Fatmat for Axis/Vegas

[evergreen49]

i installed the FatMat on my doghouse and it's made a difference with sound proofing and heat. What I ordered from Amazon was more than I needed so have enough left over for another Axis/Vegas owner. If interested and willing to pay UPS charge, it's Free!

[JamieGeek]

I had used some of the extra fatmat to cover up the A-Pillars and plug some of the holes that run along the left and right sides of the dash. Cut about a 1' X 2' section and stuffed it up from the under side of the dash:

Even with that usage I still have a large chunk of it left--I'm sure I'll find a use for it

[EA37TS]

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

I had used some of the extra fatmat to cover up the A-Pillars and plug some of the holes that run along the left and right sides of the dash. Cut about a 1' X 2' section and stuffed it up from the under side of the dash:

Even with that usage I still have a large chunk of it left--I'm sure I'll find a use for it

Jamie,

In you opinion, could the Fatmat be used on the underside of the driver and passenger floor pans which are semi exposed to the outside. What I am currently considering is some sound deadening material and then possibly a spay of Flex Seal for waterproofing. These floor pans are to the sides of the transmission and trans tunnel.

[JamieGeek]

Well the fatmat is just a chunk of foam (about 3/4" thick) sandwiched on either side by adhesive and heat reflective foil. As such I wouldn't want to put it somewhere that would get a lot of water (where you are suggesting I wouldn't think would get too wet except perhaps for the portions that were directly behind the front wheels).

Spraying over it with a sealant such as flexseal would probably seal it up pretty good but I would guess that would defeat the purpose of the foil (flex seal being black will absorb the infrared whereas the foil reflects it). You basically want something "soft" that would absorb the noise under there but also waterproof. Not sure if Flexseal by itself would provide that or not (with enough coats I think it would but that would get pretty expensive). A similar product to fatmat without the heat foil may work and then coat that.

I wonder if some DIY truck bedliner would serve the purpose better (although that stuff isn't heat resistant but then again I don't know how heat resistant flexseal is either).

My random thoughts on it...

[evergreen49]

Jamie

I had the Thor rep pull out the entire interior dash and spray foam from inside the coach and from the engine compartment. So there are no remaining gaps anywhere left to fill. I was thinking of posting photos of the work for others to see.

So the excess can we used by another if they want it for a few dollars shipping.

[mcr1010]

Originally Posted by dstankov

Jamie,

In you opinion, could the Fatmat be used on the underside of the driver and passenger floor pans which are semi exposed to the outside. What I am currently considering is some sound deadening material and then possibly a spay of Flex Seal for waterproofing. These floor pans are to the sides of the transmission and trans tunnel.

ALong those same lines, you have just given me an idea I had not considered. On my last coach, I used Peal & Seal which is an aluminum faced, rubbery-tar self sticking sound deadener on the inside of the cabin floor. It did help with road noise.
Not sure how it would do on the outside of cabin floor as it would be mostly in tension, but is not affected by water. It is for sure sticky enough when the temps get above 70d F, and I would guess if the application surfaces were clean, it would probably stay in place-heat being the main concern. Peal & Seal and others like it are primarily used as roof flashing, gutter sealing etc. I haven't taken notice if that area of cabin floor is accessible in the Vegas-Axis from the underside, but will check it out soon. I was hesitant to install Peal & Seal under the carpeted cabin floor, but thanks to you, have given me another approach to sound deadening. I will check it out, do a test piece if possible and see how it goes in the FL heat.

[EA37TS]

Here are some pics of areas I believe can be improved on the Challenger. The floor pan pic is taken from above the right front tire. The under dash is taken from the engine compartment and the one for the battery compartment is the floor pan immediately behind the driver and passenger and above the transmission. All of the areas are relatively accessible it just finding the correct material for the job since they are all fully or semi exposed to the elements.

On my coach the only carpet is the risers for the entry steps. Everything else is vinyl flooring so there is no putting sound deadening material between the floor pan and carpet so I have to go underneath the floor.


Batt compartment and stairwell


Floor pan


Under Dash

[groswald]

Evergreen,

Please post the pics! I significantly reduced the noise by stuffing pink fiberglass insulation up the plastic windshield trim pillars. Still a lot of room for improvement. On this trip, at 55 with a strong headwind the whole dash was bouncing and making a huge racket. If it was supposed to be fastened down, it's not.

So, the fun continues!

Randy

[EA37TS]

I believe I have my plan for the Challenger:

First, I am going to take a decibel reading with the coach parked in the driveway and the engine idling. This will be done before the installation of any additional sound deadening material with the decibel meter (iPhone app) sitting in the tray on the engine cover.

Next I am going to use Fatmat or another hood liner to provide additional insulation in the engine cover (held on by four screws), the underside of the dash, accessible trough the front of the engine compartment). I will also stuff some Fatmat or other insulation in the A Pillar tubes. I will tape the ends of the A pillars and any joints in the Fatmat with HVAC specific aluminum foil duct tape (already have a roll from another project).

After this step I am going to conduct two more sound readings. One will determine if the above has made any difference and the second to get a sound reading while travelling on the next trip.

After the above, I am considering going all out with Dynamat to sound proof the underneath of the floor pans on the sides of the engine and the battery compartment. By doing these two areas it will cover the floor where the driver and passenger sit as well as approximately 2 feet behind them from side to side in the coach.

Overall I believe the project will take until the end of July to complete. I have to work this into the schedule with home and rental property related projects.

[Stan fowler]

Originally Posted by evergreen49

Jamie

I had the Thor rep pull out the entire interior dash and spray foam from inside the coach and from the engine compartment. So there are no remaining gaps anywhere left to fill. I was thinking of posting photos of the work for others to see.

So the excess can we used by another if they want it for a few dollars shipping.

Did you watch them remove the dash ? How does it come out ? I thought of doing the same thing, but haven't attempted it yet. Thanks

[evergreen49]

Originally Posted by Stan fowler

Did you watch them remove the dash ? How does it come out ? I thought of doing the same thing, but haven't attempted it yet. Thanks

Stan

I can't seem to post the pics but you send me your email address I will send what I have.

Yes I watched the Thor rep pull out the dash and reassemble it. It took him a total of about 4 hours with re-glueing.

With this work and replaced windshield, the sound went from 93 decibels to 82.

Ralph
Evergreen

[Stan fowler]

Thanks, Ralph. Email is: sbfowl@yahoo.com.