Hi Chaps,

I’m making a ceiling for the van, to tidy up the insulation and eventually put some downlighter LEDs in.

What material would you use for the ceiling? I was thinking hardboard covered in headlining, with batterns on the rear for stability.

I did think MDF would be better, as it has less flex – but I’m thinking it’ll just turn into mush if there is any condensation?

The roof has ribs across, which the board will be directly screwed into – but there needs to be holes left for the lights. At the moment I’ve cut smaller pieces to make a template and intend to cut larger pieces to fit.

Any help appreciated 🙂

Ricks

decent quality ply would be my choice – stronger for a given thickness and less affected by moisture.

vans are usually lined with plywood. get some WBP (not cheap) if your worried about damp

Plywood is the thing to use. It’s got enough flex and it is strong enough to withstand the odd ‘dink’

ply, followed by thin layer of foam then some lovely suede and a flip down monitor!!!

Right then 1/4 inch ply? I was assuming it’d add too much weight, but happy to do so if it’s gonna be far better.

The headlining I’ve got had a layer of foam underneath the material 🙂

i used 4mm ply for mine. perfect. haven’t covered it yet though!! ply hold a better arc than hardboard apparently.

ply hold a better arc than hardboard apparently.

Especially if you can source some long grain ply. Surprisingly flexible.