Wall Insulation

[cabmike1954]

Well I am moving right along with my 1960 Flying Cloud restore, got the wiring complete and am now ready for insulation so I can get all the skins and front and rear capsules back in place. Can't decide which route to take, Styro foam, fiberglass, spray foam any help!!!


Thanks, Cabmike

[MarkR]

google:

"airforums insulation"

it has been discussed quite a bit . . . lots of theories, opinions, options, ideas . . .

(I did 2 layers of "Prodex" with an air gap between each layer and the skins . . . I'm happy, but I'm not convinced that it's the only way or the best way or . . . it's just "one of the ways)

(can we see photos?)

[Unka Jack]

Having done the Prodex route, if I had to do it again, I'd probably just use Roxul. Simply for the ease of installation. Roxul has a commercial product called Fire Batt which comes in different thicknesses so you don't have to split the batts in half.

[J. Morgan]

Truth be told I broke the rules and squeezed 3 1/2" fiberglass batting in my walls, It has worked well for me.


Gradiens super tenui glacie.

[Cruiser6483]

I use in my Cruiser 1954 black foam boards "X-treme insulator". The insulation value is three times higher than "normal" materials. Waterproof, needs no vapor barrier, to stick or clamped. Can be worked with bread knife! Greetings from Switzerland - Werner

http://

[TheGreatleys]

I used bubble foil on the top 2/3 and then packed the void with rockwool. See the blog in the link in my signature for pictures. Rockwool was great to work with and made a nice tight assembly, so I'm happy with it.

I also added foam tape to the ribs to provide a thermal break between them and the inner skin. That made reinstalling the skins harder, but seems to have made a big difference in insulation.

[rugjenkins]

I used spray foam.
I first used 2 component spray foam and was not real happy with the coverage nor the application.
Then I used great stuff out of the can with a triangle application nozzle. Love it! I wish I would have used it on the whole thing.

[ericpeltier]

I can tell you this - if you use spray foam and EVER want to pull it apart and work on things, you'll hate your previous self. Spray foam is tenacious stuff. I have spent too many hours scraping it out of me 1973 Streamline.

[Wabbiteer]

Wide-Form Vertical Foam Nozzle <--- I seriously wish I had thought of that.

First the bad news - that stuff is flammable, most things are, just saying.

Another down side is there are no/low published R-value specifications of canned foam, the best to be hoped for it R-5 after the gas blow agent dissipates and is replaced by humid air but that is the case with ALL spray foam.

After the shell interior is inspected, odd rivets normalized and rivets/seams parged over with your choice of forever-caulk... There is still the worry of the foam bucking out shell sheet metal if it gets between it and the ribs so prep work of caulking all the gaps the foam could get leverage on to cause wrinkly shell.

Since most sun heat loading and heat loss is through the roof I'd be very tempted to use this on just an eight foot wide strip down the roof/ceiling, on my 27' that is 8'x16' for 36 cans of foam if using the 16oz size cans, at a 'sale' price that's $90. :::sigh::: yeah it's tempting.

[rugjenkins]

At the box store you also get a good discount for buying bulk😁more incentive for you. I prepped all my seams with gutterseal- it works great.

[HiJoeSilver]

"(I did 2 layers of "Prodex" with an air gap between each layer and the skins . . . I'm happy, but I'm not convinced that it's the only way or the best way or . . . it's just "one of the ways)"

X2, noticeably cooler in summer and warmer in winter. Ran wiring between the layers. Takes a while to cut all the pieces. I'm very happy with it.

[ericpeltier]

Has anyone used prodex between the subfloor and bellypan?

[TheGreatleys]

I did. I lightly glued it to the bottom of the new pieces of subfloor before installing them. That way it pulls away from the flooring a bit and gives me an air pocket, as well as helps insulate the floor from the frame in theory. I also packed the belly pan with rockwool below that.

[SteelyCal]

Originally Posted by Cruiser6483

I use in my Cruiser 1954 black foam boards "X-treme insulator". The insulation value is three times higher than "normal" materials. Waterproof, needs no vapor barrier, to stick or clamped. Can be worked with bread knife! Greetings from Switzerland - Werner

http://

I haven't seen this before. Do you have any more info on the product? I'm wondering if it can even be sourced here in the states. I'm in the same boat, trying to decide how to insulate my 58 Overlander to be suitable for winter conditions in Vermont.

[lletteney]

With all of the interior panels in place in my 1964 Globetrotter, I needed more insulation in the roof. Ignoring dire consequence warnings, I purchased 49 cans of great stuff for wide gaps. Then i removed all of the electric fixtures and foamed around the cavities. Then opening the upper cabinet doors, I drilled holes just big enough to accept the plastic straw and foamed the entire can into the opening. I then plugged the holes with plastic plugs from my auto store. They are inside the cabinets and not visible. Back in the rear bath, I could not hide all of the plugs, and wound up painting white plugs to match the beige paint. So far it is working well.

Larry

[ericpeltier]

Originally Posted by TheGreatleys

I did. I lightly glued it to the bottom of the new pieces of subfloor before installing them. That way it pulls away from the flooring a bit and gives me an air pocket, as well as helps insulate the floor from the frame in theory. I also packed the belly pan with rockwool below that.

Veeeery interesting.....thanks for the info. I have been wondering if I'd have problems if I sandwiched the prodex between the frame and subfloor. Sounds like you have done it with success.

[TheGreatleys]

Originally Posted by ericpeltier

Veeeery interesting.....thanks for the info. I have been wondering if I'd have problems if I sandwiched the prodex between the frame and subfloor. Sounds like you have done it with success.

Problems like what?

[Cruiser6483]

SteelyCal
A similar product available in the usa is called "Armaflex"

Greetings - Werner

[Wabbiteer]

The original Airstream madness method was crushing fiberglass between floor and frame - which made walking inside nearly noiseless from hushing creaks and pops, and hushing any resonance. I wanted the same or better on my shell off project.

Using prodex would cause dimple depressions in the floor around the fasteners, maybe not immediately but the plywood would yield gradually - plus the foam would chafe, the surface texture standing tall would be erased and the fasteners become loose; this is where tightening bolts/screws would only magnify the dimples around the attachment points. It happened with the factory fiberglass to some extent but the glass strands had density that the foam lacks, the foam can/will deteriorate to just a film thickness where compression is highest around the fasteners while still holding mm's of height between them. The Prodex gasket might work if the surface area was larger than inch or two inch interfaces, foam is often used to gasket concrete foundations away from wood sills and the structure above as that is a huge interface area to spread the weight out across... and it doesn't wiggle'n jiggle nearly as much as an Airstream!

Anyhow - I used dense surplus silicone sheet, lightly sanded the frame POR-15 paint, used 3M 5200 sealant/adhesive to bond the silicone sheet to the frame, then used the 5200 above it to weld everything together as each floor panel was dropped on and screwed down. I also used the 5200 to glue the lap joints I'd cut on the floor sheets. End result is someone can dance inside the trailer and there is no guitar-body resonance or creaking/popping... AND the floor is thermally isolated from the steel frame. No wicking of water, not deterioration over time - plus the floor sheets got a full prime/paint treatment of outdoor porch paint after they were cut to fit...

[Jim & Susan]

Originally Posted by MarkR

google:

"airforums insulation"

it has been discussed quite a bit . . . lots of theories, opinions, options, ideas . . .

(I did 2 layers of "Prodex" with an air gap between each layer and the skins . . . I'm happy, but I'm not convinced that it's the only way or the best way or . . . it's just "one of the ways)

(can we see photos?)

What he said. I used one layer of Prodex with an air gap against the outside skin, then a layer of pink stuff insulation between the Prodex and the inside skin. I would not do it that way if I had to do it again. It's A LOT of work. And I'm not convinced it's really the best way to do it. It works well, but there's probably a better way.

Of course, newer insulation products and methods have come along since I did mine. The Roxul gets good reviews for use in home construction and remodeling. I'm intrigued by the "Armaflex" product. Think i'll go Google that.

And this subject has been discussed many times here as MarkR suggests. You can easily spend the evening reading here.

Good luck and let us know how you did it!

Jim