Hello all,
Replacing the carpet and adding insulation/sound dampener to front seating area in my ACE 29.2 (2013). My testing while driving indicates a c-weighted DB level of 85Db @ 57MPH and 66Db @ stop light. This past winter while on a travel assignment in 15 degree wheather the coldest part of the rig was the front area. Also I can feel the engine heat on my feet while I drive.
In my coach there is metal paneling under the carpet/pad not wood as I have seen in other RV's. The carpet pulls up relatively easy however the pad is a royal pain to get up. I used acetone and a scaper to clean most of it up. I still have a bit more prep work to complete on the inside of the coach before putting down deadener.
I am using a butlyl based deadener sold by partesexpress: Sonic Barrier UT-50. For anyone unfamiliar with vehicle resonance and noise control the purpose of deadener is to add mass to the panel and reduce vibrations thus reducing peaks in the panels response. See this thread for some testing performed on deadeners available:
https://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...d-testing.html
Also see this webpage for information on vehicle sound control strategy:
https://www.sounddeadenershowdown.com
Previously I have used mass loaded vinyl to much success covering the firewall, doors and floor. In this instance I chose to use closed cell foam as I wanted a thermal insulator not just a sound insulator. This is also why i chose to go with 100% coverage with my deadener. It also helps walmart hooked me up with $200 in egift cards for them messing up a refund; but thats a whole different story.
For the Insulation I got some of this:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/8-5mm-Car...Foam/164973154.
- 8.5mm and closed cell. It will be arriving tomorrow and its its crap ill send it back, however I liked the price and liked the adhesive backing. usually you free float CCF to decouple the MLV but I plan not to use MLV so the adhesive is welcomed.
For flooring I got a hell of a deal on some vinyl plank from LOWES:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/ProCore-16-...ing/1000389559
I originally planned to use some allure vinyl with the grip strip however, they had this procore stuff marked down and the manager hooked me up with a better deal yet. Needless to say I paid roughly a $1.05 a square foot. I wanted vinyl for thee thin profile in the slide area. Based on my testing with a piece of 10mm laminate I would go no more than 6-7mm thickness in the main area. Now this is a solid core vinyl and may not play well with my CCF so I may end up changing the flooring plan(carpet vs allure vs sheet vinyl) or changing my CCF approach(see below) and doing a layer of MLV.
THE PLAN: Add one layer of 80mil butyl deadener to entirety of floor followed by a layer of 8.5mm CCF then flooring. However if my floor doesnt like the give and take in the CCF I may put Mass loaded vinyl down and floor over that or change the floor in the drivers area. I will also be adding a layer of CCF to the wheel well area. Again if the flooring doesnt play well I may just double this layer up.
I will be adding photos this weekend as work progresses.
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