Roof Canvas Insulation

[Radio-active]

I have just returned from Scotland and was asked by 2 separate California owners about the foil insulation I put around the Canvas roof if its cold or is likely to rain.

I am not claiming the idea as mine, I think there is a company that sells them, others on this forum have made them themselves already.
But with the interest I thought I would post a picture and plan in case anyone else wants to make one for themselves as I think it works very well




Check dimensions yourselves before cutting!!! (don't blame me )

It is just double bubble foil insulation cut to shape and the edges sealed with Duck tape from Screwfix with a velcro closure.

You need:
1 roll Double Aluminium Double Layer Bubble Wrap Foil Insulation 1.2m x 10m approx £35
1 roll Duck Original Cloth Tape 50 Mesh Silver 50mm x 25m approx £6
1 roll Velcro Brand Stick-On Tape White 20mm x 2.5m approx £4
( with the excess foil I made a front screen and side window screens for use inside under the Cali blinds)

Advantages:
Relatively quick to fit under the struts and velcro to itself at the back (it is an advantage to be tall)..easier to fit than a Cali-cover but probably not as good in more extreme weather.
Largely stops the Canvas from getting wet in the rain.
Keeps the van dark inside in the morning when its sunny.
Warmer.
Lightweight.

Disadvantages:
It takes a couple of hours to make and costs just over £40
You can't use the windows in the canvas so the van is darker inside during the day.
When rolled up for transit its still about 300mm diameter and 1.02m long.

Hope this helps anyone interested

 

[SpikeMcBike]

You have just saved me a couple of hundred quid, Radio. Thanks, mate, that is genius - I have ordered the double bubble already.

I have a Beach and have a feeling the measurements of the bellows are slightly different from the Ocean / SE, so will check.

Cheers for this.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[calikev]

the bellows are different on a beach

 

[burnercan]

the bellows are different on a beach

The only difference in no front window, isn't it?

 

[Radio-active]

You have just saved me a couple of hundred quid, Radio. Thanks, mate, that is genius - I have ordered the double bubble already.

I have a Beach and have a feeling the measurements of the bellows are slightly different from the Ocean / SE, so will check.

Cheers for this.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Happy to help...

 

[MattBW]

I have a massive roll of that in the garage, great idea!

 

[Drpps]

Thank you for this. I have just invested in a roll.
A question on the template, are the 2, rear flaps separate from the main construct?

I ask as I am trying to plan the cuts. Because of the slight front to rear slope of the face of the pop top, those rear flaps ought to have an up tilt where they fold to bring them parallel at the back. I can see in your photo a line of duct tape at the rear corners, so is that helping the fold or re-enforcing the corner?

Also have you made a cut for the vents or covered them?

Many thanks this is very helpful.

I've got a trip to the lakes planned shortly and hoping to keep the children happy and the canvas a bit drier.

 

[Radio-active]

Thank you for this. I have just invested in a roll.
A question on the template, are the 2, rear flaps separate from the main construct?

I ask as I am trying to plan the cuts. Because of the slight front to rear slope of the face of the pop top, those rear flaps ought to have an up tilt where they fold to bring them parallel at the back. I can see in your photo a line of duct tape at the rear corners, so is that helping the fold or re-enforcing the corner?

Also have you made a cut for the vents or covered them?

Many thanks this is very helpful.

I've got a trip to the lakes planned shortly and hoping to keep the children happy and the canvas a bit drier.

Hi,

The only reason for the Duck tape at the corners was to mark where the corners were, this helped when pulling the insulation under the roof struts as a guide. I now use the cut open vent holes at the top of the roof as a guide.

The flaps were cut straight and they work fine, with overlap to allow for velcro closure to secure.

On the one I made there is only a small bit of canvas exposed above and below maybe up to 15mm in places....

I have added another image to help:

 

[Radio-active]

ps...The rear flaps are not seperate...as per the plan.

There is a lot of insulation roll length involved (8m) so you will need a long straight edge to mark it out first with a marker pen / felt tip pen and a long drive or lawn to do it on, and check twice / cut once

 

[motacyclist]

Great idea!

But ... be careful, Brandrup will be sending a hit man over!

 

[Bellcrew]

Great idea!

But ... be careful, Brandrup will be sending a hit man over!

Hit person?

 

[Drpps]

ps...The rear flaps are not seperate...as per the plan.

There is a lot of insulation roll length involved (8m) so you will need a long straight edge to mark it out first with a marker pen / felt tip pen and a long drive or lawn to do it on, and check twice / cut once

Indeed!
Really helpful. Thank you.
Just need to wait for the lawn to dry out this morning.

 

[Drpps]

Success. Probably needs a light height trim on the front panel. @Radio-active I tweaked your measurements on the template based on the size of my canvas which was a fraction taller and longer. We have used it for the last 2 nights in the Lakes and didn't need the heater top or bottom down to about 2 degrees, or rather the children didn't complain. Really windy the second night and a significant reduction in noise and draught. I haven't cut the vent holes yet.

I also bought some clear tent window material to make a window for the front canvas to slot behind the mesh so you can have light when raining which worked really well before I put on the topper! I am now thinking of adding a front window pane to the thermal cover.

 

[motacyclist]

I wonder if this template could be modded to make an internal topper? The material could be taken from a tarp (available from Decathlon or similar for about £25). Some method of fastening at the top and bottom would have to be devised; the commercial ones use Velcro but this would need some sewing expertise .....

 

[Drpps]

I wonder if this template could be modded to make an internal topper? The material could be taken from a tarp (available from Decathlon or similar for about £25). Some method of fastening at the top and bottom would have to be devised; the commercial ones use Velcro but this would need some sewing expertise .....

There are some threadson here about re-attaching the brandrup inner liner with some alternative fixings which could be adapted to a tarp or similar.

 

[Radio-active]

View attachment 39128 Success. Probably needs a light height trim on the front panel. @Radio-active I tweaked your measurements on the template based on the size of my canvas which was a fraction taller and longer. We have used it for the last 2 nights in the Lakes and didn't need the heater top or bottom down to about 2 degrees, or rather the children didn't complain. Really windy the second night and a significant reduction in noise and draught. I haven't cut the vent holes yet.

I also bought some clear tent window material to make a window for the front canvas to slot behind the mesh so you can have light when raining which worked really well before I put on the topper! I am now thinking of adding a front window pane to the thermal cover.

Looking good @Drpps, It would be interesting for others to know how much you had to tweek the dimensions...The window idea is also good, you will have to let us know how that works out, I may retrofit myself.
I think for cooler nights it is a no-brainer, and only takes me a couple of minutes to install...

 

[Jason wallace]

We tend to use a comfortz topper as the kids like to see out when up top during the day. But i wonder if you'd get the same benefit from this foil insulation if you made one of these to fit internally?

 

[Drpps]

Looking good @Drpps, It would be interesting for others to know how much you had to tweek the dimensions...The window idea is also good, you will have to let us know how that works out, I may retrofit myself.
I think for cooler nights it is a no-brainer, and only takes me a couple of minutes to install...

sorry @Radio-active . It has taken me a while to find my sheet with the tweaked measurements on it.
I measured the canvas size at the seams and then allowed a little bit more for it to sit slightly into the gutter to fully cover the canvas. This had the up side of a little more air to trap the warmth but has made it a little looser than I would like at the front so I plan to trim a cm or 2 from the front "1.04" measurement. This will allow it to slip towards the rear slightly as well as there is a slight gap at the top of the bellows under the roof edge. These were the dimensions for my 2014 5.1 Cali SE.
Haven't done the front window yet. Early next season perhaps!
I think the other thing I might have done differently was to cut the rear section so the velcro join would overlap more towards the nearside rear so that it is accessible with the driveaway awning/ thule awning attached/wound out and to access it more easily with the bike rack on by standing on the rear wheel. I have bought a tall flat folding stool from Dunelm instead!

 

[Radio-active]

sorry @Radio-active . It has taken me a while to find my sheet with the tweaked measurements on it.
I measured the canvas size at the seams and then allowed a little bit more for it to sit slightly into the gutter to fully cover the canvas. This had the up side of a little more air to trap the warmth but has made it a little looser than I would like at the front so I plan to trim a cm or 2 from the front "1.04" measurement. This will allow it to slip towards the rear slightly as well as there is a slight gap at the top of the bellows under the roof edge.View attachment 39599 These were the dimensions for my 2014 5.1 Cali SE.
Haven't done the front window yet. Early next season perhaps!
I think the other thing I might have done differently was to cut the rear section so the velcro join would overlap more towards the nearside rear so that it is accessible with the driveaway awning/ thule awning attached/wound out and to access it more easily with the bike rack on by standing on the rear wheel. I have bought a tall flat folding stool from Dunelm instead!

Hey great job...
I would say that mine could do with an extra cm or so on the side width but the front is ok.
The stool is a good idea unless your 6ft like me, and I always fit it before rolling out the side awning.
I would like to see how you get on with the window.
Thank you for sharing that, a help for anyone else that likes camping in the cool & or wet.

 

[iballan]

DIY roof topper. 25 m 4mm bubble foil. Only foil on one side. Considering to make it 2 layer - 8mm insulation. Any thougts?

 

[motacyclist]

DIY roof topper. 25 m 4mm bubble foil. Only foil on one side. Considering to make it 2 layer - 8mm insulation. Any thougts?

View attachment 41422

Years ago I stuck two layers of radiator foil together (foil one side, polystyrene the other). One side effect of doing this was that it became stiff as a board and could no longer be folded! So if you need it to fold try a small piece first.

 

[Radio-active]

Apart from the insulation properties which will improve with 2 layers, you need enough lateral stiffness to stop the foil half way down the side of the canvas drooping or falling away at the top...as I haven't used single layer it is difficult for me to comment.
Make one and see how you get on, at least a single layer will roll up smaller for storage and will be waterproof in use.

 

[ejmoore]

I made one of these a few years ago, and it was effective, but it got a bit torn feeding it through the struts. I've still got it in the loft. I was wondering if we could use it AND the Calicap cover in really cold weather, but I'm not sure it's possible as you need to put the wrap-around on the fully-open roof but the Calicap needs to be put in place with the roof only slightly lifted at first. Any suggestions?

 

[westfalia]

I made one of these a few years ago, and it was effective, but it got a bit torn feeding it through the struts. I've still got it in the loft. I was wondering if we could use it AND the Calicap cover in really cold weather, but I'm not sure it's possible as you need to put the wrap-around on the fully-open roof but the Calicap needs to be put in place with the roof only slightly lifted at first. Any suggestions?

It probably is possible but you would need a big stick to push the sides of the
topper up and have it resting on the roof ready to pull down once your wrap is
around.
Getting it all off would be hassle too, maybe best to get an internal one.

 

[ejmoore]

Thanks Westfalia! Actually I think it might be easier to put the cover on & get the roof right up, then lift the sides of the cover up & slip the wraparound in underneath it. It could be put outside the struts as the cover would keep it held in place (& it's fastened at the back). Hmm, worth a try-out.