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Thu Oct 02, 2014 2:45 pm

Has anyone tried the plastic shrink wrap style window insulation kit in the van?
Like this Frost King
I was thinking about giving it a shot. Install it on all the back windows by using the double sided tape on the rubber seals. Double glazed windows for 5 bucks, and you just leave it installed all winter long. Seems much cheaper than the window blankets and there is nothing to store. Biggest con is that you cant install it on the front windows, but it seems like a cheap and easy option.

Thu Oct 02, 2014 4:14 pm

^^^ Why not - Go for it!

Not permanent, inexpensive, easily removed for the off-season, but also easily damaged.
We use the stuff at home and use clear packaging tape if the cat gets after it... :roll:

FWIW; I'd put the tape directly on the metal; it'll probably pull right off the rubber (especially if you heat shrink it)

Keep us posted!

Wed Oct 08, 2014 8:50 am

Update on the JustKampers window blankets (8 October 2014):

Winter is coming and I thought it would be nice to have a fancy version of my Reflectix window blankets. I ordered the BusDepot offering:

http://www.busdepot.com/j12747

These are the same mats offered by JustKampers:

http://www.justkampers.com/vw-vanagon-parts/t25-ac...w-t25.html

I think GoWesty is also selling the same thing.

I note that several Samba posts indicate quality control problems with these mats in the past. I felt like taking a risk and seeing if these problems had been fixed.

My old Reflectix mats were nice, but I wanted something nicer.

The new mats arrived today and I am happy to report that the grommets are all properly installed, the piping is very well sewn, the suction cups work fine, and the mats themselves are cut to proper size for my 91 Westy camper windows.

I should also note that everyone else (GoWesty and JustKampers) have these mats on backorder. Mine shipped from BusDepot the day after my order.

I am very pleased.

kourt

Tue Sep 01, 2015 2:14 pm

Bump ... Winter is coming - anyone ordered these lately? How is/was the quality?

Tue Sep 01, 2015 2:35 pm

Followup report, almost one year later:

I have used the JustKampers window blankets extensively in summer and winter.

In both cases the blankets help buffer the effects of radiant heat from the outside, or help keep radiant heat inside the van. They also provide a nice option to add privacy or block outside light from getting in on days when you want to sleep in.

The blankets have stood up well to about 10,000 miles of travel in the van this year, starting with Austin to Nashville in November 2014, camping each night in cold temperatures (around 40 degrees, with wind). We stayed very warm with the window blankets and a Propex heater.

Beach camping in south Texas over December...

Then the Grand Canyon, Moab, Uintas wilderness, Rockies, and other points this summer.

We do not handle them particularly gently--and the gray fabric of the mats has torn in one or two places on one or two mats. Those tears were easy to suppress with small patches of packing tape. The tears have more to do with the material of the gray backing than anything else--it is really a lightweight plastic film, not a fabric.

One grommet has popped out--probably due to my hastiness in trying to leave a Wal-Mart parking lot campsite one morning. I think I pulled the window blanket by its edge, leaving the suction cup and the grommet behind on the window.

If you're careful, these blankets will work fine.

kourt

Tue Sep 01, 2015 4:41 pm

Update:
I gave the Frost King window film a shot on one window, with no luck.
I put the tape on just scrubbed and cleaned window rubber and it started to peel off the next day. :) Most of the windows dont have metal running all the way around them for easy taping. At least the back windows anyway, most have the headliner material and the tape doesn't like to stick to that either.
Oh well, worth a shot... I ended up grabbing a pair of the insulation blankets from Van-Cafe.

Tue Sep 01, 2015 5:24 pm

I'm still loving my set. The only issues I have are: when it's super cold the suctions don't work so well and the suctions that are constantly on the windows (because I keep some of them on/rolled up year round) are getting brown/burnt from the sun. I've had mine for for nearly 5 years and they're still working great - just might need to order some new suctions.

*edit: I have the busdepot set

Wed Sep 02, 2015 8:29 am

Sounds like the quality has improved on these since the set I and others received. We made a set from the Reflectix material and magnets and they have been great since 2011. They are far easier to put up (and they stay up), they store easily under the back bed cushion, don't leave sucker prints on the windows. The hard part is getting them cut to the perfect shape and size. We have an extra set made to use as a template for anybody else that may want a set. Problem is that they would have to stop by our home to do that. I guess I could transfer to paper and mail to anybody that is interested, if they would cover the shipping and some minor handling.

Wed Sep 02, 2015 8:37 am

Syncronicity wrote: Sounds like the quality has improved on these since the set I and others received. We made a set from the Reflectix material and magnets and they have been great since 2011. They are far easier to put up (and they stay up), they store easily under the back bed cushion, don't leave sucker prints on the windows. The hard part is getting them cut to the perfect shape and size. We have an extra set made to use as a template for anybody else that may want a set. Problem is that they would have to stop by our home to do that. I guess I could transfer to paper and mail to anybody that is interested, if they would cover the shipping and some minor handling.

Any pictures of yours?

Wed Sep 02, 2015 8:55 am

iliketowalk wrote: Syncronicity wrote: Sounds like the quality has improved on these since the set I and others received. We made a set from the Reflectix material and magnets and they have been great since 2011. They are far easier to put up (and they stay up), they store easily under the back bed cushion, don't leave sucker prints on the windows. The hard part is getting them cut to the perfect shape and size. We have an extra set made to use as a template for anybody else that may want a set. Problem is that they would have to stop by our home to do that. I guess I could transfer to paper and mail to anybody that is interested, if they would cover the shipping and some minor handling.

Any pictures of yours?
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=558104

Thu Oct 05, 2017 9:50 am

After 7 years, my insulated window set I purchased from Bus Depot back in 2010 have begun to deteriorate. I decided to treat myself to a new set, also from Bus Depot. These are of much higher quality even though it appears to be the same product. Instead of the blue stitching it's all grey and they are slightly larger so they actually fit my entire window. Just thought I would let people know in case you are still on the fence or need to purchase a new set.

I do have a question. Do any of you put them on with the mat side facing out and the shiny side facing in? For the winter time? Or do you just always keep the shiny side out?

Warmly,

Luka

Thu Oct 05, 2017 12:43 pm

childofthewind wrote: I do have a question. Do any of you put them on with the mat side facing out and the shiny side facing in? For the winter time? Or do you just always keep the shiny side out?

I, personally, don't camp in frigid weather 99% of the time, therefore my use is mostly to keep heat out and/or sun off the interior.

That said, Doug's advice from page 5:

IdahoDoug wrote: Put the silver to the warm side. In winter keeping heat in - toward you. In summer keeping heat out - away from you.

DougM

:wink:

Thu Oct 05, 2017 12:59 pm

so my only complaint is strictly my fault...
I have a set of the JK insultaion and I store them under the pop top (between the bed and roof both in the very back section and the bed section for the large pieces).

It's a great storing location except that it deforms the suction cups (flattens them out) and thus they are resistant to working.

Anyone know where I can get more suction cups? Otherwise the set has worked fairly well, my complaint is the suction cups come loose but as mentioned above...I believe it is 95% my fault.

Thu Oct 05, 2017 1:11 pm

The suction cups just suck! Bus Depot will not sell you spares, but GoWesty has started offering them.

http://www.gowesty.com/product-details.php?v=&id=24348

Thu Oct 05, 2017 1:25 pm

Thanks, Kammy. I trust the knowledge of Doug. I've been wondering though. Does it really matter with the reflective on the outside when it's still on the inside of the window and just making the window really hot? Does the mat side of the blankets do just as good of a job since they aren't heating up the window? Is this kooky thinking??

The suction cups in the photo above are the ones that came with my new blanket set. These new suction cups are so so much better than the white ones that came with the older set.

Thu Oct 05, 2017 2:14 pm

Are you asking if it makes a difference which side the reflective side faces?

You want to use the reflective side to control the greatest source of radiant heat.

In the summer that is obviously the sun. Reflective side out keeps radiant energy from the sun out (but see my next post below, which contradicts this advice).

In the winter it is assumed you want to allow the sun to heat the van, and keep radiant energy inside the van--in which case you mount them reflective side in.

kourt

Thu Oct 05, 2017 2:27 pm

kourt wrote: Are you asking if it makes a difference which side the reflective side faces?

You want to use the reflective side to control the greatest source of radiant heat.

In the summer that is obviously the sun. Reflective side out keeps radiant energy from the sun out.

In the winter it is assumed you want to allow the sun to heat the van, and keep radiant energy inside the van--in which case you mount them reflective side in.

kourt

That is what I'm asking and in theory that makes sense but if it's just making the window super hot won't it in turn just make the van hot? If the reflective side were on the outside of the window, I totally get it. I'm just wondering if it really makes a difference if it's just going to make the glass super hot.

Thu Oct 05, 2017 3:37 pm

I could very well be a dummy, here. Time to not over think it and have a beer!

Thu Oct 05, 2017 4:12 pm

You're not a dummy--you're thinking, which is a sure sign of a non-dummy!

My windows are tinted, so I have faced the same dilemma... but the tinting just adds to the effect.

I assume the paradox you are thinking of is in the summer, when the outward reflected surface gets hot due to sun exposure. Your worry that the window glass also gets hot as a result of this reflective exposure is, I assume, the root of the problem. The conventional thinking is that if the glass is getting hot, that heat is being transferred to the cabin. That heating of the glass and the heat transfer occur through conduction, not radiation. Conduction is slow and made slower through air gaps and material qualities.

The glass really isn't getting that hot, compared to its potential, and there is an air gap between it and you.

The most important thing to understand is that reflective surfaces, such as the reflective surface on the JK window mats, have two properties that make them work:

reflectivity: in a radiant barrier, this is how much energy is reflected by a material at a given wavelength

emissivity: in a radiant barrier, you want a surface that has low emissivity for the radiant heat wavelengths you want to control for

Ideally you want low emissivity and high reflectivity.

In conventional houses radiant barriers are often installed under the roof deck, emitting low radiant heat from the roof in the summer and reflecting heat from the home back into the attic in the winter.

You can use the window blankets either way in the summer and get generally the same results:

Summertime, shiny side out: you are relying on the reflective property of the shiny surface to reflect radiant heat from the sun away from the cabin interior. There must be an air gap in front of the reflective surface--so if your blankets are pressed tight against the glass, this effect is reduced or eliminated. This may not be the most effective method.

Summertime, shiny side in: you are relying on the low emissivity of the shiny surface to emit very little radiant heat into the cabin interior. Since the shiny side faces inward, it is assumed your air gap is even better than shiny side out, which means this configuration is potentially more effective, emitting the least amount of radiant heat into the van cabin, and doubly effective if your windows are tinted. This is analogous to the conventional home example I noted above. I'm going to try this method next summer.

Wintertime, shiny side in: assuming the desire to keep the van warm at night, with warm bodies inside the van, it makes the most sense to keep the shiny side inside the van. During the day, on a sunny day, removing all blankets to allow the sun to turn the van into a greenhouse is the best approach... but on a deeply overcast day the blankets could still help keep the van warm in this configuration.

Wintertime, shiny side out: assuming you want to warm the van, on a sunny day, I don't see any point in this option and wouldn't configure the blankets this way.

This is probably more than you wanted to know, but it's something to chew on. When in doubt, install shiny side in, no matter what weather you are in.

kourt

Thu Oct 05, 2017 6:31 pm

^ this is everything I wanted to know. Thanks, friend! :D