Info on RV Exterior Shade Screens

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Moderator note:  This was originally a for-sale ad, and they have been sold, but there is good information about RV screens.



Shade screens fabricated for a 2000 Beaver Marquis by RV Shade Screen Co. in March of 2015. Have less than a month total time on RV. I think they will fit any SMC era Beaver. Check measurements to verify. They significantly reduce inside temps and provide privacy while allowing those inside coach to see outside. Screens include windshield, driver's window, door window, and window immediately rear of door. Pictures and measurements attached. We will be getting another set to fit current RV.

Steve

[Tim Schafer]

What holds them to the glass?

I have a 97 Beaver Patriot, not sure how those compare window wise to what you have, but I might be interested if they are easy to install and are the right size.

Tim & Ann

[David T. Richelderfer]

Our screens have the same general shape as Steve's and are attached with snaps.  The male sides of each snap are screwed into the wall of the coach just outside the window frames' corners.  The female sides of the snaps are located at each corner of the screen plus at the bend of the screen on the door.  It takes a ladder to lift the screens and to reach to engage the high snaps.  I use the awning cane to disengage the high snaps.

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Tim,
Dave is correct re the attachment process. I have a 12' extendable ladder that worked great to attach them. If the snap to snap measurements I supplied reach fiberglass on each side of the window in question, they should fit. Snaps will be close together at each side of top of windshield and adjoining screen (door and driver's side) so keep this in mind when measuring. Buyer will need to supply the male snaps that screw into the coach (available at Lowes, Home depot, etc.). Simply drill a pilot hole, apply a dab of Lexel or silicon and screw snap into position.
Steve

[Tim Schafer]

So they go on the outside of the coach?  We're not full timers, yet, mainly just weekend campers, so not sure if it's worth the effort to just put them on for a few days at a time if I have to bring a ladder along.

Let me think about this for a little while, if someone else wants to buy, don't hold out for me.  We'll get back to you later if we are still interested.

Thanks,

Tim & Ann

[Joel Weiss]

So they go on the outside of the coach? 

Sunscreens need to be on the outside of the coach to be maximally effective.  The science of the situation is that if sunlight passes through the window and is absorbed by an inside shade of any sort it will be converted into infrared energy which cannot pass back out through the glass.   Therefore, the heat will be trapped inside the MH between the shade and the glass.  This is just another example of how the greenhouse effect works.  It is far more effective to block the sunlight before it goes through the glass into the MH.  I don't bother to put the shade on when we stop for just a night or two but it's worth it for a longer stay especially if the MH is parked so the windshield gets the afternoon sun.

[Tim Schafer]

That makes sense.  My wife reminding me that we have little twist lock tabs around the windshield and front windows, I assumed it was for a full shade that wraps the front of the coach, but didn't think of the mesh shades going outside too.

Still thinking about these, but need to get some other repairs done and paid for before committing any funds to other stuff.

Tim & Ann

[David T. Richelderfer]

If your coach is parked nose South such that the hot sun penetrates into the front windshield during much of the daylight hours, then you may want to not only have these RV shade screens, but also make some aluminum (foil) window covers - referred to as "double reflective insulation" at Home Depot.  I originally made my aluminum sun blockers because I had seen them put on the inside of RV windshields and other side windows on the hot, sunny side of the coach.  But I wanted the heat to stay outside, so I put up the RV shade screens and leave the lower snaps disengaged so the screens are hanging loose from the upper snaps, then push the aluminum sun blockers up under the screen, and lastly engage the lower snaps to hold the aluminum sun blockers in place under the RV shade screens.

The upside is the hot sun is completely blocked by the aluminum sun blockers and the coach stays much, much cooler.  The down side is the aluminum blockers completely block any view in or out through the windows where they are installed.

I originally fashioned the aluminum sun blockers to fit on the inside of the windshield and other front side windows, and held them up with stick-on Velcro strips.  But the heat captured and held between the glass and aluminum sun blockers was so great it kept melting the adhesive on the Velcro strips.  During the hottest part of the day the adhesive would melt and run down the inside of the windows, and the Velcro strips would detach from the window allowing the whole aluminum sun blocker to fall away from the windows.  I tried putting the aluminum sun blockers outside under the RV shade screens and, while not perfected yet, it seems to be better than placing them inside.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Reflectix-48-in-x-25-ft-Double-Reflective-Insulation-BP48025/100052556

This stuff comes in various widths and lengths.  Get the width that fits your windshield's height from dash to ceiling.

[D. Wendal Attig]

Please, whatever you do, do not use or continue using the foil type reflective material mentioned on the inside of your glass. Behind the glass, this material increases the temperature of the glass, and depending upon the angle of the sun, has been known to break the windshield glass. Since it is safety glass, this type of break resembles a shatter into hundreds of small pices, held together initially by the safety glass protection layer.

You may have seen this on automobiles, which involve smaller areas of glass and on smaller vehicles can happen when the heat rises to extreme temperatures inside the vehicle as well. The same extreme temperature effect is created on the airspace between the foil type material and the back of the windshield glass, risking shattered glass.

[Lee Welbanks]

David,

Now that is a great idea to place the aluminum shields under the outside shades. Going to give this a try.

[Joel Ashley]

D is correct about the reflective heat damaging the sandwiched safety glass, at least to the extent of the lamination separating and discoloration around the perimeters.  Been there with our old Pace Arrow, and with ill-advised solar film applied to the inside of our home's argon filled Windows;  the film reflects heat alright, right into the dead space between panes, combining with incoming solar heat and ruining the seal.  The windows were replaced with factory tinted ones, the tint on the outer pane where it can't add heat to the middle airspace. 

The same idea applies to the use of reflective material inside your coach windshield.  I use it, but mitigate it during the strong summer southern solar impact by adding an outside cover/screen.  The combination really cuts the heat, but not enough is trapped between to hurt the glass.

Joel

[Walt Pocock]

I ran into a vendor at an FMCA Rally in Indio,CA several years ago that modified my exterior shade screens so I could attach & detach them while standing on the asphalt. He replaced the top male snaps on the coach with a plastic device similar in appearance to a sewing thread spool and about 1/2" dia X 3/4" tall, screwing them down to the same hole the snap was in. He then removed the female half of the snap from the screen and sewed on a horseshoe shaped loop of wire similar to 12 ga multi strand that is flexible. This loop will hook over the aforementioned spool. On the outside of the shade a pocket is sewn on, attached on three sides and open on the bottom. The pocket is 3" X 3" +/-.
OK, still with me? Now we simply insert the end of the awning pull down bar into the pocket, raise it and the screen up and hook the wire loop over the spool. Then we fasten the lower snaps and we're done.
It takes me a lot longer to get the screens out and unrolled than it does to install them. And NO LADDER!
The company is Coastline Mfg, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 909-484-6592

[Joel Weiss]

I ran into a vendor at an FMCA Rally in Indio,CA several years ago that modified my exterior shade screens so I could attach & detach them while standing on the asphalt. He replaced the top male snaps on the coach with a plastic device similar in appearance to a sewing thread spool and about 1/2" dia X 3/4" tall, screwing them down to the same hole the snap was in. He then removed the female half of the snap from the screen and sewed on a horseshoe shaped loop of wire similar to 12 ga multi strand that is flexible. This loop will hook over the aforementioned spool. On the outside of the shade a pocket is sewn on, attached on three sides and open on the bottom. The pocket is 3" X 3" +/-.
OK, still with me? Now we simply insert the end of the awning pull down bar into the pocket, raise it and the screen up and hook the wire loop over the spool. Then we fasten the lower snaps and we're done.
It takes me a lot longer to get the screens out and unrolled than it does to install them. And NO LADDER!
The company is Coastline Mfg, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 909-484-6592

How well does this stand up to strong winds?  In south TX, we've had our existing sun shade ripped off its snaps.

[Lee Welbanks]

Ok, had to return to Az for a couple doc visits and it is a might warm here, in fact it is real hot 105 today. Yesterday morning I checked the temp of the dash that is facing east and it was 119 with the curtain closed. I remembered this post about putting the reflective sun foil on the inside of the exterior windshield mesh. Went down to home depot got (2) 48" X 10' rolls for $21ea. Used the mesh cover as a guide and cut the foil to match, snapped the top and slipped the foil under it and attached the rest of the snaps.

Result: This morning I tested the outside of the windshield and it was bumping 100 and the dash was 84, check again later and the highest the dash got was 88. So now the front side windows are also done, really helps out the A/C units and is super easy to do. So far I have $42 invested, cheap at any price.

[Edward Buker]

Lee,

Good idea Lee, thanks for sharing...

Later Ed