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Old 09-05-2005, 12:36 PM   #1
Dawnika
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Blocking Sun

I need some suggestions...

We camped in FL this weekend. Our campsite was in FULL SUN, and we had a North/South facing site so the afternoon sun set on the back side of the Montana. (NOT the curb / awning side). Needless to say, it was hot as blazes in there. All the windows are on that side.

I'm not sure if this was a really bad idea, but I put aluminum foil in the windows as quick fix. (I know..VERY TACKY!! But I was desperate) Is there any reason why those solar door window panel things couldn't be used in the windows as well? Or could it do some damage to the glass and / or the window tinting?

http://www.campingworld.com/browse/s...26406&tab=spec

We store our Monty in full sun as well, so I think some sort of window covering would be good, but I'm not sure what to do.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

Dawn
 
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Old 09-05-2005, 12:54 PM   #2
Montana_2753
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My Monty is in Arizona and it gets "kinda" hot there. At a friend's suggestion I went to local hardware store and bought bubble-pack material covered with aluminum to put on the inside of the windows. It came in two widths - 12" and 24" - and was sold by the foot (cut from rolls). It has made a significant improvement blocking out the heat transfer through the windows. Enough material for all windows was less than $30.00 and well worth the investment. ONLY down-side is that I can't see out windows and limited sunlight (DUH!)
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Old 09-05-2005, 01:17 PM   #3
campbud
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I use large sunshades that are made for vehicles in the large window of the Monty, when it is parked at home. It cuts down on the heat inside and has not been a problem to the window.
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Old 09-05-2005, 01:18 PM   #4
nkwist
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I bought a few of the aluminized auto windshield reflectors at Walgreen's for $1 each. They come with suction cups for mounting. It takes two of them to cover the rear window of our 3400. For the smaller windows they can be easily cut to size.

Taking a suggestion from Steve and Vickie Reigle, I also bought a few sheets of 1/4 foam board at Wal Mart. Cut to size and a few small pieces of Velcro, now I've blocked the skylights as well.
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Old 09-05-2005, 02:41 PM   #5
Montana Sky
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Dawn,
I keep my coach on the lake for 6 months a year and get the sun in my back windows from almost noon - 9pm. The coach just cooks with that much sun right in the back window. I am going to have a custom awning made that will be verticle to cover up the entire 3 back windows. I am also going to have side window awnings made, but those will work like the main awning on the side of the coach. My dealership is going to order and install them for me this coming spring. I should be getting the price quote here at the end of the month when I bring the coach in for winterization. Will post the cost once I get them.
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Old 09-05-2005, 05:57 PM   #6
azstar
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Hello Dawn,

You may be interested in my Sun Screens. Everything you need may be purchased at HomeDepot.

You can see them at http://msnusers.com/azstar/ When there click on "Pictures" on the left side, you can then click on the individual pictures to enlarge.

This worked out very well for us. If you want more details let me know.

Happy Camping
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Old 09-05-2005, 07:04 PM   #7
Montana Sky
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Steve,
Nice job on your awnings, you make it look so easy...
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Old 09-06-2005, 02:53 PM   #8
Dawnika
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Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Nice job Steve; very impressive! At least I know that having some sort of reflective material won't ruin the windows. Does anyone have any experience with Kwik-Shade? http://www.kwikshade.com/
~Dawn
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Old 09-06-2005, 03:26 PM   #9
ken
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There has been a lot of good ideas. We added a snap-on sunscreen onto the large window when ever the sun is in that direction when parked. We had it made while we were in Florida last winter. The rest of the windows we just keep the daytime shades down. We did purchase two insulated vent covers from CW and left them in the vents in the bedroom. That cuts down the light and heat in the bedroom.
Ken and Velda
Dahlgren VA
2005 3475 Montana
2005 2500HD GMC Crew cab Duramax
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Old 09-07-2005, 08:31 AM   #10
bob n pam
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We had sun screens made in Arizona for all of our windows, but if the sun is really intense we add the reflective bubble material behind the day/night shades.
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Old 09-07-2005, 04:44 PM   #11
azstar
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Hi All,

I should have mentioned, that I posted a detailed description for someone who may want to make a set of SunScreens for ther rig. You can find it by doing a search. Do your search by looking for "SunScreens",under azstar as the member and for the past year.

Happy Camping
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Old 09-10-2005, 06:01 AM   #12
melnjoy
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At least I know that having some sort of reflective material won't ruin the windows. Does anyone have any experience with Kwik-Shade? http://www.kwikshade.com/
~Dawn
[/quote]

Dawn,
I just ordered two small screens for our truck from Kwik-shade. They shipped out yesterday and I should get them in a few days, I'll let you know how they work.

Mel has a real hard time sleeping with any light so we went to the local Ace Hardware store and bought some "reflectix" by the foot from them to make covers for the bedroom windows. I just made a template of each window with paper, and cut out the size we needed and then took silver duct tape and wrapped it around the edges to give it a finished edge and then tucked them in and under the window shade and they all fit in real nice, don't even need any velcro as they fit tight to the inside frame. Now this is great for the bedroom and helps keep it cool too... but... I don't really want to block out all of the sun all the time in the rest of the windows or have to constantly be removing screens from the windows all the time, so I am still looking for an alternative for the bright sun attack days.

Just as an fyi. We were at Camping world last week and I did notice that they have some reflective material that they sell also. It looks more like the car/truck window reflector material than the reflective stuff I bought. Also, I did notice the reflectix material we have tears fairly easily, not the whole thing, just the alum. film they have on the outside, as the inside is like a bubble material, so maybe what camping world now has is a little tougher on the surface if not as thick as the reflectix. who knows, just food for thought.

Joy
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Old 09-13-2005, 03:24 PM   #13
Coro from Maryland
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When we were in the South we got a lot of heat/sun through the large rear window. The local Camping World (not sure where) had rolls of window film made for this purpose. It was available either as grey or partly reflective (which we bought) and goes on with water (or their soap solution sold for the purpose) and a squeegie. It was a big help. We installed it on the window inside, and it has been on for two years. It was cheep, simple, and still looks fine (and gives a bit of privacy too).
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Old 09-13-2005, 04:28 PM   #14
Trailer Trash 2
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When at Quortsite last year I seen some sun shaded that I will buy next year it was cheaper to buy and install there, they we called Full View Awnings and they were great, I will look them up and get the paper work that is in the shop if interrested let me know, on the 2980 RL drivers side of the Monty the 2 (5) foot windows installed full view awnings was about $134.00 each.

TT2

OK I found the Company it's Carefree of Colorado. and Ocean Blue Fullveiw.
www.bestshade.com

phone number 800-328-5100
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Old 09-20-2005, 05:56 PM   #15
melnjoy
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Dawn,
Well I received the shades, and with some research I have discovered they are the same as the ones that Camping World sells. They are just like the heavy vinyl window clings you get at christmas for window decorations, only there is no picture on them, just dark blueish/green clinglike vinyl. I'm not so sure they would be something I'd get for the windows on the Monty, cause they don't look so great from the outside. But for the truck, they will work just fine for keeping the glare off the laptop.

Joy
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Old 09-25-2005, 06:47 PM   #16
kdeiss
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We are camped in a new campground this year as "seasonal" campers and we intend to return next year.As this is a new campground there are alot of baby trees but not many big trees so we are getting a direct hit of afternoon sun on the side of the monty with most windows. We are planning to get some awnings for that side to shade us but still allow us to have the windows open for air. We seldom use the AC as it doesn't get that hot close to the great lakes so we need to be able to open our windows. We figure the awnings will be a good investment and if we go to Fla. on vacation this winter we'll be glad we have them there as well.
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