Using Snuffleupagus to Insulate a Campervan While I DEFY GRAVITY | Van Build Episode - video Dailymotion

Life With No Anchor

Sunday morning van build chaos: Watch me battle gravity while installing ceiling insulation in my Toyota Hiace campervan conversion! Those fluffy insulation batts remind me of Snuffleupagus from Sesame Street - sorry Snuffy, you're now part of my van walls! 🐘 This episode showcases real DIY van building challenges as I tackle: ✅ Ceiling insulation installation ✅ Creating spaces for LED downlights ✅ Boxing out the ventilation fan area ✅ Setting up electrical wiring pathways My "why rush?" Sunday philosophy somehow led to installing support beams with 14 screws (yes, I counted them all!) and planning for a 3mm ply ceiling with light gray felt finish. The real trick? Making sure insulation doesn't migrate where it shouldn't be - crucial in a moving vehicle versus a stationary house. COMING UP: Find out why I'm adding underbody rock lights - there's an Australian reptile encounter story that explains my caution about checking the ground before stepping out! 🐍 PROJECT STATUS:  Ceiling support structure: Complete Insulation: Installed Electrical pathways: Prepared Next: Ply ceiling installation  Follow my weekly Hiace campervan conversion journey from gravity battles to creating a nomadic home for Australian outback adventures!  Timestamps 0:00 Using Snuffleupagus to Insulate a Campervan While I DEFY GRAVITY 1:00 Early Morning Thoughts About Wiring and Fires 2:12 Snuffy's Time Is Up! Kids, Close Your Eyes! 2:49 Pulling the Data Cable 3:05 Gravity Defying Work - Roof Insulation Install 5:25 Progress Update and Roof Finishing Rough Plans 7:42 Roof Support Installation 10:13 Progress Update and Thoughts of Roof Support Placement 13:09 Planning For Fitting Off Fans 14:02 Roof Vent Cavity 16:35 How I'm Using Rock Lights 17:54 Reasons For Installing Extra Rock Lights 18:59 Wrapping Up Previous Van Episodes Check out our playlist for more van renovation content!  Follow us: 🌐 Instagram: lifewithnoanchor 🌐 Facebook: LifeWifNoAnchor 🌐 X (Twitter): LifeWifNoAnchor  Want to become a house or pet sitter? Get 25% off Trusted Housesitters membership - https://www.trustedhousesitters.com/refer/RAF582519/?utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=refer-a-friend&utm_campaign=refer-a-friend  DISCLAIMER: No muppets were harmed in making this video. Though Snuffleupagus might disagree. Tags: van life, campervan conversion, Toyota Hiace, DIY camper, van build, nomad lifestyle, van insulation, gravity defying, Snuffleupagus, Australian van life, RV renovation, Hiace conversion, campervan build

Transcript

00:00Good morning.

00:01Well, we are first thing Sunday morning, and I've remembered that I didn't pull this network

00:10cable through to the space that I wanted into.

00:14So I've got a little bit of work to do this morning just measuring up the placement for

00:19this.

00:20I'll pop that panel off, the one that's up towards the driver's side at the front, and

00:26just feed this little cable through.

00:28So this is going to go from the inverter through to a little monitor control unit, and this

00:36is what basically will be sending the signal from that little monitor control unit back

00:40to the inverter to turn it on, turn it off, do whatever it needs to do.

00:43So I want that up towards the middle GPO.

00:49So that's this morning's project.

00:52And as I was lying in bed this morning, just trying to wake up.

00:56It's a lazy Sunday morning.

00:58Why am I rushing?

01:00I was thinking about the down lights that we're going to be putting up a little bit further

01:04up there, the LED down lights, and also the vent fan area.

01:09I think I'll put a little time into boxing those areas off so that when I put the insulation

01:17in, it's completely clean and it's closed off as far as no insulation being able to potentially

01:24fall through into that area and cause any complications.

01:28I'm not too sure what the housing on the things like the LED lights are going to be like, whether

01:34or not I need to make sure that there's no insulation around those.

01:38In a house, I suppose it's very different.

01:40You can just sort of keep that area clear.

01:42But in a vehicle with how much movement there is, I probably want to make sure I'm actually

01:46boxing that off so that there's no potential for any kind of sliding of anything into that

01:52space if there is a requirement to keep it separate.

01:55So I'd rather not burn the place down.

01:58God, that sounds dodgy.

02:01Yeah, so I'll work on that one and I suppose the other thing that came to mind when I was

02:08putting insulation in, I'm grabbing these big bats and cutting into them and all that was

02:14going through my head was Snuffleupagus from Sesame Street and I'm like, these bats look

02:20like Jim Henson's Snuffleupagus has been, I think it was Jim Henson, been stuffed into a

02:27plastic bag and then when you open it up, it's just like everywhere.

02:29So yeah, apologies Snuffy, you're now filling the walls in the van, mate.

02:37That's enough of that dark humour.

02:38I'm going to get stuck into it, cut the hole, pull this through and start playing with other

02:44bits and pieces and see how we go with getting stuff up.

02:48We'll see you in a minute.

02:59Bye.

03:02Bye.

03:04Bye.

03:07Bye.

03:08Bye.

05:47two four six eight ten twelve four yeah wow 14 screws holding that piece up yes

05:54I probably did overdo it but that's not coming down in any hurry the plan will

05:59be after we've got the the cable will will run the ply across I might even get

06:10away with I'm going to measure it because the ply is 1.2 meters wide running

06:15the ply halfway I'm not too sure I might even just try and go for a whole sheet

06:25of ply and then a trim on the edge but that's going to depend on how much

06:28curvature there is between those two points I really don't want to find that

06:34I've got ply curving in the wrong area I might need to just measure it and make

06:40sure the next support that runs across is going to be at that 1.2 meter ish mark

06:46so that the two pieces of ply can overlap each other and that way I can probably

06:50alternate the positioning of screws toggle it across what we will be doing with

06:56the roof once we've got the ply on is we're going to put a felt finish over the

07:00top of it this will be a nice light gray sort of color and I'm leaving the space

07:08directly above me which you can't see clear I've got to build some boxing

07:11around that for the fan to make sure the insulation doesn't creep in and there's

07:16a couple of spot down lights up the end there too I'll be doing the same thing

07:19with those so anyhow I have the next support to put up and then do the two in

07:25the middle after I've measured up where I need them to be I can space it so that as I

07:32said get them evenly positioned but they're on the overlap but at 1.2 meters

07:37that'll be perfect all right I'm gonna keep going

08:02so

08:07so

10:13Okay, well that was challenging to say the least.

10:18My battle with gravity again.

10:20I still beat you.

10:22So measuring that out, I had a look at the curvature that we've got.

10:28And if I start at this slip here and go across, on the other side I'm effectively going to finish just on that joist there.

10:34So that's 1.2 metres with the curve that we've got.

10:37So the plan now is to run some up the centre.

10:43So I've got a couple of little sections here that I can do.

10:47There's some existing wiring for the cabin lights in here, which we're going to reuse.

10:53And we'll put some LED lights on those instead.

10:55And that'll hopefully give us a bit more of an efficient use of energy.

11:01Those will only be used when the doors are open and closed.

11:06So it'll be pretty straightforward.

11:08But at this point in time, I have got probably half a dozen little pieces to do.

11:14And probably two and a half metres of the same timber.

11:17So I'm going to measure them up, cut them in lengths, and then just run the joists as I need to.

11:24And then I'm going to box off this area.

11:27I'll expose the wires and have the old cabling hanging down for the cabin lights.

11:35And I'll build the boxing just to the left and the right of this beam as you go across.

11:41And the other beam there, so the two inner beams, immediately to the left and the right is where the two downlights are going to go.

11:47So we'll be able to figure that out.

11:49That'll give us a nice, consistent curvature to attach it to with the 2.3 metres, I think it is, in the curvature.

12:01From one edge to the other.

12:03We'll arrange for that to meet in the middle as we go through.

12:07And that'll give us about 42 millimetres of a lip to be able to attach it to.

12:15And it'll also make it a bit easier to control, I think.

12:17As, you know, just being 1.2 odd metre length, so 1.25.

12:25No, not that. 625 millimetres.

12:29Yeah, per piece.

12:31And then be 1 and 2, 3 and 4.

12:34We'll get them as snug as we can get them.

12:36And just keep playing the game.

12:41The next thing we'll do, well, I've got to make sure I've got the cabling sorted out before I put that roof assembly up.

12:47So chances are by the end of today there'll be a part of it up.

12:52But this section will still be exposed because I'll need to run cables through and along and feed them over to the cavities where I need them there.

13:03There's no other wiring apart from my strip going here.

13:07The two fans will get mounted there, which I'll build some, probably, I don't know, half the size of this piece here, which is, what, about 330 by 200.

13:19Some pads, we'll use a 12mm marine ply, and we'll probably fit those sort of up around here.

13:28We'll run them, I think we'll run them in between the marine, between the two supports and just try and box them in as tight as we can get them.

13:40So that way there's something to attach the fans to.

13:43I'll leave a notch for wiring to be able to fed down and we'll cut a hole through them.

13:48And, yeah, it's going to be, yeah, it'll be interesting.

13:52We'll figure it out.

13:53It's not impossible.

13:55We've achieved other things more challenging before, so this is another one to add to the list.

14:00I'm going to keep going.

14:03Okay, what a day.

14:04Wow.

14:06Been fighting with this for a little while, but I think it's worked out all right.

14:09We've got this space all clear for the vent that's going to go in there.

14:15Yes, I know, mate.

14:16I can hear you.

14:17Everyone else on YouTube can hear you too.

14:21Klaus is just literally on the balcony there with his head in a hole that big.

14:26Hello, Baxi.

14:27Baxi's having a look too.

14:28It's a little picol.

14:29They're just having a look out barking at us.

14:31Anyhow, that's all boxed in, so the risk of having any insulation migrate into that cavity where the vent is going to be installed is greatly reduced.

14:42I've got a little space just here to run the wiring through, so that should be 19 millimetres by about 40 millimetres.

14:52So heaps of space to be able to run the cabling in there.

14:56You guys can do whatever they need to.

14:57There's two boxed-up areas at the end I've started just there.

15:02That's going to be for the down lights.

15:04So those two LED lights there, they've got roughly a, we'll call it 200 by 100 footprint.

15:14There's space to be able to have cabling or anything else recessed back in there.

15:18And the depth of it is probably 50 millimetres, around about 50.

15:26So that should hopefully be enough space for them to be able to need to.

15:29There will be three millimetre fly going on this, so that'll all tuck this stuff up nice and tight.

15:35I'm going to wait until Chris is back to give me a hand on that, because I've got a funny feeling it's going to be a bit of a job.

15:41So, outside of that, I have, as you can see that, just out of the frame there, so the wiring for the original door light there.

15:52And here, there's been disconnected and bad, and the space, I'm in two minds as to what to do about it.

16:03I might just leave it the way it is, or I may put some three mill ply in around here, just like I have done here,

16:10to sort of box it off and make it a bit tidy, and give them a bit of a bigger footprint to be able to work with,

16:15as far as putting in any down lights there.

16:17They're hopefully the same sort as what's going in there, but we're not picking.

16:24The guys were talking about putting in something that has the ability, a bit like the King's Rock Lights,

16:29that can toggle between white and a yellowish-orange light, which attracts those bugs.

16:35So, I've got a set of the Rock Lights that I've picked up.

16:41Here we go.

16:44These things here.

16:45So, four of them, with about 1.5 metres of cable on each one.

16:51The plan for these is to run them off the back door, so that when the back's open, there'll be two lights in the top there,

17:01and two at the end, that'll illuminate that back working area, kitchen area.

17:05So, if we're cooking and it's dark, we can see what's going on.

17:09I am keen on getting some more Rock Lights and fitting them to the underbody of the vehicle.

17:15The reason for that isn't so much for rocks as it is for...

17:21Hello, mate.

17:23I'll be up with you in a minute.

17:25I'll just finish this and I'll come and play with you.

17:28Is that okay?

17:29Are you sure?

17:31Five minutes, I promise.

17:33Five minutes.

17:34So, the...

17:36I know.

17:40Everyone here knows as well.

17:42Are you sure?

17:45Really?

17:46No.

17:49That's not what you were telling me this morning.

17:52Okay.

17:52so the rock lights and the reason for putting those around the body of the vehicle the

17:58underside of the vehicle for me really comes down to being aware of what we're stepping out onto

18:05and we'll do a video about this a little bit later and Chrissy can talk about her perspective

18:12on my encounter with certain reptiles in Australia and my encounter singular certain

18:21reptiles plural my encounter with a certain reptile here in Australia there you go fix that one up

18:28interesting story very interesting and it's partially the motivator for why we're doing

18:37what we're doing now we're not living in fear but we want to be aware of what's on the ground before

18:43we get out of the vehicle so wait for that video that'll come we'll look back in and we'll tag it

18:50in this one and do all that sort of stuff so I'm going to clean up it's one o'clock

18:56see you later

18:59so

Using Snuffleupagus to Insulate a Campervan While I DEFY GRAVITY | Van Build Episode

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