RAAMmat Sound Proofing

This is the trunk area to start with.  The previous owner had used a wool like material that was tacked down with an adhesive.  When I went to pull it out - it smelled bad and was filthy - some of the material still stuck to the fiberglass.  I used a steel brush attachment for my drill to clean things up.  Since I'm going to put down batteries in the trunk area the very first thing I should do is finish this area first so I don't have to take everything out to install sound dampening material and carpet.

Why sound proof?  If you have ever rode in a fiberglass car you'd know - it's noisy.  

After a bit of research, I decided to go with RAAMmat.  First, this doesn't smell like asphalt.  A lot of guys are using a roofing product from Lowe's.  When someone starts by saying this stuff is smelly as it goes in, I wonder what it will smell like on a hot summer day.  I'm thinking roofing material doesn't belong in a car. I'm certain OSHA has something to say about that!  Next there was the cadillac of sound proofing material - obviously too expensive.  People that have used this product love it because they are too embarrassed to admit they got ripped off. Finally, I found RAAMmat.  The product is affordable, isn't made of asphalt and is 60 mils thick.  The foam, MVL, they also offer is also affordable and lines up with the research I saw on the internet.  The mat acts as a dampener by stopping the vibration, and the mass volume load creates a distance and muffles the exterior sound.  My panels went from ching to thump.

Kinds looks SciFi, doesn't it.  The panels are 15X15 and therefore not an exact fit for the backseat of a Bradley GT II.  It does cut easy enough with a new razor utility knife.  They say not to worry about overlapping.  The mats went down easy enough.  Your hands will get black from smoothing the panels to conform to the shape underneath.  Now for the MVL foam.

The back wall is done.  This goes in easier than the RAAMmat and sticks well. I'd show you more except my camera is dying.  I then used some spray adhesive to stick the smoke colored carpet on top.  Please note that I decided to pull the wires through a separate hole in the lower part of the bench area.  This saved me about two feet of wire.