Insulation & Flooring

While some people may choose not to fully gut their bus, we felt it was essential. We wanted to be able to go through all of the wiring and other components to delete anything unnecessary. We also wanted to be able to inspect the bus from top to bottom, checking for leaks and any other weak points. We also knew that this would be our best opportunity to insulate the bus.

 

In order to insulate the entire vehicle, we had to remove the floors as well as the wall and ceiling panels. After 14 years in service, a school bus floor gets pretty gross. That rubber mat on top of the flooring is colloquially referred to as “Puke mat.” Cleaning up a vomitous mess typically involves parking on a hill and rinsing the floor out the back door. Knowing that, getting rid of the puke mat and plywood felt like a necessity. Thankfully the worst of the mess that we found were some old candy wrappers and a Spongebob eraser.

 

When it came time to insulate the bus, there were two major areas to be insulated - the cavities of the walls and ceiling and the floor. For the walls and ceiling we chose to use spray foam insulation due to a number of benefits over batt insulation. Closed cell insulation does an excellent job of sealing cracks and holes, which help keep out insects and rodents. It also keeps out moisture. Besides those factors, it also helps to improve rigidity and reduce noise. Despite being more expensive than batt insulation, we thought its benefits made it worth the cost. There are many resources available that discuss the relative merits of different insulation materials, as well as R-Value and the effects of thermal bridging. Our approach, and what we would recommend to any Skoolie aspirant, is to read as much as you can from as many sources as you can find. Any choice you make will have to be based on your own needs and cost-benefit-analysis.

 

For the floor, the most logical solution was rigid foam insulation. Rigid foam can withstand a great deal of pressure, mitigating the need for a rigid frame between the aluminum floor and the plywood subfloor. This made the process of installing the subfloor extremely simple and straightforward. Insulating all around the bus does an excellent job of keeping the temperature inside nice and stable.

Between the extensive insulation and our vent fan, we assumed we’d be able to stay comfortable in the bus without a heat source or air conditioning. Unfortunately, with the global pandemic and not being able to chase fair weather, we learned that wasn’t the case. Even warm places have cool nights and even cool places can experience a heat wave. We also realized that we had underestimated the impact of the windows. Do not overlook the importance of curtains if you decide to outfit your own rig. We have restored our dashboard A/C to improve our ability to cool the bus and added a diesel heater to keep us warm. In the future we may choose to add in some form of parked A/C and are keeping that option open.