Fitted front window blinds - Do you use them

[Daveb999]

Do people use the fitted roll out front window blinds or use an after market blind?

Ive just been away for 5 weeks in the van and not sure I was overly impressed with the roll out blinds. Can be a pain to get them into position, space at top (which sun visor in down position can help with) and not black out - mainly due to that space at top.

Thinking about after market blinds but seems like it might be a waste of money given the van already has some.

 

[Cali Phillip]

I made a section to fit in behind the sun visors, if summer and wild camping then tend to use them to enable a quick take off if needed, Also the dash cam still can see the outside.

 

[Doorbundle]

Yes, we use them. I've got long arms but still sometimes get caught out by the spring back.

 

[California Dreamer]

No longer use them, too much of a faff and they were starting to crease. Poor design in my opinion! I mostly use an external wrap or in summer the vw internal cotton blind which fits easily around the visors and folds up v small - matches the magnetic side blinds. I believe this was originally supplied with t6.1 beach but I picked one up on here second hand.


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[Bellcrew]

Do people use the fitted roll out front window blinds or use an after market blind?

Ive just been away for 5 weeks in the van and not sure I was overly impressed with the roll out blinds. Can be a pain to get them into position, space at top (which sun visor in down position can help with) and not black out - mainly due to that space at top.

Thinking about after market blinds but seems like it might be a waste of money given the van already has some.

We do use them, it helps if you remove the front seat head rests, put them in a supermarket bag in the seat well.
We ignore the slight gap at the rear view mirror.
We also have bought second hand, a silver screens padded outer cover but found it a pain to store after rain.

 

[Blackbrogue1962]

We normally use an external cover, but find the built in blinds and magnetic door blinds useful if we need a speedy getaway. It’s good to have the option of which to use as there’s no penalty in space saving.

 

[hlobban]

As echoed mostly by those above, wild camping or a single night en route to a different location the we use them to reduce the time to pack up and move the van in the morning.

If staying at a static location for a while or campsite the we will fit an external wrap around windscreen cover.

Agreed that they are not the best at keeping out light but handy that they are built in so cost nothing in terms of storage, also great that they don’t get wet from condensation etc!

 

[RedWhiteMonkey]

I think the fitted blind in the T6.1 is a good idea but badly executed. We gave up on them in the end and bought one from Project Camper. That one fits perfectly and stores nicely on the upstairs bed when not needed.

 

[dspuk]

Do people use the fitted roll out front window blinds or use an after market blind?

Ive just been away for 5 weeks in the van and not sure I was overly impressed with the roll out blinds. Can be a pain to get them into position, space at top (which sun visor in down position can help with) and not black out - mainly due to that space at top.

Thinking about after market blinds but seems like it might be a waste of money given the van already has some.

Both. We use the front ones in the winter or when we travelling extra light. Too much light comes through them in the summer for my liking.

Else we use this one which is cheap, very light to pack (in the boot chair gap) and works great:

T6 Screen Wrap - A Plain Deluxe

Tailored specifically to the VW T6. As shown in one of the images, a lot of people online are selling their T5 screens as T6's which DO NOT fit how they should. We don't do that, our T6 cover have been made for the T6 and are a better fit than most others out there. Black out blinds in the...

fuellagoon.co.uk

 

[Viktorgeorge]

Do people use the fitted roll out front window blinds or use an after market blind?

Ive just been away for 5 weeks in the van and not sure I was overly impressed with the roll out blinds. Can be a pain to get them into position, space at top (which sun visor in down position can help with) and not black out - mainly due to that space at top.

Thinking about after market blinds but seems like it might be a waste of money given the van already has some.

Yes, we use them and are happy with them. However, best operation does need to be learned. Also, in my case, the top pins needed superglue-ing.

Post in thread 'Windscreen blind securing pin'
https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/windscreen-blind-securing-pin.58900/post-752401

 

[Cali Phillip]

Yes, we use them. I've got long arms but still sometimes get caught out by the spring back.

Me too!

 

[Daveb999]

No longer use them, too much of a faff and they were starting to crease. Poor design in my opinion! I mostly use an external wrap or in summer the vw internal cotton blind which fits easily around the visors and folds up v small - matches the magnetic side blinds. I believe this was originally supplied with t6.1 beach but I picked one up on here second hand.


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Yup, mine have started to crease, no matter how careful I am with them. One of the reasons I posted this up.

 

[Mehdime]

We use the built-in ones. You learn the hard and violent way the first time you use them how not to let go before they’ve been securely attached. And then they’re just fine.

I thought that the lack of blackout would be annoying but, in practice, we’ve never found this to be an issue.

They’re definitely not well designed mind you. I wish VW had come up with something better. But a stick on after-market blind would be just as much faff and yet another thing to carry and store somewhere. So sticking with the built-in blinds until they break.

 

[The Little Red Cali]

Use the internal blinds for one nighters and a thermal windscreen cover for anything longer. Would also add that when we use the latter we have very little condensation in the mornings. The van is also pitch black and is noticeably warmer especially when winter camping.

 

[MyrtleMoo]

We use the Project Camper magnetic ones on windscreen and front windows, then some foil type ones on the two middle windows. We just use the built-in blinds for the rear two windows. The Project Camper ones are pricey but brilliant and would happily recommend, especially with the fold-down ventilation option which is great if you're able to crack the two front windows.

I'd still use the built in blinds if it was just for a quick privacy need like getting changed.

 

[Maidment_Ocean]

Use them occasionally in summer.

 

[willwander]

No, the fitted front blinds a PITA, they crease, don’t stay put and fly back at an alarming rate. Also find external covers a pain, they get wet and I can’t spy on people at the campsite without going outside to take them down, I’m a terrible curtain twitcher.

We go old school and use the fabric internal front window blind that came as standard on the old Cali 5.1

 

[Malky]

The front fitted internal blinds are fine in the wet, use external insulated ones when dry or really cold. Front fitted internal ones are easy to use once you have mastered it! Much quicker and easier than external covers for single over nighters!

 

[SusiBus]

Ours were creased on delivery. Unfortunately didn't notice when we collected the vehicle and it was sometime before we realised. Good old VW quality control.
Now bought after market internal ones that we can store on the upstairs bed.

 

[L&R.]

Both. We use the front ones in the winter or when we travelling extra light. Too much light comes through them in the summer for my liking.

Else we use this one which is cheap, very light to pack (in the boot chair gap) and works great:

T6 Screen Wrap - A Plain Deluxe

Tailored specifically to the VW T6. As shown in one of the images, a lot of people online are selling their T5 screens as T6's which DO NOT fit how they should. We don't do that, our T6 cover have been made for the T6 and are a better fit than most others out there. Black out blinds in the...

fuellagoon.co.uk

Hi Dave,
Just wondering what this solution is like when it is wet? We currently have an internal home made blind, but this may be better.

 

[dspuk]

Hi Dave,
Just wondering what this solution is like when it is wet? We currently have an internal home made blind, but this may be better.

No real issues - if it is wet we just fold wet and dry out when we get home. I honesly could not be bothered with the faff of a seperate internal one. This covers the front window and side ones and is cheap as chips as well as great quality. We had a heavyweight one but it's large to carry and offered no real benefits at the end of the day.

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

We replaced the middle section blinds with ones from Project Camper particularly since we didn't like raising and lowering the sliding door blind every time we wanted to exit.

We have now just added the cockpit set and a rear blind so not using any of the standard Ocean blinds.

 

[subthree]

I had the roller blinds replaced under warranty. Haven't used them since. Now Project Camper, much better. Just store them flat in the pop top.

 

[Hawthorn37]

We use the built in front blinds in the summer as sun shade/ privacy if catching a snooze on a long journey. Otherwise we use an Isolite internal shade .

 

[Daveb999]

Both. We use the front ones in the winter or when we travelling extra light. Too much light comes through them in the summer for my liking.

Else we use this one which is cheap, very light to pack (in the boot chair gap) and works great:

T6 Screen Wrap - A Plain Deluxe

Tailored specifically to the VW T6. As shown in one of the images, a lot of people online are selling their T5 screens as T6's which DO NOT fit how they should. We don't do that, our T6 cover have been made for the T6 and are a better fit than most others out there. Black out blinds in the...

fuellagoon.co.uk

This looks great and a very good price.