Plastic film over windows?

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cutieXpanda

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I'm currently vandwelling in my home state of Minnesota and don't plan on chasing the sun this year. Winter is a few months away and it's going to be the first winter in my van. While living in an apartment I always had the option of covering my windows with a thin plastic film and using a hair dryer to seal it shut and to tighten the film. This way no cold air leaks in.

Has anyone tried this?
 
Cold air will make its way into any vehicle through the ventilation system unless you put it on the recirculate setting. You're also more likely to have air leakage around the door seals than the windows.
 
Heavy wool blankets over the back doors and the side doors. An insulated curtain between the cab and the back or use another wool blanket. Reflectix or maybe some other, thicker insulation over the windows. It is going to get cold in there. For sleeping, you may want to make a makeshift tent over the bed to help hold in heat. Fleece and wool blankets are your friend.

Just adding thoughts.
 
In the winter you want as much sunlight coming in the windows as possible to warm the interior. So only cover them with opaque things from sunset to sunrise.
 
The plastic over the windows in houses is primarily done to stop the windy drafts of unheated air that blow in through the cracks. It is different in a vehicle as if it is a small vehicle you could run out of oxygen during the night if you actually did make it air tight.

You are also thinking wrong. Heat migrates towards the cold, cold does not move towards heat. The air gap in insulated windows slows down the migration of the heat towards the exterior cold in the winter when you are heating the interior. So when trying to keep the interior warm you are trying to retain the heat.
 
as for the original question. yes 3M makes a product for RV windows. you stick it on and use a hair dyer to shrink it. very similar to what you described. highdesertranger
 
There are some issues with putting plastic over the windows in a vehicle because condensation can happen against the glass or the plastic and then you end up having to remove the plastic to clear up that moisture as it may block visibility. So unless it is really airtight in that gap you will find out that your efforts with the tape and the heat gun will be a waste of time and money. No saying you should not try it, just saying it might not work.

Windows that roll up and down in doors will never become an air tight space because there will be air infiltration at the window seals and also through the drain holes that are in the bottom of the doors so that the water that does get in can get back out. Operable windows are unlikely to be airtight spaces.

A lot of times the plastic interior pieces in a vehicle have a texture to them, that makes it difficult for adhesive tape to grip and create an airtight seal.
 
Darn. Probably won't go forward with this idea. I clearly didn't put much thought into it. Good thing I posted a question about it before I went forward. Thanks! I'll just get an electric blanket with a low kwh for winter, hoping I can find a decently efficient one.
 
If you plan to trust your life to any sort of mechanical device, make sure you have a backup: enough sleeping bag (or two to layer together) to at least keep you safe if your electric blanket malfunctions for any reason.
 
I use black out curtains in my Prius. They worked excellent this past winter in temperatures as low as 0 degrees. I know nothing about the plastic wrap.
 
cutieXpanda said:
I'm currently vandwelling in my home state of Minnesota and don't plan on chasing the sun this year. Winter is a few months away and it's going to be the first winter in my van. While living in an apartment I always had the option of covering my windows with a thin plastic film and using a hair dryer to seal it shut and to tighten the film. This way no cold air leaks in.

Has anyone tried this?

You are  brave person for trying this!

Keep your gas tank full so you can run your engine to get some heat if you need to. Don't try to run it all night though.

Any chance you can find a garage to park in at night? Even an unheated garage would help. Or even a storage unit. One with an electric outlet would be ideal. Why not post a 'wanted to rent' ad in your local craigslist/for sale elist?
 
a note to anybody running their engine to stay warm, if it's snowing make sure snow is not building up around your exhaust. highdesertranger
 
In cold weather it isn't airflow from the windows, but usually thermal loss from the glass itself.
I have found that some custom cut matts of Reflectix/Coolshield, fitted with magnets on the edges and backed with some felt-like cloth go a long way to minimizing chill coming off the glass. They also minimize the amount of warm humid air hitting the glass so condensation is minimalized. They pull off and stow easily during the day to soak up sunlight and restore visibility.

It helps that my side and rear windows are covered with perforated white vinyl, so from the outside, nobody can see them.
I took a standard sun shield made of stiff foil-like Reflectix and covered it with the same black felt like material.
I can put the foil side out in summer and I put the black side out in winter, mostly because it is less noticeable in winter and the foil side is bouncing heat back into the living space.

As for doors, do the dollar bill test.
Place a dollar bill at the edge of the door gasket and close the door; watch your fingers!
If the bill slides out easily you have a gap. Do this in multiple places along the doors.
You can use some closed cell adhesive backed weatherstripping to seal gaps (added benefit: the vehicle will be quieter going down the road and parked).
If the gaps are large you can get rubber self-adhesive "D" profile weather stripping to help seal the gaps.
There is usually space around doors to install it adjacent to existing weatherstripping.
 
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