Eagles International Forum

moonrakerbus wrote:David, I highly recommend insulating your firewall behind the dash while you have it out. I would re wire the lights up there with new ones too. In the winter the front drivers area in ours would be like an ice box until I insulated it. I would also be very careful pulling existing wires in that area too. If you have a doubt they may become an issue..I would replace...Just some friendly advice..I have been there..I would be careful tearing too much out at once..Take one section at a time and complete it..At least you will see progress rather than keep thinking of the 1001 things you will need to do in the whole bus..

Yeah, mine has been cold also.

So what is the best way to do it, use the foam board there also?

Should I do behind the later of tin or remove the tin and go all the way into the "skin" of the front (a LOT more work to get everything out I think)?

What did you do around your windshield wiper motors? That area is a big hole right now in the tin, since it mounts right up behind the skin. Seems like I would need to build a box around it or something to that extent so it has the same range of motion. Maybe I should just insulate between the skin and the wiper mechanical plate? I just put in the electric retrofit wipers.

rv_safetyman wrote:David, it sounds like you are leaving some of the interior intact. If that is the case, it will be very hard to have the bus insulation sprayed. It is very messy - both in installation and shaving.

Unless you are completely gutting the interior, I would use a good foam board type insulation. Not quite as good as urethane, but a whole lot better than your terrible used fiberglass.

Jim

Thanks for the feedback everyone! Very helpful.

moonrakerbus wrote:David, I highly recommend insulating your firewall behind the dash while you have it out. I would re wire the lights up there with new ones too. In the winter the front drivers area in ours would be like an ice box until I insulated it. I would also be very careful pulling existing wires in that area too. If you have a doubt they may become an issue..I would replace...Just some friendly advice..I have been there..I would be careful tearing too much out at once..Take one section at a time and complete it..At least you will see progress rather than keep thinking of the 1001 things you will need to do in the whole bus..

Agreed! After seeing the photos, my cousin (master electrician) gave me "the talk" yesterday about cutting out too much. This was all either related to the "entertainment center" or the dash radio, so I felt pretty confident about it.

We don't yet have a shop, so I've been working on it lightly in front of our house (neighbors & HOA love us ). So it was a little of a gut check on Sunday when I went to go start it to put it back in storage. I was thinking, "what if it doesn't..." and that was a little scary.

So far so good. Still drive-able and overall usable. I'll keep that in check. Thanks for confirming.

Most of can relate to this.

We started out to just do a little change and ended up with complete remodels. I am still trying to complete my last one started two years ago.

The black unit in the front looks like it's only a driver heater/defroster. Keep it. You will need the defroster. Your front furnace is easily ducted to the front behind a sofa or something, it will heat the driver/copilot area. It will not do a very good job as a defroster unless it is ducted behind the dash, or down through a overhead cabinet.

I too tore out my complete dash and will NEVER do that again. It is easy to build a custom dash. I had that. I decided I wanted a wrap around Custom Instruments dash. Upholstering it ate my lunch and I have a lot of experience with leather/vinyl upholstry. I finally gave up and had it made at a shop. I still had to install it.

As Jim said, the foam board with both sides in aluminum is the way to go in your case. Mine is two 1" thickness's. I think that is better than one 2". Cut it to fit the openings and tape the edges and frame structures with aluminum tape.

It is not too difficult to install around the inside front. Do not use spray foam between aluminum and the skin! That stuff has a way of expanding everywhere. It might warp the skin.

New custom windows are available. Most seem to like Penisula Glass. I have Hehr Thermopanes. They have done a great job for 16 years now. We used them in -40 and over 100+. I have had a couple of the panes redone because of moisture the last couple of years.

I do not remember more of your questions and cannot look because I lose all that I have typed if I do. If you need more, ask. You're among friends and there is a wealth of knowledge here on this board.