Yes agree with both observations. However the roof panel could get above 50 degrees, the inside wants to be below 20, so the foil is effective at blocking significant radiation none the less. Figure my air gap is 10mm to touching on the upper foil, the bubble plastic thickness to the lower, Trust me that is enough to be effective. Don't suffer from condensation on the glass nor inner metal panels just me sleeping been frost outside. Best to avoid prolonged humidity in the van anyway. A small powered dessicant dehumidifier which extracts the water into a tank might make it more usable over a long cold and wet period, will heat it too.

corcai said:

I initially bought the bubblewrap stuff also but after found its rvalue is based on an significant airgap each side the core resistance is tiny so its still in my shed. You have to be careful with carpet underlay as its generally opencell and absorbs water like a sponge worth testing a piece.

Click to expand...

I particularly like the sticky back Thermoliner being a bit wary of the fumes from spray adhesives and foams.
Near where I live, in Wright Street Newark, a few years ago a guy was using spray foam to fill in cavities in his cellar. We think it was a spark from freezer thermostat contacts that ignited the vapour. It literally brought the house down on top of him, killing him and his partner

Peter James said:

It literally brought the house down on top of him, killing him and his partner

Click to expand...

Holy crap.

I'll study the instructions in the workshop CD and post an update for that video with what I find - Some of the video content on the channel could be seen as 'instructional' and I would hate for someone to follow my bad practice. I'm working on the van again all weekend.

There are so many different approaches to insulation and all of them make sense. Keeping heat out isn't so much a problem as keeping heat in. I think it's colder in the UK for longer than it is hot.

Getting back to the original topic, I'm waiting for a reply from Vanpimps about their rear door windows. I sent them photos, but I'm actually sure now that it wont work with the 270 hinges. The bottom edge of the hinge is really close to the panel throughout it's movement. It might just fit, but I'd not be able to open the doors or the glass will be crushed.

I had a decent look at a Ducato ambulance patient transport mini bus (standard hinges) and the glass is just about flush with the metal above and below the glazed section.

I need to switch plans and either start shopping for hinges and/or doors, or alternatively, insulate the hell out of the rear doors and fit side windows only. Less glass is less heat loss, if I'm trying to put a positive spin on things.

I used Windows 10 'snipping tool' to get screen shots from the workshop CD.




The drain plug bit I did right, the bleeding and disconnecting of the pipe, not at all. As for 'levelling' the Maxi, not a chance unless I put some pallets of bricks over the rear axle- it has a very definite forward stance, unladen.

Love your videos. You're doing the stuff I enjoy doing with mine. I fitted a long strip of LED lights along the roof and connected to the rear cabin light with a seperate switch and set the light to stay on.
I've already picked up a couple of tips from you, so thank you for that.
I really like what you are doing so more videos would be great.
Errol.

Mevi said:

Holy crap.

I'll study the instructions in the workshop CD and post an update for that video with what I find - Some of the video content on the channel could be seen as 'instructional' and I would hate for someone to follow my bad practice. I'm working on the van again all weekend.

There are so many different approaches to insulation and all of them make sense. Keeping heat out isn't so much a problem as keeping heat in. I think it's colder in the UK for longer than it is hot.

Getting back to the original topic, I'm waiting for a reply from Vanpimps about their rear door windows. I sent them photos, but I'm actually sure now that it wont work with the 270 hinges. The bottom edge of the hinge is really close to the panel throughout it's movement. It might just fit, but I'd not be able to open the doors or the glass will be crushed.

I had a decent look at a Ducato ambulance patient transport mini bus (standard hinges) and the glass is just about flush with the metal above and below the glazed section.

I need to switch plans and either start shopping for hinges and/or doors, or alternatively, insulate the hell out of the rear doors and fit side windows only. Less glass is less heat loss, if I'm trying to put a positive spin on things.

Click to expand...

Yes I think some conversions over do the windows making the van like a greenhouse. The whole van is only the size of a room in a house where you would only have one window, probably smaller than the existing windscreen. As well as adding weight and reducing security, you lose a lot of wall storage space with so much window area........

Mevi said:

I used Windows 10 'snipping tool' to get screen shots from the workshop CD.
View attachment 184045

View attachment 184046

The drain plug bit I did right, the bleeding and disconnecting of the pipe, not at all. As for 'levelling' the Maxi, not a chance unless I put some pallets of bricks over the rear axle- it has a very definite forward stance, unladen.

Click to expand...

Yes my Maxi van is higher at the rear - despite being the L4 with all the extra length behind the rear axle and loaded close to 3.5 tonnes - I think they are designed for 4.25 tonnes GVW? I've just made a couple of small plywood ramps (progressively smaller sheets overlapped) to drive it up to level it.

Mevi said:

There are so many different approaches to insulation and all of them make sense.

Click to expand...

The main thing is make sure whatever you pick doesn't absorb water. A lot of early campers westfalia etc. rusted from the inside out because they used fibreglass insulation that soaked water. 70s beetles used open cell expanding foam in the pillars that caused them to rust from the inside out.

If you're going for fibre insulation then go for water repellant rockwool you can get it foil faced also.

I had a beetle 1303S with rotten heater channels, perished electrics. Loved that car, but had to let it go. Someone else probably loving it now.

Vanpimps say no to the glass windows. When they saw the pictures of the hinges, they thought it was of a pre 2006 ducato. Met a scrappy today to pick up a spare wheel (my carriage looks like it never had one mounted before) had a bit of a rant about spray foam puncture kits that come with new vans. Also got a wheelarch trim. I'll keep in touch to see if another H2 comes in with clean & straight back doors.

Peter James said:

I've just made a couple of small plywood ramps (progressively smaller sheets overlapped) to drive it up to level it.

Click to expand...

Good Idea. I'll probably have suitable off cuts at work. The ramps we have are not rated for that weight.

corcai said:

If you're going for fibre insulation then go for water repellant rockwool you can get it foil faced also.

Click to expand...

I keep coming back to Rockwool for my build. I know the product and it's cleaner to stuff into cavities than gap filler spray. Any concerns about dust are solved with a spray of PVA solution - although that might come undone with condensation, solved if I put the vapour barrier over the rockwool under the ply lining. I wonder if I could use MLV as a vapour barrier. In studio soundproofing, it's taped up and caulked to be airtight. Research time.

Hi Mevi. When I bought my van (Ducato maxi LWB), it was and still is, lined with automotive carpet. It covers from the waist up and across the roof.
I think it was applied to hide all the ugly holes from where the industrial shelving was connected, exactly like yours was but mine had the steel shelving.
I was ready to take it all down but after spending a few cold nights in the back, I decided to leave it up.
I have found it to be very comfy in winter and even with our summers I have not even needed a fan running for more than an hour or so initially. I cannot believe how well it works as insulation.
The van is used as a pickup van for timber, furniture, pallets of goods, car engines etc. My son and I often do overnight trips (mostly over 2,000 kilometres at a time) and we carry a couple of stretchers to sleep on and no matter what the weather is like, we are very comfortable.
Our summers here can average around 50-54 degrees celsius with our short winter days dropping to -1 or -2 on some days.
Even on the coldest days we have experienced in places like Victoria and South Australia, we have never had a problem with condensation inside the van although we have both the windows in the cabin down and covered with mesh to keep out bugs.

errolmorris said:

Our summers here can average around 50-54 degrees celsius with our short winter days dropping to -1 or -2 on some days.
Even on the coldest days we have experienced in places like Victoria and South Australia, we have never had a problem with condensation inside the van although we have both the windows in the cabin down and covered with mesh to keep out bugs.

Click to expand...

Damn, Oz would kill me. I wasn't built for that kinda heat. I think I'd need a finer mesh on my windows as the UK bugs are only small.

Auto carpet is really good at hiding joins and smoothing out transitions between different base materials. It really comes down to how good my ply-lining turns out, but it's good to know auto carpet contributes to the insulation & condensation control.

Does the carpet absorb odors? I'd worry about cooking and living in there and my van starting to smell like a spicy foot.

I intend to travel a lot in the Maxi, so it needs to be comfortable in a number of climates and seasons. Visiting a dear friend in Switzerland will be first after I've worked out the kinks in the UK. Northern Europe in the summer, southern Europe in the winter. Gonna be a blast.

I hadn't thought about cooking smells and so on as my van is more a working van and if we are stopping overnight anywhere, we set up a table outside for any light cooking and coffee making so it is not a consideration for us.
I'm sure the carpet would absorb any smells and probably make life very uncomfortable.
If it was a motorhome, I think I would go down the path you are taking.
I'm looking forward to your ply installation. With so much space in these things I wouldn't know where to start if I had to carry out a conversion.

Having had Eberspacher diesel heaters stop working when the diesel gets too thick to pump I wouldn't rely on any van heater. I take several pairs of stretchy XXLarge jogging trousers (£5 from Primark) to wear 4 pairs at once, and shoes a couple of sizes larger to accommodate several pairs of thick socks. Kept me warm sitting in the van when it was -9degreesC and the heater packed up.

Peter James said:

Having had Eberspacher diesel heaters stop working when the diesel gets too thick to pump I wouldn't rely on any van heater. I take several pairs of stretchy XXLarge jogging trousers (£5 from Primark) to wear 4 pairs at once, and shoes a couple of sizes larger to accommodate several pairs of thick socks. Kept me warm sitting in the van when it was -9degreesC and the heater packed up.

Click to expand...

I wouldn't have thought there would be a problem with winter/alpine diesel. I run a separate tank so that I can use kerosene/paraffin/marked diesel as its cheaper this would also solve temperature issues.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=eberspacher+tank

corcai said:

I wouldn't have thought there would be a problem with winter/alpine diesel. I run a separate tank so that I can use kerosene/paraffin/marked diesel as its cheaper this would also solve temperature issues.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=eberspacher+tank

Click to expand...

Yes I finished up getting a separate tank to run it on paraffin - but not many places sell it nowadays.
In any case heaters can still break down
When they do wearing 4 pairs of trousers makes a huge difference - people tend to put more clothes on the top half and forget the bottom half so most heat is lost there.

Working on the van conversion at this time of year has been useful to keep me focused on the insulation and heating requirements. I was in a coat and beanie hat this morning until I got a sweat on. I was still working after 8pm and could see my breath.

Very informative and entertaining videos. Thanks for sharing your journey.
Errol.

Ha ha. If they only serve as a warning, that's enough for me! Don't hot gun your exterior trim.

I'm a first time vlogger, but I wish I'd done this years ago - vlogging AND vanlife. I love it.

I have successfully restored the grey/black plastic with a hot air gun. But it is a professional 3kw hot air gun with a flat wide nozzle - designed for welding plastic coated fabric together to make and repair lorry tarpaulins. So it heats a narrow strip of the plastic bumper surface quickly without heating the underneath enough for it to go out of shape. Its not difficult because the colour changes as soon as it melts so you know when to move it on.
But I wouldn't try it with a DIY paint stripper gun. Because that blows over a round (bigger) area and because its not as powerful you would have to hold it on for much longer so the heat would penetrate right through a large circular area of the plastic causing it to sag.
ps; just watched the video. I have previously tried trim cleaners including the 'Astonish' in the video. A quick and easy way to get a good finish. Problem is when it rains they all streak and look awful. Then you have got to get them off somehow - especially if you are going to do a lasting job with the air gun. Sorry but a round nozzle air gun in a circular motion is just what you don't need - by the time you got the surface hot enough the heat would have penetrated through a wide area causing it to sag. A flat nozzle putting concentrated heat for a short period - not long enough to penetrate a wide enough area for the plastic to sag. Move it in rows like mowing a lawn. Preferably vertically so if you get any streaks they will look like rainwater running down. You can't get the scratches out completely because you can't replicate the original stippled finish - creating a smooth finish with a scraper will make them look more visible. But you can make the scratch and surrounding area the same colour so its much less visible.