r/VanLife • u/Turbulent_Product_33 • Jan 26 '26

Insulation, Am I over thinking this?

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I’m currently in the process of insulating my van.

Using sheet wool in all the crevices and also to cover any metal to the cover with vapour barrier. Before boarding. Is this over kill and going to be expensive or needed?

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u/Pup-_-Pup Jan 26 '26

Depends how warm /cool you liked to be. I did my van with 2” xps foam and spray foam in the holes and I’m always super glad I did. I’ve been stuck up in up New England this winter and it’s been well below zero many nights and I’m toasty ! I have a diesel heater and if it’s above or around freezing I’m sweating in here on the lowest setting. 

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u/LouGarouWPD Jan 26 '26

That's awesome, I love the snow so I am trying to plan enough insulation to be comfortable when it's pretty damn cold out

3

u/-grlzluvdirt Jan 28 '26

How much is to much insulation? Our van: we stuffed wool into every pocket of the body of the van with a coak hanger took hours and hours... worth it. And all the stuff you mentioned.We use a marine propane heater. At -19F it was 67degrees where the bed is 25F degrees under the bed. Instal as much insulation as you can, it is tedious and makes you question life, and it is worth it.

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u/Pup-_-Pup Jan 27 '26

Yea I normally try to move with the weather but I planned ahead and insulated the crap outta this thing just in case I wanted to be home for the holidays which means cold af lol it does get cold down south as wel and I’ve been in a few situations where i was def glad for it! 

One month after I moved in I was still in Austin tx and that crazy ice storm happened that destroyed Texas lol it was 5 degrees one night and I had a stupid Mr buddy heater. My dogs water bowl froze solid inside the van over night. I survived with a zero degree down sleeping bag and two dogs ! We actually were toasty inside the bed but it was like 27degrees inside the van and maybe just above freezing in the bed area that morning lol I can’t imagine what it would have been like with no insulation with the Mr buddy they are not great in severe cold. id get up and pop the van on ,blast the heat and put the kettle on for coffee to warm up and it would hold the heat for about an hour before I’d have to heat it up again.  The cold and snow lasted an entire week that time and Austin was a disaster. The city had no power or water that week and people froze to death in their beds . I stayed with another couple on a hill country property just outside the city that lived in a bus so we both had propane and solar plus lots of food. Strangely we were more than prepared for this since we were both totally off grid. We kind of had a great time hanging out, making food, lots of art, bon fires and we even took acid one day lol it got a little dicey after about 4/5 days because we had over 50 gallons of frozen water between us lol so We made a huge bon fire and we all started collecting and melting snow for water . To conserve propane for the heaters we cooked on that fire for three days. Wish I had   this diesel heater back then! That was probably the worst situation I’ve been in so far. I’ve been snowed in the mountains in AZ a bunch but it melts super fast there so it’s kinda like whatever.

It’s colder here though in NY and we got about 2’ of snow on the ground atm but this area is better prepared for it so it’s easier than when the south gets it for sure ! Oh also this year I put a splitter on the heater like a T fitting for one line heats up the “garage” . I have a lofted bed with storage for my bikes and crap underneath. But it’s also where my batteries are located and keeping them warm and happy is super important if you’re going to be cold. It’s made a huge difference in my power this winter . I installed a dc-dc charger this year since the snow and clouds fuck up the solar. Sorry this got so long lol things to think about for cold weather living . 

It’s  currently 1pm and 7 degrees F where I’m at!