Kathleen said:May get Freedom ready to roll, then have to play music on the street corner for gas $$
You won't need no gas when ya got ya some nano-crystals....
I swear, I read that in a very informative email from Nigeria, so it MUST be true...
how to make an insulated curtain?
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You won't need no gas when ya got ya some nano-crystals....
I swear, I read that in a very informative email from Nigeria, so it MUST be true...
I am also concerned about minimizing storage space needed for the window covers. Even if very thin and perfectly flat, a stack of them would take up a lot of space when not in use.
The insulation is rarely needed, I'm more interested in the privacy, want complete blackout ability for when stealth is required.
So I'm thinking a very thin tough fabric that is 100% opaque
and easy to fold or roll up into a tiny package,
combined with strong magnets, either lots of small ones stitched into an outer seam, or the flexible strip style.
Having them "permanently" attached along the top (maybe just bigger stronger magnets) and rolled up when not in use held by strips with velcro would make them easier to deploy each night.
Suggestions for the fabric, ideally with source links, would be appreciated.
The insulation is rarely needed, I'm more interested in the privacy, want complete blackout ability for when stealth is required.
So I'm thinking a very thin tough fabric that is 100% opaque
and easy to fold or roll up into a tiny package,
combined with strong magnets, either lots of small ones stitched into an outer seam, or the flexible strip style.
Having them "permanently" attached along the top (maybe just bigger stronger magnets) and rolled up when not in use held by strips with velcro would make them easier to deploy each night.
Suggestions for the fabric, ideally with source links, would be appreciated.
Remember, Reflectix itself is only useful if you're exposing the foil directly to the glass
Ideally pressed right up with no/minimal air gap.
If you are putting fabric between the foil and the glass, there is no reason to use Reflectix, might as well be useless bubble wrap.
If you're going for stiffness, I'd say look at luan or coroplast
If your goal is insulation a rigid foam board.
Ideally pressed right up with no/minimal air gap.
If you are putting fabric between the foil and the glass, there is no reason to use Reflectix, might as well be useless bubble wrap.
If you're going for stiffness, I'd say look at luan or coroplast
If your goal is insulation a rigid foam board.
Another idea for the goal of minimum storage space.
You know those plastic "whiteboard sheets" that just use static electricity to stick to drywall?
Something like that, almost as thin as flimsy trash bag stuff, but fully 100% opaque.
Maybe needs a mist bottle sprayed onto the glass and a little squeegee to help it stick.
Peel it off in the morning stuff them all into a little ziploc.
Should be cheap enough NP if they break easily.
Any ideas out there for a suitable type of sheet plastic for that?
You know those plastic "whiteboard sheets" that just use static electricity to stick to drywall?
Something like that, almost as thin as flimsy trash bag stuff, but fully 100% opaque.
Maybe needs a mist bottle sprayed onto the glass and a little squeegee to help it stick.
Peel it off in the morning stuff them all into a little ziploc.
Should be cheap enough NP if they break easily.
Any ideas out there for a suitable type of sheet plastic for that?
BTW, you can buy off-the-shelf blackout 'privacy' curtains at any major truck stop chain. Of course, they are made for the typical conventional truck cab windows. I used the RoadPro brand.
They attach to the sunvisor brackets up front and usually the seatbelt anchors on each side. I still have one I used for years...its made of a sturdy and tough poly material of some kind.
No insulation, tho.
They attach to the sunvisor brackets up front and usually the seatbelt anchors on each side. I still have one I used for years...its made of a sturdy and tough poly material of some kind.
No insulation, tho.
Technomad
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John61CT said:
Oh, I like this idea a lot. Years ago I went to Mexico and came back with a bunch of heavy wool blankets to sell. They are long gone now but I imagine someone is importing them somewhere.
If not you can get really heavy Korean “mink” blankets on Amazon for less than $100. (Heavy as in they are called “9 pound blankets” and things like that.
Eg : Chezmoi Collection Heavy Thick One Ply Korean Style Faux Mink Blanket 9-Pound Oversized King 105x92" (King, Black) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N9BMQU7/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_DeCMAb8XP4T7C
No, but someone might be able to adapt it to their needs...in the trucking world privacy has value....but stealth?
Fuhgetaboutit.
Fuhgetaboutit.
(I realize this thread is a couple of years old now, but no doubt somebody else will eventually ask a similar question )
I didn’t make any, but I bought some cheap on Amazon. I’m currently driving a Dodge journey SUV. One panel was enough to cover across behind the front seats, and the second panel I cut in half lengthwise and for now I have only pinned each piece to the length of the windows. I’ve pinned them to the ceiling - it’s fabric so Velcro won’t work and I don’t want to glue or screw anything at the moment.
As in your case, putting the tension rod on the ceiling wasn’t working on account of the curve so I did push mine over top of the handles which are a little too far back. What I’m doing at the moment which is more for privacy then warmth is to pull the curtains over the front seats. I’m sure it would work for warmth as well, if I tucked the curtains properly around the seats.
I expect to be switching over to a van, and my plan is to get some moving blankets to hang.
I didn’t make any, but I bought some cheap on Amazon. I’m currently driving a Dodge journey SUV. One panel was enough to cover across behind the front seats, and the second panel I cut in half lengthwise and for now I have only pinned each piece to the length of the windows. I’ve pinned them to the ceiling - it’s fabric so Velcro won’t work and I don’t want to glue or screw anything at the moment.
As in your case, putting the tension rod on the ceiling wasn’t working on account of the curve so I did push mine over top of the handles which are a little too far back. What I’m doing at the moment which is more for privacy then warmth is to pull the curtains over the front seats. I’m sure it would work for warmth as well, if I tucked the curtains properly around the seats.
I expect to be switching over to a van, and my plan is to get some moving blankets to hang.
travelaround
Well-known member
Right now I have 2 fabric shower curtains hanging behind the driver's seat... black shower curtain I got at Walmart. It faces front. Decorative curtain facing living space I got from Amazon.
When I insulate the van I'll sew thinsulate insulation between them. Thinsulate is good insulation for all curtains. It is made for sewing projects.
A shower curtain (fabric type, not plastic) is the perfect size for my Ford van. I have mine hanging from a curtain rod and there's a narrow space above I'll have to make a second non-movable curtain for.
When I insulate the van I'll sew thinsulate insulation between them. Thinsulate is good insulation for all curtains. It is made for sewing projects.
A shower curtain (fabric type, not plastic) is the perfect size for my Ford van. I have mine hanging from a curtain rod and there's a narrow space above I'll have to make a second non-movable curtain for.
B and C
Well-known member
The blackout curtains also come in shorter lengths, 54" (IIRC) worked perfect for me behind the front seats and no sewing hems. It also seems to stop the cold from getting to the back easily. I do know it is easier to keep the back warm this way. I used command hooks and put grommets in the curtain top. I put the white side toward the back to reflect the light better at night and the pretty side to the front but hey I am a guy and don't care if I look at fru-fru or not. Rather not most of the time.
elocs3981
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Every van is different. Mine is an '04 Honda Odyssey and the logical place to put a rod for a blackout curtain is at the molding at the top of the seatbelt attachment which is flat. Now the hooked end of a bungee cord will fit in there and can be turned so the round end of the bungee hook faces out (I cut off the cord of an old bungee). Do the same on the other side and I'm hopeful that it will snugly fit into a 3/4" piece of pvc. If not, I will run a cord or a wire through the pvc to the other side. That still leaves an 8" gap on top where the sides are curved above it. So I intend to cut a piece of blackout cloth which is cheap to cover the gap and then mount it to the top with velcro or 2 sided tap.
It will be like a valance.
The pvc will just be holding a curtain, nobody is doing chin-ups on it so it should work. And there's no point in putting up a blackout curtain if there is an 8" gap above it for light to shine through because that defeats the stealth purpose of the whole thing.
I'm not going to be living in this van at all but when I sleep in it I want to have stealth and privacy.
It will be like a valance.
The pvc will just be holding a curtain, nobody is doing chin-ups on it so it should work. And there's no point in putting up a blackout curtain if there is an 8" gap above it for light to shine through because that defeats the stealth purpose of the whole thing.
I'm not going to be living in this van at all but when I sleep in it I want to have stealth and privacy.
travelaround
Well-known member
I will be making my cab curtains with 2 good quality fabric shower curtains, with Thinsulate sewn in between. I've also considered using rip stop nylon on one side. I got a nice decorative shower curtain at Amazon.
