The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Panels 'N Burbs Panel Truck Insulation

Have all you panel truck owners put some type of insulation or sound deadening inside your cargo areas? It's like an echo chamber in there. It's a HUGE amount of space to fill - it would be expensive and time consuming to cover it completely. Would jute or similar be effective? Indoor-outdoor carpet? I sure would appreciate any ideas,suggestions or inspiration to save some money and reduce the noise level.

I used that silvery bubble-y stuff. I wish I would've used the 3M stuff I used everywhere else. I might go back in one day and do just that!

Well today I got my answer: YES, it's absolutely necessary to cover the entire roof of panels and Subs with insulation! It was a mere 72-degree day and my roof was too hot to touch from the inside. Panel truck roofs are so large that insulation becomes much more crucial than for pickups. It was sweltering! I guess I'll have to not scrimp on interior insulation....

On anything with large surface area we use Lizard Skin. On pickup cabs Dynamat or bubble foil is okay but for heat and sound control where you want easy application and 100% coverage Lizard Skin is the best. A bit pricey but I put it in the same category as what Sreele is to rubber---you get what you pay for.

I have painted the outside of the roof of my '57 Suburban white: it makes an amazing difference in temperature inside: Parked in the sun, it used to be that I could not touch the roof inside it was so hot; now it just gets lukewarm. I knew the theory (white reflects heat) but experiencing it was an eye-opener!
It seems the OP was talking about noise though, and yes, the roof of my Suburban is like a big drum: something I thought would help (but never got around to doing) would be to "stuff" something (rubber?...) between the roof skin and the roof crossmembers to prevent the skin from "flapping" and making noise.
My Suburban, which is usually parked outside, gets a lot of condensation inside the roof, so something that does not react to humidity (or soaks it up) is a must.

I used a product made by the makers of Lizard Skin on the inside of both the roof and firewall, then put Lizard Skin over it in accordance with the manufacturers recommendations. I also put the Lizard Skin on the walls and inside the doors to further reduce noise. Can’t recall the name of the other product but it had ceramic particles suspended in it to reduce heat transfer. Worked great. The sound created by tapping on the roof went from a ringing to a thunk.

I had a tech tip for a long time here under "Tech Tips/Interior". The tip is gone. The Tip Was: On one of my suburbans, I used magnetic sign vinyl. Cut it and just stuck it on. No glue, no nothing. did not want to glue anything. You never get it off. The vinyl will last forever. Water proof, wipe it off with a damp cloth. Not the best sound deadening I guess but looks good and easy to install. Any color is available. I used white. Had to slip each piece under the bows using plastic spatulas and plastic tools.

Now were thinking outside the box! I too am reluctant to slather the inside of my pristine interior walls with goop.


I like the "paint it white" idea, but unfortunately my truck is black so I think it wouldn't look right.

Quietride website has insulation and headliners for the panels and subs.

Thanks for the post, Craig

Quiet Ride has an interesting catalog, and a lot of nice looking products.

However, I think it has confusing title-listings for 54/55st years, and confusing descriptions for 54/55st products (sometimes referring to 1953 In the descriptions).

I might try the 54/55st Suburban “headliner” panels. If I do, I’ll report on the fit.

If anybody buys products, please report back here on the fit/finish.

In my entire rear interior -
1st Layer - Dynamat or the roofing product - silver one side, adhesive the other
2nd Layer - styrofoam panels
3rd Layer - jute padding
Front floor 1 & 3

My interior is warm in the New England winter, cool in the summer.

I'm looking into options too. I'm concerned with condensation forming on the metal behind any batt or styrofoam. Has anyone used, or are there any opinions on, closed-cell spray foam insulation over sound deadener like dynamat? There would be no air gap and the r-value would be good. I think the cost is the main drawback.

I ordered the side panels and the headliner from quiet ride and I'm not very happy with the abs products so far. I haven't installed them yet but the initial fit check shows the side panels to be short and the headliner is one piece while my panel has the two piece with center bow.

I’m also planing my headliner for the 37. Nothing available pre made. The closed cell spray foams wouldn’t be to expensive. You would need to do it in multiple stages. With a form backed with Mylar so sticking won’t be a problem. Maybe in 6” sections between roof braces.I’d use a low expanding foam. But be careful it expands with a lot of pressure. One end of form needs to be open. The commercial spray cans are a lot cheaper but you need to buy a spray nozzle to snap on the can.
I’m leaning more toward a ridged headliner like a foam board like Sintra or maby ABS covered in cloth. I m not sure it will follow the full curve of the curve of the roof. I don’t think Luian plywood will make the bends without breaking?

ABS doesn't do too bad. It didn't in my '51 Suburban. Plus you can heat it up to shape it more.

Mark was your abs a kit or did you cut your own .I was thinking of trying to cut my own on my pickup,and am curious as to how to make the pieces when I don’t have the old one to go by

Those pictures caught my attention too!
Here's the original headliner thread... looks like .090" abs sheet.

Another question for Mark:
What is the shiny insulation you used behind the ABS?

PS. here's an amazing website all about automotive sound deadening:
https://www.sounddeadenershowdown.com/understanding-vehicle-noise
sounds like big results = big money

Will the abs accept fabric being glued on? I really want to quiet it down as much as possible.

- I cut my own. I used paper/construction paper to make/fit patterns then transferred them to the ABS. That and a bunch of tape to hold things in place.

- The shiny insulation stuff I found on eBay. Cheap stuff. If I were to do it again, I would use the 3M sound deadener I used everywhere else. My dark primer job makes it hot inside no matter what. I'm sure when I get too my lighter, finished color, the heat will be less.

- You should be able to glue stuff to the ABS. I don't think I will, but I have seen fabric glued to ABS plenty of times in the past.

On my 1955 1st Series 1/2 ton Panel. I used Black Butyl Noise Control Acoustic Mat and then covered it with Heat Shield Insulation , Deadener
Aluminum fiber. Sticks well and easy to work with. I covered the inside roof and walls I ordered the ABS pre cut from QuietRide Solutions

The one question I want to ask is do you have the headliner bows? On my panel they didn't have them .But there were several drilled holes it might have had them on my panel .I`ve been looking for them and I might
go with Metal Fabrication shop. Just to see how they looked and the Length.

They are almost like a sheet metal "J" hook. Similar to holds the sides. Sorry, I don't have a better picture.

Mark,
I was hoping to see the bow by itself not in the headliner, get a better idea what it looks like. These seem to be hard item to get and this is for my 1955 1st Series Panel. My abs headliner is arriving tomorrow. Putting
feelers out there and start checking local swap meets might get lucky. If anything I will have the fabrication shop take a look and see they can make something similar to a bow.

Check with Steve Mosley. He seems to have a lot of hard to find stuff. I believe he is Mongo's Garage or Mongo here on the Stovebolt. Mongo's Garage

Here's what the headliner bow from my '51 pickup looks like. I would suspect the bow for a panel would be very similar.

No. Where that could be called a double "J", the Suburban is a single "J".

Did the 47-55 panel body trucks originally have the bows and cardboard panels rearward of the cardboard panel that was over the "cab" (over the front driver/passenger)?

Might they have been added by an owner over the years?

All Suburbans had cardboard "ceiling" panels from front to rear - as shown in a Suburban post above

Do all the 47-55 panel owners reading this thread have holes in the "cross bars" rearward of the "cab"?

My 1948 Panel did not have "cross bars", but it might have had some sort of material attached to the ceiling between the "ribs" (they might have been removed before I bought it in 1969).

From the Factory Assembly Manual: 16.742 Suburban: Panel - Top Lining (Fiber Board)
multiple pieces for the Suburban (not listee for Panel: SGL. UNIT)

Tim, how far back do the side catches go on a panel? The Suburban is front to rear.

Sorry, Mark

I no longer have that Panel.

It left too long ago for me to remember.

What kind of insulation are you guys using that won't fall off when 100-degree sun shines on the roof?