ACE Windshield & Side Window Shade

[LockChuck92]

Love my ACE, but not a fan of the cheap privacy curtain that covers the windshield, driver, and passenger windows. Has anyone made or bought a shade that fits this windshield? Not looking for a one-size-fits-all Walmart aluminum foil shade...I want it to fit well, look clean, do a better job of keeping the sun out when needed, and preferably be somewhat insulated. The windshield (and curtain) let ALOT of heat into my coach in the summer... any ACE owners out there with a solution?

[Long & Winding road]

No, but I have seen some folks custom make curtains for the front of the RV. They sometimes will insulate them so they block more light and keep the heat (and cold) out of the RV better than factory. Plus they look much better than the insulated bubbles.

[GMac]

I did buy a roll of the silver insulation wrap at Home Depot. I cut for fit for front, side, read and door windows. Definitely reduces solar heat.

Not much of a help right now (can't remember brand) but I did install a set of exterior shades (when parked). Cuts down glare and heat during day. Can't see inside RV from the outside during daytime.

[be happy]

My wife made a great second curtain for the ACE. We went to a fabric store looking for something that would look good, stop sun light, and that we could some what see through. We found fabric that was light weight, it had mirror like reflective pieces glued to a see through black fabric. She had to do some creative sewing to make it work but the end results was great. We ordered new rollers for the track (easy to do) as many as the original curtain has. We did end up keeping the old curtain attached for what reason I do not know. I have noticed a great drop in inside temp with the new curtain.

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by LockChuck92

Love my ACE, but not a fan of the cheap privacy curtain that covers the windshield, driver, and passenger windows. Has anyone made or bought a shade that fits this windshield? Not looking for a one-size-fits-all Walmart aluminum foil shade...I want it to fit well, look clean, do a better job of keeping the sun out when needed, and preferably be somewhat insulated. The windshield (and curtain) let ALOT of heat into my coach in the summer... any ACE owners out there with a solution?

If you want the prevent the heat from getting in and have a nice looking shade get a Magne Shade. It goes on (and comes off) easy, looks nice, and will reduce the head load in the camper (I'm a firm believer of preventing the heat from getting in thus an outside shade is much more effective than foil on the inside which lets the light through the glass and then reflects it back out--you're still letting the heat in).

Note that we don't have one, we do have something similar, a Sunguard Shade. Its essentially the same thing but held on with velcro instead of magnets--a less elegant solution. Still works the same, however.

[Dippytwo]

We have the Magne Shade for the front and side windows. It works great to help keep the heat out and is very easy to put on and take off. At night you would still need to use your curtain for privacy. When in storage I have use the reflective silver insulation you get at Lows and cut it to fit snugly on all my windows.

[16ACE27]

When the white liner deteriorated on our curtains I ripped out the remnants, bought some clearance insulated drapes with white backing, cut and sewed the insulated drapes to the window side of the curtains with the white side exposed to the window. Works much better than original.

[ArrrV]

I have installed Eclipse Shades on the interior of my ACE 30.2 windshield. They are accordian honeycomb pleated sun shades that retract into mounts on each side of the windshield and velcro together in the center. Metallic outer with choice of grey or tan inner. When you order you send in windshield measurements and they are made for your coach. Probably don't provide as much protection as an outside vinyl, but are way easier to open and close-- I use them even when leaving the RV parked for a few minutes.. Less than 60 seconds to close. Opens in 10 secs!
The sun is brutal here in S FL, so I ordered a roll of fabric metallic heat reflector (one side white the reverse is metallic) from the factory. I will be sewing this to my privacy curtain after the holidays to further reduce the heat load and will report back. I think that buying the whole roll was cheaper than buying a cut piece half the length, so you may see the other half go on sale in the forum a month or two.

[rcdooley]

where did you get the new track for the curtains? I want to make new curtains, but need the track to sew onto the curtains.

[sab3864]

Arrv, do you have any pictures of your Eclipse Shades you can post?

[jawzilla]

Originally Posted by 16ACE27

When the white liner deteriorated on our curtains I ripped out the remnants, bought some clearance insulated drapes with white backing, cut and sewed the insulated drapes to the window side of the curtains with the white side exposed to the window. Works much better than original.

I know this is super old, but thanks for the idea, our new to us 2017 ace 29.4 has the same issue. I think this is the solution.

[Dan-sr@perra-us.net]

Originally Posted by LockChuck92

Love my ACE, but not a fan of the cheap privacy curtain that covers the windshield, driver, and passenger windows. Has anyone made or bought a shade that fits this windshield? Not looking for a one-size-fits-all Walmart aluminum foil shade...I want it to fit well, look clean, do a better job of keeping the sun out when needed, and preferably be somewhat insulated. The windshield (and curtain) let ALOT of heat into my coach in the summer... any ACE owners out there with a solution?

I had a local seamstress make new lined curtains using the original curtains as a pattern. We ordered new UV resistant material and a light blocking liner. She reused the Hanger track sued onto the curtain. All told material and assembly cost a little over $400.00. If you have the skills all you would need is the material which would cut the cost.

One additional note, while I did not look to provide additional insulation, the new curtains do provide a noticeable level of insulation for the windsheild.

[jawzilla]

Thanks, the curtains were in relatively great condition. It was just the backing that disintegrated so we purchased some material that has not arrived yet to sew on the back. Also, we washed and dried the curtains, and they didn’t fall apart, and they retained their size.

[David_Reaves]

I took out the curtain tracks, then mounted some accordion fold, sun blocking, cellular blinds. There are hold downs for them at the split in the window frame (for when the RV is moving) then they pull down all the way when we are stopped. Much better in my opinion than curtains. I don't have any pictures of the install handy, but this is the photo from Lowes. I installed the 46" x 64" gray version. It does a great job blocking the light and "seems" to help on heat and cold.

[David_Reaves]

Here are the photos of the light blocking cellular blinds. There is driving mode on the side hooks. Then the fully closed blind, and then small, 1.25" x maybe 8" gap at the front bottom of the slide.