Tent insulation

[Hoooogan]

Received my Warm Window material today. Waiting for the pattern fabric and need to see about a sewing machine.

Spent a few nights out over the Christmas weekend in the, 30’s and while I was snug with the Propex, I noticed a massive issue with the GFC is the drafting from under the door flaps. Granted I was in some wicked wind (up to 50+ gusts on the last night), it highlighted the need to be able to seal off those door flaps. I ultimately had to retreat into the downstairs area on the last night. The draft, flapping and shaking was so violent, it pulled all the heat out of the tent and felt like I was about to have a flippac at any moment.

Looking to try out some magnet strips to help seal the bottoms of the flaps. I don’t need it to completely seal, but mostly. If there is even a moderate breeze, you are losing heat there. I don’t want to use Velcro, but if the magnets don’t work out, I may need to.

[GFC706]

How does your tent perform in the wind?

Just reaching out to see if anyone else had a similar experience. I was camping down in MOAB a week ago and we encountered a storm, half rain half snow. I made sure I did research and parked my car facing the main direction of the storm to minimize wind noise. Around midnight the wind was about 30 MPH and the camper started to open and close. The Wind Direction changed on me and was hitting the side of the Camper. It was so loud and sketch I had to close the camper up and sleep in the bed of my…

Just in case you haven’t already seen this…

Peace.

[Dignon]

It’s funny I was editing a video last night that where I talk about the fact that those doors don’t close all the way. I ended up with snow in the truck the one night when that same thing happened. I’m going to submit a service request just to put the bug in their ear.

[the_philxx]

Finally got home from the holidays and while I was hoping to borrow a sewing machine, I realized it was 25 years old and the owner didn’t really know how to use it. That plus the hour each way to pick it up… I am now the proud owner of a brand new Singer.

Anyways - I have never touched a sewing machine one time in my whole life. This will be obvious momentarily, but good news is the machine can handle all the material I am using!

Picked up the ripstop nylon today (at least 5 yards of it) and have the Primaloft Gold 200 I got just before the holidays and some stuff called “bias tape” - I have gotten started.

Here’s the photos to prove it!

First stop was in the camper accurately measuring the panels. For the first pass I decided to “eat the frog” and do the big triangles.

Once I had the measurements, I cleared out the living room floor to use as a work surface. Laid up the template on tape and then laid the insulation material down and cut it with a roller cutter and a cutting mat. Took maybe 30 minutes to cut out both.

Next - I opened the sewing machine and googled “how to use sewing machine”… and after I figured out threading the bobben and needle, I instantly nailed it. Well - “nailed it” might be a stretch, but it is sewing and I am the one operating the machinery. I can only get better, right?

Here is the sample of the insulation sandwiched in between ripstop and then I sewed on the bias tape.

Next up - learning how to sew with pins… cutting out the ripstop to the triangle template and pinning it all up. Then is is time to let her eat…

[jedgar]

Love it! Can’t go wrong buying new tools and learning new things!

[the_philxx]

Got the machine figured out kinda… and learned how to backstitch and finish the ends of each stitch… and ran a 20" piece of primaloft with double nylon through it using pins to keep it in shape. I’m ready to graduate.

[d0bhran]

SINGER® CLASSIC™ 44S Sewing Machine Owners Class

This is essentially the machine you bought. Should help you advance your skills a bit, but there is no better way to start then jumping off the deep end the way you did. Really looking forward to seeing what you end with.

[blackhearse]

NICE!!! you might need to start your own thread for this project.

[the_philxx]

now I know what all the stuff in the bag is! thanks!!

i need to be careful now - living this close to a fabric store… i might end up making all my clothes from here on out…

[Hoooogan]

This guy ^^^… throws down a few stitches and now he wants to sew the world.

Still waiting for my pattern material, but seeing your progress reports is making me excited. Keep it up! You planning to “quilt” the panel to keep it tight, or leave it puffed?

[the_philxx]

Leave it puffed.

So safe to say, after 3 hours sewing, I am no seamstress, but I have almost completed one of the sides.

[WrinkledPants]

Hi Guys! It’s been fun to see the progress being made on DIY versions of the winter insulation package.

Hats off to “the_philxx” for diving right in head first on sourcing of materials and learning to sew. I love your initiative!
Here’s an update on our progress. We have built several prototypes using a variety of materials and different styles (some with zippered entrances/windows and some using a simple overlapping of the curtain walls). Materials used have ranged from simple polly-fill to the more “technical” products available. We already use Thinsulate 600L for our van insulation products so that was a no-brainer. Primaloft was a consideration but we opted not to use it due to the quilting required using a short filament product. It is a product that needs to be stabilized. We recently sourced a continuous filament, hi-tech product that is being used in shelter applications (primarily military). This one has me the most excited!
I contacted a couple of the members of this forum by phone today to see if anybody that is in close proximity to Eagle, Colorado would like to join us later this month to help us field test the prototypes that we have made. If anyone reading this message would like to participate please contact me by email at scott@overlandsoftgoods.com We can accommodate up to six participants.

Sorry this has taken so long on our end to get this rolling. Getting the materials right from the start is critical in a commercial product. Production SOP is also important as we will be warranting our product against material defect and workmanship.

For those people that are doing a DIY version, feel free to contact me. I’m happy to assist you!

[WrinkledPants]

This is a great start! My compliments to you for jumping in and getting it done!

FYI… Primaloft Mfg specs suggest that you quilt at least every six inches to stabilize the material.

Give me a shout sometime. I left VM for you today with my ph#. I’m happy to share info with you that may help you in your build.

[the_philxx]

I’m less concerned given this is a “parked only” application versus a garment or even a sleeping bag with heavier use. These will literally just hang out

[WrinkledPants]

That could work out just fine. Cut filament insulation tends to breakdown pretty easily. Thus, the recommendation.

I’m looking forward to seeing your finished product. Bravo!

[MBBME]

Scott,

Also interested if there has been thought on these being a standalone solution for insulation versus something that could be paired with a supplemental heater. Not sure if it really matters, but would be quite interested in how these offerings insulate down to a specific temperature with and without a heater. Thanks! I did text you back as well, quite interested in the meet up, but just depends on logistics.

[WrinkledPants]

I personally use a diesel heater when I camp. I highly recommend them!

[Geojenkins]

Whats your setup for the heater look like?

[blackhearse]

Have you narrowed down the shell material? also what price point are you striving for?

[WrinkledPants]

Hey Micah! I think, that in my hast, I totally misread your post. The WIK (winter insulation kit) needs to perform a couple of tasks. “moisture management” inside a closed up single wall tent being at the top of the list. Also, cutting down on cold air draft. Thermal insulation is beneficial but therein lies the rub. Obviously, there must be a heat source and our bodies are not great at heating the inside of a tent. Especially, when we are trying to trap that heat inside a cold weather sleeping bag to begin with. Candles, propane heaters, electric mattress heating pads (if you have the power source) and the cheap (or not so cheap) diesel heater, which is my preference are all much better heat sources. I have found, in the little bit of testing that we have done, that anything from cheap army surplus blankets to the really techie insulation materials used primarily in winter clothing will provide SOME thermal insulation provided there is an adequate source of heat. Our challenge has been to find the “sweet spot” between performance and cost. I encourage anybody to try different materials when out in the cold to see what works best for you. When my company, Overland Softgoods does a final release of our WIK it first and foremost must perform. Also, it must be made of quality materials, assembled properly and be a product that we can warranty. I hope this is a better answer.