curtains and/or blinds and/or tints

[ambivert]

Curtains: I've seen various websites offering to make van curtains for around £100 or more, is it worth it? There are good material shops near me and I already have header tape & hooks, and a sewing machine.

Blinds: not as a replacement for curtains, but really just so I can roll them down behind the curtains on those extra cold nights (and in day to keep the sun out) just for thermal reflecting purposes... It looks like DIY roller blind kits are pretty easy to come by and I have tons of space blanket material that I can use here. Anyone fitted blinds to their van, how easy is it to mount them near enough to the glass to leave no gaps round the edges, do they look ok?

Tints: So my 2 year old refuses to wear shades and can't bear the bright sunlight streaming in, so he stops looking outside, and this makes him travelsick. Back of van now stinks of puke. Plus, tints are good for privacy, keeping sun out, and look cool. I once tinted out a Mini using rolls of stick-on limo black, it worked a treat, but I baulk at the idea of doing a whole van myself, and am actually prepared to pay for someone else to do that I think. So many places offering such a service, but does anyone recommend any in particular? My window rubbers are all totally knackered, does anyone replace them at the same time? And I have the louvre windows... Can they actually be tinted, as in: will all those edges, small area, and repeated opening/closing lift the tint off them in no time?

And finally: Would I actually be mad (or just skint) to have all 3 options at the same time in the same van?
I guess if I had tints + lined curtains, I wouldn't need the blinds at all...

[Doctor Foster]

I got curtains in mine and use thermo mats. Jobs a good un

[happy camper]

I got curtains and tints fella and its defo the way to go, tints keep the van cool inside in the summer months the stop people snouting through your windows to see what the can nick, they stop theivin scum breaking the windows, they give you privacy when getting changed at the beach, when your camping and wake up on a site you can people watch from your bed without them knowing that your even there and they look sooooooooo cool.


We sat in the centre of hunstanton in the rear of out van having fish and chips and people walking past didn't have a clue we were there

[happy camper]

interior with and without tints both pics taken on sunny summer days.

[happy camper]

exterior shots with and without tints

[windysurfer]

I've got blinds and curtains in my van but really miss the T3's tints , It's like sitting in a gold fish bowl without them

[andisnewsyncro]

Tints and then just stick thermo mats up. It's worked fine for us for 3 years + now. Mats can be a bit of a pain when its cold - the sucker things don't like it, but a drop of warm water from the kettle sorts them out.

[helen]

I got all windows taken out during resto - had them tinted and refitted with new rubbers - all done by a local bus company and they did a tidy job. I think it cost about £245?
Got a roller blind on kitchen window, and thermo mats on all the others. Do still have curtains up to stop it looking a bit bare but don't close them as a rule.

[ambivert]

hmmm... thanks guys, I guess its all down to personal taste judging by the diverse range of answers...
nice interior happy camper, is that a standard or custom one?

[happy camper]

hmmm... thanks guys, I guess its all down to personal taste judging by the diverse range of answers...
nice interior happy camper, is that a standard or custom one?

Standard buddy just recovered by the lurvly mrs camper

[ambivert]

ah, I had no idea that any standard interior had such a level of trim, eg the stuff round the edges of the door panels etc. It all looks so tidy and modern (relatively speaking of course) I guess I must have got really used to my '84 devon interior which from what I hear is one of the most basic versions, what is yours then, something a bit more recent, but maybe not a a lot more recent as it still has the round headlights? A westie? or is the autohomes/autosleeper conversion (are they the same thing?) I really do need to get out more (to meets, that is, not out in general but I probably do also need to do that too )

[happy camper]

ah, I had no idea that any standard interior had such a level of trim, eg the stuff round the edges of the door panels etc. It all looks so tidy and modern (relatively speaking of course) I guess I must have got really used to my '84 devon interior which from what I hear is one of the most basic versions, what is yours then, something a bit more recent, but maybe not a a lot more recent as it still has the round headlights? A westie? or is the autohomes/autosleeper conversion (are they the same thing?) I really do need to get out more (to meets, that is, not out in general but I probably do also need to do that too )

Not to sure what interior i have tbh mines a converted panel van but yeah i haven't seen the same int in another so maybe its a custom fit, we love it tho. it really don't matter if your interiors basic fella as long as it works and hey its gotta be less weight and less to go wrong

[rainman]

I'm going to have a go at tinting mine, I've been putting it off for ages because it looks like such a kerfuffle and I'm sure I'll mess it up. I've got curtains but am annoyed by how much they've faded in the sun, also agree with the 'goldfish bowl' comment.

[ambivert]

I'm now in the process of making my own curtains. Looks like it will be a lot cheaper than buying them pre-made. All the material plus liner plus header tape came to less than £50.
There seems to be some disagreement out there as to the correct size to make them, so I measured and decided on:

(1.2m x 0.8m) x4 front
(1.6m x 0.6m) x4 sides
(1.2m x 0.6m) x2 back

cheers

[rainman]

I've got 2 in the front and 1 for the back which works well, I think 4 up front might be a bit fiddly.

did some tinting today, not as difficult as I'd feared but the back window was a pain in the arris and it ripped as I was smoothing it out with the squeegee. I've left it on there, resisting my initial urge to rip it off and swear a lot. I might cut a square around the rips and try to patch it up. If that doesn't work I'll resort to swearing. I also wish I'd chosen a darker tint, I went for 'dark smoke' which is still quite see-through.