Car/Van Campervan/ Car Camper Thermal Blackout Blinds

I have made these blinds for my Skoda Yeti which I am converting into a car camper. These blinds utilise plastic fluted board sandwiched between two layers of thermawrap insulation. This has a few advantages. One the double layer of insulation alongside the air gap provided by the plastic board will be good thermal insulation but also the reflective nature of the thermawrap will keep out sunlight (providing almost 100% blackout) and reflect away any heat helping to keep the car or can cool on sunny days.

This is very easy to do with basic tools and a little patience. The cost will depend on how large and how many windows you are doing. For my Skoda yeti (all windows except the windscreen it cost approximately £30. This is a bargain similar blinds made to size with probably less insulation cost £100-£150.

I don’t have the best pictures because making this guide was an afterthought. If you have any questions let me know and I’ll try to help.

I can’t take the all credit for this design. I was massively influenced by a few different videos on YouTube. This is my own take on the various designs they used.

Thermawrap insulation.

I purchased 8m which was much more than I needed. https://www.toolstation.com/ybs-general-purpose-thermawrap-insulation/p16779?store=AJ&utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=googleshoppingfeed&mkwid=s_dm&pcrid=515847200342&pkw=&pmt=&gclid=Cj0KCQjwxJqHBhC4ARIsAChq4avcIOTEOaMR7daWado0yxGuoMONoAVdBR1kcf4WdGntDGYc1iT_1CQaAgwvEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Fluted plastic board.

This comes in many brands, colours and thicknesses. I used 4mm floor protection board as it is a cheap way of buying it. Other brands include Corex and others. I think 4mm is perfect. 2mm would also work but would be less sturdy and have slightly less insulation. I would not recommend going thicker than 4mm as it would make getting the blinds to fit more difficult.
This is what I purchased: https://www.selcobw.com/floor-protection-translucent-2440-x-1220-x-4mm one piece was enough to do all windows on my SUV except the windscreen.

You will also need some glue. Pritt-stick or spray on adhesive is perfect. The duck tape keeps the blind together so using an expensive strong glue is not needed. This project could be completed without any glue but it makes applying the duck tape difficult and can cause the thermawrap to come away from the board a little.

A craft knife or Stanley knife plus a board to cut on.

Scissors

Duck tape. Any brand will do buy a better quality tape will make the blinds last longer. I used this https://www.diy.com/departments/diall-silver-effect-duct-tape-l-25m-w-50mm/1638457_BQ.prd

The first step is to make templates of the windows you want to make blinds for. This is probably the most difficult step. The best way I found was to use thin paper, I had fish and chip wrapping paper sheets.

Push the sheets into the corner and use a marker pen to draw around the edge of the window. Take your time with this to get it right.

Then cut out the template with scissors. Now you need to draw around your template onto the plastic fluted board.

Now with a craft/Stanley knife cut out the board on a suitable surface. Once the board is cut to size you should try it in place to see if it fits. Don’t worry about it being perfect. If there are small gaps make a mental note of where the gaps are then you can ensure there is extra thermawrap in this area to fill the gap.

Now using the piece of fluted plastic as a guide use a marker pen to trace the outline of the board onto the thermawrap. Note that you will want the shiny foil side on the outside and the clear bubble wrap side stuck to the board. Now use scissors to cut out the piece.

No apply some glue to the fluted board (I used pritt-stick but you could use a spray glue or a thin layer of PVA). Once there is a covering of glue you can stick the thermawrap into position. Personally I did this one piece at a time, gluing it into place then turning the piece over to trace and cut the piece for the other side. This prevents accidentally chatting a piece the wrong way round. Again make sure tye silver side is on the outside each time.

Now you can use strips of duck tape to secure the edges. Long straight strips should be used on the long edges and multiple thin pieces around corners. I recommend using a decent brand of tape so it sticks well and lasts. Once the whole edge is securely taped you can try the blind for size. Any small gaps can be prevented by adding a piece of duck tape to the area by making a small flap that extends outwards to cover any gaps.

Now check the blinds fit well. If they are tight and difficult to remove a small tab of duck tape can be added to help with getting them out (see picture). I have also labelled each blind to make it easy to know which blind is for which window and which way round the blinds go.