In this article I cover how I insulated the walls and ceiling in my van. After many hours of research and banging my head against a wall, I ended up going with Thinsulate for insulation.
Thinsulate is low weight, non-flammable, does not absorb moisture, doesn’t off-gas, is meant to be used in vehicles, etc. For those reasons, I felt safe installing it in my vehicle. Once you get templates cut out, installation is very easy. I ended up buying 40’ for my 136” WB Ram ProMaster.
Materials/Tools Required
3M Thinsulate SM600L
3M Contact Adhesive
Kraft Paper
Auto Trim Removal Tool
Simple Green Cleaner
Dewalt Safety Goggles
Ram ProMaster Van Insulation Steps
1] Using Kraft Paper, cut templates for the panels that will be getting insulated.
2] Using the templates as a guide, cut the thinsulate material.
3] Attach thinsulate to the van with the 3M Contact Adhesive.
The trick to the 3M adhesive is to spray it first on both the van and the thinsulate, let it set for a few minutes until it’s tacky, and then place the thinsulate. If you don’t let the adhesive sit, it will not cure/adhere the materials correctly.
4] Stuff thinsulate into all the nooks and crannies of the van. Remove the door panels and insulate in the van as well. I recommend picking up an auto trim removal tool kit for like $10 to remove all of the plastic pins.
In the next article, I’ll show you how I built a solar panel rack for my ProMaster.