Insulation / sound deadening thread FAQ

[KentABQ]

[notchboy]

[71whitewesty]

I'm not so sure about all this insulating... I'd hate to buy a bus that has been "insulated" every square inch. What a mess. If you want a quiet car there are tons to choose from. If you want to take the gas tank out and insulate there, fine but all this sticky stuff on the inside is hideous.
Better off throwing some carpet down and replacing door seals in my opinion. Now if your bus is a real piece of junk then who cares but not in a nice original bus, please.
I drive mine a lot and camp with kids year round in the snow or dessert and find no need for additional insulation or sound deadening material. Just pack more gear in the bus, it'll dampen the sound just fine.
That sticky stuff is not coming out easily if at all so I'd recommend something less permanent, like carpet, sleeping bags, camping gear, clothes etc. the next owner will thank you.
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71 Westy 1600 DP, all stock Bus 1
1970's Snow Trac 1600 SP (sold 12/2016)
1968 Tucker sno cat, sold 2021
1969 Tucker Sno cat 542
2017 VW Alltrac
71 tin top stock 1600 DP (project but runs)
Twin 71 White Westy, Bus 2, that I pulled from a 15 year slumber in a dry eastern WA field in 2015.
1966 Sundial Camper "Boomer"

[KentABQ]

[skills@eurocarsplus]

[Xevin]

I never felt the need to make the 72 or 76 campers any more quite on the inside. Are campers inherently quite because of all the gear and mattres pad in back? The 72 is especially quite. Maybe the Weber carb? Will the dual Solex I put on make it noisy? I always thought it seemed like a bad idea to layer that tape like stuff on there as well.
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Keep on Busin'

[WissBrauSean]

After reading all the options and looking at my empty wallet and needing to absolutely do my floors with something as the rugs and the particle board were trashed when I removed the furniture and gutted all the interior panels, was the fiberglass all that bad?

I saw no water retention from it.

I have to do this as cheaply as I can, I don't want to, but I'm straight out of LO-CASH.

I'm thinking some fat mat patches for the doors, walls, front, and over the engine. Do the doors need thermal? I'd like them to have some. EZ cool?

She had a fire and the engine lid was trashed and gutted, stuff with fiberglass and put a little EZ cool overtop? or some other fire proofing?

Floor, I like the look of this:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/NuTek-48-in-x-120-in-Black-Loose-Lay-Rubber-Sheet/50199883
If i can get a discount

Fiberglass for the cab roof and side walls?

All that is kind of what I want to do, but don't like the price tag or even know if it is necessary.

Skip the fat mat and EZ cool. What do I do about the flooring?

Ah, Eff this!
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1979 Westy Automatic 2000cc Fuel Injected

[WissBrauSean]

Anyone have some leftover EZ Cool or Fat Mat that they would like to donate? Hahaha, it's worth a try!
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1979 Westy Automatic 2000cc Fuel Injected

[Gonzo1970]

I have been debating this as well.. Mostly from a cost-aspect.

I wont be living in it. I doubt I will ever be in it while its freezing cold.

As someone noted, the noise isn't bad in a Westfalia due to the components inside.

I am doing a laminate floor (oak - matches the original cabinetry very well) with a sub-floor and a plastic barrier. I left all the original insulation in the walls behind the panels.. If the engine sound is that bad (and I doubt it will be for me) I can always pull up the bed and slap some sound deadener under the mattress and maybe on the area under the bench.. that would be about it for me.

I do plan on putting some of that anti-fatigue rubber mat material (cut down, obviously) under the front floor carpet, just to make it softer and maybe cut down on some road noise. You can get enough of that stuff for the front floor for $10-$20.

-Gonz
_________________
Sometimes the lights all shining on me
Other times I can barely see
Lately it occurs to me
What a long, strange trip it's been

[WissBrauSean]

Agreed.

My insulation was full of mouse droppings so I pulled everything. I did just order a little bit of fatmat and I got a bunch of free reflectix from a friend. That with the wool cab floor and rugs should cover it. Not sure what to do with the living area floor yet.
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1979 Westy Automatic 2000cc Fuel Injected

[WissBrauSean]

DAMN, I bought FatMat and don't want it. WTF Anyone want it? 1/2 price PM me.
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1979 Westy Automatic 2000cc Fuel Injected

[curtp07]

Don't do it!

Did my beetle and i regret the mess I'm going to have to clean up someday. Select sections on select panels and end it.
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Subaru

[Hoody]

I think some people on here are confused as to what the difference is between sound deadening and insulation. The butyl aluminum backed materials sold are strictly for sound deadening. If you cover every square inch in these various products you are just wasting your money and time....and creating big problems down the road for rust. Especially when it comes to the floor. In my 78 Westy there are specific places in the floor for moisture to "pool". On the wall where the stove unit is there are specific drainage "lines" across the wall for moisture to drain into the floor. With sound deadening only 25% of a panel needs to be covered. I insulated my Bus with Low-E. No moisture retention, much better "R" value than fiberglass, mice won't go near it. None of the insulation is glued in. Everything is completely reversible. It's all on how you approach it and the level of quality materials that you use. If I was looking at a Bus to buy and the entire interior was covered in some Chinese roofing bullshit tar based garbage from Lowes or Home Depot I would run, if it was covered head to toe in Dynomat extreme ....I would still run. If you can't afford to use the good stuff. Skip it. Wait until you can. It's actually not that expensive to do it correctly.

[aeromech]

Guys,
I'm doing some work on a 1971 camper. I want to put some kind of sound deadening material on the insides of the front door, the engine bay ceiling under the abs roof I'll be buyings, and around the gas tank area when it's removed. What do you recommend? I want something good with an adhesive backing I can cut to fit and stick on.
Thanks
_________________
Lead Mechanic: San Diego Air and Space Museum
Licensed Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic
Licensed Pilot (Single engine Land)
Boeing 727,737-200-300-400,757,767
Airbus A319,320,321
DC9/MD80
BAe146
Fokker F28/F100
VW type 1 1962,63,65,69,72
VW Type 2 1971 (3 ea.) 1978, 1969
VW Jetta
VW Passat
Capable of leaping tall buildings in a single bound

[Stuartzickefoose]

[aeromech]

So your answer is ask Skill?
_________________
Lead Mechanic: San Diego Air and Space Museum
Licensed Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic
Licensed Pilot (Single engine Land)
Boeing 727,737-200-300-400,757,767
Airbus A319,320,321
DC9/MD80
BAe146
Fokker F28/F100
VW type 1 1962,63,65,69,72
VW Type 2 1971 (3 ea.) 1978, 1969
VW Jetta
VW Passat
Capable of leaping tall buildings in a single bound

[white74westy]

[aeromech]

Bill Fowler recommends Rattletrap

https://www.amazon.com/FatMat-Self-Adhesive-Rattle...&psc=1
_________________
Lead Mechanic: San Diego Air and Space Museum
Licensed Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic
Licensed Pilot (Single engine Land)
Boeing 727,737-200-300-400,757,767
Airbus A319,320,321
DC9/MD80
BAe146
Fokker F28/F100
VW type 1 1962,63,65,69,72
VW Type 2 1971 (3 ea.) 1978, 1969
VW Jetta
VW Passat
Capable of leaping tall buildings in a single bound

[Hoody]

If you want to use the best product go to Second Skin Audio's site and get the Damplifier Pro.

[vwwestyman]

While I generally like driving my '78 with TDI motor, it is kind of noisy.

So I've been thinking of ways to quiet it down!

Here's my tenative game plan; I'd like to get your thoughts.

I'm planning to pull the engine and fuel tank. I don't remember if I applied "dynamat" type stuff in there before. (I have a large roll of another brand name in the garage... Just don't remember the brand offhand.) If not, I'll do this.

Then for inexpensive sound absorbtion, I plan to fill the cavities around the fuel tank with mineral wool insulation. Everything I've seen is that mineral wool is very good at sound absorption, and I should not have to worry about it getting wet in this location.

Then in the area above the transmission (and very possibly in the engine compartment too) I will install the mat discussed in this thread:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=606406&highlight=above+transmission
Prior to installing that, I plan to clean up the under side of the firewalls above the transmission and seal them with Master Series paint, just in case moisture finds its way above the mat.

Somewhere along the way, I ran into mention of hydrophobic melamine foam as a great sound absorber that won't soak up water. If I'm not happy with the other measures (or just decide I want more insulation) I think I will begin installing this behind the panels inside the bus. May look into some kind of drainage mat made of woven plastic against the metal to provide a way for water condensation/water leakage that may occur to run away from the metal.

Something like this:
https://plasticomponents.com/pc-news/new-ultra-drain-mat-drainage-ventilation-system
_________________
Dave Cook

President, Wild Westerner Club

1978 Champagne Edition Westy, repowered to '97 Jetta TDI
1973 Wild Westerner
My Thing