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Building thermal insulations for vans and superstructures
Often, it happens that transportation companies operate with vans which are able to carry their refrigerated goods, or they plan to buy vehicle chassis with the future need of thermally insulated superstructure.
The thermal bridges can be reduced to a minimum with the use of modern solutions, and adequate insulation. So cooling capacity and safe transportation can be guaranteed and maximized.
Whether it's eggs, meat, bones, European or exotic plants, pastries, confectionery products, our customers can get a great quality design that meets their expectations 100%.
Considering the temperature range and the purpose of the transport, it can generally be said that there are 2 ways to determine the design of the insulation:
- Insulation optimized for a cargo compartment temperature of +5°C
- Insulation optimized for a temperature of -18 °C
Important aspects for both designs:
- What does our customer want to deliver?
- How often do the doors need to be opened and closed?
- Where will the superstructures be used geographically?
- What are the desired types of cargo space coolers?
When building subsequent thermal insulation, the most important goal is to ensure an almost constant temperature
The opening frequency of the cargo area doors and the expected temperature are all parameters that must be constantly taken into consideration during the planning process. Many conditions can change the design of the thermal insulation depending on transportation attitudes.
There are several ways to ensure the sufficient temperature.
- 1. Over-calibration of the capacity of the cargo cooler
Over-calibration is a good solution, but at the same time more costly, since these refrigerators are more expensive.
- 2. Thermal curtain
A thermal curtain can be installed on both the rear and side doors with a simpler solution. The purpose of which is to have as little heat exchange as possible while packing goods through the open door.
- 3. Doors
Backdoor
The curved sides and top of new types of van superstructures give a surface that makes it difficult to create the most useful cubic meters of air. So encapsulation behind the back door can be a good solution. This takes away space from the useful length, but even here the goal can be to maintain a temperature of -18 ℃ with as few thermal bridges as possible. This means that the insulation is placed on the vehicle's own door wings. So the door wings will be closed on the case, and then thermally insulated on a rubber surface, either in an asymmetrical or symmetrical design.
Side door
For a +5℃ design, thermal insulation of a side door allows a relatively simpler solution; while at -18℃ you have to think carefully about the insulation of the side door. Especially if the customer does not want a 'door-in-the-door' thermal insulation, which is a much simpler solution. The rear half of the side door pops out when opened and then slides out to the side wall of the car on a rail system. There is about 2 cm between the door and the side wall. Obviously, this 2 cm also determines the thickness of the insulation, so how far the door can be lifted from its original location. For this, however, the appropriate thickness and heat retention must be produced by the design of the insulation.
Important factors when designing the subsequent thermal insulation
- 1. Edge protection
Our many years of experience in the insulation industry and the information we receive from customers tell us that edge protection is very important. The side walls, the front wall, and the roof are all in contact with each other at one edge, and these must be protected from any impacts. As a deterrent example, we would mention the plastic edge closing profiles, which have only one advantage, namely that they are attractive. However, it is vulnerable from a practical point of view, which is why we never recommend it. In all cases, we imagine ourselves in the customer's place, in the situations when he actually uses this vehicle during his work. Let's say he pulls out a storage box, the corner of which, if stuck in the plastic edge protector, can tear it open with one sudden move.
That is why we recommend the stainless edge protector, as it is much more durable. In our opinion, it is decorative and does not add much to the final weight.
- 2. Polyester sheet
1.5 mm - or thicker - mirror-smooth polyester, or 0.8 mm thick glass-woven polyester?
The use of both surfaces is an accepted solution, the opinions of professionals are divisive when designing the subsequent thermal insulation. In some cases, we prefer the fiberglass-reinforced polyester sheet, since it looks just as good, but we get the same strength, and the mm gained in thickness is not negligible when designing the interior covering.
- 3. Cubic meters of air
In general, it is advisable to categorize vans based on the cubic meters of air in the cargo space.
On average, the range spread from 3-4 cubic meters to mostly 17 cubic meters. But there are also 19 and 22 cubic meter vehicles, for example the latter is the size of an Iveco.
The most practical van types for installing insulation are:
- Ford Transit
- Peugeot Boxer
- Citroen Jumper
- Fiat Ducato
- Volkswagen Crafter
- Hundai H350
A KIT version that can be installed in a van with a thermally insulated superstructure
We are in contact with high-quality superstructure manufacturing companies which are worldwide known. Whose big advantage is that shortly after a new type of commercial vehicle is launched on the market, they manufacture the KIT version of the retrofitted thermally insulated superstructure - side walls, front wall, roof, floor - in outstanding quality. The advantage of KIT is that it can be assembled faster, but the disadvantage is that it is more expensive.
Manufacturers we work with:
- Aluvan
- Lamberet
- Thermosol
