When driving across country I sleep with the roof down most of the time. I do this for warmth and a sense of stealthiness.
Out west in the winter I put the roof up and lay on my bench watching movies or TV and cold air rolls off the bunk and on my head and neck.
I’ve tried tilting the roof with the front over the bunk down and the back roof up, but still I get a cold draft. Because I sleep in the bunk mostly, even with the top up the bunk space is only used for putting things there to get them out of my way.
I needed a solution to the cold draft, so this past fall (2020) I took a COVID mask trip to Joann Fabrics and bought some lightweight quilt material to make a bunk barrier.
I sized the thermal barrier to tuck in the bottom of the bunk a few inches and wrap around on the outsides to make for a better fit
In trying to think of a way to hold the barrier up I thought of my friend David Swanson of Prius days who used rare earth magnets to hold curtains.
Dang, what a great idea. I found some rare earth magnets at Joann Fabrics incased in plastic and used them by sewing them to the fabric and screwing them to the wooden roof brace in the ceiling or using industrial double sided tape to the magnets on the roof ribs. (Don’t go to Joanne Fabric without looking for coupons. The magnets are expensive and I got them 50% off.)
The other advantage of the thermal barrier is that when I’m heating my camper I don’t have to waste heat to warm the loft bunk.
Note that the material is not a heavy quilt and I lay it in the bunk when I close the roof.
I now have a good thermal barrier and I can put things up there when company comes over and they can’t see the mess.
The magnets make putting the thermal barrier up simple and fast.
Oh, although I usually get help from my wife in sewing I sized, cut, bound the edges with double binding tape, hand sewed the magnets on too. I did need my wife’s help to give me instruction on using the sewing machine as she was away at the time.
Happy vandwelling.
Brent
macaloney@hotmail.com
