Insulation and Wall Covering

One of the main reasons we ordered the interior upgrade package from Ford was because it includes floor to ceiling  polypropylene panels.  There are four of these panels one the driver's side of the vehicle and two on the passenger side. They are held in place with plastic fasteners.  The fasteners can be removed with a small flat head screw driver, but I recommend purchasing a special tool from Amazon.  If you use this tool you won't damage the fasteners and you'll have no need to buy additional ones.

The fasteners can be removed with a small flat head screw driver, but I recommend purchasing a special tool from Amazon.  If you use this tool you won't damage the fasteners and have no need to buy additional ones.

After removing all the panels the next step is insulation.  There's a library of information online about campervan insulation.  We don't camp in winter so we were more interested in audio than thermal qualities. For insulation I used FatMat self adhesive Rattletrap and Noico self adhesive sound deadening mat.  FatMat gets better reviews, but I had some Noico material left over from a previous job so I used that too.  For both materials you need a roller, but you don't need a special cutting tool; utility knives or scissors work fine.

This material is very sticky, and once it is place you can't remove it, so it's best to cut small sizes that are easier to manipulate.  This material will not absorb any condensation that passes through your walls from inside the van, so you don't have to worry about it turning into a sponge like some insulation material does.  Also, the polypropylene panels will act as a vapor barrier as well.  Cover every spot that's easy to reach, but you don't need to cover 100% of the surfaces.  

Covering the wheel wells is especially important for noise since there are no liners to them on Transits.  

In selecting a fabric to cover the panels we purchased 7 yards of upholstery material. We applied spray adhesive to the back side of the fabric and the front side of the panel, and we used hot glue on the back side of the panel.  Once the glue dried we had to use an awl to put holes in the fabric where all holes for the fasteners are located. Once that is done, the panels can be remounted.  

Applying the fabric is not a difficult process, but it needs to be done slowly and carefully.

We did not need to insulate or cover the ceiling of our van since we had the Penthouse installed by Sportsmobile and they took care of both of those tasks.