Cold weather insulation while using swivel seats

[nomi]

Title kinda says it already. Me and my partner are still searching for and thinking of what would be the right vehicle for longer-term travel, but in considering a van we've been wondering how to manage insulation. Due to my length we would have to install a bed lengthwise, and we want a fixed bed, so that doesn't leave too much living space. As the van would be intended for full-time living, we would want to install swivel seats. We are living quite far up North, just yesterday had -40 degrees (we're in Europe and apparently that's the point where Celcius and Fahrenheit numbers become equivalent, ha). We also like traveling around here, and are interested in eventually shipping the van and also spending time further up North in US/CA, among other places. Now, -40 is not an everyday thing and more on the extreme end, would primarily try to just avoid such temperatures when living out of a van, but it would be nice to be able to be comfortable in let's say up to -10 to -20 degrees Fahrenheit.

So yeah as mentioned we're planning for cold weather use, we'll install a diesel heater and possibly an additional electric heater (connect to external power or from the engine). Now if it weren't for the swivel seats it would be ideal to have a closed off cab to make things a lot easier, but alas. Covering the windows is an obvious thing to do, but doesn't get the same effect at all. We currently own a different van, also without separate cab, and it's not uncommon to get ice on the inside of the windows in the front even when covered. Additionally there clearly is some kind of draft, one place I know it runs is where you put your feet while seated in the front seats, and it's an older van meaning I don't believe everything is sealed off very well. Either way, my concern is with the cab space being the hardest to insulate and the biggest source of heat loss when not separated from the living/sleeping space, quite unpractical when designing for winter use, and I'm wondering how to mitigate this somehow. Couldn't think of much myself aside from covering the windows. One other idea is some type of heavy curtain inbetween the swivel seats and the dashboard/windows/doors, but that'd have to reach to the floor, thereby get dirty quickly, and probably get in the way much. Seems like a not-so-ideal solution, but maybe some clever variation of this? Any folks here have some experience with swivel seats + cold weather insulation, or ideas in general? And also, does anyone have insight into how much heat is lost through the front doors, seeing how they're usually made of some separate material and not insulateable in the same way as the rest of the vehicle, if at all?

Greetings from cold places

 

[North]

You might look up photos of the old Roadtrek campers. I remember seeing one with a curtain (for privacy) that extended into the cab to make the swivel seats usable. Basically the curtain track is some type of semi circle shape.

 

[iggi]

Greetings from Canada.
Install the diesel heater, insulate your doors and cab, get/make insulated windows covers and don't worry so much.

 

[TheRealPapaK]

I designed my build for -40 weather. What van are you planning on building from? I am 191cm so I also wanted a full length bed too. I insulated the floor of the cab and the doors. It will also have insulated window covers but there are a lot of areas on the firewall that are just are too difficult or impossible to insulate. I think will be going the heavy curtain route. I am going to try to come up with a similar set up as below but thicker, hangs lower, and with a layer of insulation built in.

 

[nomi]

Greetings from Canada.
Install the diesel heater, insulate your doors and cab, get/make insulated windows covers and don't worry so much.

Well, thanks for the encouragement! I do, in fact, worry a bit though, hence my posting here, but not enough to stop me.

I designed my build for -40 weather. What van are you planning on building from? I am 191cm so I also wanted a full length bed too. I insulated the floor of the cab and the doors. It will also have insulated window covers but there are a lot of areas on the firewall that are just are too difficult or impossible to insulate. I think will be going the heavy curtain route. I am going to try to come up with a similar set up as below but thicker, hangs lower, and with a layer of insulation built in. View attachment 633772

Hey, yea sounds like we're planning something similar then! Or rather doing in your case, I quickly went over to your build thread, really nice looking vehicle with the box! Will be checking it out. Seems like regular+window insulation and curtains are the main possibilities then, although I'd still be interested to hear of other solutions people have been able to come up with if there are any. Would be building from a T1N Sprinter, which are available with factory 4x4/diff lock/low range over here. Also considering getting a cab chassis version and building a box on the back wide enough to install the bed horizontally instead. I would keep it separate from the cab and it'd be easier to insulate well, but simultaneously bring a whole new set of complications with it regarding multiple things such as construction, the wish to keep the roof low for better driveability/access to places and to be able to fit it into a shipping container, following from that insulation with a pop-up roof, as well as weight limits (3500kg GVM).

 

[RVflyfish]

Check out Luthj’s T1N build on here. He’s packed an awful lot of sweetness in there. https://expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/overland-sprinter-build.156260/

 

[Victorian]

I can give you a direct comparison between an uninsulated drivers cab and completely separated camper body.
it’s impossible to fully insulate a regular van Without thermal transfer.this means you are getting tons of condensation in the winter time. We currently have a transit/ camper body combo. The body it self is very well insultated and can handle arctic temperatures. The problem comes from the big walk through into the drivers cab. even with a thermal curtain and window covers there is a huge heat loss in the cold.
Our last truck was a 2001 sprinter Doka cab chassis with a camper. No connection to the drivers cab. It was a dream to camp on the ski hill! No condensation and the heater was barely running.
if you can, go with this option and you will be set for all climates.

as for shipping: I would never design my vehicle around container shipping... you can reach any continent by car ferry. I think the compromises you need to make for container shipping are just too big.

 

[Pntyrmvr]

I'll go in the opposite direction of cold flow to show a solution.

We run a 1979 Dodge cube van. The cab has no insulation to speak of. Yet.

In the summer we have a thick, old quilt we hang down the box wall just behind the seats to keep the air conditioning inside the cab. Works better than I expected.

In the winter we can hang an old sleeping bag in the same place and enjoy the insulated living space in the insulated box with it's own heater. I put chrome snaps on both the bag and the quilt to hold them up.

Most heaters are way over specs for the space they occupy and have no trouble keeping up.

Use a CO detector!

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