What to choose regarding the insulation of the van? According to the seasons can we have an uninsulated van? And what level of insulation?
1- The insulation of the van in winter:
Minimum insulation is, for me, essential, in winter the temperature in the van drops quickly if you are not in it. You will have a difficult time trying to fall asleep while shivering and chattering. I tried it without insulation and with a minimum all around and there is a not insignificant difference.
My winter routine is to prepare my van for the night to slip inside and make my meal. The use of the stove quickly increases the temperature in the van and you will only maintain it with your body heat thanks to your insulation.
2- The insulation of the van in summer:
In summer without insulation, no need for stove just leave the food in the van during the day and you will find it cooked. I have a lot of trouble sleeping when it is too hot and before I isolated my van I could not sleep until midnight time to cool and I was awake at maximum 7h because the ceiling radiated more than 50 cm .
Now with insulation the van heats less during the day and so I have more time to sleep. I am a happy marmot.
3- Against the big insulations:
So why do not I talk about big insulation with wood, sheep wool …
Simply because it significantly increases the weight of the vans which causes the engine to suffer and causes some mechanical problems faster. In addition, if it is poorly made moisture sincere and no longer dry, which causes problems of rust. And when we have an old cushy we want to keep them in shape as long as possible. In addition I would say that the place is essential in a van and this type of insulation actually lose a lot.
In Conclusion :
Yes, you can have a non-isolated van, but you have to want to be dependent on the climate. This solution is correct for short duration.
Complete isolation is very restrictive.
Minimum insulation is in my opinion the best choice because it combines space saving and thermal improvement.
My choice :
- False floor with double thick thick carpet floor.
- Fine insulating aluminum + 1 cm polyester + ceiling fabrics
- Carpeted walls
- And most important to me, thermal curtains at all windows.
