To remove the ceiling panels or not?

[OnaFeather]

So I totally understand that most people remove the ceiling panels. Having said that, I really like the bus ceiling and from what I have read once you take it down it's very hard to get it back together right. Ours is also a bazillion rivers, no screws.
I have the upper side ceiling panels off and would rather just shove more insulation in and move on. We are putting insulation in the floor and will also put it in the walls....which is another question.
Can I just leave the walls as are and build and insulate in front of the metal instead of taking them down?
I'm guessing everyone will say pull it all, but has anyone not and how did it go?
2002 Bluebird

[Drew Bru]

Originally Posted by OnaFeather

Can I just leave the walls as are and build and insulate in front of the metal instead of taking them down?
2002 Bluebird

We didn't do that with the walls, but we did it with the ceiling. We insulated over the metal panels then put a plywood ceiling over the insulation. It made a dramatic difference and looks a lot better (our original ceiling was perforated). I think it's probably less work to pull the sides than to pull the ceiling, but then again we paid someone to do that gruntwork for us

[PNW_Steve]

IMHO: whether you pull the ceiling and wall panels or not depends a lot on how and where you are going to use it.

Tailgating or weekends camping in a mild climates would be fine with the metal left in place would be OK.

If you plan more extensive trips you are bound to encounter some less than perfect weather. In that case I would strongly suggest that you pull all of the interior metal and insulate well.

Being in a big metal box with limited insulation, inclimate weather can be pretty uncomfortable.

[Danjo]

I wasn’t but then I felt the inside wall on a warm day.

[OnaFeather]

Ya I want to use it as living space for next few years, I just really liked the ceiling as it, and figured build out and insulating over the wall metal would be good on the sides, we are leaving most of the original windows and I'm looking for a tiny wood stove for heating...
I appreciate the feedback thank you