Soundproofing the van

[Sin]

Hi,
I've been doing a few runs in the van and found that at 50 miles an hour it gets a bit loud, at 55 I can't hear passengers in the back and at 60 ish it's pointless trying to listen to anything including the radio...is there a way to muffle the noise apart from driving slower?

Sin

[CovKid]

Lots on youtube with methods/materials. Its not T25-specific. Lots of ways of doing it depending on budget.

[AdrianC]

What sort of noise is it?

If it's mechanical noise, what engine, and how much insulation do you have around the engine bay?

[Gusbang]

Have a look at Lloyds "Getting There" post in the Syncro forum, he has posted some pics on how he did his, looked good......it may take a while to find the pics though

[ELVIS]

What Adrian said.

Mechanical, wind, external, vibration etc. The van interior will act as a boom box/speaker cabinet and you want to stop any external sound getting in and kill any sound bouncing about the inside.

Check door/window seals are good and tight.

Exhaust/inlet tract is as it should be. If it's a diesel make sure cam/pump timing are bob on- that will stop some vibration.

Silent coat is my new favourite, 25% coverage is ample to stop panel vibration - you don't need to wallpaper the van in it

Bulkhead over gearbox and engine bay/lid you could use one of the heavier vinyl/foam type coverings (same idea as the rubber/foam oe mat in commercials.

Put some in seat boxes under seats.

If you have a panel van, cloth covering the panels will absorb sound.

If you have a camper, make sure sink./cooker etc is stowed tightly with anti rattle stops.

Etc etc. sure others will add more

[john east]

My camper is far too noisy, but I don't think, short of stripping out the interior and applying sound proofing everywhere, much can be done. The engine cover, for example, sits under a well fitted 3 inch foam mattress, so what's the point of adding more sound deadening material to the engine cover itself?

My cost effective solution has been to install a 1.4kW sound system with a boom box in one of the cupboards. This system, by following the DIY route, only cost around £200, and I can now happily listen to music whilst cruising on the motorway without the added distraction of hearing the advice from "back seat drivers".

[Sin]

Thanks for all the info, I'm going to be buying some of the sound proofing matting/foam to put inside the door panels to start with and will give it a test ride and then add to it as I go along...im not particularly savvie when it comes to car/van things

[CovKid]

Have fun getting into the door then.

[silverbullet]

Each panel only needs a decent sized pad or two to damp any resonance, it doesnt need to be seam to seam coverage.