lining and insulating a defender

I've got a 110 hard-top and used a big roll of 19mm thick Armaflex (industrial pipe lagging) bought off fleabay. Cut into sections to fit between box sections on the roof and spay glue on, I then used foil covered bubble wrap (B&Q) and covered the whole roof, aluminium taped the joins and hey presto a nice tidy shiny, bling headlining. The sides were filled with Armaflex off-cuts and camping mat, then paneled the sides with acoustic carpet covered 6mm plywood and self tapped screwed it on, Rubber matting on load-bed and wheel boxes. This transformed a cold, condensation covered, noisy tractor into a comfortable 4x4

matt harvey said:

got a defender with van sides, and fook me its been pretty cold in there the past few days, doesnt help the heater doesnt work but thats also on my list to fix, ive been thinking about lining the back with some wood panels with a bit of insulation between the wood and the van sides, what insulation could i use, ive got a few rolls of loft insulation laying round could that be used?? also what wood panels? i plan to line them wih carpet aswell but would just some cheap panels do or has it got to be outdoor ply? sure ive got some mdf laying about. helpful for any views on this

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I took mine to The Body Centre (Norwich) today to ask about improving the warmth. They advised to seal the seams on the roof, cut out some of the foam under the windscreen and along the sides ad then they will seal it - this prevents damp and cold getting in (and helps prevent damp getting in the bulkhead) plus check your window/screen seals and seal any problems along the guttering. This won't miraculously stop the cold but will help. Also asked about roof lining and they suggested they could fit a thin insulation inside the roof lining but he felt the cold would come through any gaps. Not sure this helps but certainly worth exploring

but these are externally exhausted, so no water vapour inside.
If it were exhausted internally, yes lots of water, and dead truck driver, as pointed aout, CO and H2O are by products of burning propane. I've not seen heaters for vans, caravans or motorhomes that havn't been externally flued (AFAIK open heaters in caravans etc went in the 70s)

horrendous condensation was probably form the water sack sleeping and breathing in a small space.

i have done 5 vans with this PRODUCT RANGE – description of Aluthermo 7, 14 and 21mm and of Aluthermo Quattro® i use the 21mm stuff for some of the lofts i do

i fitted a rad haz kit from ebay and flushed the heater out

Good ideas, cheers specially as the temps drop!!!

Edited now I'm further on as a tratterer tarter upper. Used 2 mm silent tiles and 6 mm dodo insulation over. Used sikaflex on all seams and solid sunroof now. Bulkhead grommets, door seals, ply panels and heater works. 4 dog breaths and mine. Steams up but happy, as mild winter so far and spring soon (there's too much of a big deal made of condensation). Massive difference in soundproofing. Can drive in pot holes and over road bumps without it sounding like cymbals being banged on my lugs..

sorted out my 110 interior this year. I spent last Christmas paper macheing some old roof lining I managed to pick up cheap on ebay. Took quite a few weeks slowly letting the PVA soak into the sections - fitting the stretch carpet was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I then carpeted some ply and fitted to the side panels - over the 4mm Silent Coat tiles. Also trimmed up some stable mats to fit round the floor. Oh and got a roll cage that needed padding round too (not in this photo though.

been a busy year

Brilliant job. I watched a you tube video of a chap putting the four-way stretch carpet over the wheel arches of a VW Camper the other day. I was surprised how easy it morphed. Just looking at silent coat tiles now on ebay. So dis you stick those directly onto the metal panels then?

yep, stick straight on. cheaper than noise killer i think and seem to work for me. as they're shiny I don't mind leaving them exposed in the foot wells either. The four way stretch wasn't a big problem, start simple and get more complicated, it does stretch more than you think but does require some decent contact adhesive and time to let it cure a bit before flattening the carpet down.

Cheers for that. It's not cheap. I'll just work out how much I need. I think I'm gonna do front with Wright's moulded stuff. Was just stuck on what to do in cargo. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Silent-C...=item258c513309:g:IxwAAOSwZJBYBe5a:rk:16:pf:0

that's exactly the pack i bought.

you only need one in the center of each panel.

gymmaniac said:

you only need one in the center of each panel.

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What, just one tile?? D'ya not do the whole panel?

just the one, my doors and side panels each have a tile in the center of each section. tap the door and it now goes thud rather than the hollow metal ding. perhaps look up on youtube what you need to do. they may have better noises

gymmaniac said:

just the one, my doors and side panels each have a tile in the center of each section. tap the door and it now goes thud rather than the hollow metal ding. perhaps look up on youtube what you need to do. they may have better noises

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Nice one. Cheers for that.

I put new rubber on the blending flap in my heater box and sealed it all up, made a huger difference.
https://www.carbuildersolutions.com/uk/
Get their catalogue, its free, they have all sorts of lining , carpet , dynomat etc. I got their catalogue today, its over 400 pages of brilliant ideas! Even aftermarket heaters!

nobber said:

I put new rubber on the blending flap in my heater box and sealed it all up, made a huger difference.
https://www.carbuildersolutions.com/uk/
Get their catalogue, its free, they have all sorts of lining , carpet , dynomat etc. I got their catalogue today, its over 400 pages of brilliant ideas! Even aftermarket heaters!

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Nice one. Never heard of em before. Bookmarked now. Cheers

I clad the entire interior with flashband, filled all the spaces between any bars with camping mat then kept the whole thing in place by using interior cladding planks , a lot easier than sheet ply.
Then I built a solid partition on top of the rear bulkhead , fixed behind the driver hinged behind the passenger /centre. Keeping what little heat there is in the front is the biggest improvement. The whole lot makes the cab a lot quieter as well.

I've just revisited wrights off road set. I'm not sure about it now. I'm not a chelsea person, but I'm an on-roader and I'm thinking it's a bit 'uncomfortable' or less 'cosy' or ... what's the word? ... unconventionally uncar-like? D'ya think carpet over good soundproofing stuff is better for the sunday driving clan folk? It's meant to be really good but ... http://www.wrightoffroad.com/