooks and crannies of the van. However, it can be a good material for the floor and between the beams of the walls and ceiling, and it’s cheap.
Make sure to find out if expanded polystyrene (also known as white cork or polystyrene) is good at insulating for your particular use case.
When there is a fire, these materials will burn quickly. They are not very good for the environment, and they don’t stay hot very long. In addition, they release chemicals into the air that could be bad for people’s health.
Cork
Unlike other materials, cork isn’t going to get wet or have mould grow in it. It must be porous so water can move through it and make humidity and condensation happen. Because of this, it is important to put it next to something that acts as a vapour barrier (reflective aluminium materials, for example). If you use it to insulate the floor in one piece, it won’t break or tear apart.
This product, on the other hand, should not be used on other parts of the van because it has a limited range of motion.
Flexible insulation
These types of insulators are the best to put on a van because they fit the shape and curves of the vehicle very well. They are, on the other hand, more expensive than non-flexible insulators because they are so flexible.
Rock wool and fiberglass
Rock wool and fibreglass are both good materials for insulating against both heat and noise. They can be used together. Because of the way these materials work, they are often used to build homes.
Furthermore, it is a great choice for a van because it fits well with the curves of the van and can be put inside the beams itself (It can be crumbled). It must, however, be put together in the right way.
You should think about the fact that it is very porous and doesn’t keep out moisture. There is also a lot of moisture inside the structure. So, it must be used with something else that acts as a vapour barrier and stops condensation from forming.
One way is to use aluminium foil (preferably multilayer) to cover all of the rock wool. This way, all of the rock wool is covered by the reflective material. If you buy rock wool from a company like Isover, it already comes with aluminium foil, which makes it more resistant to water. There is no need to use it as the first line of defence against moisture and steam. If the wool was left wet and moisture built up, the dreaded rust could be seen.
A lot of people use rock wool and fibreglass in the same way, even though they come from very different places in the world. When volcanic rocks are heated to very high temperatures, they become rock wool. When glass threads are heated to very high temperatures, they become fibreglass. Fiberglass is less dense than rock wool, which means it weighs less as a whole. If you work with fibreglass, you should wear gloves, goggles, and a mask to protect your skin and eyes from getting hurt by it.
The Geopanel is an environmentally friendly alternative to rock wool that looks very much like rock wool but is made from natural resources. Its parts are made of up to 100% recycled materials. This gives it the same insulating properties as fibreglass insulators. It is more expensive than rock wool, but the main benefits are that it is more environmentally friendly and that it doesn’t hurt the skin.
Synthetic cork foam
In the beginning, this material was used to insulate metal ducts in air conditioning and heating systems. Having insulation that is both thermal and acoustic is great because it helps keep both heat and noise from getting in. Because it is completely waterproof, it doesn’t get wet.
It can be used with any type of van, it is also very flexible. The ability to cover small beams and hard-to-reach places, like the area around the wheels, is very important. It is a good material to use all over the van because, in addition to insulating well, it is also very easy to put in (they usually sell it with a self-adhesive side to facilitate installation).
It costs more than $10 per square metre with a thickness of one centimeter. When it comes to insulation, one centimeter of Kaiflex can be used on less important parts (walls, floor) and two centimeters can be used on more exposed parts if you don’t have a tight budget (eg ceiling). When it comes to money, though, it’s better to leave at least 2 millimeters. of space in all directions.
Reflective materials
Bubble wrap and aluminium foil are usually used to make this kind of insulation. This makes a barrier that is completely water-proof. Because it can reflect heat, it is a better heat insulator than a cold insulator. Besides three-layer reflective insulators, which are the most basic and cheap, there are multi-layer reflective insulators on the market that can have up to 11 layers or more. These are more expensive than three-layer reflective insulators.
During the process of using this material, it is important to leave at least two millimeters of air space on each side of the material. Because of this, plugs or spacers should be put between the reflective and the other parts next to it to make sure there is a space between them (For example: Sheet metal, 2cm apart, reflective, two 2cm apart and paneling).
As a result, it is very hard to put this kind of material in a van because it has to be taken out of an air chamber. Even though it can be used as a reinforcement for insulating, it is best when used with other porous insulators, like rock wool, to get the best results. Putting rock wool next to the sheet, then putting reflective insulation on top of it. This way, the sheet would be fully covered.
To make sure that the insulation is as good as possible and that condensation doesn’t build up in any areas, it’s important that no areas are left open. The fact that no rock wool or veneer can be seen is proof that this is true.
Polyurethane foam
In the construction business, this material is often used to fill in gaps between pieces of wood. Because this material can be put in quickly, it might be good to fill the beams with it. It should be noted, however, that it is a porous substance that can easily get wet, so care should be taken when using it. Furthermore, unlike rock wool, after it has been put between the beams, it is quite difficult to remove if we ever need to use it again since it binds to the sheet of the van, therefore it is preferable to avoid using it. You can use it if you want, though.
Related Link: Kev’s Travel and Van Life Essentials
