All things Sprinter (Mercedes, Dodge, Freightliner)

[jtb]

Too much wordage... not enough pictures!

[KHJPHOTO]

Love my home away from home!

[mark883]

All righty, they wants pics.

Mine isn't as pretty as the one above, but my winter project involves some remodeling, insulating and soundproofing. As the instigator of this thread, I give you this!



Mine is a '03 'Dodge' 2500 140" super high top. The partition above is right at the back of the sliding door. This gives 7' to the rear doors, which is not enough for an R1100GS- unless parked crooked. Hence the 'beak hole' in the partition. I'm leaving the partition where it is, its well fastened, and in a logical spot.

Beware that pink stuff is 'squeaky' even locked solidly into place, it can find ways to squeak. However, it does make a decent thermal insulation. There's lots of R's there. I'm tearing that stuff out, and going nuts with insulation.

Insulation is topic of much debate at sprinter-source.com Everyone's got their ideas. I may post a thread over there once I get finished up. I'd love to have a Geek-mobile, but I have a feeling, mines gonna be the cheap-ass geekmobile.

I've gone crazy with raam audio's dampening material, along with the shiny bubbles insulation and recycled denim insulation batts. We'll see how it works out. I have definitely got rid of the 'tin can' sound in the doors. I'm anxious to give it a road test.

I'm also adding wiring for lights and accessories, plus a house battery under the pass. seat.

[showkey]

[Geek]

Originally Posted by jtb

Too much wordage... not enough pictures!

[leeinmemphis]

Originally Posted by mark883

All righty, they wants pics.

Mine isn't as pretty as the one above, but my winter project involves some remodeling, insulating and soundproofing. As the instigator of this thread, I give you this!



Mine is a '03 'Dodge' 2500 140" super high top. The partition above is right at the back of the sliding door. This gives 7' to the rear doors, which is not enough for an R1100GS- unless parked crooked. Hence the 'beak hole' in the partition. I'm leaving the partition where it is, its well fastened, and in a logical spot.

Beware that pink stuff is 'squeaky' even locked solidly into place, it can find ways to squeak. However, it does make a decent thermal insulation. There's lots of R's there. I'm tearing that stuff out, and going nuts with insulation.

Insulation is topic of much debate at sprinter-source.com Everyone's got their ideas. I may post a thread over there once I get finished up. I'd love to have a Geek-mobile, but I have a feeling, mines gonna be the cheap-ass geekmobile.

I've gone crazy with raam audio's dampening material, along with the shiny bubbles insulation and recycled denim insulation batts. We'll see how it works out. I have definitely got rid of the 'tin can' sound in the doors. I'm anxious to give it a road test.

I'm also adding wiring for lights and accessories, plus a house battery under the pass. seat.

Your insulation install looks a lot like mine:


Last weekend I removed the headliner and installed an overhead shelf in it's place and began insulating the roof area over the driver/passenger. It will be a couple weeks until I will get a chance to mess with it again. I hope to finish the interior insulation then it's on to the carpet covered finished walls. Mine's a lot like yours in that I'm trying to do this on an uber cheap budget.

[spagthorpe]

So what are your plans for heating a cooling? Or are you just doing it for noise?

The thing I figured out after a while, is that unless you plan on installing some sort of heater, and active cooling, then there is little reason to insulate other than for noise. If parked in the sun, it will get hot fast, and stay that way. I had just a thermostat controlled vent fan, and I would regularly cook during the summer. Same problem in the winter.

Unfortunately, the diesel heaters you can install that are vented properly are bucks, but worthwhile if you're really going to make it into a camper. For cooling, there are basically no options unless you're going to plug in somewhere, or run a generator. Even with a pile of deep cycles all charged up, you probably couldn't run AC long enough to get you through a day.

Might want to look into some of the RV based gens that can mount under the back of the van. Probably the best way to go, even if the initial price tag is rough.

[mark883]

My insulation thinking has been mainly for noise. If I really need the cooling, I'm thinking go with an top RV A/C unit, or a fan. Of course, with an AC unit, I may need to pay attention to highway overpasses. Needing an AC for summer heat could be a problem, but then that's a $40-70 hotel room with shower problem.

I have no delusions about batteries and AC units. I have found, that with the pink styrofoam, it would stay cool inside. Of course, that's not opening it up during the heat. Using the van as a Pit Shelter or open tent would change that completely.

I've seen the prices on those ESPAR diesel heaters, and they're evil high. I don't really plan on really cold camping, and if I'm cool, I do have a 12v blanket or a good sleeping bag.

[leeinmemphis]

I insulated mine for both road noise and temperature control. My reason for me was sound though. For heat I have a small Mr Ready indoor rated heater and for a/c I have a small portable air conditioner that I can run off of a small portable generator. As of now I'm not worried about conditioned air. My main focus is to get the walls finished up so I can try to figure out what I am going to do to install some sort of a removable bed surface.

On a side note I also picked up a cheap shower rod and shower curtain from Target last week. I have it installed just being the drive/passenger area. It makes a BIG difference in temperature control and noise as well. Definitely worth the $15 it cost.

[spagthorpe]

One thing to really watch, maybe after you've had it insulated a while is to, is tear into it and make sure you aren't rusting the inside walls. If moisture gets in there and gets trapped, then those inner walls will get surface rust fast.

[troidus]

Insulating the cabin should improve highway fuel economy in the summer months, since the cabin will eventually cool off and let the compressor cycle. Otherwise, you're trying to refrigerate a big steel box and the A/C will have to stay on full blast just to keep it tolerable inside.

[mark883]

Originally Posted by spagthorpe

One thing to really watch, maybe after you've had it insulated a while is to, is tear into it and make sure you aren't rusting the inside walls. If moisture gets in there and gets trapped, then those inner walls will get surface rust fast.

That's a big concern- especially for camper vans. Ventilation is key, and several people sleeping inside, or cooking, esp. with LPG gives off lots of water vapor. I did use the reflective bubble foil directly against the wall, hoping for a type of vapor barrier, but I could the benefit of a home-style vapor barrier on the interior wall. I did read somewhere that sportsmobile uses denim insulation.

So are you saying the interior of a Sprinter is rust prone as well?

[drc42]

Originally Posted by mark883

So are you saying the interior of a Sprinter is rust prone as well?

The inside paint is the same as the outside. If you have condensation that gets trapped against the wall keeping it permanently wet then yes, you will get rust. Possibly even worse than the outside if it is always wet.

[mark883]

Originally Posted by drc42

The inside paint is the same as the outside. If you have condensation that gets trapped against the wall keeping it permanently wet then yes, you will get rust. Possibly even worse than the outside if it is always wet.

Sorry. Forgot to add the /sarcasm tag.

Tru dat.

I figure its as lousy of a primer on the inside, as it is on the outside.

[Ko]

Originally Posted by mark883

So are you saying the interior of a Sprinter is rust prone as well?

I know nothing about insulation, and I don't have a Sprinter. But I do have a professionally insulated Mark III van- at least I hope it is professionally insulated. I'm curious to get a DB read in this one and in my cargo van. Anyway, until I tear the van apart to change carpeting and check for rust, I've noticed that there is a bit of an air gap between the metal floor and the walking surface- don't know if it's for breathability or just so happened.