Owning an RV will almost certainly turn you into a mobile home enthusiast. If you are DIYing an old vehicle and creating a mini house, or if you’ve been balancing your budget with the best wheels on the market, you will have spent time and energy collecting your favorite pieces of this RV puzzle. However, there is one aspect that most avid RVers forget about, and that's the ceiling!
Ceilings are the forgotten architecture of a room, but they can dictate the underlying aesthetic of it too. If you ignore your ceiling in the process of doing up your RV, you might be left wondering why it doesn’t feel complete.
We have everything you need here to find the best RV Ceiling Panels, as well as the type of information you should be thinking about when you decide to make your purchase. All you need to do is pick your favorite!
Quick Best RV Ceiling Panels
- Best Panels For Safety - Genesis - Drop In Installation
- Best Soundproofing Panels - Armstrong - Drop In Installation
- Classic Design Ceiling Panels - A La Maison - Glue Installation
- Easiest Ceiling Panel to Install - Ceilume - Drop In Installation
- Unique Design Ceiling Panel - From Plain To Beautiful In Hours - Glue Installation
Review of the Best RV Ceiling Panels
So now you know what we have been looking for when we selected our best ceiling panels, but if you like to know more than just the quick summary we gave you before, take a look at our detailed review of each of these panels.
Best Panels For Safety
Genesis ceiling tiles are made from virgin grade PVC vinyl which means that they are built with the best materials to resist fire and heat. These panels will be perfect for your kitchen in the RV or across the whole camper if you want a seamless look.
Being fire resistant doesn’t mean it has a weakness to water either, as the PVC vinyl is waterproof. This function allows you to easily clean each panel and not worry about the material soaking up the moisture in the process. It won’t even soak up water droplets on a hot and humid day.
The material is super lightweight, and flexible so anyone will be able to install the panels as long as you already have a grid ceiling fitted to the ceiling.
If you don’t have a grid ceiling already, then adding one to your RV will be an extra cost that you will have to factor in. However, remember that replacing these types of panels is super easy, so in the long run, it might be worth it.
Pros
- Fire Resistant
- Heat Resistant
- Waterproof
- Easy To Install
- Lightweight
Cons
- Grid Ceiling Also Needed
- Only Comes In Two Colors
Best Soundproofing Panels
These Armstrong ceiling panels are made to minimize noise. They are acoustic ceiling tiles that reduce the excess noise and stop sounds from traveling between you and the outside, which is perfect for RVs which don’t have strong noise control already.
The materials are 43% recycled which is an excellent move towards cleaner environmental choices, and yet they are still a Class A fire resistant material. However, these drop in panels are not water resistant. This makes them less safe in comparison to Genesis.
Being a drop in tile means you can easily replace any damaged or discolored panel without any fuss, as long as you already have metal grids.
The Armstrong only comes in white, however, you can choose up to 6 different surfaces from fissured to textured to smooth, so you still have some versatility.
Pros
- Soundproof
- Fire Resistant
- Heat Resistant
- Easy To Install
- Lightweight
- 6 Surfaces to Choice From
Cons
- Grid Ceiling Also Needed
- Only Comes In One Color
- Not Waterproof
BEST VALUE
If you are hoping to find a great ceiling panel that stays classy but doesn’t attract too much attention, then we suggest choosing the A La Maison. It is a beautiful design that will make your RV seem polished without your guest, or even your family putting a finger on why.
The tiles are paintable if you don't want to stick to the original white, however, you should paint with a water resistant material so the moisture resistant panels don’t lose their touch.
Although these tiles are designed for standard homes, they are very lightweight, which means they can be used on your RV too.
To install these beauties, all you need to do is dab some superglue onto the back of the panels and then hold them against the ceiling until the glue takes hold. The process is easy, but we would recommend having someone with you to help keep your movements straight while you wait for it to dry.
Pros
- Easy To Install
- Lightweight
- No Additional Structure Needed
- Moisture Resistant
- Can Be Painted
Cons
- Only Comes In One Color
- Not Waterproof
- Flammable
Easiest Ceiling Panel to Install
Although all of the drop in panels are easy to install, the reason why Ceilume takes the crown is due to their ability to be cut down to fit any grid you already have. You don’t need to use any hardcore DIY tools either, as a simple pair of scissors will do the job just fine.
The tiles are impact resistant, so if you like to travel to bumpy locations or have destructive dogs or children, you can feel safe knowing that the panels won't break in the chaos.
The panels are also Class A fire resistant, completely waterproof, and are fantastic at insulating while circulating the air to give you great air quality on those horribly humid days.
What we love about the Ceilume material is that they are 100% recyclable, so if you do need to replace a panel, you know you won't be chucking the material into landfill.
The Ceilume is also super easy to clean so that you can keep your RV spick and span throughout your vacation.
Pros
- Fire Resistant
- Heat Resistant
- Waterproof
- Easy To Install
- Lightweight
- Insulating
Cons
- Grid Ceiling Also Needed
- Only Comes In Two Colors
Unique Design Ceiling Panel
If you are hoping to install a ceiling that stands out as its own feature, then take a look at From Plain To Beautiful In Hours! The name is long, but it tells you everything you need to know.
The beautiful times come in four colors: Antique Copper, Antique Gold, Antique Silver, and Silver. The antique versions give you the aesthetic of an old and historic ceiling, which is perfect for those of us who like to add depth to our homes.
The process of putting up these tiles can take only hours to complete, as all they need is glue. The process is easy, and the designs are beautiful, so as long as you don’t change your style often, these ceiling panels will be perfect for your RV.
Although they look like metal, the material is a super lightweight PVC with a Class A fire resistance.
Pros
- Fire Resistant
- Heat Resistant
- Easy To Install
- Lightweight
- Comes In 4 Colors
- No Additional Structure Needed
Cons
- Not Waterproof
RV Ceiling Panels Buying Guide
Design is a significant factor in searching for the best Ceiling Panels for your RV, but fashion is so subjective that we can’t show you the “best designs” and know you will be happy with our decision.
Unfortunately, you will be on your own with that choice. However, we can help you with all of the practical information you need to find the right paneling!
There are 6 factors you need to consider, and they are waterproofing, the ease of installation, the ease of replacement, soundproofing, insulation, and weight. These features are more finite than design, so allow us to walk you through these important aspects.
Waterproof
Seeing as your ceiling is on the inside of your RV, you might not think that waterproofing is necessary, however, showers create water vapor which will rise as far as they can, and cooking will do the same for oils and water as the heat pulls them up.
These everyday occurrences mean that you need to have a waterproof ceiling to keep mold, rot, and decay away from your RV.
Cleaning your RV is also super important to keep yourself hygienic. A waterproof ceiling will allow you to easily clean the materials without worrying about them absorbing your soapy water. You can also wipe away any cooking odors that would otherwise linger in the RV walls.
Ease of Installation
This is an easy feature to understand. You want an easy to install panel so the process can be done without professional help and without you screaming into the wind as the tiles refuse to stay put. However, there are a couple of ways in which a manufacturer will try to make this process easy for you.
The first is through a sticky-back adhesive. You would pull back the covering to expose the sticky surface, so all you need to do is line it up with the ceiling and smooth it down. This method is arguably the easiest as even a non DIYer will understand how to line up the material.
The second easy method is through glue. You would have to use strong glue to dot on the back of the panel and then lift it on the ceiling. Once there, you hold the tile in place until it sets. Again this is a super easy method, but it does take its toll on your arms.
The last easy method is by installing drop ceilings into a suspended ceiling grid. If your RV ceiling already has a grid for panels, then this process is as simple as lifting and lowering the panel onto the grid.
If you don’t already have the grid installed, then this process will require adding an additional step which the last two methods didn’t have, and that is installing the metal grid.
Ease of Replacement
Ease installation doesn’t mean that the material is easy to replace. When we say replace, we don’t mean finding the same materials again; instead, we are focusing on removing the current layer and putting any new one on.
If you have used a sticky back adhesive, then you should know that they don’t last long. After around 5 years, you may notice the ends starting to peel.
When the peeling happens, it should be a case of pulling the edges off to remove the materials. If you wanted to remove the panel earlier, then focusing hot vapor over the edges will quicken the deterioration process.
The gluing method will be much harder to remove. You will need a chisel and hammer to get the tiles loose enough to take off. Glued tiles don’t tend to need removing unless one has broken, which means that you shouldn’t have to worry about this issue until an accident happens.
Drop panels are the easiest materials to remove, as they are designed to be replaceable one tile at a time. You simply lift the tile up, tilt it through the grid, and lower it down.
This way, if you notice a water leak, or if one tile gets broken through an accident, you don’t need to replace the whole ceiling. You just remove the affected panels.
Soundproof
As the rain falls on your RV in the middle of the night, you might find it hard to get yourself to sleep. If you are camping near a busy site, you don’t want to hear other people yelling into the night. For these reasons, a soundproof ceiling can keep your trip as calming as you intended.
Suitable soundproofing ceiling tiles will have either a thick material or an air pocket to create a buffer. However, if you create an air pocket, then you are using up value RV space for a feature you might not care about. Thicker materials would be the better choice.
Insulation
Thicker materials also mean your RV will trap in more heat during the winter and stop the hot heat from reaching you in the summer. As your RV’s building materials will be thinner than a house, you will be more likely to feel the harsh temperatures of the outdoors, so insulation is super important.
Weight
Although you will want a soundproofed ceiling that is well insulated, adding too much weight to the top of your RV will affect the vehicle as a whole. The ceiling should be able to hold all of this weight perfectly fine, but your engine needs to carry you, your items, and the structure of the RV itself.
If any of these become too heavy, then the car will strain the engine, which leads to more breakages, and it will guzzle up your fuel.
Typically insulation and soundproofing won't affect the weight too much, but you do need to consider it. The real weight problem will likely come from the panels themselves.
If you choose wall panels or floor panels designed for a house, then you may have bought a material that is too heavy for your RV. This is why you should be looking at either lightweight tiles or RV specific tiles.