Window UV Sunshade Concepts

[Good Times]

I've been wanting to do this mod for a long time. Back when I used to drive the 4runner I used to camp inside and always hating having to crack open the window and possibly get stuck with darn bugs chomping at me while I snored my life away.

Over the years I found a few individuals do some really creative ways to screen their windows but none that I really liked. The cheapest and quickest one was to just get one of the screen door mesh and make a quick cut out and place it on the outside of the door with magnets. It's hella ugly but definitely works well. Just not my cup of tea.

I wanted to either buy or make something that affixed inside the door frame so I can keep it installed and be able to drive freely without worrying about the mesh coming off. Not only that I also wanted to be able to keep the mesh installed while driving with the windows down.

With that said I did some creative thinking and came up with little mod. It's still in the rough stages but it's a working progress. Need to figure out a way to secure the bottom part of the mesh. Was thinking I can slide it between the door frame and leather door molding but that wouldn't make it really "bolt on" friendly by being able to install/uninstall without really taking the door apart all of the time.

Please don't flame me on the wrinkling of the mesh screen. I kinda screwed up sewing the velcro at the right angle corner. Too much fabric flex so now I got this ugly wavy crap going on. Gotta take it apart and redo it but too lazy to take it apart for now.

Thoughts guys? Need your feedback. Got plenty of mesh so I can definitely redo this a few times over while I perfect the best method.

249250

[Seanz0rz]

I made an attempt with magnet strips but I was not thrilled with the result.

What is the material you used? I like the fine mesh.

[Kryptoroxx]

That's legit man! I like the solution a lot. Simple and effective.

For the bottom it might not be as thick as the top but you could put the velcro on the flap that rides the window. It would hold while you were sitting still and since the other sides are pretty thick it would probably do fine while driving.

[4x4mike]

I go with the magnets and use my sunroof. I've got 6 or 8 round magnets that were sold with a hook for hanging towels or kitchen stuff. I removed the hooks and stick the stack of magnets in my cargo storage pocket. I carry a rectangle of screen material and lay it over the open sunroof.

From the ground standing you can't even tell it's there. I like using the sunroof because the hot air rises and has kept me comfy.

SLOmatt has some nifty screens he made with thin wood. They are about 6 inches tall and you roll up the window 'into' them. There is screen sandwiched between the wood and large round holes drilled into the wood.

[04 Rocko Taco]

Very interesting!

AS we do a lot of camping in the 80 series, we have been tackling this same issue, so far have just opted to go the magnet route.

[Good Times]

Yeah the magnets route seems to be the most popular from my google searching on various forums across the globe.

I really don't like the whole "velcro" + "double sided tape" cuz tape really gets nasty when it comes time to cleaning up. But in this case I felt this was the best, cheapest and fastest option to give me some ideas on different options on what I should do. I was thinking of building an aluminum frame either on the inside of the window door frame but that's a bit crazy so the next best option was this for now.

As for velcro on the arm rest area... not sure if I want to apply the tape there.. will need to think of something. Figure this is a good cheap and ugly start. Hopefully I can clean up the wrinkle and at least make it look less ugly.

Sean, the material I used was from Home Depot. I just bought a roll of the screen door repair kit (just the fabric). There's several different brands and types so just pick one that works. I picked one that was UV protection but I think this was is a bit overkill. It really blocks a lot out so much so that it might also become a big issue driving. So far so good but we'll see.

[Seanz0rz]

Rivnuts in the door frame with some thumb screws would be an option. Not sure how keen you are on drilling holes in your door though

[Good Times]

Sean I considered that but considering this is for my Land Cruiser I really didn't want to butcher it like I did with the 4runner. Had it been the 4runner I would have gone that route but with the LC I figure I'd be a bit more gentle. Unless I really think outside of the box I think I'm gonna have to stick to the velcro option for now until I find something else.

[4x4mike]

If the Velcro works on the 3 edges keep it. For the window edge maybe buy some document covers with the removable spine. Like these:
http://i01.i.aliimg.com/img/pb/266/786/686/686786266_398.jpg

When you want the screens on leave a few inches of the window up. Put Velcro on the spines and push those onto the the top of the protruding window glass.

[Good Times]

hmmm interesting idea. never thought about this one. might have to snag something from the office and give this one a try!

thx

[04 Rocko Taco]

X2 - Creative thinking Mike!

[Kryptoroxx]

This just kinda clicked in my head. Not sure if it would be worth trying a different approach but did you think about possibly making a design with a wire under tension like those sun shades?

http://www.opentip.com/popup_image.php?pID=4658707&imgName=SGGBI-DWS.jpg

The way they work is you twist them and they become smaller....let them go and they spread out. If you have it spread out you should be able to shove it into the cracks on your window frame and it would hold tight. Then you wouldn't need any velcro at all. I've never taken one apart but I'm sure you could probably mimic the construction. Only thing that it would take is a sewing machine. I think my welding skills are probably better than my skills with a sewing machine lol.

[Good Times]

I did look into the "annoying" twist shades. As much as I like the simplicity of it I hated folding it up inside the car/truck so much so that I really didn't want to go down that road for this project. Additionally I wanted something that will seal the window up so that no bugs can come in should I use it as a screen while I snooze in the woods.

The other option I am looking into is an aluminum frame that will run along the entire inner window door sill. Not sure if its realistic but I'm definitely exploring different options.

Keep em coming!

[Kryptoroxx]

You could use a metal frame from a filing cabinet frame for hanging folders. With a little bending you would have a frame that fit the window pretty well. To make the screen seal use the rubber blades from two squeegees and slide them in the sides while the window is all the way down. Not sure how well it would work partially closed but it would seal well enough for bugs.

[paddlenbike]

Gutter guard--it even has the lip to catch the window. 99 cents. Not my idea, just found it online.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/attachments/3rd-gen-t4rs/126021d1406663174-my-4-dollar-window-screen-image.jpg

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/attachments/3rd-gen-t4rs/126026d1406663294-my-4-dollar-window-screen-image.jpg

I'm going to pick some up for my next trip.

[4x4mike]

Nice find. I bought some of those for my rain water catchment stuff and ended up not using them. HD has them for closer to $5 but I have found they fall apart if you cut them. The edges were also really sharp. I'll have to dig them out of my junk pile and see how they fit in the windows. I think with a hot glue gun the screen material could be held on and hopefully they'd last more than one trip.

[Good Times]

Ken that's very interesting and creative. Definitely out of the box thinking. I've been using the screen door mesh but have ended up removing them because it was too dark (per the occupants in the back). Go figure....

Looking at alternative material such as the mosquito netting which might work. Since I already have the velcro on the door changing the material shouldn't be too difficult. Finding the netting appears to be more of a pain in the *** at this point. lol

[4x4mike]

My old REI sold no-see-um by the square foot. It was in 4 foot rolls. It's the netting they use in tent windows.