Insulating a high top van

Howdy all,
I have a 2006 Ford E350 high top van. It was used as a handicap passenger van. The top is a single, injection-molded, double-walled, plastic top. I would like to insulate between the outer shell and the inner shell. Suggestions on what type of insulation and how do I get it in there.

Greetings!

The 2 layer tops don’t need any added insulation. Insulation works by adding dead air space, so whether it is hollow, or more than likely already insulated, you want to keep it intact.

There is also likely ribs between the two layers, but the best advice is to never even drill a hole into that top for any reason. My upper cabinets are mounted to the floor or the lower cabinets, then I have basically a 2 inch metal shower curtain rod running the width of the van to keep them from tipping inward. The rods work perfectly, and double for hanging curtains or hanging clothes from.

Since it’s a passenger van, hopefully you have some opening windows in the back. With those, you don’t need or want any roof vents. A ~$20 fan placed in front of a window blowing either in or out, is much more effective than roof vents anyway.

If you don’t have any opening windows behind the cab, you should be able to swap some out from a wrecking yard. Mine originally had opening windows on the sides, but not in the back doors, so I swapped them for some opening ones from a wrecking yard. I place a fan blowing out in the back window, and it will draw fresh air in from the cab and create a nice breeze through the whole van. If returning to a hot van, it can equalize it with the outside air very quickly, really nice.

Cheers!


"Always avoid expensive solutions to cheap problems." ~ OffGrid


It’s very interesting.

Greetings & Welcome!

Welcome to the forum @Maxxx17!

Cheers!


“Everything should be made as simple as possible." ~ Einstein