DIY Thermal Roof Liner

[Herman]

For T6 owners not wishing to attract or other Cali owners who just want a bit more insulation without paying megabucks to Brandrup, this idea for a roof liner might be helpful.

It's made from the silvered bubble-wrap from Homebase or, on occasion, Aldi (their's is better quality) that they sell to insulate sheds. It took an afternoon to make the prototype to see whether it would work, and it does. There is no need to stick velcro everywhere as it is supported by the little loops in the roof.
It takes less than five minutes to install and packs flat on the mattress when the roof is folded. Total cost less than £25.

If anyone is interested, I will post more details.
View attachment 19486 View attachment 19485 View attachment 19484

 

[Hotel California]

Looks solid , but one strange thing , you got your Cali since march last year ?
https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/another-happy-cali-owner.10199/
and there's still the plastic wrapping on the top matrass ...never slept upstaires? Then you could just close the roof when it's cold ....
We just use the outside topper and are happy with it , never camped in the snow though .

 

[Herman]

Looks solid , but one strange thing , you got your Cali since march last year ?
https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/another-happy-cali-owner.10199/
and there's still the plastic wrapping on the top matrass ...never slept upstaires? Then you could just close the roof when it's cold ....
We just use the outside topper and are happy with it , never camped in the snow though .

I had a bet with the Mrs that someone would notice this. The bed down below is more comfy and I can't do breakfast in bed up top. The photos are old ones - sorry.

 

[2haw]

My Cali is just coming up to a year old and I've still got the wrapping on the upstairs mattress & It has been slept on!

 

[Hotel California]

My Cali is just coming up to a year old and I've still got the wrapping on the upstairs mattress & It has been slept on!

Must be very comfy....

 

[2haw]

Must be very comfy....

I wouldn't know, I'm only allowed to sleep downstairs!

 

[Meoncoast]

Our 2012 SE had the wrapping on when we sold it in 2017.
Herman looks like £25 well spent

 

[sidepod]

S

Must be very comfy....

Sweaty.

 

[Days out]

S


Sweaty.

Betty Swollocks?

 

[Days out]

For T6 owners not wishing to attract or other Cali owners who just want a bit more insulation without paying megabucks to Brandrup, this idea for a roof liner might be helpful.

It's made from the silvered bubble-wrap from Homebase or, on occasion, Aldi (their's is better quality) that they sell to insulate sheds. It took an afternoon to make the prototype to see whether it would work, and it does. There is no need to stick velcro everywhere as it is supported by the little loops in the roof.
It takes less than five minutes to install and packs flat on the mattress when the roof is folded. Total cost less than £25.

If anyone is interested, I will post more details.
View attachment 19486 View attachment 19485 View attachment 19484

View attachment 19509

View attachment 19510

View attachment 19511

Very good work. I might have a go at this too. I like the fact it's compact. Does it also eliminate telephone signal? I see that as an advantage by the way!

 

[larrylamb]

You can get external screens like this, usually called Pucer screens, helps keep the weather off the bellows.
https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/pucer-screens-or-equivalent.2666/

 

[Herman]

Very good work. I might have a go at this too. I like the fact it's compact. Does it also eliminate telephone signal? I see that as an advantage by the way!

Sorry, it doesn't seem to block the phone. I just switch mine off when I 'm away.

 

[Kmann]

I guess one could get a nice suntan when switching on the lamp up there ;-)

Nice work though. I love DIY

 

[blakeley]

Sorry, totally bemused by this post!

 

[Borris]

Good idea but I'd have nightmares about being an oven ready turkey.

 

[B J G]

Allegedly keeps Aliens from doing brain scans while you sleep,as well.

Good bit of lateral thinking though. May have found a use for another of my 'might need it some day leftovers'.

 

[hirsty]

More to the point does it make any difference?

I too also like to pull the lid down overnight if there's nothing up there - makes an amazing difference to both temp & particularly noise on "family sites".

 

[T6Beach]

Is it April fools day already

 

[Cali4nia-Dream]

For T6 owners not wishing to attract or other Cali owners who just want a bit more insulation without paying megabucks to Brandrup, this idea for a roof liner might be helpful.

It's made from the silvered bubble-wrap from Homebase or, on occasion, Aldi (their's is better quality) that they sell to insulate sheds. It took an afternoon to make the prototype to see whether it would work, and it does. There is no need to stick velcro everywhere as it is supported by the little loops in the roof.
It takes less than five minutes to install and packs flat on the mattress when the roof is folded. Total cost less than £25.

If anyone is interested, I will post more details.

How is the bubble wrap standing up to use?

 

[OGII]

Hadn't seen this post before (Or heard of the Pucer solution).

My take on the DIY approach, a quick fix before an Easter weekend trip. 7m x1m of foil insulation just folded over and taped then passed behind the roof supports. Held itself in place nicely and kept bellows dry despite Norfolk's attempts to deluge us.

No oven ready feeling or expensive Calitopper

 

[DrJuanKerr]

I was considering this as an alternative to the more expensive options out there. I did some research:
http://www.smartenergyideas.com/foil-insulation-or-foil-bubble-insulation

https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog...bble-Wrap-Sham-Understanding-Radiant-Barriers

https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/article/stay-away-from-foil-faced-bubble-wrap

The upshot is, foil faced bubble wrap has zero insulation properties. It's a "radiant barrier". It's not insulation. So, would the OP mind saying how well they find it works?

 

[OGII]

Pretty well. For a sub £20, easy to fit, easy to dry experiment it's fine.

Due to our summer we haven't used it much. It was most effective over a very windy and wet weekend in Norfolk at Easter where it blocked the wind and stopped the rain constantly making noise on the canvas.

As to how much it insulated who knows. We plugged in a heater with a thermostat and didn't notice it being on that much. I think if you were looking for extremely effective insulation you would have to question how good most toppers are given how thin they are.

It did mean we could raise and lower the roof without too much hassle and not have to worry about wet canvas or topper.

I guess it depends where you want to use it and how much money you want to spend.

 

[Andy]

I was considering this as an alternative to the more expensive options out there. I did some research:
http://www.smartenergyideas.com/foil-insulation-or-foil-bubble-insulation

https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog...bble-Wrap-Sham-Understanding-Radiant-Barriers

https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/article/stay-away-from-foil-faced-bubble-wrap

The upshot is, foil faced bubble wrap has zero insulation properties. It's a "radiant barrier". It's not insulation. So, would the OP mind saying how well they find it works?

Don't think any of the commercially available roof toppers have any insulation properties either. So this is a cheap alternative to a bought one + around £350

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

 

[Johnners33]

Hadn't seen this post before (Or heard of the Pucer solution).

My take on the DIY approach, a quick fix before an Easter weekend trip. 7m x1m of foil insulation just folded over and taped then passed behind the roof supports. Held itself in place nicely and kept bellows dry despite Norfolk's attempts to deluge us.

No oven ready feeling or expensive Calitopper

View attachment 31915

Hi I realise this is an old thread. I’ve been thinking about f something similar and wondered how you joined to two ends at the back? Thanks

 

[OGII]

Hi I realise this is an old thread. I’ve been thinking about f something similar and wondered how you joined to two ends at the back? Thanks

We didn't take it across the back, there is so little exposed canvas it didn't seem worth it. Easy enough to have stick on velcro and overlap the two ends.