We all love the sound of tires rolling on the road, but do the tires really need to feel like they are right next to your head? And the engine—it’s all the way in the back, but it sounds like I am sitting right on top of it. The giant metal breadbox of the VW is a container for road noise unless you do something about it.
I did some research (googling, trolling the Samba forums, asking around) and decided to go with Noico soundproofing. It comes in easy-to-cut sheets and is easy enough to install, provided you do it on a warm day. (Seriously, wait until it is warm/hot outside and make life easy on yourself. It will not stick in the cold and you don’t want to futz around with a heat gun to make it work.)
I installed Noico everywhere: floors, sidewalls, ceiling, windows (just kidding). I immediately noticed a difference. There wasn’t as much road noise. The engine still roared, but far less loudly. And, most importantly, as I layered in insulation (batting, Reflectix, Pergo underlayment for the floor), the sound really became deadened.
When I installed my sound system (more on that in a future post), the guys at the stereo place were amazed. So, yeah, I love what Noico did for the bus.
Pro-tip: Wear work gloves. The aluminum edges will cut you to ribbons. Plus a good fabric glove is great for rubbing the Noico into corners.
And, no, I haven’t gotten a kickback from Noico for this post (yet…).
On the Road with Adie 
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