No insulation in new adria van!

[Jim12]

Hi I've just bought a Adria active duo and at motorway speeds it is deafening.
Their brochure mentions that it is insulated but on checking the side and rear doors there is no insulation or sound deadening.
I sent a message on their website but no reply and have mentioned it to the dealer again no help so far. Is this normal for their small vans. Does anyone have a similar experience?

 

[Figaro]

That's shocking if it's a new van, but it has come up before that PVC's can be sold with little insulation, even quality brands like Carthago I think are similar ?

 

[PeteandCher]

Our new Malibu (Carthago) PVC is fully insulated including inside the rear doors before they fit their own trim, not sure about the front doors but probably not as that is standard Fiat. Overall standard of insulation and sound deadening is very good though. On the other hand it was about 25% more expensive than an Adria.

 

[PeteandCher]

Our new Malibu (Carthago) PVC is fully insulated including inside the rear doors before they fit their own trim, not sure about the front doors but probably not as that is standard Fiat. Overall standard of insulation and sound deadening is very good though. On the other hand it was about 25% more expensive than an Adria.

 

[Guigsy]

Many PVCs have no extra insulation in the cab doors, sliding door, or back doors.

My previous van was a "professional" post conversion, paid for by the previous owner. I added sound deadening insulation inside all the doors. The rear doors were no longer obviously empty when I tapped them. The cab doors made a nicer thunk when closed. And it was generally quieter and warmer inside the vehicle.

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[StillGoing]

Our Ducato cab didn’t have anything on the front doors. Every time we went over a bump, we got a boom sound. I put a few strips of 2mm automotive sound deadening mat on the front doors behind the trim on the door metal and it made a big difference. It’s much quieter now. You don’t need to put much matting on the door. It’s self-adhesive. You can get it from Amazon.

 

[AndyPK]

I shall be doing the same with my Firefly, Guigsy

 

[AndyPK]

.

 

[gus-lopez]

Is this normal for their small vans.

no they should be insulated

Does anyone have a similar experience?

yes had a few people complain on here before

have mentioned it to the dealer again no help so far.

tell him you will be rejecting it under the 2015 sale of goods act for a full refund after he has had the one attempt at rectification that is allowed before rejection,if he doesn't sort it.

 

[Two on Tour]

I found that there was no insulation on our cab doors of our coachbuilt, so I fitted sticky-backed foil/closed cell neoprene sound deadening/insulation material to the inside of the cab door skins, which also stops the door skins drumming.

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[Pausim]

My Malibu (Carthago) Van is well insulated. To quote Malibu “every corner of the body is insulated” this includes the back doors. Insulation is covered in this video starting at about 2 minutes.

 

[rwg]

Our panel van (Auto Trail built) had a little insulation in the rear doors and the sliding door - a few stick on foam sheets in the easy to reach places. I guess that about 1/4 to 1/3 of the door surface was insulated and the rest was just bare metal...

I added more stick on foam insulation covering almost all the inside (where I could reach) and then filled the voids with dacron fleece. Original shown on the left, after I'd finished with it on the right. I must admit it was a pig of a job - cutting foam to fit odd shapes and then reaching inside the metal structure of the door to try to get it into place. However, the doors are a lot warmer now and shut with a solid 'thunk', not a hollow 'clang'.

I keep meaning to get around to doing the cab doors too.

cheers,

Robin

 

[Guigsy]

My personal opinion is that PVC insulation, is good, but there's diminishing returns. It's worth covering the large expanses on the backs of the door skins. But all the metal structural ribs provide significant thermal bridges. So it's not worth the hassle, and bleeding knuckles trying to cover every last inch in the crevices amongst the sharp pressed sheet metal.

 

[Pausim]

My personal opinion is that PVC insulation, is good, but there's diminishing returns. It's worth covering the large expanses on the backs of the door skins. But all the metal structural ribs provide significant thermal bridges. So it's not worth the hassle, and bleeding knuckles trying to cover every last inch in the crevices amongst the sharp pressed sheet metal.

That is why it needs to be done at the construction stage, too difficult to access later. Unfortunately doing the job properly costs money. Any cold bridge is a potential source for condensation and damp.

 

[Northernraider]

Given the windows and locks etc I'm the cab doors I wouldn't imagine there would be much insulation in those. It would also get wet and absorb water. The side and rear doors however should be well insulated as they shouldn't allow water in them

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[PaulW2]

My Malibu (Carthago) Van is well insulated. To quote Malibu “every corner of the body is insulated” this includes the back doors. Insulation is covered in this video starting at about 2 minutes.

Interesting. I wonder how Globecar compares. (Not about to pull it apart to check!)

 

[PaulW2]

I also wonder how much of a difference it really makes, in a couple of respects.

As far as condensation where there are thermal bridges is concerned I wonder how significant that is. Obviously not all such bridges can be eliminated, there is a limit to how much condensation forms, much of it tends to evaporate when one drives and there is proper air circulation etc. (In this sense it may not be that very different to a normal car or van - condensation occurs, it dries out, it occurs, it dries out...)

And while it is uncomfortable to touch colder surfaces, vans have good heaters that will keep the air temperature high. How much more energy is consumed by a poorly insulated professionally built PVC versus a well-insulated one?

 

[Guigsy]

That is why it needs to be done at the construction stage, too difficult to access later.

Vans get delivered to converters as completed bodies. Which is probably why many (most?) converters don't bother. It's a lot of hassle for something many customers never notice.

 

[georgio]

Interesting. I wonder how Globecar compares. (Not about to pull it apart to check!)

There was none in the rear doors of mine until I put some in . The sliding door feels as if it has some in, more than the adria I had 15 years ago.

 

[PaulW2]

There was none in the rear doors of mine until I put some in . The sliding door feels as if it has some in, more than the adria I had 15 years ago.

Interesting, thanks. It would mainly affect the (heated) storage area below the fixed bed, as the upper part of the rear doors are mainly polycarbonate windows, so probably not something I'll really miss.

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[georgio]

Interesting, thanks. It would mainly affect the (heated) storage area below the fixed bed, as the upper part of the rear doors are mainly polycarbonate windows, so probably not something I'll really miss.

Ca,nt say its made any noticable difference

 

[beachwomble]

Hi I've just bought a Adria active duo and at motorway speeds it is deafening.
Their brochure mentions that it is insulated but on checking the side and rear doors there is no insulation or sound deadening.

Is that the one based on the Renault Trafic? Incidently, a VW California has no insulation either. VW says the best insulation is air

 

[Guigsy]

Is that the one based on the Renault Trafic? Incidently, a VW California has no insulation either. VW says the best insulation is air

Air is a good insulator... provided you can trap it in many small pockets to prevent it circulating. Like when it's trapped in closed cell foam.

 

[gus-lopez]

So it's not worth the hassle, and bleeding knuckles trying to cover every last inch in the crevices amongst the sharp pressed sheet metal.

Spray foam insulation solves all that-It is what I was proposing to do when I bought an empty van but fortunately/unfortunately I purchased one to convert that had been "insulated" to use for frozen products. Still had hardly anything in back doors. roof ,sides, floor ,etc ,yes but I infilled everywhere with sheeps wool

Obviously not all such bridges can be eliminated,

as above . run all services in ducts for electrics water ,gas ,etc then spray foam over & inside everything.

Vans get delivered to converters as completed bodies. Which is probably why many (most?) converters don't bother. It's a lot of hassle for something many customers never notice.

& they have to be gutted to allow for windows ,etc to be installed . So can't be that hard.Here an internal 4m length x 2m height rear compartment would cost around 250 € to foam insulate assuming 4 or 5cm equal depth

 

[Pausim]

Vans get delivered to converters as completed bodies. Which is probably why many (most?) converters don't bother. It's a lot of hassle for something many customers never notice.

I dare say you are right which is why I think it is worth researching expensive purchases. You may end up paying more but I would rather do that than buy a van with inadequate insulation.

A large part of comfort depends on whether your body is radiating heat to cold surfaces, it is not just about air temperature. Your head and brain is one of the hottest parts of your body and it is the bit that sticks out of the top of your duvet at night radiating heat. In my van it is also right next to the back doors which makes having them properly insulated important. It also explains why the designers of the van thought it was a good idea to put a heating outlet under the head end of the bed to form a sort of heat shield across the rear doors.

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[The Wino]

Putting fibrous insulation inside door panels will make it warmer but unless it's sealed from the air inside the motorhome there will be a risk of warm moist air reaching the back of the insulation and the moisture condensing out. It would then tend to sit in the insulation against the cold metal of the outside skin and could promote rust. I would have thought that ideally the converter ought to be putting insulation on the back of the trim with air circulating freely behind.

 

[Mikeco]

My personal opinion is that PVC insulation, is good, but there's diminishing returns. It's worth covering the large expanses on the backs of the door skins. But all the metal structural ribs provide significant thermal bridges. So it's not worth the hassle, and bleeding knuckles trying to cover every last inch in the crevices amongst the sharp pressed sheet metal.

I filled the roof and side wall ribs with fire retardant gun grade foam

 

[The Wino]

I filled the roof and side wall ribs with fire retardant gun grade foam

From a condensation point of view that would be better than rockwool type insulation as the foam won't allow any transfer of moist warm air to the outside skin.

 

[PaulW2]

I dare say you are right which is why I think it is worth researching expensive purchases. You may end up paying more but I would rather do that than buy a van with inadequate insulation.

A large part of comfort depends on whether your body is radiating heat to cold surfaces, it is not just about air temperature. Your head and brain is one of the hottest parts of your body and it is the bit that sticks out of the top of your duvet at night radiating heat. In my van it is also right next to the back doors which makes having them properly insulated important. It also explains why the designers of the van thought it was a good idea to put a heating outlet under the head end of the bed to form a sort of heat shield across the rear doors.
View attachment 960579View attachment 960580

The Globecar has the same design feature. It is clever. Don't all the ones with fixed rear beds have this?

 

[yorkiebar]

There's a youtube video I watched a few days ago. Bloke with a new Adria, showed condensation on certain parts of the body exterior which I guess means lack of insulation ?

From 4:08 onwards