Where to buy solar blankets?

[arkantex]

So I have seen many posts about using solar blankets as bunk end insulation/covers. I was wondering where you all bought the material at? I have found the swimming pool cover/blankets and I have found the mylar reflective blankets but haven't been able to find one that is insulated and reflective.

[f150camper]

I bought these from Cabelas: Link.

I found my old order, still the same product. They were $12.99 in July of 2011 when I bought mine, now they are 16.99. That's > 9% inflation. :R :W

Still a great price. We use them every time out for 3 years now, and they are holding up well. Had to buy 3: one covered the rear bunk perfectly, and we stitched two together for the front bunk. They are held in place by maybe 12-15 mini spring clamps that I bought at Home Depot. Mini Spring Clamp Link They hold even in VERY high winds. Camped at a Columbia river site last year where our neighbors Motorhomes awning was folded back onto his roof, and picnic supplies flew by horizontally on a regular basis. Even a tent crossed our site on it's way into the river, LOL. But our blankets stayed on tight - almost unbelievable. :C

[Hawk7]

If you want to go cheap then you can order them from Cabela's. I ordered two and used bungee cords to hold them down. Works great!

Barb

[bikendan]

ajohn14 wrote:
Zipping window shaped panels of Reflectix into the bunk end window panels makes a huge difference when used with the popup gizmos, in cold or extra warm temps. well worth the extra effort and small expense.

PUGs also sells a bunk end solar liner, like a giant u-shaped Reflectix, to go around the inside of the bunk end.

[ajohn14]

Zipping window shaped panels of Reflectix into the bunk end window panels makes a huge difference when used with the popup gizmos, in cold or extra warm temps. well worth the extra effort and small expense.

[dadmomh]

Think you'll be pleased with them. Great quality, look nice on, durable. The only suggestion is to make a stop at Harbor Freight or similar and get a tube of plastic clippies. The ones Bob sends with the PUPs are not the strongest in the world and you'll need extras. Binder clips can me used, but you stand the chance of rust.

[arkantex]

Looks like PUG already has our camper specs and for the price, I think we are just going to go with them. Thanks everyone!

[arkantex]

bikendan,I did google search the names you listed and was getting inconsistent hits. Some would be what I now know you were talking about and some would be the cheap little plastic blankets. Neither of which were what I was thinking everyone was using. Thats why I asked the other question.

Thanks everyone for the replies. I bet I can get there from here now.

[dadmomh]

I believe Cabelas or possibly something like Bass Pro Shop carries them...anywhere you'd find a complete camping supply section. Many do use them, but we made the investment in Pop-up-Gizmos and were 110% pleased. They are custom sized to fit each bunkend, have whichever type of tie-downs you choose and Bob and his company stand behind the product completely. They have a regular tie-down type, the High Wind version - which we bought - and now the Super High Wind. They recently have come out with a set which fits inside the interior walls on the bunkend and look like they'd do a fine job in colder climates. Just one of the things we liked about ours was that they have a neat and tidy appearance rather than using a sportsmen type that's just a rectangle and you either have to trim it to fit or leave it as a rectangle and it may not have such a neat appearance. Suggest you investigate all your options.

[Car_Guy]

We picked ours up at R.E.I. I think they were under $15.00 a piece. Work well. Other than adding the one more for our 232, I think they are all from the original hybrid 9 years ago. I use clamps holding them to the rain gutters on the trailer and bungees around the tent ends. Only have a little problem when it's really windy. Just add a couple clamps then.

[bikendan]

arkantex wrote:
Is it just the thin plastic type that is reflective on one side? NO
I was under the impression that people were using the stuff that windshield sun blockers are made out of. Almost like bubble wrap with layer of shiny plastic on each side.NO

if you'd Google the names i suggested, you'd see what we're talking about. or as i and rookiecamper suggested, check out PUG's website.

Reflectix is what many of us use in the tent end windows.
but it's too fragile to use on top, like PUGs.

[poppin_fresh]

I have been using "sportsman blankets" I bought from the site that rhymes with bamazon. They are pretty inexpensive.

I put one under each bunk mattress and then one on the inside roof of each bunk by putting it over the shepards pole in the middle and clamping it to the sides with black binder clips in the top corners. This still leaves the sides of the bunks themselves open, which can lead to a lot of heat gain or loss in extreme temps.

In the hot states, the blankets are probably better on the outside keeping the heat out, but here in the northeast with small kids, I need to keep heat in at night. It can get down in the 50's at night even in July, which can be very chilly for kids that dont know enough to keep covered up and having the furnace run all the time is annoying.

[Rookiecamper]

Go to popupgizmos.com and look at some of the pictures. The material used is commonly know as "sportsman blankets". They are silver on one side and a variety of colors on the other. It is not the tin foil type of emergency blanket. The thicker reflectix is often used to insulate the window panels. Hope this helps.

[Larryect]

Not sure. Maybe something like this:

Reflectix at Amazon

[arkantex]

Is it just the thin plastic type that is reflective on one side? I was under the impression that people were using the stuff that windshield sun blockers are made out of. Almost like bubble wrap with layer of shiny plastic on each side.