Sleeper insulation?

Double post, but it was mentioned I could try posting here.

I am looking for the best product/way to insulate my sleeper from the the heat/cold....but mainly heat, down here in South Texas.

I know Dynamat, but I figure that’s more for sound deadening. I’m considering gutting my sleeper and remodeling it, but I really want to help keep that Texas sun at bay as much as possible.

Can anyone steer me in the right direction for insulating the shell of the sleeper while I have the panels down. Thanks

 

Paint it a light color is the biggest heat defense.

All the insulation in the world doesn’t help if your sleeper is a dark color and absorbing heat to the tune of 180 degrees plus.

Been a Florida native for 37 years and went from a white conversion van as my daily driver to a maroon color.

Takes an hour for the vehicle to cool down because all of the heat absorption.

If you were gutting as I am getting ready to do to my International and have a dark color you want to remain with I would have it foam insulated. Stuff is incredible but expensive.

 

Are you talking about that insulation you spray and it expands?

But yes, it’s looking like a dark color will win the day.

 

Would the silver reflective insulation do any good? I always wondered.

 

You have to pay a professional to apply the foam. I would say a minimum of a $1000 to get it done .

 

You can buy 2 part kits online,and do it your self.I built a room addition for someone and they wanted me to use it.It was pretty easy

 

You can buy DIY kits for a few hundred dollars.

Tiger Foam | Spray Foam Insulation | Order Kits

 

Home Depot rents spray foam setups.

look into the havelock wool insulation. Also, apparently a lot of van folks use it.

 

Will look into those, thanks guys.

Was hoping somebody would tell me “what I want to hear”, that dynamat would do the trick lol. Just seems easier and less messy.

Thanks for the replies.

 

I used Dynamat on the floor of my FLD, it’s somewhat heavy if I remember right. Go on YouTube and watch some of the vanlife people to find out what works and what doesn’t as far as cheaper solutions. The main issue in a vehicle is keeping a low profile so your interior pieces fit correctly overtop of it.

 

Just spent some time watching some.

One thing to note, while the spray insulation products seem to be superior for insulation, it tends to warp the outer shell of the van.

So if your goal is insulation only, and don’t care that the body will look wavy and imperfect, that’s fine. But if you are looking to paint and have your rig look good, that’s probably not the way to go.

That’s the early take on my limited research so far.