Insulation Replacement Options

[John and Jaci]

We busy on our total redo of our 72 Boler. The ensolite could not be salvaged. What other options have people used for insulation. We live in the south where summer days are often 95 -105 with high humidity so we need something that is fairly effective in conjunction with our air conditioner. If anyone has some experience with alternatives that work fairly well we would appreciate your input.
Thanks
John and Jaci

[Loren G. Hedahl]

What has been recommended by some is that aluminum mylar bubble insulation that is available at Home Depot and other such stores.

I have considered adding an additional thickness of insulation to our Scamp over the existing ensolite. One type that comes to mind is the blue foam backpacking sleeping pads available at WalMart. These are about 1/2 inch thick and come in panels of about 2 ft by 6 ft for a nominal cost.

Once these are fitted and glued into place, I believe they could be painted with a high solids latex enamel house paint that would provide a satisfactory and renewable surface.

Before I would commit to doing this, I would first do a trial panel inside a cabinet, such as behind the stove. Then if it turned into a bummer, little harm would be done!

[Donna D.]

The only problem I see with using a thick closed-cell foam, is getting it to conform to the concave curves inside the egg. I think it would be a major problem.

[Raya]

I'm not sure why you specified "alternatives to Ensolite," but you can re-do it with Ensolite. It comes in various thicknesses and "squishinesses," so you can choose what you want to work with, or duplicate the characteristics of what you had.

The only catch is that I haven't found it with the white (actually, light grey) vinyl skin on it, like the original. What I found has to be painted as it is black (it is paintable though). I have seen it come in an off-white, and it may come with the skin -- I stopped researching after receiving three samples of the black because I found a Boler that had fine Ensolite already. There is at least one renovation I know of wherein the owners did install the new black Ensolite and paint it (Jenny's red Boler).

FWIW,

Raya

[Donna D.]

There is at least one renovation I know of wherein the owners did install the new black Ensolite and paint it (Jenny's red Boler).

FWIW,

Raya

This one? It's beautiful. I really like the DuraBak Truck Bedliner they used on the OUTSIDE. Too cool.

Total Boler Restoration

[Raya]

Yes, that's the one I was referring to. I got my Ensolite samples from the same company where they bought theirs. IR Specialty Foam. www.irfoam.com

Raya

[John and Jaci]

Thank you everyone for your help. We appreciate all the info. Its not that we don't want ensolite, but everything I have read on other posts is that it seems hard to find exactly the right kind. Thanks for the link to a company that manufactures it, I will certianly review the information from their website. We are trying to find out as many options as possible so that we can make the decision of what will work best for us. If anyone else has other suggestions we would appreciate it.

[Stephen T.]

Thank you everyone for your help. We appreciate all the info. Its not that we don't want ensolite, but everything I have read on other posts is that it seems hard to find exactly the right kind. Thanks for the link to a company that manufactures it, I will certianly review the information from their website. We are trying to find out as many options as possible so that we can make the decision of what will work best for us. If anyone else has other suggestions we would appreciate it.

In our 73 Play-Pac, we used 1" pink extruded polystyrene, pieced together like puzzle parts. You can even cut curfs (narrow saw slots most the way through, and bend it). We found that the best glue was.....spray foam insulation! I'd spray some on the chunk to be placed, then spread it with a putty knife and clamp the insulation in place for 1/2 hour or so. Mostly I used bending strip wedged against the floor or wall, somewhat bowed, to hold things. At times, there were strips going everywhich way!



Then, we used brown kraft paper, like paper bags, and cut it in roughly 8"x12" pieces and glued it together in 3 layers over the entire surface. It covers up sharp corners and is really strong. We then primed and painted it with interior glossy paint.




Probably not a technique for everyone, but it has worked very well for us!

Steve

[Melinda M]

Yes, that's the one I was referring to. I got my Ensolite samples from the same company where they bought theirs. IR Specialty Foam. www.irfoam.com

Raya

Hey Raya,

I've been to this website before but find it hard to relate their codes with the product that best matches the existing ensolite. Do you have the product numbers of the samples you got and which one you ended up choosing? Or if anyone else has this information, it would be great. Thanks!!

Melinda

[Tom U]

Originally Posted by John & Jaci D.

We busy on our total redo of our 72 Boler. The ensolite could not be salvaged. What other options have people used for insulation. We live in the south where summer days are often 95 -105 with high humidity so we need something that is fairly effective in conjunction with our air conditioner. If anyone has some experience with alternatives that work fairly well we would appreciate your input.
Thanks
John and Jaci

Just finished insulating our Fiber Stream with a closed cell foam from Cypress foam in Santa Ana, CA. They are less expensive and easier to deal with than IR.

We used 1/4 inch on the walls and doubled it on the ceiling. One can order the foam with or without a "skin". Either would work and paint well.

We painted the black foam with several coats of Kilz primer and three + coats of premium Behr latex. It has survived two trips of 5 weeks each with no bad effects. Easy to clean, good sound and temp insulation. The Stream is warm at night and cool during the day.

There are threads where I posted pictures of some of the foams I rejected and some of the work I did - More on the way some day in the next couple of months.

It is worth the effort!

Hope this helped...

[Len Cater]

I used the aluminum water heater blanket material on the inside of my cadet. Cheap, easy to cut and install with 3m 77 Spray glue. And it gives it a nice cushy feel.

[Kent I]

Two options: I purchased open cell foam with a vinyl surface from Escape trailers. This is what they use so I figured it was good enough for me, A project waiting for attention. Norseman Foam, vancouver and Edmonton also carries a closed cell foam but it would need something added, like a headliner material or a vinyl.