I’ve decided to combine the last few days into one journal since we spent the majority of each day working on the wall and door insulation.
Read this blog post to learn about why we chose to use polyisocyanurate foam board and how much the insulation cost!
Wall Insulation
For insulating the walls we used 1″ polyisocyanurate foam board. The actual dimension of the foam is 1 1/8″ thick, but it still fits well inside the wall cavities. We spent 2 days measuring and cutting the large 4 x 8′ sheets of foam board into much smaller pieces that we could shove into the different areas on the wall. There were a few large pieces that we had to cut, such as in the panels where windows could go, and the panels where our windows are. For these, we created cardboard templates and cut out the foam based on those. We just had to make sure to flip the template for the opposite side of the van, so that the shiny silver reflective side of the foam was facing in.
The reason we oriented it that way is because it’s hard to keep heat in, and it’s hard to make heat, but it’s easy to use the fan to get hot air out. Ultimately that’s not going to be making much of a difference because there will be wood paneling in front of it, although there is an air gap that is necessary for radiant heat barriers (which the reflective surface acts as). Our main source of insulation is the foam board itself, not the reflective facing on it.
We were able to cut a lot of small pieces to fill the horizontal and vertical columns that we originally assumed would need to be filled with spray foam. We cut pieces the approximate width of the column then put them in the column from the bottom section by section, pushing them further into the column as we went.
After two days of cutting the foam board (and finding out that it has some very sharp fiberglass-like needles in it that dig into your fingers and hurt a lot), we had everything cut and placed and were ready to spray foam. We had originally bought 11 x 12 oz cans of Great Stuff gaps and cracks spray foam. This wasn’t quite enough, and we had to make another Home Depot run to pick up more gaps and cracks as well as the big gaps kind for filling in larger spaces.
Spray foam is basically puffy superglue. You have to be careful to not get it on your skin, in your eyes, on your hair, or on any clothes you care about. You also want to make sure you protect any surfaces like the floor, windows, and door handles/mechanisms so that you don’t affect anything’s operation. Since it is a sticky substance, we used it to adhere the foam boards to the walls. It worked really well! Then, we sprayed around the individual pieces of foam board and in any visible cracks, to make sure the wall was continuously insulated.
We used the Big Gaps to fill areas where we couldn’t fit foam, and to do large spaces inside the columns, etc. that were un-insulated. We applied it in layers so that the foam had access to air to cure properly. The spray foam cans warn you not to use the foam in voids for this reason. By applying it in layers, the first layer could solidify, and then we could apply a second layer which would cure after that. We also spray foamed the gap around the edge of the floor framing and inserted some foam board around the back of the wheel well boxes, then spray foamed them in place to completely sell the wheel wells.
The foam did expand in some areas past the metal walls, so we will have to cut some off or sand it down before we install the wall paneling. That’s not a problem, and can be easily done with a serrated knife. Spray foam can even be painted!
Overall, we feel our walls are super-well insulated!
Door Insulation
The door insulation couldn’t be quite as thorough as the wall insulation. This is because we wanted to avoid using spray foam in the doors so there was no interference with the door wires or mechanisms. We used the same methods as we did for the walls to size and cut the foam, and fit it in.
For some reason, I don’t see many people int he van life community insulating their doors. I think it’s maybe because the shapes are a bit more annoying to cut, and they don’t want to mess with their mechanisms. Fair enough. We found that we could use spray foam in the top section of the sliding door because there were no door mechanisms there. In the bottom section, the foam board is packed tightly enough to stay in place without any adhesive.
In the back doors, we didn’t use any spray foam, and we ended up duct-taping the foam board in place. Then we replaced the bottom panels with the grey plastic paneling that came with the van since we won’t be putting nice wood paneling here, as it’s in our garage space.
After insulating the walls and the doors, the van is noticeably quieter, both when driving and in terms of echo inside.
The Saga of Registering The Van
On Day 23, Austin printed and filled out all of the registration documents we need to register our van and get our license plates at the DMV. Since our title finally arrived from the out-of-state dealer we bought the van from (he totally just forgot to send it), we can finally register the van. We also needed to return the license plates from our teardrop trailer that we sold earlier this month.
Austin headed to the DMV first thing in the morning on Day 24 so he would be the first person in line. When he got there at 7:55, 5 minutes before it opened, there was already a line of about 250 people waiting outside. The parking lot was so crowded that he had to park on the grass. The last guy in line turned to him and said “they already handed out all the cards for today.” Apparently, there is now a numbering system where people wait outside in line to receive a card with a number and a time on it, then they report back and are let into the DMV to do what they need to do at that time.
It also turns out that they’ve split our state’s DMV into licensing and registration centers, so some DMVs will not handle registrations. That was the case with the first DMV that Austin went to. Since apparently showing up at the DMV right before it opened was too late, Austin made a plan to show up even earlier at a registration center the next day.
On Day 25, he went to a registration center almost an hour away and showed up at 6:55. He got in line (there were already 150 people in line) and about 5 minutes later a DMV employee came out and gave him a card with a number on one side and a time on the other side. Even though Austin had shown up an hour before the DMV even opened, his appointment time was at 10:00. It didn’t make sense for him to drive home at that point, so he did some work in the parking lot and waited for his appointment time. Once his appointment came up they shouted his number, he walked into the lobby, and he was only in there for 15 minutes to get the registration and plates.
The DMV employee asked him what the vehicle was going to weigh. He said that the max vehicle gross weight was 8500 and empty is 5500 as per the title. The employee said she needed to know what the vehicle was going to weigh when it was carrying cargo. He asked why they needed to know that, and she said “you’re gonna pay for the weight,” which wasn’t particularly helpful or informative. Then he asked how much we’d pay for the weight. She replied “not that much, but if you carry more than you say, you could get a ticket,” which was slightly more helpful but didn’t really answer his question. In the end, he decided to say 7500 pounds which would be 2000 pounds of buildout weight in addition to the weight of the van.
Of course, registration means paying lots of money for taxes and fees, but we had already included that in our overall budget. We ended up paying $1,280 for title and registration. $107.50 was the registration fee that was based on the weight that he declared.
Mercedes Dealership
On the way back from the DMV, Austin headed to the Mercedes Dealership to get a copy of our key made. Unfortunately, Alan had only come with one key, and Mercedes keys are expensive. When I called the dealer to price them, I was told they cost $250+ to make the key, and then another $65-$170 to program it (match it with the car’s electronic system as a security feature). Once they found out it was a Freightliner, it turns out that those keys are less expensive (thank goodness). The Freightliner key was “only” $140, which feels cheap in comparison (but still is sooo expensive).
To get the key, Austin had to show his license, the registration, and the VIN for the van. The dealership has the keys made in Texas based on your VIN, so you have to pay ahead of time because the key will only work on your specific vehicle. While he was there, Austin also ordered the plastic piece that covers the tow hook on the front bumper, as it was surprisingly only $8.
After the dealership, Austin called a locksmith to price out getting a door key made (which would only open the door, not start the car). We were shocked to be quoted $50 for 1 key! So we called the Mercedes dealer and sure enough, they could make the door keys for only $24 each. Unfortunately, you have to pay ahead of time (like we did for the fully programmed key/fob) but they didn’t accept payment over the phone. So we will order these keys when we are back to pick up and program the key fob.
Maintenance
Austin also replaced a tail light that burned out and put on the new windshield wipers.
9/22/2020 – 9/24/2020
Build Day #24-#26
Hours Worked: 36
- Austin – 24
- Becky – 12
- Total Project Hours: 285
Money Spent: $1,481
- Van Registration Fee (DMV) – $110
- Van Title Fee (DMV) – $85
- Van Taxes (DMV) – $1086
- Loctite Spray Adhesive x 2 (Walmart) – $12
- Great Stuff Gaps & Cracks 16 oz x 2 & Great Stuff Big Gaps 16 oz x 6 (Home Depot) -$41
- Copy of our Key (Mercedes Dealership) – $140
- Snap Kit (Walmart) – $7
- Total Project Spending: $21,220
Tasks Complete: 3
- Insulate walls
- Insulate doors
- Register van
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