The windows, and especially the large windscreen in the cab, are where the most heat escapes in winter and enters in summer. They're also what compromises your privacy when you're parked up. Thermal blinds and curtains tackle all three fronts at once (temperature, privacy and light), which is why they're one of the most cost-effective comfort upgrades for a camper. Let's take a look.
Why windows matter
Glass insulates terribly: even in a well-insulated van, the windows remain a hole through which heat escapes in winter and enters in summer. The windscreen, being huge, acts like a giant solar panel heating up the cab in the sun. Treating the windows properly multiplies the effect of your overall insulation (covered in how to insulate).
Types of solution
- Built-in pleated blinds: found on many motorhome windows, combining a blackout panel and a fly screen.
- Made-to-measure thermal curtains or blinds for windows, using insulating material.
- Cab insulation/sun shades: the star accessory. They cover the windscreen and front side windows from inside or outside, greatly reducing the cold and heat entering through the driving area.
- A separator curtain between the cab and the living area: insulates the sleeping zone and adds privacy.
What you gain
- Less cold in winter: you retain the heat from the heater, which performs better.
- Less heat in summer: covering the windscreen in the sun lowers the interior temperature considerably.
- Privacy and darkness for sleeping and living undisturbed.
- Less climate-control power use, from losing and gaining less heat.
The best value: the cab sun shade
If you're only going to buy one, make it the cab insulation. It's where the difference is most noticeable: in summer it stops the sun turning the driving area into an oven, and in winter it slows heat loss through the large windscreen. Great value for the comfort it delivers.
In summary
Thermal blinds and curtains improve privacy, temperature and darkness all at once, with cab insulation offering the best value given how much heat (and cold) comes through the windscreen. The step to take today: get a good thermal insulator for the cab; it's the cheapest comfort upgrade that makes the biggest difference, both on winter nights and summer afternoons. Pair it with fly screens and blackout.
