Hanging a cabin drape

[Mansderm161]

Has anyone hung an insulated drape behind the driver and passenger seats to block some of the heat and cold that radiates from the poorly insulated cab? I've done the 3M window coating but there's still a lot of heat that comes from the cab area in summer. If you found a way, such as a drape, how did you install it?

[InterBlog]

Absolutely - I show mine in the image below, and if you would like more info on this type of project, I suggest a review of the following excellent historical threads:

B-van sewing project reference list

Declaring war on Interstate summer heat gain

TL;DR - We installed radiant barrier above the cab headliner, then customized a soft loft to store bedding which provides its own insulation over and above whatever is above the headliner, and also added this simple curtain which is mounted on a removable shock cord that stretches between the two tabs intended for coat hangers.

EDIT: My bad, I later modified the mounting method to the D-ring approach shown in the image below rather than using the original coat hanger hooks. The shock cord is heavy gauge so that it can support the weight of the curtain. IIRC, I got it at REI and purchased it by the foot (it’s in the climbing section).

[Rig Rat]

Originally Posted by Mansderm161

Has anyone hung an insulated drape behind the driver and passenger seats to block some of the heat and cold that radiates from the poorly insulated cab? I've done the 3M window coating but there's still a lot of heat that comes from the cab area in summer. If you found a way, such as a drape, how did you install it?

**********************************

Yes. we bought a pair of insulated drapes from I*ea and attach it via velcro to the headliner.

We did need to put some finishing screws into the headliner every 6 - 7 inches along the sticky loop side of the velcro. We found that w/o doing so the heat caused the sticky side to loosen under the weight of the drapes.

It takes less than 15 seconds to put it up / take down and stores easily in the headliner cabinet.

[Mansderm161]

Thanks. That's exactly what I was thinking.

[Mansderm161]

Thanks. Will check it out

[Rig Rat]

Originally Posted by Mansderm161

Thanks. Will check it out

************************************************** ***

Correction......I actually used washer head screws. Got them in black and they blend into the same color of the velcro.

[OpWander]

We’re wanting to do this too but we don’t have the over cab storage. We’re leaning towards mounting a flexible track on the ceiling although I’m torn because I don’t really want anything going across the middle of the ceiling (velcro, snaps, track…). Another option is a bar from side to side but that will leave the top open, so that’s not really a good option.

[knotdonne]

I put a tension bar up and the blackout curtains have enough height above the grommets to almost touch the ceiling. Good enough for me and a low tech option.

A cargo net above the seats attached with supplied plastic hooks to D-rings put in the original screws works well. The front of the cargo clips into the visors and the sides into the grab handles. It's worked for 6 years and is another low-tech option.

[Mansderm161]

I ended up finding a fairly large nickel finished tension rod at Walmart. I found the curtains on Amazon. I bought the longest ones and cut them off. I hope to use the extra fabric to make a short curtain for the large window in the middle so my cat can sit in the window well at night and I can block anyone from seeing in. The curtains came with tiebacks so that's convenient. I think it goes with the decor pretty well.

Found another quality control issue. The contact points for the spring rod are not symmetric....one end fits perfectly, the other is on part of the plastic trim....as long as it holds, I'm satisfied for now. I hung them today...already very hot outside and I could tell a difference. The cat will still enjoy the warmth of the cab since he can go in and out easily thru the middle. the only thing he can't do is jump from the counter to the seat which he likes to do.

[Rig Rat]

[QUOTE=Mansderm161;2698740]I ended up finding a fairly large nickel finished tension rod at Walmart. I found the curtains on Amazon. I bought the longest ones and cut them off. I hope to use the extra fabric to make a short curtain for the large window in the middle so my cat can sit in the window well at night and I can block anyone from seeing in. The curtains came with tiebacks so that's convenient. I think it goes with the decor pretty well.
************************************************** ***********
Looks Great Mansderm! I like your split curtain as you can easily pull one side or the other back to access the front cab.

Unfortunately, I didn't think of that feature when we made ours. With a solid curtain, I have to pull it up from the bottom or pull the top half off of the velcro to get anything I may need in the cab.

[AldeanFan]

These are great ideas!

I often camp in my enclosed car trailer when at the racetrack.
I made a curtain from a heavy cotton bed sheet I had on hand. It attaches to the ceiling of the trailer with snaps to make a bedroom, this way I only heat or cool about 1/4 of the trailer. I don’t have plumbing so I do t have to worry about pipes in cool weather.

As an experiment I heated the whole trailer Friday night with my diesel heater and used about 2L of fuel. On Saturday night (similar temperature) I used the curtain and used only .5L of fuel.

If you are considering this mod it is definitely worth it!

[1st time RV]

We just bought a rod used for hanging clothes in a car with triangle shaped hooks on both ends and hung it from the hooks on both sides right behind the front seats. Bought curtain panels that are blackout and hung them on the rod. No screws - can take the rod off if we don't want to use it. We use this curtain set up especially for one night stops.

[knotdonne]

sounds easy enough even for me! what do the triangles hang on?

[Mansderm161]

Update. I'm liking the curtains a lot as they to block a lot of the heat, but the rod is about 1 inch in diameter and I've knocked it a few times going back and forth. The rod is staying put despite that which is a good sign. But I'm only 5'6" so this could be an unacceptable issue for someone taller. It's funny, you get used to the compartment size of your rig and when you change dimensions, you have to adjust again.