I travel with two small kids that have a habit of staying up later than normal on our weekend trips. The nice white drapes in our Safari do not block out much light in the morning and the kids wake up early, mom wakes up early...everyone crabby...you get the idea.
I am looking for creative ideas on how to install some sort of opaque window treatments/ shades/covers, etc. without spending a fortune or eliminating the existing drapes (which LOOk nice). Any ideas on how to get the trailer dark inside? We already have shades for the Fantastic Fans, but need something easy for the windows.
Shari,
I had the same thought and I've checked them out, but I would have to rework the current drapery tracks quite a bit to get them behind the existing drapes. Without the drapes, they are not as attractive.
Jace
Jace,
What about those stick on carshades, the ones with the goofy cartoon characters on them? Some of them use suction cups and I believe some are just static cling. Might not look too "vintage" from the outside but they would serve the purpose. But you can take them down when everyone wakes up. Best part is they don't require any modification to the existing windows, curtains or hardware.
when i had my trailer in florida a while back, i noticed alot of the trailers there in "storage" had inserts in the windows made out of foil faced building insulation.
nice and dark on the inside, and silver on the outside.
a 4'x8' foot sheet of that stuff would blank alot of windows.
you could treat the edges with quality aluminum foil tape to make it look nice.
We use that stuff during winter storage, it's like silver bubble wrap...really blocks out the light! What do you do with it during the day though...it's kinda bulky?
Foil backed insulation panels can be bought at Home Depot. I comes in a variety of thicknesses, but I use 1/2 inch panel. They are a styrofoam type of insulation. One side has a thin aluminum foil and the other some kind of plastic. You can buy them in 4x8 sheets or 2x4 sheets. As suggested above the edges can be covered with aluminum tape for looks and durability. Cost is very reasonable.
As you might expect they are very light weight. We travel with panels in all the side windows to keep the sunlight from cooking the interior. That also protects the shades from fading. In the winter it helps prevent heat loss through the windows. The front and rear windows I keep clear so that I can see into and through the trailer while towing (one of the original features Wally Byam wanted for his trailers).
In addition, depending on the type of window you have the panels can be attached to the glass of an open window and then you have an awning. When they are placed in all the closed windows the interior is so dark that a light is needed even in mid-day. The down side is that they block ventilation when kept in the window frame, and of course they are a bit bulky. We just store them flat in the bed of the pickup.
I would think the suction cup idea, brought up previously, would be worth looking into. You can probably find a variety of different sized ones at a hobby shop. Then select a dark material that would look good with your current drapes. They could be put up in the evening, prior to going to sleep, taken down in the morning and folded up and stored in a drawer some where.
my window glass is on the outside of the wall, then a frame about 2" deep, and then my screens are screwed to the frame on the inside of the wall. please see the attached image.
therefore, if i understand this setup with the rigid insulation, i'd have to take out my screens to put in the insulation. Or, i would have to put in the rigid insulation from the outside, while someone on the inside closes it, thus being a two person job.
is yours different?
it is an interesting idea, and i just want to understand it.
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