Measure, Cut, Glue and Repeat

 Only 1/2" and double our R value!? Sign me up! 

Carrie and I decided to purchase Sika Performance insulation board for the ceiling of our van, as a half inch would fill out to even with the lowest point of our ribs. This will make installing our Reflectix a whole lot easier and in turn our ceiling paneling/wood trim.

Cut to fit and some contact adhesive, up went the first board! With some temporary support it was glued into place. Repeat, repeat and repeat!

Used one whole 4'x8' board of insulation for the ceiling and this is all the waste that we had leftover. Not too shabby! Now on to pulling wires before the Reflectix can go up.

~Tim

Mmmm, Ribs…

 We’re talking ribs and not baby-back.

I decided to use the remaining can of Great Stuff to insulate the roof support ribs in the van. First step. Get the van warmed up inside as well as the shop outside. Second step. Figure out how the applicator straw is going to fit into the ribs and how far. Third step. Figure out how to avoid getting dripped on by the inevitable oozing out of holes overhead.

Plan in place and van warmed up to the minimal 60° I get to foamin’. When they say you should wear gloves, wear gloves… I ended up with a layer of foam insulation on both hands, the can almost glued to one and sticking to everything I touched. Success through! One can of Great Stuff, I now know will insulate 2.25 roof ribs in a 99 E150. Now all I have to do is let it all cure.

Next morning comes the trimming and cleanup. Super sharp and scary utility blade contraption set up I get to trimming everything flush. 

Now what to do with the leftover blobs that I’ve trimmed off the ribs? I know!! Not to let the insulation go to waste, I stuff them down the “failed hole of insulation shame” that was the back corner of the van, I had used the first can on.  Waste not want not!!

~Tim

Cold Blows the wind o'er my true love

Cold and snow… Lots of snow… Perfect time to insulate! Plan of attack: Fill gaps and voids between inner structure and outer skin of van with expanding foam and or batting type insulation then cover with Reflectix insulation. 

To Home Depot we go... With our measurements of roughly 180sqft of insulation coverage needed, we start off selecting a 4' x 25' roll (100sqft) and then fill in the remaining 80sqft required with various 16" and 24" width rolls.

 Not sure what route we should take with filling voids, we decide to go with two cans of  "Great Stuff Big Gap Filler" just to see what kind of coverage we would get. One can coverage. Not impressed… Disappointed actually. Nothing against Great Stuff but the cans are not the route to take.

In steps our new contestant! Touch ‘n Foam, in the 15 board foot kit! Hopefully with any luck this will be the winning ticket for our void filling needs. Hopefully this doesn’t happen. Find out next week!

~Tim

Holes filled, so lets cut a big one in the roof!

After the welding and grinding extravaganza that was the van floor, I think someone just may have caught the bug for metalwork (name rhymes with Harry Pike). I love it when a project can be more and turn into a learning experience. 

So after hanging out and admiring the smooth, hole free floor (also fire watch), we made plans to visit the local RV supply store; Aubrey’s, to do some comparison shopping against our Amazon list. From my many years of visiting this fine establishment when my father would forget to close the roof vent on our camper and rip the thing clean off, I knew right where the vents were located in the store and made a bee line straight to them. And there it was… MaxxAir! Since we’re going for the glorified tent theme we decided not to spring for the top of the line, rain sensing, power open and close, 10 speed, remote control model and opted for the manual open 4 speed model instead. Perfect for our application! With our prices compared on miscellaneous stuff ‘n’ things, we purchased our fan and headed back to the shop.

Measure, measure, mark, measure again and then procrastinate on cutting the hole in a perfectly good roof. Finally the “here goes nothing” moment and I fire up the air angle grinder and make my first plunge into the metal. Sparks everywhere! Honestly it felt good to trust a tape measure. Hole cut, edges ground and sealant putty in place, it dropped in like it had always been there. Pre-drilled the screw holes, cut 1x oak strips as backing, applied our special RV sealant caulk and ran in the screws. And I was worried about this install… Ha! 

A quick wire up and now all that’s left is to insulate, wiring, then flooring and paneling.

 

~Tim