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Thu Jan 06, 2011 9:21 am

i have had no problems with the suction cups on the bus depot window set. in fact, i keep the top cups/top of blankets on the windows and have just rolled them up and used a velcro band to keep them rolled up. the suction cups have yet to fail. it's not like they are going to provide heat but i think they do make a difference. these things are made very well and for me have been worth the investment. we'll see how they last in the desert this spring.

as far as using the "industrial" velcro to hold things/window blankets in place, for me it has been a big waste of money. the velcro will not adhere for very long under moderately cold and/or hot conditions. not worth the time and $$.

Thu Jan 06, 2011 10:09 am

Don't buy the curtains, they are ridiculously expensive. Go to your local home improvement store and get the frost king silver insulation, it's easy to cut to your size and its incredibly cheap. I use this with some magnets and I live in the midwest, camp all year no problem.

Thu Jan 06, 2011 5:05 pm

A friend gave me a piece of The Home Depot stuff to try out -- easy to work with and the rare earth magents see to securely hold it. I have just enough to make this:

When we camp on the beach we point south to enjoy the view out the door and to get the solar panel well positioned. That puts the morning sun right on the fridge. Haven't tested it yet but should help.

Cheap rare earth magnets here (they're smaller than some I've got elsewhere but still quite strong):

http://www.harborfreight.com/10-piece-rare-earth-magnets-67488.html

Thu Jan 06, 2011 5:12 pm

Posted before but on topic and worth a 2nd look I think:

Some people have a knack for seeing the possibilities that the rest of us miss.

Thu Jan 06, 2011 6:01 pm

windnsea wrote: Make 'em yourself from the same insulation stuff you can buy from Home Depot for about a quarter the price. I just 'tuck' them behind my curtains and forego the suction cups. For the front windows just crank up the windo on em!

Yeah - this is the ticket - easy cheap and works well. I used some small suction cups from the craft store. In the spots where I wanted to put the cups i put a piece of duct tape on each side of the Reflectix and then cut a slit and pushed the cup thru.

not the most elegant looking but they hold their own. The most time consuming part is cutting the material to match the windows. I keep them on the side windows year round - for privacy as well as heating cooling - and store the front - door - and rear ones on top of the upper bunk.

Fri Jan 07, 2011 4:20 am

lukars wrote: i have had no problems with the suction cups on the bus depot window set.

How big are your suction cups? Mine are a bit over 2" diameter. They fall off ALL THE TIME. Presuming yours are bigger, I wonder if the cups can be purchased individually as I already have everything else.

-Rob

Fri Jan 07, 2011 4:43 am

Robw_z wrote: lukars wrote: i have had no problems with the suction cups on the bus depot window set.

How big are your suction cups? Mine are a bit over 2" diameter. They fall off ALL THE TIME. Presuming yours are bigger, I wonder if the cups can be purchased individually as I already have everything else.

-Rob

Home Depot sells the suction cups, usually in their picture hanging dept.

Tue Jan 11, 2011 5:09 pm

Robw_z wrote: lukars wrote: i have had no problems with the suction cups on the bus depot window set.

How big are your suction cups? Mine are a bit over 2" diameter. They fall off ALL THE TIME. Presuming yours are bigger, I wonder if the cups can be purchased individually as I already have everything else.

-Rob

the cups are 1 7/8 in. one thing i did was clean all of my windows first. i think this makes a huge difference.

i know they're pricey but they really are of good quality. like i said, i just have mine rolled up and banded at the top of the windows and they have yet to fall off... as i type it's in the low 30's so i think they can handle the cold. i'm still unsure how they'll perform in desert temps, tho. we'll see soon!

Tue Jan 11, 2011 5:09 pm

Robw_z wrote: lukars wrote: i have had no problems with the suction cups on the bus depot window set.

How big are your suction cups? Mine are a bit over 2" diameter. They fall off ALL THE TIME. Presuming yours are bigger, I wonder if the cups can be purchased individually as I already have everything else.

-Rob

the cups are 1 7/8 in. one thing i did was clean all of my windows first. i think this makes a huge difference.

i know they're pricey but they really are of good quality. like i said, i just have mine rolled up and banded at the top of the windows and they have yet to fall off... as i type it's in the low 30's so i think they can handle the cold. i'm still unsure how they'll perform in desert temps, tho. we'll see soon!

Tue Jan 11, 2011 10:24 pm

I made a set with a roll of this silver bubble material from Home Depot. They also had good suction cups, and some spring steel clips that I used to hold the suction cups. Slitted the film, pushed the suction cup through and put a clip on to hold the cup on.

I made them for our LandCruiser and they made the interior dark and kept out the heat for sleeping last summer. No winter experience, but I'd expect them to be equally effective. I think the material costs totalled around $40 with cups and clips and this included covering the windshield and rear hatch as well. Took about 90 minutes to make. One suction cup was troublesome on the trip and I replaced it as I had the leftovers with me and now it all holds well. I put a cup in each corner of each window.

One bummer is that rolled up tightly they make a tube almost a foot in diameter and 30 inches in length - a storage challenge in any vehicle. On the other hand, being able to sleep well even during the day, or at night in a rest area where there are bright overhead lights is priceless.

DougM

Tue Jan 11, 2011 10:38 pm

The insulated shades are very well made, but I had difficulty with the suction cups - they were too stiff in really cold weather to work well. They would go on fine in warm weather but then would either come undone in the night and fall off, or would stick so well they would be difficult to get off.

I took the suction cups out out and put some adhesive-backed velcro on the shades and on the windows and that has worked well for me.

Before I bought these I had created some custom-cut bubble wrap insulating shades for all of the windows (I had used velcro on these as well) and they worked well, but not as well as the fabric insulated ones. Not dramatically different, but I would guess 5-10 degrees warmer with the fabric ones.

Wed Jan 12, 2011 1:25 am

Can someone post some pics of the Store bought window blankets? I'd like to see how
the suction cups are attached to the blankets.............Thanks!

Wed Jan 12, 2011 9:06 am

I'll take some pics later. I took it one step further, and used up a few rolls of black duct tape as well. Laid strips, and covered one side of the reflective bubble wrap. Silver on the inside, black on the outside. From the outside, it looks totally black. Yes, I do allot of stealth camping 8) The suction cups are just in slits, I can pull them out, and put them on the other side so the shiney side can be out for summer. Had them about a week now, very happy with the look from the outside, the insulation, and the light blocking....

Wed Jan 12, 2011 9:41 am

A friend of mine swears by the reflective bubble wrap stuff. She goes to Burning Man each summer with a bunch of precut chunks and a roll of blue painters tape. I'm not sure how well it works to keep the cold out though -- but it can hurt! Problem is, as mentioned earlier, is that this stuff is bulky.

Marc

Wed Jan 12, 2011 3:29 pm

Keyport Westy wrote: Good post. I looked into the industrial strenght velcro products and ran some experiments of my own. I think velcro would work for awhile and if you don't mind the strips showing on your interior when not in use this is probably a good route.

Lately, I bought my Neodymium magnets from K&J Magnetics www.kjmagnetics.com though other suppliers are just as good and their prices are about the same.

If you have not tried these rare earth magnets before, don't let their smaller size fool you. I've tried an array of sizes with differnt pull strength while experimenting with methods for attching temporary sound/thermal insulationto the roof of the poptop. I settled on a magnet that comes pre-bored that is countersunk on one end that has about a 10lb. pull strength. Oh yeah, the magnet holds real well through one 1/4" layer of reflectix and is passable with two layers. I tried glueing the magnets to the plywood ine earlier trials but they pull away from the plywood. I intend to rivet the insulation magnet thin plywood sanwich together. Although it is possible to run a washer-machine screw-nut combo to hold it tightly. The poptop itself has metal washers glued to the underside for attachment points. I removed the flocking which was in poor shape and sprayed in about 3 gal. of Noxudol liquid sound deadener and added a couple of Damplifier pads then had it covered with a Tweed cloth. You have to look hard for the washer potrusions. Oh yeah, The skylight guy predrilled a replacement skylight for my solar-powered Nicro ventilation fan so no additional holes will be drilled in the poptop.

I intend to leverage what I am learning with my removable insulation panels for the poptop and use a riveted magnet insulation combo for the windows. They should have no problem attaching firmly to the interior metal sufaces and when they are removed my new custom interior will not have velcro strips glued around the windows.

Good luck.

Pictures man! Pictures...

Along these lines, I just bought some sound blankets for crack cheap, and I am going to do some insulation in my home theater, and look for ways to use the rest in my van. I am considering building an interior lining for the pop top canvas, and the window covers has been on my mind for a while. I may even try to stuff some in the panels to see what happens. Will update.

Thu Jan 13, 2011 3:57 pm

The BD blankets look as if they are more woven and not just silver bubble wrap.
I guess that they get them from Just Kampers in England like some of their other
products. I took the plunge and ordered up a set of them. Hope they do alittle of
what they are suppose to. Not much winter camping for me unless it's in the driveway,
but they should be fine for the difference in temps in the summer and take the chill
off in fall/spring. Here's a video from JK showing how to install the blankets
I thought that it was informative and funny.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0SBtHoLlLg

Thu Jan 13, 2011 4:25 pm

Timwhy wrote: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0SBtHoLlLg

LOL, maybe more funny than informative! :D

Thu Jan 13, 2011 8:25 pm

Wow, several minutes worth of dialog to show me how to use a suction cup. Brilliant!!!

DougM

Thu Jan 13, 2011 8:43 pm

We did learn about the sound deadening capabilities for those nights when the van is rocking. :wink:

Sat Jan 15, 2011 9:25 pm

A couple years ago, I purchased bubble insulation from Lowe's &
yards of duck cloth to match the van exterior. I managed to stitch fabric into cases for each cut to fit window panel. The edges are slightly larger w/strips of sewn on velcro. 3M glue has discretely attached velcro mates to van walls.
This system works very well, keeps light in, and Mr Buddy heat too. It does trap moisture, and that is not great.
With similarly sewn raised poptop interior panels of even better insulated Curtain material, (w/ added fleece lined interior) my van is as warm as can be. I used a steel wheel removed flocking where needed and permanently attached industrial velcro with 3M again. So can hang these beautiful star patterned fleece looking panels inside the poptop tent. I also add Go Westy's exterior wrap. Though that wrap was poorly made and immediateily snaps started seperating. So I will replace it this year.
This took a lot of work, but it was worth every bit of effort! :P