It's Cooking Inside need insulation ideas

Baja-D

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Joined
Jul 3, 2026
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19
Location
San Diego, CA
With the super hot weather here in California (100°+ F.) and with an all black solid roof, the inside top surfaces are almost too hot to touch. Unless my AC is blowing on me directly it seems to have trouble keeping the rest of the truck cool. As a test of how much the black color affects the amount of heat I placed a white plastic panel snug to the front drivers side panel outside's surface. Measured the temperatures with an IR surface gun after 20 minutes directly facing a high sun.

Drivers side in the center of the panel was 138° F and the still black passenger side was 151° F. They make a coating for roofs on RV's that is white and reflects the solar rays and reduces the amount of heat. Since my truck is lifted I could coat an inch or so from the edge all the way around and not see the paint.

I also am planning to cut out my own panel heat shields and attached to the inside surfaces as well. Any thoughts or comments are appreciated especially if any one has tried any of this before. Thanks in advance! :cool:
 
Do you have any insulation on the inside of the ceiling? It makes a difference.

How’s your AC charge? It’s not uncommon to have a tiny leak, usually in the high side schrader valve.
 
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No insulation yet...thinking of adding it. Fortunately AC blows nice and cold at the vents but can't cool the back much. I will check the temperature tomorrow with the IR gun just to make sure.
 
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I have put way too much money already into this truck so I am thinking of cutting out a pattern myself with some adhesive insulation I already have. Does yours overlap that approx. 1 inch trim or is in inside the trim?

Roof.webp
 
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This will help for sure. Another thing that always helps is not parking directly in the sun (when you can help it at least).

Yes I try to do that but not a lot of shade where I like to go four wheeling....mostly desert! Also it gets pretty hot inside just driving around.

TDS 3-08 109.webp
 
Hopefully this answers your question. This insulation makes it a bit quieter and helps reduce the heat in the cab. It’s not a miracle but it was worth the money spent.


IMG_4804.webp
 
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