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Stealth camping

I

icic

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Messages
553
Location
UK
Vehicle
T6 Ocean 150
I am not planning on doing any Stealth camping now, but was wondering what the best way to stop any of the internal light being visible through the drivers window. In other words what’s the best way of making the interior light tight
 
Blackout screen cover - typically external which covers both door windows and the windscreen. If you want internal, you can get certainly get a blackout internal screen cover for windscreen which fixes in place over the driver and passenger sunshades. I’ve not seen internal blackout for the door windows, but I’ve not looked too hard - our kids tend to wake around 06:30 irrespective of blackout or not
 
Blackout screen cover - typically external which covers both door windows and the windscreen. If you want internal, you can get certainly get a blackout internal screen cover for windscreen which fixes in place over the driver and passenger sunshades. I’ve not seen internal blackout for the door windows, but I’ve not looked too hard - our kids tend to wake around 06:30 irrespective of blackout or not
Wouldn't be Stealth camping with a highly visible cover on.

No lights on and night vision gear would be an optiono_O
 
I would only ever use internal covers in case I wanted a get away without getting out of the vehicle.

I use the internal windscreen covers but they do let in light and for anyone up close could signal occupancy so the other alternative is a blackout curtain hun behind the front seat backs but very hard to get a total light seal.
 
For overnight stealth parking you obviously have to sleep downstairs. As a solo traveler I also use a blackout curtain behind the front seats clipped to the pop top opening so it looks unoccupied. However, the rear blinds are not lightproof and the fitting a bit hit and miss - in the two vans I’ve had they either don’t fit snuggly into the side grooves or don’t close tightly to the bottom. In my 2019 T6 van the design of the rear blind seems to have changed and is a much looser fit particularly around the sides but it now has a metal bottom frame (previously plastic) and I can now operate it from inside which was virtually impossible with my T5 van.
So with lights out it’s not easy to tell if anyone’s sleeping inside - except perhaps for the sound of snoring!
I had even thought of removing the awning as that’s a dead giveaway and buy a much cheaper clip on cloth awning and even debadge but frankly I’m not that worried.
With my Blackvue front and back I can even check from under the duvet who’s around - my blackout screen has a centre divide so that I can slip into the driving seat quickly and be off - but I’ve never had any problems here or in Europe. Even parked in a residential street I don’t think people notice if they register the front seats are visible and unoccupied.
 
Can I ask what a blackvue front and back is ?
 
We do the same as @racali and use a black fleece blanket behind the passenger sheets. It's a diy effort made with 2 Primark throws or blankets, stitched together/ doubled up. It was originally made as an internal windscreen curtain when we had a T5.

Being black it's hard to tell it's there from outside.
 
Can I ask what a blackvue front and back is ?
BlackVue dash cams to front and rear screens connected via my mifi - bought primarily for the parking mode which records events when I’m not around but equally useful for viewing via my iPhone/iPad from anywhere in the world
 
like The sound of the blackvie, are there different models that allow parking monitoring ? If so which is best and how much does the system cost. Is it complicated to fit ?
 
Yes it records when you are away over a predetermined period - to avoid flattening your batteries. I have the Blackvue DR900s-2CH using their Magic Pro hardware kit. After checking around I found it cheapest to buy it from Amazon and had it fitted by a specialist who did a very neat job. I didn’t attempt to fit it even though the instructions looked comprehensive mainly because I was nervous about prizing off pieces of plastic to conceal the wires particularly from the rear camera. From what I recall it cost all about £500 but you will also need a mifi and SIM card so that’s another say £75 with the sim being on a monthly renewal of about £10.
On my previous T5 I had a tracker fitted for about £1000 including three years subscription but the service was poor and the theft alarms erratic - the current set up gives me a picture and sound with coordinates - at least until the mifi is unplugged.
 
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I had this built before I bought a Cali, it has a pop top but you wouldn't know it and a full 4 berth camper conversion, blackout curtains behind the front seats. Park it on a residential street and no one knew we were there.

I think the Cali stands out a little more.
 
For a previous project (a Transit in the USA) I made blackout blinds for all the windows. It was a unique vehicle in the world of massive RVs so I had to make most things myself. The blinds were flexible but with enough structure that they stayed in place close to the glass. They were also reversible so they would help to reflect the sun or blackout without being too noticeable from the outside.
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