howie Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 Hello everybody. We had a thread a few weeks back about the pros and cons of retro fit cab air conditioning. Eventually decided against it, not for the cost which was much as expected, but the thought of having the whole dash and what have you taken apart and put together again. A poor second best is to now have the driving compartment "tinted". The top of the windscreen will have a thin strip to help cut out the glare, but its having both side windows done thats causing concern. The firm I approached assure me that as long as the degree of tint is right then there,s no problem re. the law, but my local garage insist that no tinting what so ever is allowed on either the passenger or drivers front side windows. Can anyone out there clarify the situation. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 Hi Howie Judging from cars we've had in the past some have a tinting to the front door windows but only very mild. Our current car, a Meriva, has quite heavily tinted rear door windows and the rear screen is also very heavily tinted - it's absolute sod to back at night! Anyway, to have any useful tinting done to your front door windows it would need to be fairly dark and I believe that that is illegal. Best to ask Michele to ask hubby seeing as he's a Bobby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenewellhome Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 The tinting company are correct, there is a measurable limit of how much light must be transmitted through the side door glass and as long as the tint isn't dark enough to limit the required light transmission then there is no problem. Quite what the limit is though I have no idea. you could ask the tinting company to sign a statement to the effect that if their work is later found to be too dark that they will cover the cost of rectification. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteS Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 I had cab air con retrofitted to my 06 boxer and whilst the company took 3 more days than quoted, they did do a good job and I could not tell that the whole dash had been removed and replaced. The company was Vehavac in Edenbridge just south of Croydon. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pagey Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 howie, it is possible to tint the cab windows but only a light tint if you are near a halfords they sell tint dont buy it its crap but if you read the packaging it tells you what is legal and where you can use it, i was going to tint my previous van but it seemed so slight i did not bother...pagey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 Dear ken, please can you enliten me as to why you sign off Pagey when you monica is already there :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pagey Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 cos im fik pagey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 Cagey pagey then it is :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 if you are camping in the south why not get roof 12v/230v which you can use on the road and on site. I have this in new van ( as well as cab air you silly billy:-D) and it is wonderful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howie Posted August 22, 2007 Author Share Posted August 22, 2007 Already have roof a/c Eddie, but unfortunately its only 240v and i,ll just settle for making sure our next van has cab a/c. Thanks for all the the replies, and i,ll take Dave,s suggestion of double checking with the firm on suitability before having it done tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 howie - 2007-08-22 11:26 PM Already have roof a/c Eddie, but unfortunately its only 240v and i,ll just settle for making sure our next van has cab a/c. Thanks for all the the replies, and i,ll take Dave,s suggestion of double checking with the firm on suitability before having it done tomorrow. have you investigated the possibility of having a large inverter fitted to run a/c of 12 v while motoring? maybe not viable but worth asking.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donna miller Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 you will find that the tints on the front driver and passenger windows, have to let in 80% natural / mechanical light to be legal. Rear windows can be darkened to any degree you wish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenewellhome Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 Thanks Donna, I knew there was a measurable limit but had no idea what it was. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howie Posted August 23, 2007 Author Share Posted August 23, 2007 The firm doing the tinting were short staffed today so its been put back until tomorrow, but they did confirm Donna,s 80% rule. They do however provide any degree of tinting on the understanding that the customer accepts full responsibility. A few other thing I would like to mention here. Checking with my local garage I asked how this might affect m.o.t.s. Reasonable vision is expected of course, but to date they had never failed on account of tinted windows regardless of degree. This was their approach, and other garages may view this differently. The only other problem might be how the police react to tinted windows. I have read of cars being taken of the road, but only in extreme cases. Looking at the sample tints the 80% one hardly seems bothering with, so i,ll go for a sensible balance that does the job and hopefully keeps me out of trouble as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenewellhome Posted August 24, 2007 Share Posted August 24, 2007 I think that various police forces have purges on this, certainly in Manchester they do from time to time. Once had a customer with a big Merc saloon, turned out he was a Doctor but just a few days before he came down to me he'd been stopped and checked for his front side windows being tinted. The result was they were too dark and his car was immediately declared unfit and he was not allowed to use it, not even to take it to anywhere to have the tint removed! Recovery vehicle had to take it for him and he had all his family with him going for a day out to the coast. :-( D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliveH Posted August 24, 2007 Share Posted August 24, 2007 Howie, the 80% rule is correct for the front windows - I saw a TV report about a year ago where lads with dark windows were told they could not drive the car because the Police had checked with a light meter and no less than 45% of the available light was being blocked! I do not know about you but this seems madness to me. However, it is possible to get reflective "tints" fitted to help keep the cab cool. I would say this is what you want rather than tinted. If you think about it - dark colours absorb more heat - so why do you want dark windows? Reflective window tints are said to only reduce the light by about 5%. So I suggest you fully research what is available. To be frank (heaven forbid not the person!) I was a bit concerned when you said the firm you were talking to would fit anything on your say so. Remember it is caveat emptor. Please do not think I am "anti-tint" - I am not - tho' the comment above re reversing with blacked out windows speaks volumes to my mind!!! The advantage of a reflective tint is cooler car in sunshine with no appreciable loss of vision. The HUGE advantage of having windows tinted is that if some toerag tries to break in via your side windows the plastic film makes it almost impossible for them. Which is good news of course. The flip side of that is that if you were trapped in your vehicle for whatever reason you would have just as much difficulty getting out as a toerag getting in. But seeing as car theft is on the increase in this wonderful GB of ours and that being trapped and not able to use your doors is a very rare occurrence - I could live with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howie Posted August 24, 2007 Author Share Posted August 24, 2007 Not sure what "reflective tints" are Clive and let me just explain what I wanted. First and foremost is the need to cut down "glare". Problems with my eyes meen that direct or reflected sunlight cause excessive watering of my eyes. This really is a problem. A recent eye test found nothing wrong in this respect, and while tinted prescription glasses have helped, the problem still persists to some extent. Keeping the interior cooler is another thing i,m hoping for and the reflective tints you mentioned sound more appropriate, although this will be as previously mentioned a poor second best to a/c. "Privacy" always helps, but not that important, and the only other thing I want to add is Dave,s comment re. the law. I,m not looking to have the windows "blacked out", and the level of tint i.ve chosen should not cause any problems, at least I hope not. Just one other thing that might be of interest. They asked if I wanted the caravan windows done as well, which I did not. In conversation he told me that there had been some problems with previous camper vans, where "crazing" to the plastic surface happened. Not sure if this is a reaction to the tinting materials being used, but something to bear in mind for anyone else thinking along these lines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twooks Posted August 24, 2007 Share Posted August 24, 2007 had our camper tinted, love it, lots of privacy, - love it when people gongoozle - not realising there's someone in th van :D :D :D :D BUT - lights on at night have the opposite effect - so - make sure you draw the blinds!!!! nothing is left to the imagination - people outside can see everything *-) B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted August 24, 2007 Share Posted August 24, 2007 What you doing then Yacks :D :D :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twooks Posted August 24, 2007 Share Posted August 24, 2007 who ..?? me ?? nuffink kid absolutely nuffink >:-) >:-) B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliveH Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 I look forward to becoming a "watcher" - gongoozling from afar at dusk in the anticipation of all those with tinted windows turning the lights on whilst doing goodness knows what! It has to beat watching people struggling with awnings I would think? Twooks - as I understand it reflective tints give a kind of mirrored finish whereas you can just have your windows darkened. B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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