Are wooden panels more insulated than stock plastic panels?

[VoodooVan]

Quick Question for you all that have replaced panels. I have a 97 express conversion van, it already has plastic panels like most conversions, my question is if I were to remove all of the rear interior and cover it with osb, would that be better insulation than the stock plastic paneling? For the rear doors the plastic would have more coverage on the top portion. The wood seems like it would have a better seal on the large door openings though. I have a bunch of osb laying around and I think it would look nice and save some space, insulation is important and that’s the main reason I’m considering this. If you have any experience or opinions on this please let me know, thanks! 

[highdesertranger]

no, no, no OSB. OSB is heavy, it is adversely affected by moisture, off gasses like you wouldn't believe. is not available in the thin sizes you need for walls. 1/8 inch or 1/4 inch max plywood is all you need for walls. if you need to attach something to the walls put backing in. 1/8plywood can be bent to conform to amazingly tight curves. I would never use OSB for anything, it's popular because it's cheap and the advantages end there in my book. highdesertranger

[LoveCareThinkDo]

The board that my mattresses rest on is 1/2" OSB. But only because that was all I could afford at the time. I would never have built and cabinets out of it. And you certainly can't bend it at all. It will just splinter to pieces.

In the end, I painted my mattresses board with three coats of heavy-duty acrylic porch paint.


If your real goal is to just add insulation, then just do that. Pull out the plastic panels, stuff insulation behind them, and put them back into place. I used the polyfill that is used for stuffed animals. You can get it at any Walmart. It ain't magical, but I can feel the difference.