Does anyone use those silver bubble wrap looking sunshades? - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Penny and Paul · RV-Dreams Family Member

Does anyone use those silver bubble wrap looking sunshades?

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

Take a color coordinated towel attach velcro around it (or thumb tacks) and mount it over the window.....if you use a dark fabric it will create heat during the day.

I have used the bubble wrap reflective.....if you cut it to window size and then mist the window with water it will stick to the window and is easy to remove later......I found the towel method to work better because it has an air barrier between it and the window.....did both together when I was static in the north one year..........

Note: Not sure if it stopped brain freezing for me.......I figured if I was crazy enough to be in the coach in below zero weather I really wasnt using it!!! confuse wink biggrin

SnowGypsy · RV-Dreams Family Member

We bought and cut pieces for our windows and it really makes a difference in both stopping the heat and the cold. You will get moisture though but if you keep the moisture wiped up, it is worth the effort. If you just put it in place and leave it, you are very apt to develop black mold like you get on the outside moldings on the seams of some trailers. We used velcro to attach one year and the other time, we just stuffed it in the window which worked better for us.

flyone · RV-Dreams Family Member

Paul, not that it would help with the window but my BIL has started wearing a sock cap to bed to help stay warm. He claims it really helps, which makes sense you lose a lot of heat out of your head and it is the only thing not under covers at night.

Flyone

Penny and Paul · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks, everyone, for your helpful comments. We're gonna try them all.

Flyone - - Paul's been wearing a hat to bed for years!

cherylbrv · RV-Dreams Family Member

Do you need to use this method if you have double paned glass?

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

cherylbrv wrote:
Do you need to use this method if you have double paned glass?

Windshields are not double pane, they are safety glass. Other windows can be double pane.

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Cheryl,

I can add a bit of perspective with regards to windows and Summer temps. While I'm not sure the window in particular is double paned or not (it is a "side" slide window), but ours faces towards the west. (See image below.) Every summer, Jo hangs a heavy fabric over that window as the sun coming in really helps to heat up the interior. We've also found that it helps a lot to have our awnings out when possible to block the sun from the windows.

All that said, I'd have to say that in extreme conditions, something in the windows would definitely be helpful, even if they are double paned ones.

Terry

charles · RV-Dreams Family Member

P and P,
In a word YES, it does help, heat and cold.
To really get some relief from direct sun, couple the window covering with roll up awnings.
Our experience.
CCC

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

You could always put your pillows on the other end of the bed and wear heavy socks!!!!! biggrin disbelief biggrin

Penny and Paul · RV-Dreams Family Member

Lucky Mike wrote:
You could always put your pillows on the other end of the bed and wear heavy socks!!!!!

Hhhhmmm.... Cold feet, warm heart? biggrin

RVKevi · RV-Dreams Family Member

Well, we don't wear socks, but we DO put our heads on the other end. Kev's head just gets too cold in cold weather, and we found we actually like doing it that way, so we sleep like that all the time.

rvingft · RV-Dreams Family Member

Yes, it does - difinitely.

We have 1 in our front window and 1 in our back window now. We have been in 15 degrees!!! in Ohio this past week (November 2013) - NOT by choice, our work projects have kept us here. Our bedroom was really cold as the back was facing some bitter winds. When I discovered frozen condensation on the rear window I had only the 2 shades pulled - no foil. So, I scraped off the frozen (did I mention FROZEN!) condensation from the rear window, put the foil wrap in, then pulled the 2 shades down. It really made a difference in keeping the bedroom warmer - I'd say maybe even 10 degrees warmer :)

We have only had this motor home for 4 months, but we also used the foil wrap in the Arizona summer heat in our vintage travel trailer as few years ago. At that point we were going thru 100+ days and the foil on ALL the windows kept the temps cool enough inside with just the 1 roof air conditioner to be able to sleep at night. Otherwise I doubt we would have been able to stand it inside for long, let alone get any sleep.

For this summer, I will probably switch to the clear bubble wrap for the MH side windows. I do enjoy having natural light vs. the windows totally blocked out which was my only complaint with the foil wrap. You can purchase a 2' x 10' roll at Camping World although I have also seen it at some of the big box home improvement stores.

Also - we will plan to have the custom sun screens that are applied to the outside of the windows with snaps made this summer. That helps keep the sun OFF the windows which cuts down greatly with heat penetration.

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

Terry & Candace: Look at http://www.magneshade.com/ for those outside shades.

Penny and Paul · RV-Dreams Family Member

Terry & Candace: When you use the silver stuff in the cold, do you get condensation on the windows? How do you deal with that? Where we're parked right now, the rig next to us has it in their back window, and I can see the moisture dripping down. Does having windows and ceiling vents cracked keep it from building up behind the covering?

MarkS · RV-Dreams Family Member

I like the looks of that manga shade but I can't see how it would work with double pane windows. If you could fasten the silver bubble wrap to the outside, you wouldn't have condensation problems on the inside. Someone needs to invent magic magnets that work on aluminum.

The silver bubble wrap works well to insulate anything. For example, when I was brewing I needed to maintain my mash tun at 160 degrees within a degree or two for up to an hour. It would drop twenty or thirty degrees without applying heat. I wrapped it with silver bubble wrap and the temperature maintained within 5 degrees. I imagine it would work great with an ice chest or anything else you needed to help insulate.

Penny and Paul · RV-Dreams Family Member

MarkS - that's a great idea and I'm going to give it a try, either with the super magnets or maybe with those big suction cups that you use in the shower. Thanks!

Penny

MarkS · RV-Dreams Family Member

Suction cups are a great idea. What about buying strip magnets with sticky on one side and putting them around the perimeter of the glass. Repeat that on the bubble wrap. It would seal all the way around. If you wanted to remove the magnets from the glass you could easily clean any residue from the glass. If the sticky broke down you could repair it with a glue gun or some silicone adhesive. Since the windows are dark and the magnets are dark they may not be too ugly when the bubble wrap was removed.

1/2" X 25' $6.68 at Walmart.

-- Edited by MarkS on Saturday 30th of November 2013 12:49:29 PM