Just make up an insulated curtain and pull it across. IKEA has the perfect wire rod to do it. I have one in both the front and on the read doors! Don’t worry about air leakage. I don’t even have heat in my van and it works well.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/search/?query=+Curtain+wire

 

This thread is of great interest since I'd like to heat with minimal electric power at night, so reducing overall heat transfer is important. Just how much warmer does your van stay compared to outside temperature without heat, other than what your body produces?

I've camped without heat down to around 28 F or so and the inside of my uninsulated window van gets within 1 or 2 degrees of ambient -- I could open windows and it wouldn't change temperature appreciably. In my case separating the cab area of my existing van won't help because of all the other windows, so I can't test it at all. Just curious how effective curtains can be when there is almost no heat if van is insulated.

 

Yep, a curtain is the way to go. On mine the side behind the drivers seat is permanently attached all the way up and down the wall. It slides across on a heavy length of bungee instead of a rod, so you can add a couple hooks along the top to seal it tight. It's also over sized at the top to cover over any gap. The passengers side attachment just has hooks, but I currently have it taken doing rebuild and will be modifying it to use strong magnets instead.

 

Yes a curtain is the easy and effective way to go. I used blackout curtains and had someone cut and sew them to size. I used buttons to snap them into place on the top (plastic facing of the shelf) and along the b pillars. I actually use this in place all winter, keeps the front nice a warm while driving.

See if this Instagram link works for details of what I did. https://www.instagram.com/p/BbXstFil4b6/?taken-by=sherpathevan

 

Yes a curtain is the easy and effective way to go. I used blackout curtains and had someone cut and sew them to size. I used buttons to snap them into place on the top (plastic facing of the shelf) and along the b pillars. I actually use this in place all winter, keeps the front nice a warm while driving.

See if this Instagram link works for details of what I did.

Hey ShaunB

I like your setup with the fan. We are looking to do something similar - might look into swivel (90 degree twist) fasteners or the button snaps you have. Thanks for the idea ?

 

Hey, me too on the curtain! When I slide it open the cab is COLD and my Espar has my part nice and warm!

 

Careful with how cold it is outside and how non-heated you keep the garage if you're storing any water in there. I've got a super fancy blackout/thermal curtain under my bed separating the garage from the main area. It was 0 outside, and my water lines from my water tank froze since I had that curtains closed, even with 50+ degrees in the rest of the van. It was cooooooold under there

 

^^^ that may be the best support for a curtain as a thermal break yet!

 

I have no heat in my van and have camped overnight in temps as low as 10f with no problems. I start the engine up when I wake up and after 10 or 15 mins it's warm enough to get out of bed and have breakfast, get dressed and hit the road.

 

Me too. My van heater makes the inside comfy.... the air conditioner can't keep it very cool, but the heater is great!

 

Thanks. I've thought about an insulated bunk bed area within large van so that entire van doesn't have to be insulated as much. Granted, van would need to remain well above freezing regardless to protect water lines. Still, with humans putting out about 100 watts at rest, it'd be interesting to see if body heat alone could keep it warm enough without it feeling like a coffin.

 

Make it the dimensions of a Navy rack, slept in one for years. If you're not to tall nor to wide it's good.

Or get yourself a 118" and put it in the corner of your van

 

I’ve actually thought of doing just than my bunk beds are a perfect set up for this!

 

A 4-5” foam mattress below you and a good throw on top and you can sleep comfortably down to 20º or so. We have a Kelty double sleeping bag which we zipped apart and use one half over us. It’s a 10º bag so it seems good to about 20º. The foam below takes care of the bottom. We use the Espar in the evenings when we want to be up and read, compute, video or such and do use the heat sleeping when the night gets below freezing because...... well, because we have it! Like KOV we turn the heat up and get up in 15 minutes or so for morning rituals like coffee, clothes, food, shoes and out to enjoy the world. In the summer we sub. out the Kelty for a blanket. Even in AZ the desert gets down to freezing in January and it is way to cold to sit in the van without heat in the evening, and there is a lot of evening in December and January!

 

Moving Blanket(s) and Velcro - inexpensive and they do a great job.

 

we picked up a heavy fleece king sized blanket from the thrift store and made a double curtain out of it, it seems to work well. also whoever told you Velcro wont stick to reflectix is a liar. lowes and home depot sell an outdoor Velcro rated at 1 lb per inch. its made by scotch and has 3m tape backer that sticks great to my reflectixs we use it on the front windshield and have 2 pieces for the back window all held in with this Velcro. its held in 90+ degree weather and down below 0 no issues. heres a link to some. I got it in a roll at homedepot. this stuff is great and sticks fine to my reflectixs and glass. [ame]https://www.amazon.com/Scotch-All-Weather-Fasteners-Inches-RFD7090/dp/B00347A8EO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1514259205&sr=8-1&keywords=scotch+outdoor+velcro[/ame]

 

Thanks everyone. I ended up cutting some reflectix to make homemade window coverings for the cab - it seems like I don't even need any velcro or suction cups or anything else to hold them in place!

I also got a blackout curtain set and shower curtain rod from Walmart to separate the cab from the cargo (sleeping) area.

We definitely noticed a difference in our warmth. It was in the teens that last couple of nights and we have only been running the heater for 10-15 minutes at night before we go to bed, and 10-15 minutes in the morning when we get up. We've got a big down blanket as well as a wool blanket, and it seems to be working out fine.

 

I also got a blackout curtain set and shower curtain rod from Walmart to separate the cab from the cargo (sleeping) area.

I did this as well and didn't see a noticeable difference, so it must be the reflectix on your windows.
I'm currently running a Big Buddy propane heater, though. It's no match for your Espar.

 

We have reflectix on all the windows and use one of three sources of heat to get the inside temp to about 60 before going to bed. Warmer than that and we're hot while sleeping. I try to use the heater from the van but don't want to crank the van in a campground at 10pm. The heater from the van quickly heats the entire van. If we have shore power we run a small electric heater. Last option is to run my coleman propane stove for about 5 minutes to quickly get the temp up (while venting of course).

I would love a webasto but no more than we need heat, I can't justify a grand. Most of my winter camping will be on the rivers I fish in Arkansas and all those sites have power. If we lived in the west and skied a lot I'd have one for sure.

I think my next project is going to be making insulated window coverings using my reflectix coverings. Then we'll make curtains to cover the windows and a curtain to cover the back doors and possibly between the cab and back.

Sent from my SM-P900 using Tapatalk

 

...
I think my next project is going to be making insulated window coverings using my reflectix coverings. Then we'll make curtains to cover the windows and a curtain to cover the back doors and possibly between the cab and back.

Sent from my SM-P900 using Tapatalk

Hi Josh,
Please put up some pictures of your curtains and insulating window panels when you get done with them. Thinking about doing the same thing.

Gary

 

Hi,

I have a combination of Reflectix shades on all the main cabin windows (5 in all) plus a similar commercial product from EuroCamper on the cab windows as shown here: http://www.buildagreenrv.com/our-conversion/promaster-camper-van-conversion-curtains-for-windows/

I did a heat loss test on the Reflectix shades, and they increase the R value of the windows from about R1 to about R3 -- cutting the window heat loss to 1/3rd of uninsulated windows.
Test here: http://www.buildagreenrv.com/our-co...sion/promaster-camper-van-conversion-curtains-for-windows/curtain-thermal-test/

I'm not the biggest fan of Reflectix, but it does seem to do a good job in this application.

By my calcs, with 32F outside and 70F inside, the heat loss with no window insulation is about 3600 BTU/hr and with all windows insulated as described above, it drops to about 2400 BTU/hr.
So, no insulation on windows for my van increases total heat loss by about 1.5 compared to Reflectix shades on all windows. Pretty impressive.

This is with the walls ceiling and floor of van all insulated with either 1 inch of polyiso or 1 inch of spray urethane.

I don't like looking at the shiny Reflectix at night, but it does really help a lot with heat loss.

I think Josh's idea of Reflectix shades covered with something that looks nicer would be a good way to go.

Gary

 

I used rubber P clamps along with a piece of conduit to make a sweet curtain. I had red blackout curtains (which is what is in the pic below) but I converted to using 4 (2, double layer together) gray blackout curtains that are a much nicer fabric. Those make a HUGE HUGE temperature diff between the cab and living area.

 

Another idea - though have not done it mind you - is to have a curtain with zippers down both sides that rolls up and ties in a roll at the top for storage. With the zips it would seal very nicely. Buying a cheap comforter to use as the curtain would work pretty well insulation wise; or you can buy various synthetic insulations and fabric and make your own, as much insulation as you want - though at some point it would get to be too fat a roll up at the top. Some sources also have insulation pre-quilted to a face fabric - then you just add another layer of fabric - your choice, can even get reflective stuff if you look hard enough.

 

For stealth purposes do you think you could get away with just a curtain and no window reflectics? Would you still get condensation on the windows even if the two areas were relatively sealed?

I was thinking a cheap walmart 2x person sleeping bag would be good material to re purpose for this. They might be better rated for retaining heat than say a curtain or comforter. One more reason to take a sowing class. learn how to add buttons, grommets etc

 

Hi,
I'm sure a layer of sleeping bag material would do better than a layer of Reflectix.

Water vapor would still be able to get through the sleeping bag material, so I think you would still get some condensation on the windows.

Gary

 

Moving Pads

I got cotton batt filled moving pads from Harbor Freight. You can wiggle the long end into the gap at the end of the cabin head liner....goes up easy, insulates the cab from rear, stays up when driving just fine and comes down in a heart beat. A few weeks ago on the way to FL I was at a truck stop and a guy with a PM asked me where I got the custom fit curtains......

 

Also Harbor Freight, two 40x72, on a rod with the tops folded over to cover the gap.

 

Insulation between cab and cargo area for winter sleeping

The LEED Green Building people, The NAHB and Refrigerator builders have the answer: Airtight chambering.

If you put a steel bulkhead between the cab and cargo area (with a door) and insulate the heck out of the bulkhead with 1" Polysio and then seal the cargo area leaks with foil tape you can be very warm. The problem then becomes suffocation and sucking in out-gassing fumes. You will need to tune your roof vent to get a proper mix of those considerations. Many people put the Polysio on the cab side of the bulkhead to save cargo area room. Some claim to stay very warm in a nearly airtight cargo area with a 12 volt blanket warmer.

Those who put their bed in the back of the ProMaster sometimes enclose the sleeping area with an EZ-Cool curtain so that they are only keeping the heat in the bed chamber. If you have to get up in the night to go to the bathroom, you will freeze outside the chamber unless you quickly kick on an inside use propane heater for a minute while you pee.

 

Just finished up my reflectix window covers/privacy layer. I'd previously cut up some end of season clearance pile $1 car window sun shades. Foil layer both sides but very little insulation between. My van is not converted yet and my dog and I slept in it for 10 nights last month when the overnight lows averaged 24F. I have a thermal black out curtain between the can and cargo. With those two (curtain and cheap-o window covers) it was 26F inside the van. We wer plenty warm. Dog is a mini Husky, body insulated by her dog bed below and a fleece blankie above. I was in fleece in a down bag.

I"ve finished my nice new covers. They are held up with rare earth magnets that are covered in a layer of ripstop so the van paint doesn't get beat up.

So my question is, do I need/would it help to add a layer of quilted fabric (the Eddie Bauer Primaloft throws from Costco cut to fit) over but not connected to the reflectix uping the R value? When we convert the van we will have a heater for fall and winter, But we like sleeping cooler (heat real low).

 

Hi,
The Reflectix has reflective layers inside and outside, and they both help reduce heat loss. The inside layer reflects IR heat back into the van and the outside layer has low emissivity, so that reduces heat radiated out toward the windows. There is so little insulation between the two reflective layers that I think most of the gain from Reflectex is the two reflective layers. If you add a new layer inside Reflectex, and its touching the Reflectex, you will lose the benefit of the inside reflective layer. But, if you can figure out a way to leave a thin layer of air between the added layer and the Reflectex, you will get a gain in R value from the new layer and you won't lose the benefit of the reflective layer. I think that all you need is about a 1/4 inch air layer. Also, your added layer will likely be a lot nicer to look at than the Reflectex.

Gary

 

Yes, I was thinking since the reflectiex is in the window, I'd hang the "quilt layer" from the metal that sticks further into the van creating an air layer of about 3/8 inch (gueestimate not measured yet). Again the bugger will be the cab windows... Not out too much money if it doesn't work!