What pad/ insulation for between truck and camper?

[dfrank]

I picked up an older Lance this summer, and need to get it outfitted on on truck for winter.

I also have a new to me 96 F350 that it will be full time on.

In the past I've had a 1/4" rubber bed mat between the camper and my Ram, but said mat will be staying with the dodge as the daily driver/ work truck.

I'd also like to insulate the bottom, but worry that no matter how dense the styrofoam, it will still contribute to more swaying.

I'd like to place some tube steel or something like a hat channel along the outside edges, and insulate between these. I'd really like for these bars to run out under the cantilever for increased structure, but the waste tanks prohibit this.

If I shim it up with insulation, I can also insulate the bottoms of the higher level, and maybe have these seal tight against the bed rails. Anyone have tips on getting these to seal up nicely? I'd like to make the front edge seal up as well, to keep blowing snow and moisture out of the bed.

Thanks,
Dave

 

[dfrank]

Not much traffic this time if year I guess. I ended up placing 2" of pink foam under the camper. I thought I needed an anchor more just to clear the bed rails, but I must not realized how high the channels in the bed raise is up, as I now have almost the full 2" of clearance created at the bed rails. I wanted to insure those too, but figured this only needed an inch or so.

Unfortunately I can only find this stuff in pink, Blue or foil faced, none of which will look nice, and I don know how to paint XPS, as most solvents like paint would probably melt it.

I have no baseline to compare the extra height in handling, as this camper had never been on the truck before. I don't feel that the foam is allowing it to move noticealblym but does the 2" increase in center of gravity likely to affect the handling negatively? If I had it to do again, I'd put one inch foam under it as well as under the parts the overhang the bed rails, both to insulate those areas and seal off the bed from the elements. I thin k I will also put 1/" foam along the lower side walls, as that seems like it would fit comfortably between he feel wells and provide a little better R value.

This thing is NOT well insulated, and I guess I mean it simply is not insulated at all.

Aside form sealing doors and windows, what other mods are people doing to raise the R value on an older Lance?

I'm used to winter camping in my similar vintage Skamper pop top. This thing seems colder than that, maybe partially due to the extra volume to heat. It's a foot longer, A foot wider and a much bigger cab over than the popper.

The furnace doesn't seem to get as hot, but we'll moslty use a catalytic heater to conserve battery.

Thanks for any insight on insulting this thing.

 

[gtbensley]

I too am trying to figure out how to better insulate my camper. Just got an old pop top.

 

[underdrive]

Not sure how your lance is set up on the underside, but if you have an open bottom with lots of empty space around the holding tanks you can fill all that space with fiberglass insulation then close the whole thing off with marine-grade plywood. Just obviously ensure you have absolutely no leaks in the plumbing first, and don't forget to do something about extending the fresh water tank dump as needed.

If your camper is narrower than the wheelwells of your truck bed you can add sheets of foam insulation to the sides of the "tub" of the camper that sits inside the bed.

Also take a peek at what's under the bed in the cabover section, sometimes you will find no insulation there at all. Additionally you can add foam insulation to the walls there (cover it however you see fit), and if the front wall has a big window with a single glass pane that's a huge heat loss so you can cut yourself a sheet of lexan to turn it into a double-pane window.

That should about do the easy stuff, you can do more but it involves partial "remodeling" and I'm not sure how involved you wanna get into this...

 

[gtbensley]

Does the foam have enough rigidity to hold and support the camper? I need to raise mine up a couple inches and a two inch slab of foam would work well I think.

 

[Regcabguy]

I too am trying to figure out how to better insulate my camper. Just got an old pop top.

The fabric sides benefit greatly from a roll of 24"x 25' Reflectix insulation.
http://www.lowes.com/pd_13357-56291..._clickID=2c25fd3a-83e2-41b1-938f-7dad1a21ddb5

 

[gtbensley]

How do you attaché it on the inside? Any pictures?