Vanshite - sleeping in Trafic.

[Dyslexic Viking]

Do you still have a link to those windows? In the sliding doors. And how do you think the isolation has worked? I have read a lot and isolation in vans seems to be like politics so try to navigate it and find my own thoughts. I really want sheep wool but struggle a bit to find someone who sells it cleaned in large quantities.

[mitsisigma01]

@Dyslexic Viking, isolation or insulation🤔🤔🤔

[juular]

15 hours ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

Do you still have a link to those windows? In the sliding doors. And how do you think the isolation has worked? I have read a lot and isolation in vans seems to be like politics so try to navigate it and find my own thoughts. I really want sheep wool but struggle a bit to find someone who sells it cleaned in large quantities.

I can't remember exactly which seller I used, sorry. I got them as a kit off eBay and they cost about £300 for the pair of sliding windows, sealant, primer and U channel trim.

I'm very happy with the insulation. It's best not to get too involved in debates about insulation as you say as there is no scientific data to show what works best in a van. They are very different from houses, a lot of it will involve common sense and a bit of guesswork.

The best advice I can give is to avoid anything that retains water. The recycled glass bottle insulation is very bad for this and will rot the van.

The PIR boards are very good, I highly recommend using them where they fit.

I'm not sure on the benefit of stuffing any of the smaller cavities (like the roof ribs) with insulation.

Personally I'd focus on keeping heat out rather than heat in. Install a diesel heater for keeping heat in, it will be more effective and cheaper.

For that reason I don't recommend insulating the floor, it will make very little difference.

I am also in two minds about the bubble wrap.  I'm not sure it makes such a difference, and the carpet alone is probably enough to make the surfaces feel less cold to the touch. It does provide a moisture barrier, though.

 

[cobblers]

on my big camper I have 40mm PIR in the walls, roof and floors. It still gets cold through the windows etc, but it stops condensation.

A 5KW diesel heater will comfortably give me about a 30c "temperature differential" on full power, so I can keep the van at 25c inside if it's -5c outside. That's plenty for our weather, and over-insulating the van would mean that when the heater is on it's minimum setting, I would get too warm.

 

[Dyslexic Viking]

4 hours ago, juular said:

I can't remember exactly which seller I used, sorry. I got them as a kit off eBay and they cost about £300 for the pair of sliding windows, sealant, primer and U channel trim.

I'm very happy with the insulation. It's best not to get too involved in debates about insulation as you say as there is no scientific data to show what works best in a van. They are very different from houses, a lot of it will involve common sense and a bit of guesswork.

The best advice I can give is to avoid anything that retains water. The recycled glass bottle insulation is very bad for this and will rot the van.

The PIR boards are very good, I highly recommend using them where they fit.

I'm not sure on the benefit of stuffing any of the smaller cavities (like the roof ribs) with insulation.

Personally I'd focus on keeping heat out rather than heat in. Install a diesel heater for keeping heat in, it will be more effective and cheaper.

For that reason I don't recommend insulating the floor, it will make very little difference.

I am also in two minds about the bubble wrap.  I'm not sure it makes such a difference, and the carpet alone is probably enough to make the surfaces feel less cold to the touch. It does provide a moisture barrier, though.

 

I did not expect that you still had any link to those windows since it has been so long but thought it was worth asking. And will get a diesel heater this is absolutely necessary. But thanks for sharing your experiences I will take this with everything I have read and make up my mind about isolation. And that with moisture is what I think about most with insulation. I have found an insulation that is made of wood fibers that should be very good in terms of moisture/water so I am researching this now.

[juular]

I forgot I made this thread. Now you get to sit through the equivalent of a year's worth of holiday slides and tinkering. Yay for you.

I love this van. It's the perfect size for being a daily, going anywhere, parking anywhere, shifting anything. And yet it also makes a great base for a long holiday and we really don't mind spending weeks on end living in it.

It gets used a lot. We head away on a Friday and just find a nice wild place to park. This is near Ardnamurchan.

The Children really like van holidays.

Unfortunately a stag took a dislike to the passenger door.

I hammered that  back out. It looks shit, but I don't really care.

We took it to the Field of Dreams Davids.  What a glorious view to wake up to.

The boys enjoyed the 6 Cylinderses'es gigantic apples.

The van also enjoyed the long drive. It actually reached 52 on the way down.

It's also quite capable of displaying other messages.

This is exactly what you want to see on a 9 year old French diesel.

As is this.

Tests were done.

This was eventually narrowed down to a dodgy MAF.

That's not so bad. The MAF was replaced with another genuine one. Let's see what the van thinks of that.

After lots of name calling and threatening to roll it into the river Forth, I eventually found out that the new genuine branded MAF with a hologram on it was in fact a fake.

That got sorted fairly quickly and another one was chucked on.

Back. Oan. Eh. Road.

 

While parked up in a particularly remote spot, we were just drifting off to sleep when there was an enormous BANG as if something very large had hit the van.  I thought, here we go again with the angry stags, but no.  One of the rear springs snapped clean in half.

Thankfully help was on hand to fix this.

Moar free power was added. I say Moar, but this was added because the original solar panel died. This takes it from 90W to 200W.

This isn't bad for free electricity in the evening.

I decided to make use of the stealth vents I added at the rear doors previously.

I made up some new ceiling panels and installed some fans.

Finish is rough, but this is just a test so far.

These work OK, but could be a lot better. Still, it's enough to keep the  sleeping area nice and cool. A more permanent setup will be worked upon in the future.

The bed had a habit of opening on downhill bumpy roads. To be fair the catch I installed from a sash window was meant to be temporary.

It was time to fabricate something way better.

The IKEA bed foam did what all IKEA foam does, and stops being foamy.

That was replaced with some expensive extra firm memory foam (the blue stuff). What a difference!

I have continued to neglect to wash it. Ever.

Some very enjoyable expeditions have been had with the company of @Lacquer Peel

And @davidfowler2000in the 205 and pod.

The boys loved the beach.

It shat a brake line in an ASDA car park. It's first and only real FTP. It is forgiven.

Once I started replacing the brake line I decided the others didn't look too fancy and could do with some replacing.

 

Getting into the ABS module means dropping the leisure battery. I'm so glad I put this on the way I did, because it just needs 4 bolts undoing.

 

And that's that.  It's not done too badly considering it gets used as a daily, and gets pressed into 1000 mile jaunts at frequent intervals. 

It's next trip will be off to the Field of Dreams Davids this coming weekend. Excite.

[Flat4]

Where is the site above the picture of the boys at the beach? Looks lovely!

[juular]

37 minutes ago, Flat4 said:

Where is the site above the picture of the boys at the beach? Looks lovely!

Invercaimbe Caravan Site | Arisaig | Facebook

[Rocket88]

5 minutes ago, Nyphur said:

Quality.

Breakfast?

[Dyslexic Viking]

I have missed this thread. 

Great to see the van is still going and mostly behaving itself.

[Popsicle]

I've never noticed this thread before, fascinating  to read through, you've done a quality job with it all - its something I've always fancied doing but will probably never get round to it. Well done for smashing it out the park.