Interior windshield privacy curtain and door screen

[hoosiermark]

Just got the B on the promaster chassis. Now I need a privacy curtain for the front window. I see the reflective ones that fold in place and remember the old rvs with the track and cloth curtain that slid around. What is the simple and easy way being used these days? I want to use the front seats when they are rotated around also.
Secondly while I only spent one night in the van I can see the benefits of a screen for the sliding door. I read about people using magnets and Velcro and making their own and I see they can be bought. Are there any patterns out there for making your own other then trial and error? Is there a favorite brand? Is the screen worth the aggravation or ?
Also we opened the awning, to check it out, it was easy to open but the closing I noted took a little more effort cranking it in. I had someone support it a little and that made a big difference putting it away. Any tricks I should know about?

[Mote]

goreds2 wrote:
Concerning the original poster's question regarding "the benefits of a screen for the sliding door", you should be able to find some good YouTube videos on that. It sounds like you have a very nice van.

I second the youtube thing. There was a couple on the West coast that drove a "loaner" Hymer for a couple years. It was their home so they may have some ideas for privacy curtains and door screens.

[goreds2]

Concerning the original poster's question regarding "the benefits of a screen for the sliding door", you should be able to find some good YouTube videos on that. It sounds like you have a very nice van.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

As an aside: when we had our Class C on the Ford E450 chassis, we owned a set of "Easy Curtains": it was a one-piece, black nylon shade that blocked all light. It had pockets that slid over the sun visors; and a little flap that was closed into the windows to hols the side sections up. I'm assuming they went out of business because I can't find them any more; and the set that fit the E450 doesn't fit the Transit with its bigger side windows 😞 The whole thing folded up and fit into a gallon-sized ziplock bag. If anyone knows of a similar product, it sure was handy!!

[jakegw2]

I had the Remis shades for my Promaster installed by Winnebago. They cost me ~$200. It was money well-spent. Super convenient, light-blocking (unlike the Eclipse), and a huge improvement over having to store something large and bulky that needs to be put on and fits poorly.

Here is an old video that shows the shades. Like I said, much less expensive then they quote and available directly from a Winnebago dealer.

https://www.thefitrv.com/rv-tips/remis-cab-shades-for-the-promaster-installed/

[JimBollman]

JimBollman wrote:
When we bought our B last year it came with 3 ways of blocking the front windows

Shouldn't quote myself but remembered we had a 4th way of blocking the front windows that we used a couple of times, it was a vinyl cover that had pockets that fit over the corner of the doors and across the windshield blocking the sides and front. Worked ok but was a pain to put away and transport when it was wet.

[NoVa_RT]

I’ve used Eclipse Sunshades for my SUV & the Roadtrek, and am quite happy with both. They are custom made by model, and I see they have the ProMaster listed for 2018 models, but apparently not for 2019.

[JimBollman]

When we bought our B last year it came with 3 ways of blocking the front windows and we have tried all 3 and have settled on a fold up foil/foam front window block and my wife made curtains with super magnets sewn in the seams for the front sides. We also have a 3 sided curtain that goes up with velcro, this a bit of a pain to put up. Both of these do not block the front seats. The third is a curtain with rod that normally hangs in the back, pulled back, but can be move to the front and hooks into side hangers. It is nice for short stops like in rest areas and Walmart where you don't want to be obvious you are sleeping in the van.

I like the fold up ones that pasusan suggested, I may replace the foil with one, takes up less space when put away.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

I use a similar sunshade like pasusan linked to, only mine was sized to fit a semi-truck, so it's a tad big, but there's plenty of flexibility. I cut reflectix to fit the front side windows (a couple of magnets taped to the cutouts holds them in place); and yes, I use a $25 velcroed-in screen door (Amazon) over the slider. I just trimmed the screen fabric so it was short enough to not get caught in the slider track. A hint: go a little wider than your opening, these screens self-close the best when there's some slack in the fabric.

[pasusan]

Can only tell you about what we use for our windshield:


It is really neat - you twist it to fold it up into a small package. So it stores easily and when open it covers the entire windshield.

We got ours on Amazon - this one is apparently unavailable now - but further down the page it shows other similar ones.