This is why we insulate

[Twigg-SKO]

A few days ago it snowed. It hasn't risen much above 32F since then.

This side of the bus is facing due North. What you are looking at is the result of the sun shining on the other side, warming the interior. That heat has transmitted straight through the ribs and melted the snow.

That's what happens to your precious heat if you don't break the thermal bridge, and in summer it is why your ceiling gets hot and your AC struggles

 

[Defjr333]

So im guessing you have NOT insulated yet Twigg?
Doug

 

[Twigg-SKO]

So im guessing you have NOT insulated yet Twigg?
Doug

Not there yet.

That's the factory set-up and it's in very good condition ... so, it really never was all that good

 

[Defjr333]

Your further than I twigg, I am still hunting the vehicle!!! Nice looking bus by the way.
Doug

 

[Twigg-SKO]

Your further than I twigg, I am still hunting the vehicle!!! Nice looking bus by the way.
Doug

The tinted windows are nice to have

 

[Robin97396]

I've insulated, but I still get definite snow or frost melt where the ribs are. A lot of that melting in an uninsulated bus is because of the sun warming the metal in combination with the greenhouse effect from the windows.

My roof looks very similar on most cold mornings. You will see signs of heat loss regardless, but interior temperatures are much different after insulation.

 

[EastCoastCB]

A few days ago it snowed. It hasn't risen much above 32F since then.

This side of the bus is facing due North. What you are looking at is the result of the sun shining on the other side, warming the interior. That heat has transmitted straight through the ribs and melted the snow.

That's what happens to your precious heat if you don't break the thermal bridge, and in summer it is why your ceiling gets hot and your AC struggles

View attachment 18066

View attachment 18067

Man just put some magic "nasa" beads in some roofing paint and you'll be all fixed up!

 

[BlackJohn]

No roof insulating for me on my 20 year old metal tent. I like the stock look and despised the work involved never mind the mess involved. Wanted the bus useable asap so can put up with some heat loss by throwing another log on the fire. Summer, I look for some shade for the afternoon sun and only drive thru the night when cooler.
I'd never live long enough to make that insulting work out for me and when this bus is done, it becomes a parked hunting and fishing camp.
All up to the individual depending on your preferred climate.
I never expected to have the warmth of home or sustained cooling when hot but it ain't too bad.

John

 

[Twigg-SKO]

Man just put some magic "nasa" beads in some roofing paint and you'll be all fixed up!

Well it's getting that anyway. Do you think NASA will let me have some of the tiles from the Space Shuttle too?

There may be a period when we have to spend an extended time in this thing. We are considering building a Container home at some point.

 

[M1031A1]

I'll post a pic of HF with her snowcap still intact without the heat transfer at the ribs. Spray foam is AMAZING stuff!!!!!

M :biggrin:

 

[Robin97396]

If you need heat shielding tiles on the front of your bus, I'd sure like to go for a ride with you.

 

[Twigg-SKO]

If you need heat shielding tiles on the front of your bus, I'd sure like to go for a ride with you.

I wouldn't mind them on the roof

 

[Robin97396]

Well, that doesn't sound as fun.

 

[Twigg-SKO]

Well, that doesn't sound as fun.

According to my research, those silica tiles originally cost NASA $10000 per sq ft.

Back to Home Depot it is then!

 

[Robin97396]

Yeah, it sounds outrageous unless you're the one trying to reenter the atmosphere. The pucker factor alone would make those worth $10000 per sq ft.

Sounds like that contract didn't go to the cheapest bidder.

 

[Iceni John]

According to my research, those silica tiles originally cost NASA $10000 per sq ft.

Back to Home Depot it is then!

I was on the GSAXcess website a few days ago at work, and they list surplus Shuttle tiles for sale to educational entities. No prices quoted, but if schools are bidding on them I can't imagine they're too expensive. Apparently each tile is unique, for one specific location only. Be the first skoolie owner to have his shower covered in Shuttle tiles!

John

 

[Robin97396]

That sounds lots more reasonable.

I was thinking heat tiles covering the outside of the bus might get kind of heavy, but it would definitely look unique. Probably would save the bus during any reentry too.

 

[Twigg-SKO]

I was on the GSAXcess website a few days ago at work, and they list surplus Shuttle tiles for sale to educational entities. No prices quoted, but if schools are bidding on them I can't imagine they're too expensive. Apparently each tile is unique, for one specific location only. Be the first skoolie owner to have his shower covered in Shuttle tiles!

John

The Wiki says that NASA were giving them away. They had 7000 tiles and could be had by educational institutions for the cost of shipping ... One tile per institution limit.

 

[cadillackid]

No roof insulating for me on my 20 year old metal tent. I like the stock look and despised the work involved never mind the mess involved. Wanted the bus useable asap so can put up with some heat loss by throwing another log on the fire. Summer, I look for some shade for the afternoon sun and only drive thru the night when cooler.
I'd never live long enough to make that insulting work out for me and when this bus is done, it becomes a parked hunting and fishing camp.
All up to the individual depending on your preferred climate.
I never expected to have the warmth of home or sustained cooling when hot but it ain't too bad.

John

I need to insulate my carpenter bus somehow.. in florida summer I sit in the driver seat with 65,000 BTU of A/C. and the only place thats cool is where my dash vents are blowing.. in winter as I have found out this week.. I had every heater on high driving around in 0f yesterday and I was still cold except for near the heaters.. (I know laugh now you in canada seem to dig this below zero crap)...

I love the stock look too.. I may just have to install another air conditioner and more heaters in that bus to maintain comfort.. lol..
-Christopher

 

[New2Skool]

I don't know how to prevent this delta temp difference in our skoolies.
I did a roof raise and spent a good amount of time trying to think of a way to prevent this heat lost avenue.
Other than physically spacing the skin from the ribs which doesn't seem like a very good idea.
The only other option, I found was insulating from down and inside of the ribs themselves to try prevent the heating from both coming in and going out through the ribs.
I had to consider the temp differences of all northern Minnesota season changes that are yesterday -39 F and the height of August 97 degrees with about 80% humidity.
My conclusion to try combat this law of nature was to buy, cut, install 1x2 inch cedar boards and mount them directly to the ribs to suspend the interior ceilings. The walls are slightly better with 2x2 pine mounted to the ribs giving me about an inch more space for poly spray insulation.

The ribs will have about 3 to 3.25 inches of insulation space while the roof has about 3 inches. Not the most ideal ratio per surfaces but, it will sure help prevent this temp variance.

I also had to come up with a plan for electrical and plumbing lines.
To prevent the temps from impacting both utilities, I created to internal channels on the inside of the insulation barriers. The first is down low under the seat rail and the second is up above the roof / window bulk head. They consist of a mounted layer of plywood with electrical wired on the upper half and plumbing mounted on the lower half.

Another big part of this utility channel idea is post construction accessibility. In order to achieve this, I will leave small access points in roughly every room or section of the bus. Once the utility lines are completed, I will board over the channels and leave access areas secured by basically screwing small hatches or covers that can be unscrewed later to provide access. I have seen a lot of very nice buses and many very smart folks run utilities and cover everything very nicely, complete framework and start finishing work just to realize they forgot internet cables or that they needed another outlet and suddenly, this beautiful finished skoolie has a plastic sheath running along the wall just to provide a power or water supply line to another area of the bus.

So, in short haha. My cold weather and blistering heat skoolie will have the best insulation envelope I can create with all utilities running inside of that envelope with post construction access. Hopefully both of these concepts will prove to be helpful in the long run of my rig. And honestly, I have no idea if they will but, the concept is sound.