How To Insulate a Campervan
If you’re wanting all year round comfort in your campervan, proper insulation is a must. To keep your van cosy in winter but cool in summer, correctly installed insulation can achieve this. So, how do you insulate a campervan?
To insulate your campervan you need to use various types of insulation to cover the walls, ceiling and the floor. This ensures you cover any potential gaps where drought could get in, and help to reduce the chances of condensation forming within your van, which could lead to rust. To insulate a campervan ceiling and walls, we use foam backed insulation and sheeps wool. For the floor we install PIR insulation boards followed by a ply-wood sub-floor.
Read on to find out the correct process to insulate a campervan, why it is important and what our method is.
What Is The Correct Way To Insulate A Campervan?
Walls and Ceiling
Insulating the walls and ceiling of your campervan helps to keep your van warmer in the colder months. Below is a step by step guide of how we insulate our campervans and the reasons why.
Firstly, we apply an initial layer of foil backed foam insulation. Some insulation of this type comes with thermo-acoustic foam. This means it adds a layer of sound blocking as well as insulation, keeping in heat, keeping out distracting noises. This is bonded onto the inside of the van wall using spray adhesive. We apply the insulation in large sections to maximise the size of the panels, meaning there are less joints where heat could escape from.
Second, we pack the wall using Sheeps wool insulation - we use 75mm thick slabs to pack out the wall. We use Sheeps wool because:
It’s eco-friendly.
It’s free of chemicals and allergens so safer to handle than other, non natural insulation products.
It’s breathable and versatile.
Lastly, we create a kind of sheep’s wool sandwich, by insulating over the entirety of the wall with another layer of the foil backed foam insulation. This also acts as a vapour control layer (VCL).
A vapour control layer is an additional layer of insulation that acts as a moisture barrier. This is to prevent moisture getting into the insulation cavity which helps to prevent the development of condensation and the chances of heat escaping.
Floor
Insulating the floor of your campervan is important as heat can escape through the floor. Insulating the floor can also help with noise reduction.
We use a 15mm PIR insulation board for the camper van floor, a rigid, low permeable material which has great resistance to moisture. We then install a 15mm plywood sub-floor.
Is It Worth Insulating A Campervan?
If you want a cosy camper then insulation is a must. It’s vital not only for comfort but for the longevity of your campervan. If you don’t provide an insulation barrier then your campervan will lose heat in the colder months and will struggle to expel heat during the warmer months. It is essential for all year round temperature control!
Does Insulating A Campervan Stop Condensation?
You can never be fully certain that any methods of insulating will stop condensation. However, a well insulated campervan reduces the risk of severe condensation forming. We install insulation to stop the transfer of heat where we can. A well insulated van with correctly installed insulation will keep all surfaces at a higher temperature and so reduce the ability of condensation to form.
It is vital to ensure adequate ventilation is maintained, just like you would open the windows at home to let the air circulate. By installing a vent/skylight towards the rear, and a fan in the front section of your campervan you can pull the moist air out of the campervan by opening the rear vent and setting the fan to ‘out’.
Should You Insulate a Campervan Floor?
Yes, It’s important to insulate the floor of a campervan, it can help reduce heat loss and any cold draughts. If you are insulating a floor with grooves in it, it also allows you to fill those air pockets before laying your sub-floor. It’s also good at reducing noises that can come from under the campervan.
Tools You Need To Insulate Your Van
There are many different types of insulation which you could use to insulate your campervan. These are the types of insulation we use:
1. PIR insulation board - We use this for the insulation of the campervan floor.
2. Sheeps wool insulation - for the walls and ceiling
3. Foil backed foam insulation - for the walls and ceiling
About Mint Campers
Mint Campers offer bespoke campervan conversions, we work with you to find out what you need from your camper the most and make a design based on your needs. We have combined expertise in cabinet making, electrics, gas and renewable energy meaning we are well equipped and great problem solvers. Bring your vision to life and make your camper a cosy home on wheels, get in touch with us today to see how we can help.
