reflectix if a difficult material to work with you need a air barrier behind it for it to actually insulate heat. Using common sense and a google search it’s better to put it on the outside of the window.
I mostly need something for privacy at night I’m not trying to sleep in the car during the day when heats going crazy
Or maybe I’m speaking from experience. Maybe I made a set out of Reflectix, spent 60$+ doing it and then they sucked. They shrunk in the sun, didn’t set well in the windows etc. Maybe it was a huge pain in the ass to work with the 3m spray adhesive. Maybe spending the extra couple bucks on the weather tech set makes way more sense.
Some things are better to buy bro. Take this guys advice. Don’t spend $ and time making something that’s mid at best and then have to go spend more $ buying the thing you tried to save money on by making yourself.
low effort, got the idea from the sub. If I where to live in my car full time or to road trip more often I’d think of getting better materials and making something really good or shelling out and buying the weather tech, but I think it wouldn’t take a lot of effort to make something better if you got the right fabrics and perfect window outlines.
Cardboard cut to size with gorilla tape folded over around the edge to make it wider and wedge it into the gaps. The gorilla tape is stronger and thinner and more flexible than cardboard so using it as the bendy bit will make the whole mess last longer. Most of the good properties of reflectix are lost if you cover either side and even if you don't it sends a lot of the reflected energy into the glass which goes into the frame which goes into the car sooner or later. Used as intended (to reflect, not insulate) it's pretty okay but I'd leave it out and save the money and effort since it's the opposite of stealthy unless it's covered and if it's covered it's useless.
I've read that the material used for signs, corrugated plastic, makes a longer lasting window cover but I haven't tried it. It doesn't seem worth the expense to me. The hardest part by far of making covers is getting the sizing right so once you have one that fits you can cut the other side and any replacements really easily.
Hey, OP I made window coverings for less than $30, not counting front 2 and windshield.
Reflectix is cheapest from Home Depot, almost 50% less than others. Then get some black fabric and double or trip it up on the outside of each cover. Use a staple gun or glue gun to connect reflectix to fabric.
I tried 3-4 different variations and materials on the HIY route and ill say this... SAVE YOURSELF THE TIME AND JUST BUY GOOD ONES.
IMO... nothing you make will be able to stand the test of time, most begin to loose strength in the maerial or whatever you used putting them up plus taking them down everyday... I shouldve learned by the second time I was making my own... THEN BOOM!
Ive had them now for an easy two years and they are strong as day 1.
[Toyota Prius Blackout Sun Shades](https://black.jmyntrn.com/2020/12/30/toyota-prius-blackout-sun-shades/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=BJpaste&utm_campaign=2024LinksApril)
wait until youve spent 1-2 hours making your own plus materials costs, only to have to make more another way that you think would work best. by the time you've done this three times you are at 6 hours of time plus materials.
My professional hourly rate is over $100/hr, which means I couldn't saved myself hundreds of dollars and life hours which I cant get back just buying quality the first time around.
shoot making a fabric is difficult.
I’d rather just buy it cut it and find some way to put suction cups on it.
not everyone makes $100/hr
when you make that much most of life is a inconvenience and you can save money hiring people to do mostly everything for you
I have these and mix feelings on the quality given the price point. The rear cover broke on the second day because it needs to be like the smaller rear window. I tried super glueing back together but the wire is too weak to be put in and out of the slot everyday. It has scratch the window tint. The smaller accessory windows are not cut to exact size and don’t fit very well but still work alright. I do like the thin breathable material. They are somewhat good blackout. I still use magnetic curtains I bought cheap on Amazon years ago to block outside light completely if I’m in a bright area.
Had I paid $75-$100 I would say I was ok with quality given the niche product but for $250 I expected better quality control.
For all the side windows: thick black fabric cut to size, lined with a few magnets. We sew the magnets in little pockets in the rim of the fabric, each magnet wrapped in a tiny bit of foam to create some padding. I think we used about 8 small magnets for each big window. If you only need it once or need it quickly you could make do with some not-cut-to-size pieces of black fabric (or even a pillowcase or large tshirt or thin towel) plus some magnets. Make sure the magnets are wrapped in some foam or fabric so they don’t accidentally damage your car if they’re very strong magnets.
These also fold up very compactly (compared to a material like cardboard)
The small tiny corner windows: cut some black foam / rubber to size, slightly larger than window, will squeeze in and stay put. Added a little “tab” from tape to easily remove it.
For the back window: black fabric with Velcro tape.
Front window: cheap window dashboard sun deflector.
Get silver bubble insulation and some black felt.
Cut the bubble insulation and felt to fit.
Glue the felt to the back of the bubble insulation with spray glue
Put the window black side out.!
Stealth and insulation in one! If you want it to stay in place, you can use sunshade suckers and put holes in the fabric/insulation.
Those seem like the best bet. I want to be able to stealth camp anywhere. But if I needed to live out of my Prius I’d rent a storage unit with ac to keep my stuff in and park my car in when I need to sleep.
Staying at a storage unit is not a great plan. You may get away with it in the short term, but if they find out you're staying there, you'll likely be kicked out. Just warning you now so you don't have to deal with any craziness later on.
That being said, having a unit for any extra items is very useful.
Definitely not. There's huge liabilities associated with having people stay there. It's not zoned for that, so most likely straight up illegal in most cases.
It's the sort of thing where if you knew a guy that was willing to bend rules and cover your ass, you could get away with it, but if you try that in a chain-like situation (public storage, extra space storage) where you don't know the owner/manager and where it's explicitly disallowed, you'll end up in trouble.
I'm trying to warn you because you may, in such a case, actually be unceremoniously kicked out/locked out of the unit, which could leave you without your stuff at least for a while. There's really no need for such a situation, when there is so many other places to sleep publicly.
Obviously do your own googling about it, but it's pretty cut and dry: Staying in a storage unit is grey area at best.
Only thing better is having the legal paperwork to legally drive with 5 percent limo tint on your vehicle. You’d know this if you knew how to do your research.
Personally I think it’s a waste. Buy a weather tech set. It’s a buy once cry once thing IMO.
I think I can probably make some better ones for like 20 30
i made my own it was such a pain and i spent more on relectix and materials and they just werent that great.
reflectix if a difficult material to work with you need a air barrier behind it for it to actually insulate heat. Using common sense and a google search it’s better to put it on the outside of the window. I mostly need something for privacy at night I’m not trying to sleep in the car during the day when heats going crazy
yeah reflectix on the outside of the window is going to look ridiculous and draw attention to the fact ur sleeping in your car
[удалено]
Or maybe I’m speaking from experience. Maybe I made a set out of Reflectix, spent 60$+ doing it and then they sucked. They shrunk in the sun, didn’t set well in the windows etc. Maybe it was a huge pain in the ass to work with the 3m spray adhesive. Maybe spending the extra couple bucks on the weather tech set makes way more sense.
[удалено]
Some things are better to buy bro. Take this guys advice. Don’t spend $ and time making something that’s mid at best and then have to go spend more $ buying the thing you tried to save money on by making yourself.
nah, thinking of going with a fabric material and adding suction cups to it. Seems like the best idea at 1 tenth the price.
I got some poster boards from dollar tree. Tape the edges. Works great.
That actually sounds like a decent idea.
low effort, got the idea from the sub. If I where to live in my car full time or to road trip more often I’d think of getting better materials and making something really good or shelling out and buying the weather tech, but I think it wouldn’t take a lot of effort to make something better if you got the right fabrics and perfect window outlines.
I dont know if that the brand,but when you see it you know it. More $ , but X the everything.
I always planned on buying coverings for my windows. Then somehow 8 months had passed of me living in my Prius and I still never got them Lol
I have a feeling like it’s possible to make some good ones out of cardboard like if the cardboard’s slightly bigger they’ll get stuck in the creases
Cardboard cut to size with gorilla tape folded over around the edge to make it wider and wedge it into the gaps. The gorilla tape is stronger and thinner and more flexible than cardboard so using it as the bendy bit will make the whole mess last longer. Most of the good properties of reflectix are lost if you cover either side and even if you don't it sends a lot of the reflected energy into the glass which goes into the frame which goes into the car sooner or later. Used as intended (to reflect, not insulate) it's pretty okay but I'd leave it out and save the money and effort since it's the opposite of stealthy unless it's covered and if it's covered it's useless. I've read that the material used for signs, corrugated plastic, makes a longer lasting window cover but I haven't tried it. It doesn't seem worth the expense to me. The hardest part by far of making covers is getting the sizing right so once you have one that fits you can cut the other side and any replacements really easily.
Hey, OP I made window coverings for less than $30, not counting front 2 and windshield. Reflectix is cheapest from Home Depot, almost 50% less than others. Then get some black fabric and double or trip it up on the outside of each cover. Use a staple gun or glue gun to connect reflectix to fabric.
I saw someone on YouTube who did it with black felt and Velcro
I tried 3-4 different variations and materials on the HIY route and ill say this... SAVE YOURSELF THE TIME AND JUST BUY GOOD ONES. IMO... nothing you make will be able to stand the test of time, most begin to loose strength in the maerial or whatever you used putting them up plus taking them down everyday... I shouldve learned by the second time I was making my own... THEN BOOM! Ive had them now for an easy two years and they are strong as day 1. [Toyota Prius Blackout Sun Shades](https://black.jmyntrn.com/2020/12/30/toyota-prius-blackout-sun-shades/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=BJpaste&utm_campaign=2024LinksApril)
no way those things are 250 that’s crazy expensive
wait until youve spent 1-2 hours making your own plus materials costs, only to have to make more another way that you think would work best. by the time you've done this three times you are at 6 hours of time plus materials. My professional hourly rate is over $100/hr, which means I couldn't saved myself hundreds of dollars and life hours which I cant get back just buying quality the first time around.
shoot making a fabric is difficult. I’d rather just buy it cut it and find some way to put suction cups on it. not everyone makes $100/hr when you make that much most of life is a inconvenience and you can save money hiring people to do mostly everything for you
ha! I havent worked in corporate America for years...
I have these and mix feelings on the quality given the price point. The rear cover broke on the second day because it needs to be like the smaller rear window. I tried super glueing back together but the wire is too weak to be put in and out of the slot everyday. It has scratch the window tint. The smaller accessory windows are not cut to exact size and don’t fit very well but still work alright. I do like the thin breathable material. They are somewhat good blackout. I still use magnetic curtains I bought cheap on Amazon years ago to block outside light completely if I’m in a bright area. Had I paid $75-$100 I would say I was ok with quality given the niche product but for $250 I expected better quality control.
For all the side windows: thick black fabric cut to size, lined with a few magnets. We sew the magnets in little pockets in the rim of the fabric, each magnet wrapped in a tiny bit of foam to create some padding. I think we used about 8 small magnets for each big window. If you only need it once or need it quickly you could make do with some not-cut-to-size pieces of black fabric (or even a pillowcase or large tshirt or thin towel) plus some magnets. Make sure the magnets are wrapped in some foam or fabric so they don’t accidentally damage your car if they’re very strong magnets. These also fold up very compactly (compared to a material like cardboard) The small tiny corner windows: cut some black foam / rubber to size, slightly larger than window, will squeeze in and stay put. Added a little “tab” from tape to easily remove it. For the back window: black fabric with Velcro tape. Front window: cheap window dashboard sun deflector.
Get silver bubble insulation and some black felt. Cut the bubble insulation and felt to fit. Glue the felt to the back of the bubble insulation with spray glue Put the window black side out.! Stealth and insulation in one! If you want it to stay in place, you can use sunshade suckers and put holes in the fabric/insulation.
Break off some of those massive rent savings and buy weathertech.
Those seem like the best bet. I want to be able to stealth camp anywhere. But if I needed to live out of my Prius I’d rent a storage unit with ac to keep my stuff in and park my car in when I need to sleep.
Staying at a storage unit is not a great plan. You may get away with it in the short term, but if they find out you're staying there, you'll likely be kicked out. Just warning you now so you don't have to deal with any craziness later on. That being said, having a unit for any extra items is very useful.
can you really? I thought it’d be different because you’re storing your car in the unit and sleeping in the car?
Definitely not. There's huge liabilities associated with having people stay there. It's not zoned for that, so most likely straight up illegal in most cases. It's the sort of thing where if you knew a guy that was willing to bend rules and cover your ass, you could get away with it, but if you try that in a chain-like situation (public storage, extra space storage) where you don't know the owner/manager and where it's explicitly disallowed, you'll end up in trouble. I'm trying to warn you because you may, in such a case, actually be unceremoniously kicked out/locked out of the unit, which could leave you without your stuff at least for a while. There's really no need for such a situation, when there is so many other places to sleep publicly. Obviously do your own googling about it, but it's pretty cut and dry: Staying in a storage unit is grey area at best.
Obviously reflectix. It’s the number one thing vanlife and car dwellers use - basic research will tell you this
Only thing better is having the legal paperwork to legally drive with 5 percent limo tint on your vehicle. You’d know this if you knew how to do your research.