Privacy Curtains (1 Viewer)

[NMC_EXP]

We sleep in the FJ60 sometimes rather than a tent. I'm looking for ideas on privacy curtains for it. Trash bags and duct tape will work but I'm looking for something a bit nicer.

Been thinking about options but could use some help on both materials and mounting/attachment design.

Material options:

-- Fabric: thinking about using lightweight canvas painters drop cloth. Cheap and durable. Easy to stow when not in use. No insulation value. Will let light thru.

-- Reflective insulation - bubble wrap with silver color mylar coating. Good insulator. Bulky and hard to stow.

We do not do winter camping. I'm leaning towards the fabric option.

Design:

--Seems like the reflective insulation would need to be cut to fit each window. Only mounting method I see is suction cups with hooks on the glass.

--Fabric may have more mounting options.
1. To start with a permanent mount on rods or cables. When not in use the curtain could be slid to the corners and bunched up. That leads to how to mount the rods or cables to the vehicle.
2. Instead of slide horizontally and bunch up to stow, maybe it could roll up vertically to stow.
3. The twist to lock stud option looks interesting. These are the type used on tonneau covers etc. These would allow the curtains to be removed completely and packed away.

My wife can sew and makes curtains for the house so we've got that covered.

I'd appreciate any input on this. I am not much of a designer.

Thanks

Jim

 

[Bogo]

Instead of rods and cables, use 1/8 inch bungee cords.

For the mounts, I used small stainless steel machine screws, fender washers, thick regular washers, and nylon lock nuts. For each mount I made a stack that started out with a fender washer, then a 1/8" high stack of thick regular washers, another fender washer, then the machine screw went through the interior plastic trim, then another fender washer, and finally the nylon lock nut. The fender washers on either side of the plastic trim were to spread the load out to minimize flexing and chance the plastic would break. These mounts are really good for the plane of the window. In the corners you will need separate ones for the side windows, and front or back windows.

To attach the bungee cord ends together to make loops, I overlapped them 3/4", and very tightly wrapped a wire around them 4 or 5 times, then twisted it off. Then to either side of that I repeated that an 1/8" away until I used up the overlap area. It looks kinda beaded after that. Then I used some cloth fishing line and wrapped the whole overlap area to look neat.

Another thing is it is possible to easily remove the bungee cords with the curtains still on them. Just bunch the curtain up somewhere away from the ends, and remove the cords from the mounts.

I got the bungee cords from Wal-Mart. The small stainless steel machine screws, etc were ordered from McMaster-Carr. I ordered a couple different lengths of machine screws due to the varying thickness of the interior plastic. The machine screws I bought have a nice wide domed Philips head.

 

[NMC_EXP]

I like the bungee cord idea.

Questions re: the machine screws.

-- Are you leaving some of the screw exposed as a stud and looping the bungee over that?

-- I've never had the headliner out and do not know what is under it. Can't visualize where the machine screw are going.

 

[Bogo]

Yes the machine screw is effectively a stud that the bungee is looped over. I just use the fender washers, and regular sized washers to provide a deeper 1/8" width troth for the bungee cords to loop through. A fender washer has a very large outside diameter compared to it's inside diameter.
The parts, machine screw, fender washer, 4 thick regular washers, two fender washer, hex sided nylon lock nut.

View from side all stacked up. The pliers is where the interior plastic would be in the stack.

 

[NMC_EXP]

Good idea and thanks for the photos - makes sense now.

Hardware stores with the drawers full of strange items sell small nylon bushing in various lengths that would work in place of the washer stack.

 

[Bogo]

They likely do. I originally thought of cutting small brass tubes for that part. I have the equipment to do that easy. Then I just got lazy and bought the regular sized washers when I ordered the rest of the bits.

Because they came in 100 quantity boxes, I have plenty to do a few more vehicles...

 

[george_tlc]

Adhesive velcro on the vehicle, sew the mating velcro to the 'cloth'. Just another option...

cheers,
george.

 

[Dork]

Why not get some of those little rubber suction cup dealies from a hardware store or whatnot, have your wife sew them into the corners of each window covering. Stick 'em to the inside of the windows when needed? Pretty easy to undo if unwanted.

 

[TLC100camper]

I sleep in back of my cruiser, this is my two cents...ReflectX material is relatively expensive and bulky compared to cloth, but is well worth it because it reflects so much heat and light. I can crack windows on shade side of vehicle and with windows blocked it stays much cooler inside of vehicle. It blocks out ALL light, even street lights for that impromptu stopover at Walmart or a rest area. I used gorilla tape to make the edges flexible and thin so they fit into the space between glass and frame and made little tape tabs that correspond to Velcro tabs so they stay even if you open doors, which can be useful to make a shade for a camping chair or a table. This is especially true when you block out hatchback window and it can open over tailgate, makes a ghetto awning of sorts.

Also if you are still set on fabric then maybe check out some of the greenhouse fabric available with aluminum weaved into the cloth. I used it to make a fleet of chicken trailers and it reflected light very well.

 

[rusty_tlc]

@TLC100camper makes a good suggestion.
Another option would be plain shade cloth, available at big box stores in the garden section.
Advantages:

• allows you to see out but unless someone is standing very close provides privacy. (Maybe not at night when the interior is lit.)
• reflects sunlight ie blocks heat
• allows air flow

 

[Bogo]

My privacy curtains are big tubes with hems at the top and bottom for the bungee cords. In the middle I can slip in the reflective bubble insulation if I need.

When I had the head liner out of my 4runner, I stuffed a couple layers of the reflective bubble insulation up there. That's helped a lot with how much it heats up during the day. I used beads of adhesive caulk to hold it in place.

 

[hoser]

We have these for our BMW and they work great. If you can replicate it with more private material, it might be what you are looking for.

 

[NMC_EXP]

I sleep in back of my cruiser, this is my two cents...ReflectX material is relatively expensive and bulky compared to cloth, but is well worth it because it reflects so much heat and light. I can crack windows on shade side of vehicle and with windows blocked it stays much cooler inside of vehicle. It blocks out ALL light, even street lights for that impromptu stopover at Walmart or a rest area. I used gorilla tape to make the edges flexible and thin so they fit into the space between glass and frame and made little tape tabs that correspond to Velcro tabs so they stay even if you open doors, which can be useful to make a shade for a camping chair or a table. This is especially true when you block out hatchback window and it can open over tailgate, makes a ghetto awning of sorts.

Also if you are still set on fabric then maybe check out some of the greenhouse fabric available with aluminum weaved into the cloth. I used it to make a fleet of chicken trailers and it reflected light very well.

Reflectix type material was my first choice. Your description sounds like you have individual panels for each window and that they are held in place by wedging the edges of the shade between glass and frame?

 

[Fj81]

I have seen some for a jeep that were just cloth with magnets sewn in them. Cut to size and were plenty strong. You could also do snap on curtains, with those little snaps like on old toneau covers for pickups. That is a very common way of having the privacy curtains on sleeper cab

windows in 18 wheelers.

Velcro is also used alot. Bungees and hooks are common for the front for aftermarket privacy curtains for trucks. So you could make a curtain to span the front glass and driver and passengers door. Just have somewhere to hook the bungee on the B pillars, maybe like the washer style above, or snaps, and then a couple of hooks to hold up the corners at the a pillar using the sun visors. Hope I am explaining it right.

 

[Fj81]

Found these stick on snaps, they would work nice incase drilling into the metal or plastic panels was not an option.

ADHESIVE SNAP GRY 1 9/16 STUD - Seadog Line 297144-1 - iboats.com