Mounted a sun screen for front windshield

[dmctlc]

Hi everyone currently on my Class A DP I only have MCD electric shade which when we stop for the night like everyone we bring it down for privacy. What I'd like to do is mount a sun screen in front of that to add an extra layer of screening from the sun like every other window in my coach has. Something during the day you could keep down yet retract the shade so you can see outside but have privacy. I'm looking for something to cut down the heat inside and I've looked at Magna Shades which look great but very expensive and where we are on the crutch of moving up to a slightly longer coach with a tag axle in the near future it's money I don't want to invest that may be short lived with no return. I've looked at adding adding Expel Prime XR or XR plus but that's not much less than Magna and not sure if it will be worth it for the front windshield. I don't want the snap-on ones because that entails too much work to put on and off on short visits. So I'm open for suggestions...

[BeaverDen]

I have the MCD shades both solid for night and screen for day but the sun if coming thru the windshield is brutally hot as you know, so I added the Magna Shade It is worth every penny. Blocks out glare and is significantly better at reducing heat. The only negative is it is placed behind the windshield wipers and mine are mounted close to the center and in the off position, straight up. If yours are like they would typically be on a car, and in the off position of low horizontal then it is better. For that reason if I am only in a place for 48 hours I generally don't put the shades up but if it is longer than that they defiantly make home more comfortable and reduce A/C run cycle times Finally, I take them down before the dew falls the afternoon before we depart that way it is dry when it comes inside.

[Alpine36]

Hey, nothing wrong with being thrifty.
If you take a look at the Magna Shades you'll discover they are made from SunTex material. We found a 4x8' factory "second" on Amazon for less than $20. We cut it to fit the inside dimension of our windshields (2) and affix each side with suction cups to the top side. This works great as a daytime privacy screen and does an ok job keeping out sun glare. Obviously the advantage of the Magne Shades are they affix outside so that's beneficial for extreme heat insulation. As a $20 privacy screen it's tough to beat this hack though. Amazon has plenty of retail SunTex sources....
https://www.phifer.com/product/suntex-80-90/

[Tha_Rooster]

I made my on from sun screen and industrial Velcro. It looks good to me. I mounted on outside because it keeps the windshield from getting hot and transferring the heat to inside.

[Ivylog]

Being cheap too, I made my own. Lowe’s sells shade cloth in the garden center. Four 2” suction cups and some silicone seal to hem the cut edges is all that’s needed.
Don’t forget that at night you can see in.

[MSHappyCampers]

Originally Posted by Ivylog

Being cheap too, I made my own. Lowe’s sells shade cloth in the garden center. Four 2” suction cups and some silicone seal to hem the cut edges is all that’s needed.
Don’t forget that at night you can see in.

Have you ever checked the temp inside the windshield, with and without the screen, under the exact same weather conditions?

[Tha_Rooster]

Originally Posted by MSHappyCampers

Have you ever checked the temp inside the windshield, with and without the screen, under the exact same weather conditions?

I haven’t checked temp but at beach it was like a oven now it’s not made all the difference. I used 90 % block screen.

[DiverBob57]

These were made by local upholstery shop for $200. Agree with Rooster that they work very well on keeping coach cool but still able to see outside during the day. At night we close the interior privacy curtains.

[BeaverDen]

The shade will allow you to se out during the day but not in, you wills see right IN after dark so you still must use the privacy shade. As for as heat goes, on the outside it keeps the glass itself cooler , if it is on the inside the heat transmission is till substantial

[Ivylog]

I had black outside shades for my Dynasty . Yes they help but the black in contact with the glass is hotter than you would think. A lighter color shade on the inside seems to work just as well.
If it’s really hot and the windshield faces into the sun I use a homemade silver bubble wrap shade on the outside. No, you can’t see out but all of the heat is reflected.

[dmctlc]

Thanks everyone for some great ideas. My DW is looking at a few suggestions to see if she wants to tackle any of them since she has the sewing machine.

[Tha_Rooster]

Originally Posted by dmctlc

Thanks everyone for some great ideas. My DW is looking at a few suggestions to see if she wants to tackle any of them since she has the sewing machine.

I did mine with a normal sewing machine with no problems.

[Winemaker2]

Originally Posted by dmctlc

Thanks everyone for some great ideas. My DW is looking at a few suggestions to see if she wants to tackle any of them since she has the sewing machine.

Originally Posted by Tha_Rooster

I did mine with a normal sewing machine with no problems.

Mesh is not too challenging to sew. A heavy home machine should work OK.
Check out Rochfordsupply.com as they have close out and 2nd mesh at bargain prices.
Sailright.com is a good source for sewing supplies for the DIYer. Just be sure to use a good UV protected thread meant for outdoor use and heavier than normal. You will likely need a special needle to handle the heavier thread.
Just experiment with scraps to get the machine set up correctly. Extra folding tables around the machine and a second set of hands will make it a lot easier to feed the material uniformly.
Sailright has many How To videos that might help.
It may make things a lot easier if you make a template first. Tyvek house wrap (or equivalents) make a good template material but a heavy (6-8mil) plastic sheet also works very well.
Straight edges will let you allow an extra 3" on each side and fold a hem twice to cover all raw cut edges. A warm iron will set the fold and make it easier to sew.

[RichKimball]

I put these shade material on most of my windows including the windshield. Window Shade material