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Showing content with the highest reputation on 04/14/2020 in Posts

  1. I agree with jrm223 about the Reflectix, I've seen many people using it wrong. It works great in an attic where you would lay the sheets over the existing insulation and it reflects heat away from the living space. The foam boards were an option for me but I wanted to avoid the possible noise it would create vibrating against the steel exterior. Plus it's very difficult to get the foam board into the many voids of the body. Spray foam was also an option but I didn't want to risk spraying too much in and bulging out the exterior, I did this on my boat, under the 1/8 aluminum bench seats and it bulged it out. Maybe the window and door foam would be okay. The other option was fiberglass insulation which I wasn't crazy about because I HATE working with that stuff and it puts out fibers into the air. Even though I had plans to completely cover it with panels, I was still concerned about the fibers finding their way out around the edges. Then I discovered 3M makes rolls of Thinsulate. The same stuff that's used in clothing but in 5 foot by however long rolls you want. This stuff was designed for exactly what we wanted to accomplish, excellent r-value, noise reduction, moisture resistance, and no dust fibers. I believe they use this stuff on boats as well. It is a bit pricey but worth it IMO. You can push it into all the voids and for the long runs on the roof and sides, you can use the 3M spray adhesive to help keep it from sagging. It comes in different thicknesses, I used the thickest version, the 600 https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/all-3m-products/~/3M-Thinsulate-Acoustic-Insulation-SM600L/?N=5002385+3292659035&rt=rud On a side note, I also used sound deadening black butyl on the exterior sheet metal. This stuff reduces vibration, not necessarily road noise. The insulation will lessen the road noise, it's two different types of sound deadening and used in conjunction it's brilliant. When you apply the butyl, you only need to cover 25% of the area you are trying to sound deaden. Past the 25-35% coverage results in reduced returns, more weight, more work, and more cost. If you decide to go the 100% coverage route, it will definitely reduce more sound but not by much. My main concern was weight. My initial plan was to put 72 sq ft of that stuff on, so I ordered 2 boxes. When I felt the weight of just 1 box, I realized how much weight I was adding, so I cut it back especially after learning about reduced returns. Most of my research on sound deadening was done on car audio sites. If you start tearing your van apart, you will see the factory butyl sheets. I always wondered why they didn't cover the whole thing, now I know. You are just trying to add mass to the metal panel. More mass requires more energy to vibrate it.
    2 points
  2. There were 5 crudely-done holes in the left-rear cargo area, installed by the original owner to hold down some mystery piece of equipment. Basically looks like they drilled tiny pilot holes through the rubber mat and the metal floor, then anchored the device with four big lag screws. I don't need any of the holes, and while I considered installing threaded plus it’s, my bigger concern was rust and water intrusion. I peeled back the mat and dug all the metal shard from the drilling out of the foam. Then ground down the bent metal with a Dremel and sanding drum. A little black paint & primer, then some of the caulk leftover from the window project.
    1 point
  3. Reflectix for Windows and nothing else in a vehicle! jrm223 explains why Im going to do a single layer of the black Noico on all exposed roof skin inside the van. It will be sound dampening, insulation, and ceiling in one; so worth the weight penalty. Remaining bits of Noico will get slapped on the inside of the exposed body panels, and those readily accessible behind the interior plastic and particleboard.
    1 point
  4. @KevinRollin Got to say thank you for doing the legwork on this mod. I used the 2" lifts, and what a big difference. Prior to this mod, I always felt that the seats were too low, had a great view of the sky though! No problems with view of the instrument cluster once I adjusted the wheel. This improved my comfort, view of the road, and the added storage room is awesome. No more stuffing my hiking boots under the seat, they fit right under no problem. I also did the passenger seat since it was so easy. Now I can fit the coleman stove under there when not actively using. It also makes it a lot easier to vacuum/wipe out. No more impossible to get to spots under there. Awesome, thanks again, made it easy. Just an fyi for others, I'm six foot and the 2 inch wasn't too much for me. It put the seat in the perfect position (for me) on the lowest "setting". Before this, the seat adjustment never made much sense to me, as you raise the seat, it pushes you forward as well. Before you know it, you're like the little old granny on top of the wheel. With the seat 2" higher, the seat adjustment works a lot better, only needing the first two "clicks" to get comfortable. It's well worth the time and money to do this as it's easy to reverse if you don't like it.
    1 point
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