Thermal Blinds

[mrsc]

Hi

We have a 2004 Elldiss Firestorm. Can anyone recommend the right thermal blinds for it. Either outside or in. We do have curtains, but when it’s laid up at home, I thought these would help.

Thank you!

[Derek Uzzell]

I notice that, until quite recently, you owned a 2005 Bessacarr E410. Although the latter motorhome was based on a Fiat Ducato, the cab (inside and outside) of the Peugeot Boxer on which your 2004 Elddis Firestorm is built will be near enough the same as the Bessacarr’s. So any blind system that would have fitted the Bessacarr’s cab-glass should fit the Firestorm’s.

 

My 2015 Rapido motorhome’s cab has REMIS pleated interior blinds and I also have an insulated cover that can be fitted over the cab’s windscreen and side windows. The Rapido stands idle from November through March, but during those months I do not close the pleated blinds nor fit the external cover. The reason I do neither is simply because the Rapido also has curtains that can be drawn inside the cab and around the front of the cab seats. Where the Rapidio is parked little sunlight can shine directly into the cab, but I still draw the curtains to provide protection for the cab-seats’ upholstery.

 

If your Firestorm’s curtains are like my Rapido’s, I’d question whether there’d be any real benefit from thermal blinds when your motorhome is laid up at home (unless you actually heat the vehicle’s interior during that period of course). However, when you are using the motorhome, an external insulated cover for the cab would prevent condensation forming on the inside of the windscreen/side-windows.

 

External covers suitable for 1994 to mid-2006 Peugeot Boxers come in various qualities and prices, and new or secondhand (examples among the adverts here)

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/b/Boxer-Blinds-Motorhome-Accessories/76066/bn_90094056

 

With new external blinds the asking-price usually reflects the quality and the degree of insulation the blind provides. Interior blinds (that use suckers to attach the blinds to the cab-glass) tend to be cheaper (and are probably more convenient to fit) but they won’t stop condensation forming on the inside of the windscreen/side-windows.

 

 

[mrsc]

Thanks very much for the input. We don’t generally leave the heating on, but do give the engine a run once a week, so food for thought!