Any recommendations for sound deadening sheets?
Will any general eBay sheet be ok or are there specific brands better than others etc?
I'd phone or email these guys and ask - they have a whole business for it, they know their stuff and are happy to help. I got the impression they've put some thought into their product range.
I've done 4 vans in a row with this stuff... https://www.screwfix.com/p/bostik-flashband-grey-10m-x-225mm/22704
It makes a big difference on its own. You're just adding mass to a panel to stop is from wobbling, no need to go overboard in my experience. Especially if it's just the first layer before proper thermal insulation.
+1 for deadening.co.uk I put a bunch of their stuff in my last van and it worked amazingly
Mine is foil bubble wrap glued everywhere, recycled plastic loft insulation, another layer of foil bubble wrap and then plywood over.
I've not felt the need for any extra accoustic insulation.
Make sure you bubble wrap under the vab floor and on the front wheel arches too, that cuts out quite a bit of road noise
Are you camper-ing/insulating/lining it?
If so you might not need to sound deaden much first as the insulation will do much the same job depending what you use.
Are you camper-ing/insulating/lining it?
Nope - just a standard MTB / stock carrying van for my shop.
Thanks @molgrips only a couple of quid more than the eBay stuff.
If you use the foil-backed sheets, make sure you wear gloves when installing - it's bloody sharp, especially when cut!
Advise I got a couple years ago when I was insulating my van, there is a difference between different price points. Not a great amount but it should be clear that the expensive stuff was doing a better job at damping the sound but anything was SO much better than nothing. I ended up going for some mid priced stuff from Amazon and was pleased with the result.
Don't know if the lower priced ones have sufficiently copied the recipe for the good stuff and closed that gap now?
Regarding cutting out resonance in the panels of the van you get a huge benefit from just putting a patch on a panel rather than covering the whole thing. Covering the whole panel will help against reflections.
So for my camper van which I was insulating and ply lining. I chose to cut the sound deadening sheet into strips and laid this down in a stripy pattern. This helped considerably to reduce the resonance of the van but I used half the amount. The panels would then be covered in insulation and ply lined which would help reduce reflections and echos inside the can and cut down on transmission of sound from the outside.
Overall very happy with the result and managed to save a little bit from not totally covering every panel fully.
You’re just adding mass to a panel to stop is from wobbling
That's one part of it, yes but if you want to do the best you can there's three stages. Deadening means adding mass loaded vinyl adds mass to the panels which stops them generating their own noise from vibrations. But then you can add sound insulation which stops noises from getting into the cabin (e.g. wheel arches) then you can also add sound absorption which is egg-box shaped open cell foam, this absorbs and dissipates any sound that does end up in the cabin. You might not need insulation in your van, but stopping road noise from other vehicles getting into yours does help a bit.
I bought this pack, which was enough for my XLWB Boxer. You don't have to cover the whole panel - just one sheet on each panel does a great job. Then the wheel arches and then go around tapping bits of your van to see if anything 'rings'. Every rib of my ceiling needed a little on it somewhere along it's length for example.
Did the job
If you can't see the image - here is the link:
BTW I also glued in some of the anti-vibration ribs with sikaflex too as they had been fixed poorly
I bought this bundle when I was making my van a little nicer to live with -
https://www.deadening.co.uk/products/medium-van-upgrade-bundle
I fitted all that myself then got someone with a bit more skill to line and carpet it.
If you're doing the wheel arches, take a look at Combe Valley Campers Youtube for some tips
I did our Camper with Flash Band as @sharkattack
I wasn't going to bother, but just after I got the van, I was working inside it and it started raining - it made a *hell* of a racket!
You’re just adding mass to a panel to stop is from wobbling
You're also, perhaps more importantly, adding damping.
I think I used 2 rolls of the flashband for our H2L2 Relay van - a bit on each panel made a big difference. The proper stuff is a bit thicker and heavier - I used it when I replaced the front speakers and for the cab floor - but it's expensive for what it is (IMHO).
Some piccies here if interested:
I'm friends with the guy that owns Deadening.co.uk. Unfortunately can't offer any discount codes as they are close to the bone already but they really know their stuff and will give great advice on what's needed.
I'd be going there without a doubt if I was requiring such things.
I only used a 1x1m square sheet for my 6m camper. Cut it into strips and applied big crosses to any panel that sounded hollow when given a knock. Seems to have done the trick.
However, if you want a quiet van if its got no bulkhead (double-cab-in-van etc) lift the ply floor, lay down a layer of the foam gym/garage tiles (they cut to fit the van very easily with a stanley knife) and then float the ply floor back over the top, and run a big bead of polyurethane sealant around the sides. It removes a huge amount of drivetrain and road noise, my first van would overpower the radio and loud conversation on the motorway, second van with this foam/ply floating floor is many times quieter. Much more effective than the sound deadened panels.
I used SilentCoat on my car, made a huge difference.
I've used flashing tape in the past and tbh I won't use it again. May have been poor prep, but I found on vertical panels it migrated downwards! I had a black car, which didn't help, but both doors and rest quarters ended up with a big lump of bitumen in the bottom of them!
Years later, SilentCoat is still where I put it. Same prep, but white car.
Last time I did it there wasn't actually much in cost between the SC 'bulk pack' I used and flashing tape, but that was about 10 years ago.
If you’re doing the wheel arches, take a look at Combe Valley Campers Youtube for some tips
Combe Valley campers videos are brilliant!
Kiravans do a full 4 step sound deadening, insulation and carpeting kit. Highly recommended.
https://www.kiravans.co.uk/collections/insulation-carpet-vinyl
I've done a T5 camper, and am into car audio - the car audio guys really go into this and their performance/cost winner is noico sheets from amazon, followed by rockwool insulation stuffed into every cavity.
The Noico stops the drumming/drone/resonance of the panels (aim for as much coverage as possible, but over 50% is next to pointless), the rockwool helps absorb noise.
With deading sheets, avoid ebay specials. decent brands taht don't cost the earth are Noico, Dodomat and Silentcoat.
you'll get the best gains from floor & wheelarches.
If you really want to quiet your van, look at mass loaded vinyl & foam.
Where you at bud? I've got about 25 Megavanmats sound deadening you can have. Overbought for my project.
Another vote for deadening.co.uk I emailed them for advice when I was renovating our classic Saab convertible and they gave great advice for a 2 stage approach which I followed and it gave a massive improvement in refinement for very little cash
I used the leftover silentcoat yo do the doors in the caravelle and was pretty impressed with the sound improvement.
Tell them what you want to achieve and I’m sure you’ll get good guidance
