Globecar Modifications

[Blue Knight]

Here's a pic that I've just taken two minutes ago which shows the area of the hab door that has the 20mm black foam applied to the inside skin.

It proves just how little of the actual surface area has been covered in insulation:

 

[Blue Knight]

What a crappy job today guys!

I insulated the hab door today and from start to finish, including tools away and a clean of the carpets and surfaces, it took me all of 4-hours. It was not an easy task due to the access problems etc.

I'm not sure many others will be following in my footsteps

I took a few pics but these are two of the most important to me, i.e. the completed job:

 

[Garfields]

I think Blue Knight going a bit overboard
Get out camping in the cold and see how you find it
Not had any great issues keeping warm
We do have the external screens though
But just for info the link below should take you to German forum and some thermal picks of the vans
Most heat loss is where the panels join and not much can be done about that

https://poesslforum.de/forum/allgem...aufspuerung-mittels-waermebildkamera?start=10

 

[Blue Knight]

I think Blue Knight going a bit overboard

Sorry, I would love to respond in-depth to that but I need to pop out and buy some more insulation for my Globie project. .......

 

[Neckender]

Is there enough here for you Andrew?

John.

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[jezport]

I didnt want to effect ventilation and cause rust so applied 2 layers of silver bubble insulation over rge door card then upholstered it over the top with vinyl giving it a padded effect. Photos are on Fun somewhere.
Do not pack any area with fiberglass loft insulation, it holds water and will cause rot.

 

[Blue Knight]

Do not pack any area with fiberglass loft insulation, it holds water and will cause rot.

I fully agree. I would also go as far to say that the best remedy for any doors in a Globcar is just to cover them with a thermal blanket (or any thick material) to help stop/reduce the thermal currents which originate from the internal bare metal; the gear that comes in the cold weather pack comes to mind.

At the end of the day a PVC is just a metal box and they don't always do well with extreme cold weather. The saving grace is that the Truma system has only to heat a small volume of air so that helps counter a good number of the heat loss issues.

In my case I have injected one litre of waxoyl into the three doors and then applied the insulation so I'm not that fussed with the rust for now.

We are hoping to keep the van for at least 12-18 months but once sold it will be stripped of its VB Air, Galsow, CB, multi- cameras, carpets, door insulation, and then sold on.

As a footnote: Our hab door no longer makes any noise when I shut it so there'll be no complaints from the neighbours when we visit a site in future

 

[CazPaul]

I fully agree. I would also go as far to say that the best remedy for any doors in a Globcar is just to cover them with a thermal blanket (or any thick material) to help stop/reduce the thermal currents which originate from the internal bare metal; the gear that comes in the cold weather pack comes to mind.

At the end of the day a PVC is just a metal box and they don't always do well with extreme cold weather. The saving grace is that the Truma system has only to heat a small volume of air so that helps counter a good number of the heat loss issues.

In my case I have injected one litre of waxoyl into the three doors and then applied the insulation so I'm not that fussed with the rust for now.

We are hoping to keep the van for at least 12-18 months but once sold it will be stripped of its VB Air, Galsow, CB, multi- cameras, carpets, door insulation, and then sold on.

As a footnote: Our hab door no longer makes any noise when I shut it so there'll be no complaints from the neighbours when we visit a site in future

Wow Andrew, that's not long to keep the van, are already thinking of the next one, or giving it up?

 

[Blue Knight]

Wow Andrew, that's not long to keep the van, are already thinking of the next one, or giving it up?

Not good eh Paul!

It's going to be a very big year for Nicky and I which could result in us leaving the hobby.

That said I won't miss the bl○○dy problems that come from buying new vans

I'll do you a good price if we do decide to get rid .......

 

[CazPaul]

Not good eh Paul!

It's going to be a very big year for Nicky and I which could result in us leaving the hobby.

That said I won't miss the bl○○dy problems that come from buying new vans

I'll do you a good price if we do decide to get rid .......

I laughed at that one, you cant take the door insulation out Andrew now that it took 4 hours as that wont make any difference or get you any money back.

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[Neckender]

[QUOTE="Blue Knight, post: 3160171, member: 49879

We are hoping to keep the van for at least 12-18 months but once sold it will be stripped of its VB Air, Galsow, CB, multi- cameras, carpets, door insulation, and then sold on.[/QUOTE]

Bloody hell Andrew there won’t be much left to sell on.

John.

 

[Cheshirecat57]

Not good eh Paul!

It's going to be a very big year for Nicky and I which could result in us leaving the hobby.

That said I won't miss the bl○○dy problems that come from buying new vans

I'll do you a good price if we do decide to get rid .......

Andrew
I thought I was bad......when the Adria comes in March...I will let you know when its going

 

[Blue Knight]

Andrew
I thought I was bad......when the Adria comes in March...I will let you know when its going

It's brave souls (some may choose other words) like you and I that keep the secondhand market buoyant with nearly new stock

 

[CazPaul]

So it's going to be cold next week from Thursday Andrew, are you planning a couple of nights to test your work out?

 

[ludo]

If you are going to try the van Andrew, it might be a good idea to invest in something like this:



If you have gone too far with your insulation work you may risk suffocation!

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[Blue Knight]

So it's going to be cold next week from Thursday Andrew, are you planning a couple of nights to test your work out?

Heck, no way Paul, I'm not going out of its cold mate. I might camp out on the driveway - will that do

 

[Blue Knight]

If you are going to try the van Andrew, it might be a good idea to invest in something like this:



If you have gone too far with your insulation work you may risk suffocation!

......

You'll be pleased to know that no further cavities have been stuffed in the making of this van.

I'll keep the three doors as they are for now but other than that I'm only going to add a few bits of reflective thermal covering to some vulnerable bits (i.e. behind the fridge, kitchen sink, wheel arch cavities and a few little things here and there etc).

One of the best insulating mods too date was the upper windscreen mod which has sealed that area incredibly well.

Otherwise, the ventilation properties of the skin of the vehicle will remain as they were produced from Globecar.

I need to add a Fiamma wind deflector to the roof and I'll get that ordered this week.

That's it for now

 

[CazPaul]

I think you have done an excellent job Andrew with the insulation, just the sort of thing I would do.

So you have done the rear doors, sliding doors, have you done the cab doors too?

 

[Blue Knight]

I think you have done an excellent job Andrew with the insulation, just the sort of thing I would do.

So you have done the rear doors, sliding doors, have you done the cab doors too?

Cheers Paul

I may take the cab door internals off just to see what's behind them but all I'm expecting is the standard electric winding mechanism with a few bits of 20mm black foam behind.

I have some spare foam which I took out of the back doors that I could add/use but the cab doors are a bit more prone to damp areas so I need to keep the air free flowing TBH.

On a different subject I am still undecided if I should invest in a pair of LFD90's or a pair of Yuasa L36-EFBs.

I've seen a great post on the MMM Forum yesterday where a guy has fitted 3 x L36 EFBs with 120W of solar and can subsequently live off grid for ages.

After reading Mel's thread on power issues I'm also thinking about adding a portable 120w solar panel via the second port on my CBE Reg. Here's a link to said item and I would appreciate your thoughts on it please (I may start a seperate thread on portable solar units):

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Complete...d=link&campid=5338547443&toolid=20001&mkevt=1

 

[CazPaul]

Do you have any solar on the roof Andrew at the minute?

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[Blue Knight]

Do you have any solar on the roof Andrew at the minute?

Yes Paul, I've got a 120W mounted roof panel which leads to port-1 on my CBE PRS-300 Reg.

The PRS-300 can handle 150W through each of its 2-ports so therefore the solar in the eBay link would be very useful for the fridge etc

BTW, my Reg and charger both support all 3 battery types at the correct voltages.

 

[CazPaul]

I always like to use a van first Andrew to see if there are any power issues, another battery or even 2 batteries I would do first and probably wouldn't bother with the solar although would see how that fares and take it from there.

 

[Blue Knight]

I always like to use a van first Andrew to see if there are any power issues, another battery or even 2 batteries I would do first and probably wouldn't bother with the solar although would see how that fares and take it from there.

I didn't want it Paul but the dealer supplied the standard AGM LA95 as they said it would void the warranty if they provided anything else - that sounded strange to me but hey-ho, life goes on.

We've tried a couple of single nights away with the 1 x AGM and it just can't cope with the fridge so we had to use partial EHU for it to be propped up.

I may contact Allan from A&N Caravans regarding my final battery choice but in theory the idea of having 200ah from 2 x L36-EFBs is quite an attractive option.

 

[CazPaul]

I didn't want it Paul but the dealer supplied the standard AGM LA95 as they said it would void the warranty if they provided anything else - that sounded strange to me but hey-ho, life goes on.

We've tried a couple of single nights away with the 1 x AGM and it just can't cope with the fridge so we had to use partial EHU for it to be propped up.

I may contact Allan from A&N Caravans regarding my final battery choice but in theory the idea of having 200ah from 2 x L36-EFBs is quite an attractive option.

I thought you had paid for a 2nd battery to be fitted by the dealer Andrew?

 

[Blue Knight]

I thought you had paid for a 2nd battery to be fitted by the dealer Andrew?

After 17 different communications regarding the second battery we turned up at the delaer handover to find that only one battery had been fitted.

I'm not joking either; 17 x individual calls, texts and emails and still no battery.

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[CazPaul]

After 17 different communications regarding the second battery we turned up at the delaer handover to find that only one battery had been fitted.

I'm not joking either; 17 x individual calls, texts and emails and still no battery.

So what was the outcome? Did they refund?

 

[Blue Knight]

So what was the outcome? Did they refund?

We didn't pay for it sir.

How the story went: I ordered the van with a solar unit and the standard AGM battery. The dealer would not change the single AGM setup for 2 x LFD90s so I just kept the standard configuration.

I then got talking to the sales guy about a week later and between the two of us and 17 x communications we decided on fitting a second AGM.

My thoughts were that if I was forced to have the single AGM then I might as well just opt for the second AGM and save the faff of me having to buy and fit 2 x LFD90s while disposing of the LA95.

The sales guy forgot to submit the order form to the workshop and the rest is history.

 

[Minxy]

On a different subject I am still undecided if I should invest in a pair of LFD90's or a pair of Yuasa L36-EFBs.

I've seen a great post on the MMM Forum yesterday where a guy has fitted 3 x L36 EFBs with 120W of solar and can subsequently live off grid for ages.

Will your charger work with lead acid batteries? Our Schaudt one won't, only AGM or gel. Also remember that you can't take a lead acid battery down below 50% whereas you can go to 30% with AGMs or 20% with gel.

After reading Mel's thread on power issues I'm also thinking about adding a portable 120w solar panel via the second port on my CBE Reg. Here's a link to said item and I would appreciate your thoughts on it please (I may start a seperate thread on portable solar units):

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Complete...470461555?epid=2172878768&hash=item1cbf69ba73

I notice that there isn't a weight given for it so could be a bit on the heavy side, that's one reason I went for a semi-flexible one as a 'portable' option, as they are very thin and light, I just keep mine in its original cardboard box which the leads etc all nicely fit into as well, it's only about an inch thick so can be slotted in the camper easily.

 

[Minxy]

... the idea of having 200ah from 2 x L36-EFBs is quite an attractive option.

Wouldn't that just be 100ah usable energy though (to 50% discharge)? Adding a second matched AGM (assuming you have a 95ah) would increase your bank to 190ah with a usable energy of 133ah (to 30% discharge) or if you went for 2 x gels like I have it would be 156ah total with a usable capacity of 109ah to 20%. Personally I'd just add another matched AGM which is what we were doing until the dealer cocked it up!

 

[Minxy]

......

You'll be pleased to know that no further cavities have been stuffed in the making of this van.

As it's already got so much stuffing ... are you going to call it 'Paxo'????

I'll keep the three doors as they are for now but other than that I'm only going to add a few bits of reflective thermal covering to some vulnerable bits (i.e. behind the fridge, kitchen sink, wheel arch cavities and a few little things here and there etc).

How are you going to get it behind the fridge? Also our rear wheel arches are already insulated.

One of the best insulating mods too date was the upper windscreen mod which has sealed that area incredibly well.

Might have to give that a go on mine!

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