Welcome to the UK Window Cleaning Forums

Starting or own a window cleaning business? We're a network of window cleaners sharing advice, tips & experience. Rounds for sale & more. Join us today!

heating back of the van/damp

heyoh

Active member
Messages
242
How do you guys heat the rear area of your van? I have a renault trafic, with a fixed bulkhead, so the back is completely separate, and I find that in the winter it gets quite damp, condensation dripping from ceiling etc

I'm embarassed to say but the other day I found some mushrooms growing in a corner... o_O:puke:

The front of the van heats up to boiling temperatures in about 10 mins of driving, so I was thinking about how I could divert the hot air towards the back. The bulkhead has a removable window thingy (which I heard is quite difficult to take out, but not impossible), do you think the hole would be big enough to make a difference in temperature in the back?

(not my van, but that's the hole i'm on about)

%24_1.JPG


Or do you have any other methods to heat the back?

I don't have a driveway so extension lead+220v heater is not an option.

 
I would have thought that letting the hot air through would help. I have no bulkhead and the rear of my van is insulated so that helps too.

 
How do you guys heat the rear area of your van? I have a renault trafic, with a fixed bulkhead, so the back is completely separate, and I find that in the winter it gets quite damp, condensation dripping from ceiling etcI'm embarassed to say but the other day I found some mushrooms growing in a corner... o_O:puke:

The front of the van heats up to boiling temperatures in about 10 mins of driving, so I was thinking about how I could divert the hot air towards the back. The bulkhead has a removable window thingy (which I heard is quite difficult to take out, but not impossible), do you think the hole would be big enough to make a difference in temperature in the back?

(not my van, but that's the hole i'm on about)

%24_1.JPG


Or do you have any other methods to heat the back?

I don't have a driveway so extension lead+220v heater is not an option.

If you have damp in the van then you have to source and fix that first. There will always be a little condensation on the van roof in the winter due to the cold and storage of damp brushes etc, but leaks need to be sorted.

When I can I leave the van doors slightly open on the driveway and let the van air. I also dry the roof of the van with a dry towel from time to time. I have a Citroen Relay.

I think there are a couple of vents at the bottom of your factory fitted bulkhead. It could be that the plylining in front of them won't be helping with air flow. But I still don't think enough air will flow through them to keep your van 'drip dry'.

From experience having no bulkhead just seemed to fog up the front windscreen and the heater wasn't sufficient enough to heat the whole cabin and cargo area; end result was that it was cold inside all winter and not a nice environment. The bulkhead I bought hadn't glass in it but I fitted some before the next winter.

The van was much quieter with the glass fitted.

I do put an electric heater in the van in winter, but it doesn't heat the van up. It switches on at about 1 degree and switches off at about 3 degrees. Its never been warm in there when I take it out in the morning. It won't dry the van out as there is no air circulation to remove the moist air that's in there.

The other point is that most people have their heaters on re circulation in the winter as it warms the car up quicker. You need to draw air in from the outside, warm it and let it pass through the vents at the back of the vehicle.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Well the truth is that with the tank completely filled when going around corners the tank does leak a little. I tried using silicone around the cap, which helped a little, but it can't be sealed properly.

I know what could solve my problem, but it's a big job: take out everything put new plywood on the floor, paint it with protecta coat or similar, I guess that will have to wait until next spring.

Over the past couple of years the ply lining started to rot, and is in pretty bad condition now.

How much do you reckon it would cost me to have just the floor re-plied?

 
@heyoh earlier this year I had same dilemma of rotten ply, stripped out my van and when I took out the floor I was amazed to see how heavy sodden rotten ply wood is, so I scrapped it off and Protectakoted the floor. It looks a lot better and I reckon I have reduced the over all weight by at least 30 kilos if not more as sodden ply is bloody heavy.
 
Some tank lids/tops leak. You maybe able to replace the o ring in the lid with the next size diamt up of sealing cord. Its called Nitrite O Ring cord and is available on Ebay.

o ring cord | eBay

Having sodden ply flooring is a big issue. @Green Pro Clean Ltd has the best solution. Do it asap is my advice.

Hose reels are a big cause of water issues. We connect our reels to an outside van port and hose reels are always outside the van. We have a couple of Hozelock hose connectors that have been sealed with silicone adhesive. These are popped on the hose reel before the reels are put back into the van. They seal up the hose reel and stop any water dripping from the connector. If the hose on the hose reel is dripping wet when its been reeled in then I will put a wet towel down on the floor to catch any water that drips off.

The hoses to the hose reels from the van ports are also emptied before they are put away.

Brushes are shaken off before being put back into the van and the pole hose is drained down.

The sounds like an unnecessary regime each time we pack away but it does help to keep the van dry.

 
spinning roof vent off ebay helps ,or ply line the roof this stops it a good bit

if your keeping the ply down forget procrapacoat paint its rubbish and wont stop the water also it will look dirty in weeks and is hard to clean

its speedliner

or a full fiber glass rear to water proof your van

we have both done and both work well , if you want heat in the van safely and anywhere its parked then fit a heat heater that run on diesel there full auto and keeps truck driver warm as toat when sleeping in the cabs but there not cheap to buy. unless you get a reworked one from evil bay

heres one of ours when we were fitting it out after speedlineing it even the roof is done never once had a problem and its was quite funny in winter seeing cars with 8inc of snow on the roof and our vans clear



 
Last edited by a moderator:
spinning roof vent off ebay helps ,or ply line the roof this stops it a good bit
if your keeping the ply down forget procrapacoat paint its rubbish and wont stop the water also it will look dirty in weeks and is hard to clean

its speedliner

or a full fiber glass rear to water proof your van

we have both done and both work well , if you want heat in the van safely and anywhere its parked then fit a heat heater that run on diesel there full auto and keeps truck driver warm as toat when sleeping in the cabs but there not cheap to buy. unless you get a reworked one from evil bay

heres one of ours when we were fitting it out after speedlineing it even the roof is done never once had a problem and its was quite funny in winter seeing cars with 8inc of snow on the roof and our vans clear

 
Nice lining in there mate, when you say cost a lot, how much roughly. Just i,m getting a bigger van in the new year, be good to get that done first then load up.

 
that lineing cost me a lot as its a one spec

I just got quoted 650 for a full fiber glass lining for a short n low transit this included new ply lineing and them fitting the lot

speedlneing is down to the local dealer but set yourself up to be charged 9/1200 pounds for a short n low transit that wont include the roof

gutterman if the vans newish and you will be keeping it say 5-7 years then its worth every penny however if its a cheap van that you will just be running for two years then binning it off then it may not be worth it

 
I have just today spoke to Speedliner as I am planning for next van in Feb, SWB Vivaro / Trafic.

I asked for what they call 'full encapsulation'. They say first I have to quality ply line the sides and roof with minimal gaps. They will then seal all the gaps and apply the liner to the floor, sides and roof of the van.

The chap said 2 1/2 days and around £1100 but lifetime guarantee as long as I own the van.

 
mr green when we get ours done our local guy tells us never to let our ply line guy seal them up with silicon sealer as speed liner wont stick to it and to make sure hes wearing clean clothes when doing it so less chanse of any getting on the ply

 
Back
Top