Insulating the Bed Ends

[Terry]

If it is glued in, it was done by someone after the fact!  It was not done at the factory.  You will just have to try to work it loose without breaking the tracks.

[rooster]

If it is glued in, it was done by someone after the fact!  It was not done at the factory.  You will just have to try to work it loose without breaking the tracks.

That is gonna be harder than woodpecker lips to accomplish!!!  This might be a job for the Dremel.

[cimar78]

Terry is right.  When we unscrewed the panel ours were loose.  So someone apparently decided that gluing was better.

We used reflectix insulating the whole camper.  It is thin and not itchy.

Good luck with those panels
Deb

[rooster]

I finally was able to get the window part of the bed end, along with the top off of my camper.  This was a chore since I did it by myself.  I pulled the window out first, then discovered cracks in all four corners of my ABS, which would explain why my windows always leak.  I mixed up ABS and M.E.K., to create my compound to patch the problem areas.  This was more difficult than what I thought it would be, so I am sure I did something wrong.  I bought a piece of ABS from Lowe's out of the plumbing area, then drilled small holes in it to create fine shavings.  After mixing with the ABS for about two hours, the solution was finally ready to use(I used to much MEK).  It even worked better the next day after I let it set.

With the two tops pieces laid down, I removed all the screws from the top of the hinge, the had to pry the overlay of the hinge off with a putty knife.  I was then able to remove the bed roof, from the bed window wall.  Of course since I was doing this by myself, I recracked the corners of the just repaired windows.  For the next fix on these I used Gorilla Glue, and I held the corners together.  I then drilled out all the rivots, removed the old piece of panel board, and insulated under the paneling with reflectix.  I then placed new panel board in, re-rivoted the hinge, and slowly lifted up the window wall, from the inside, and slid the roof wall underneath.  This is where it became tuff.  I could not get the hinge of the window wall and the roof wall the connect with the wood paneling on the bed roof.  Therefore, I folded the bed into an upside down "V", laying the top of the bed roof on top of the bed side walls, and the hinge fell right into place with the roof paneling.  I was then able to lay the two back down, replace any old seals, and screw the two hinged back together.  Not as difficult as it sounds, but it did take a full day.  I also did get the old panel board out of the bed side walls, and get insulation in behind them, then replace with new paneling.  This completes my insulation of the bed ends(except under the mattress) hopefully elimanating the some cold, heat, and condensation.  Sorry, no pics.  I will take some though, and hopefully get them posted as soon as I figure out how. :wink:

[kwalker]

Assume you're attempting to insulate the whole bed end rather than just the bed but maybe you can create a variation on this theme. We have an Eagle (softside) and I forgot my blanket box one camping trip in March. It would've been a chilly night but I remembered there were some shiny, emergency blankets in my camp kit. In the Eagle there's a thin, foam mattress on a (maybe) 1/2 in plywood panel. I usually put a couple blankets under it to provide buffer. Without the blankets this time, I put one thermal blanket under the mattress and then slept under another one between two sheets. Since they retain/reflect >90% body heat, it was a toasty evening, even at 34 degrees and will definitely be part of my cold-weather camping regime. Maybe something similar can help since the clearance on these blankets is almost zero. If not please disregard and carry on your conversation....

[medicmike5969]

Rooster,

Like cimar78 said, you can insulate anywhere in that apache, I see by his post that he did & I've done it too. I've got 2 layers of Prodex (which is like reflectix, but higher R-value) between all my bed end walls, roofs & window ends & also 2 layers in beneath the road cover. I had the lower walls spray foamed insulated before that - so mine is totally insulated - except the side walls between the big windows (which is only a space of about 8" wide @ the most).

Pictures of mine are in my gallery.

Mike

[CharleyGirl]

Hey Mike,  You have so many pictures that could really help people out.  Do you have room to insert your gallery LINK into your profile signature?  I think you could really help people that way.

P.S. what Michigan round up are you going too? I'd love to check out your Apache.

[medicmike5969]

Char,
To tell you the truth, I don't know how to do that. I'm going to Omer in May for sure, possibly the Holly one also, but will possibly be there with a former company reunion campout. But ANYTIME you wanna come take a look, it's set-up in the driveway right now - axle's out of it to replace the springs.

Mike

[thedreamer]

Id love to see the pics, but dont know how to get to you gallery?

[Redwood]

Mike's Gallery     http://www.apachepopups.net/SMF/index.php?action=profile;u=3947;sa=mgalitems