ktmrfs
Oct 11, 2016Explorer II
Poor Man's double pane windows
Since we do a reasonable amount of fall/winter camping, and lots when it is hot I decided to see what I could do to solve the issue with single pane windows. Biggest is heat gain in the summer and needing heat higher in the winter since sitting near window feels colder.
So.... off to the hardware store to get the Window film kits they sell for houses to make double pane windows. Basically a thin heat shrink plastic and double sided tape.
I tried it on a few windows two trips ago, definitely noticed it solved the condensation problem and DW said sitting in the dinette she felt warmer. The issue was the cheap film I bought had marginal tape and they soon started coming loose.
So, this last week I tried again with 3M film and tape. Success. Held up great for our trip to the coast. felt much warmer inside.
I used the film on all the fixed panes and all the sliding windows. I didn't use it on the awning windows, that still gives us enough windows for ventilation. Uncovered panes did fog, but not the rest and I was able to lower the thermostat by 2 degrees and we were still warm, and the furnace seemed to run less.
Installation was easy, run the tape around the frame trim, put the film on and adjust it to be reasonably taught and straight then hit it with a hair dryer. It shrinks enough to make a nice clear tight panel. Hard to see which ones had film on them or not.
And to remove, if you want, the tape is designed to stick harder to the film than to the frame, so when you pull up on the film to remove it , the tape comes with it.
Total cost for all the trailer windows was less than $15.
If this works well, I may go to tap plastics and have plastic cut for the bigger frames and screw them on for a more permanent fix.
So.... off to the hardware store to get the Window film kits they sell for houses to make double pane windows. Basically a thin heat shrink plastic and double sided tape.
I tried it on a few windows two trips ago, definitely noticed it solved the condensation problem and DW said sitting in the dinette she felt warmer. The issue was the cheap film I bought had marginal tape and they soon started coming loose.
So, this last week I tried again with 3M film and tape. Success. Held up great for our trip to the coast. felt much warmer inside.
I used the film on all the fixed panes and all the sliding windows. I didn't use it on the awning windows, that still gives us enough windows for ventilation. Uncovered panes did fog, but not the rest and I was able to lower the thermostat by 2 degrees and we were still warm, and the furnace seemed to run less.
Installation was easy, run the tape around the frame trim, put the film on and adjust it to be reasonably taught and straight then hit it with a hair dryer. It shrinks enough to make a nice clear tight panel. Hard to see which ones had film on them or not.
And to remove, if you want, the tape is designed to stick harder to the film than to the frame, so when you pull up on the film to remove it , the tape comes with it.
Total cost for all the trailer windows was less than $15.
If this works well, I may go to tap plastics and have plastic cut for the bigger frames and screw them on for a more permanent fix.