roof insulation ideas for pop top

[mrsa111]

I'm about to finish my roof, and I cant figure out a good solution for insulating it. The problem is that being a pop top its going to be pushed on some, and get hit/banged up more than a normal roof. I have 1" some foam board that seems like the best R value/weight/thickness combo (right?) but it would dent very easy. The best solution i can think of is to lay the foam board, then maybe 1/8" plywood or plastic sheet, then 1/8 or 1/4" polyurethane foam of some kind, then carpet.

the problems there is i could see thin plywood breaking, and i dont want to use anything thicker for weight reasons and a lack of vertical space. Also finding a foam friendly adhesive to secure everything to the fiberglass roof well enough.
any thoughts?

 

[calicamper]

Good point. Looking at the typical pop up truck campers they all use some type of lever/handle. I wonder if you can incorporate something into your design. A bar tied to roof structure that maybe can double as a drying , clothes hangar but gives you a solid hand grip to push the roof up during setup?

 

[luthj]

You could put a 1/8" plywood face over the foam. The plywood has lots of finish options, everything from wrapping it in vinyl or headliner fabric, to wallpaper and polyurethane.

Personally I would use a higher density flexible closed cell foam. Something like cross linked polyethylene foams? Minicell for example. Another option is Neoprene foam. It is firm and quite durable, pricing would be reasonable on a mail order I think.


You would use contact adhesive (like 3m 90) to bond the foam to the top, then cover with a vinyl or headliner fabric. use a 1/8 or 1/4" soft foam backing to make it look smooth. Marine vinyl and headliner fabric is often available with pre bonded backing.


You may find it useful to bond furring strips to the top. Usually slightly taller than the insulation. This would let you put a wood/plastic headliner up and screw it to the strips without needing the insulation itself to support the headliner sheet.

 

[Treenail]

When I finished the interior of my '82 E250 I used cheap wood faced paneling

After camping in it during the winters I found that the condensation saturated the ceiling paneling and it started to delaminate...a mess

I'd recommend fiberglass reinforced plastic sheets. Smooth side out. No water worries

 

[Bbasso]

How about this https://www.homedepot.com/p/1-16-in-x-4-ft-x-8-ft-Plastic-Panel-63003/202090190 ?
I would glue the final interior product to this and on the other side your insulation.
Just my thoughts. I currently use that panel as the headliner and it's flexible that even when I bump my head it gives and doesn't care. Also easy to work with while being cheap too.

 

[mrsa111]

How about this https://www.homedepot.com/p/1-16-in-x-4-ft-x-8-ft-Plastic-Panel-63003/202090190 ?
I would glue the final interior product to this and on the other side your insulation.
Just my thoughts. I currently use that panel as the headliner and it's flexible that even when I bump my head it gives and doesn't care. Also easy to work with while being cheap too.

I think ive seen that panel in home depot, seems like that would work well.

I also like the idea of a neoprene foam instead of foam board. is there any certain kind that would work particularly well for insulation? looking around its hard to judge. i'd like it to be pretty close to or better than the R6 value of the 1/2" board i got.