Mesh ceiling

[Kathy WI]

What's the purpose of having part of the ceiling made of mesh type holey metal and the rest solid metal? My bus has the mesh stuff in the front about five feet. I don't particularly like the look of it and I was wondering if it matters if I cover it.

[TygerCub]

Yeah! I wanna know too!

[bus-bro]

Less noise.

[ol trunt]

Could you snap a pic of this stuff for those of us who don't have a mesh ceiling please.

Just a guess having not seen it--could it have something to do with ventilation? My old bus has a few slots in the inside roof just in the drivers area which lead to a screened opening in the outer roof to provide ventilation.

[bansil]

I think it is both,we were discussing this last night,there is less echo at front of bus where the mesh is,also we have a vent in the center near front
I was looking up at it and noticed...sunlight ...I guess they had a radio antenaee or strobe mounted there,great place for water to get in I'm just glad we had that mesh so we could see it early

[browncrown]

The mesh ceilings are for acoustics to help deaden the noise. It shouldn't matter if you cover them up.

[Kathy WI]

Here are a couple pics of the mesh ceiling.

[browncrown]

Those ceilings really do help with the noise. But I found on my bus, the heat on a double ceiling of metal was overbearing so I think you'll find you want to cover them up for that purpose alone. I glued down styrofoam type insullation on my roof and then covered it with carpet. Holding up well so far, however you do have to now occasionally vacum the roof

[bansil]

I am going to def. cover the "drivers area" all surfaces with something to lessen the thermal bridge.(and soak up and dampen noise)
Kinda like a car when if you touch the metal it's hot and if it has anything on it it's "cooler" to the touch and to the IR gun

[Kathy WI]

I never thought about covering it to make it cooler. Living in Wisconsin, I'm usually thinking in terms of insulating against the cold, but it really gets blasted hot in there. Covering the ceiling will be my next project. Speaking of which...what kind of adhesive have you found that isn't affected by the heat? I've found that anything heavier than paper falls off the wall if I use hot glue or double stick mounting tape. It doesn't fall off from bouncing around; mostly after the bus has been sitting in the heat I find that stuff has come unstuck.

[roach711]

I wanted to glue foil-backed insulation board to the fiberglass walls and ceiling of my bus so I went to the liquid nails website and asked which of their products was best to use. They suggested a polyurethane based adhesive for my application. Your best bet is to do the same. Tell them what you're gluing to what and the temperatures involved and they'll give you their recommendation.

I had to prop my insulation panels tight against the wall or ceiling overnight before they would stay in place.

[lornaschinske]

The vent works like an attic vent. It allows hot expanding air to escape thru the vent when he bus is closed up rather than thru the front wind shield. We kept ours even though I will eventually add a couple of marine solar exhaust vents.

[browncrown]

I used the heavy duty Liquid Nails for my ceiling insullation and the carpet as well as the wood bows covering the edges of the carpet sections. Like Roach said, it may depend on what kind of surfaces you are trying to glue to. The area where I live has summer temps daily in the 90's and often around 100, so someitmes the inside temp of the bus gets up toabot 120 if it sits. I have had the ceiling done now for about 3 years and no problems as of yet with anything coming down.

[Kathy WI]

I did the ceiling this weekend and it turned out pretty cool. I used a combination of Liquid Nails and hot glue; we'll see how it holds up. The Liquid Nails says it works in temperatures up to 180. The new ceiling is much more interesting to look at while lying on the couch.

[TygerCub]

Originally Posted by Kathy WI

The new ceiling is much more interesting to look at while lying on the couch.

Awesome!
Love the visual details you've put into your bus. But do you ever find that much visual texture makes the space seem smaller?

[bansil]

Originally Posted by TygerCub

Awesome!
Love the visual details you've put into your bus. But do you ever find that much visual texture makes the space seem smaller?

It must ....since the couch is in the driving compartment

Very cool

[chev49]

if the mesh ceiling quiets the drivers area a bit, i bet pieces of it say one inch away from the generator compartment walls would act to reduce further sound in that...

[Kathy WI]

I really don't think it seems smaller. When I was looking at regular RVs, it seemed to me that elbow room was a big factor in how big the space seemed. Like if it has a lot of cabinets up high so you have to watch your head, or the bunk beds in back that mine used to have, where you have to squeeze down a narrow aisle. I think my bus feels bigger than a normal RV because there isn't any bulky stuff up high and all the original windows are still there.