Insulation for HyLo roof

[barry5933]

I have just joined the forum, so please excuse if this has already been dealt with elsewhere (and point me to the answer)

Having used the HyLo during the summer, we are considering long weekends away during November & December, but concern has been expressed about heat loss through the canvas sides of the raised roof. We thought about making up some insulation panels (using silver screen type material) to wedge fit inside the canvas sides and back.

Has anyone else found this necessary, if so was it successful and where did you get the raw material?

Thanks in advance.

Barry

[Graham]

Hi Barry

Welcome to the forum, from memory I don't think this one has been covered before but hopefully someone will be able to help you, we have several people with hylos on here.

Graham

[Derek]

Hi Barry

The main problem with the lack of insulation in the cold is condensation rather than heat loss. We have not had a problem with that on the Hylo canvas sides. The condensation on the windscreen and cab door windows is a real pain however. An insulated silver screen is a good idea.

Derek

[wendy]

derek said:

An insulated silver screen is a good idea.

Derek

It needs to be an external screen to stop condensation. They are absolutely brilliant in our opinion.

[alan]

Hi Barry,
We have a HyLo and use it all year round ! We have not had a problem with heat loss in the winter, although in particularly cold nights we sleep with the roof down. The coldest weather experienced was -10 c. We are off to Cornwall in two weeks time.
Have a good trip, Alan.

[barry5933]

Thanks for that Alan, we havn't a firm date fixed yet, but we hope to hit the road in about 2-3 weeks time, hope the weather is not too cold then.

The Silver Screens have done a good job up to now in preventing condensation in the cab, so hopefully they will continue to be effective that end of the van.

[barry5933]

OK, so now we have tried it

I don't know if any one else was out on Friday night, but down in Kent it was coooooold!

On Saturday morning, not only was there frost on the inside of the awning, but the zips had frozen solid.

Any way, to report, the problem encountered was mainly one of draughts coming from

a) the drop down vents in the canvas sides, and

b) the slots in the window surrounds.

The latter were diverted by using towels hung from the pelmet shelves and wedged behind the edge of the sleeping bags, but those from the canvas vents were only partially dealt with by placing books and other rigid objects in front of them.

The following night, the roof was lowered!

So now my brief is to find some rigid, yet foldable insulating material to make inner linings for the canvas sides and back. Heavier duty sleeping bags will also be begged, borrowed or otherwise nefariously obtained before our next foray.

The good news is that, despite all the gloomy warnings about winterising the gas supply, the Gaz fired up in the morning on the cooker without any problem

[lunnie]

Use fleece blankets or fleece inner sleeping bags, you are never cold then, also a celluar blanket helps if you sleeping does not suffice. ( not forgetting a hot water bottle)

[jayjay]

www.brianparkcamping.co.uk/

the above firm sell fabric along with zips etc. Might be able to help!

[barry5933]

( not forgetting a hot water bottle)

Yes, we had hotties, but by 1 in the morning they can be as cold as anywhere else on earth. And who wants to get out of the sleeping bag to refill them, even if hot water is available in the Thermos!

The idea of fleece bag liners instead of (as well as) cotton liners is appealing, extra blankets are already earmarked for next time, but the problem of draughts is still to be resolved.

I am off now to investigate the sheet insulation options.

[jayjay]

Just a thought - what about investigating the draught-proofing stuff at B&Q? Some great stuff in there for draughts - maybe door strips, stick-on draught stripping or something like that.

[barry5933]

Update -

I bought a roll of "ThermaWrap" from B & Q. This is a semi rigid sheet comprising two layers of silver foil with a layer of bubblewrap between. I cut shapes to fit the two sides and the back of the canvas sides, leaving them oversize so that they overlap the fibreglass roof moulding. The sheets sit on the pelmet shelves and are wedged in with a folded tea towel or two. The material is flexible enough to be able to fold it for storage on the shelf over the cab.

It worked very well last weekend, keeping out all the draughts from the roof and (I believe) helping to keep the heat in.

I don't know about the long term durability of the material regarding the repeated folding and unfolding. Time will tell, but as I have only used about half the roll, replacement sections can be made from stock.