Two-Six Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 I am thinking about putting up a curtain rail and fixing it to the panel outlined in the picture below. I think curtains would be good to make it cosier inside the van, help the air con work in the cab on hot days better and also give a bit more privacy inside the van. http://i1292.photobucket.com/albums/b570/ComputerDOC1/Van%20roof%201_zpsdxbkjotm.jpg http://i1292.photobucket.com/albums/b570/ComputerDOC1/van%20roof%202_zpsm9ostjav.jpg However firstly I am not sure what that panel is made of. I think it might be ply wood but it also might be some sort of soft insulation board. Can anybody advise me as to what it will be made from with regard to putting screws into it? If I have to make some holes, what kind of fixings should I use? I am reluctant to make holes in that panel, is there some sort of strong adhesive that I could use? I also don't really know what kind of curtain rail I could use. Can anybody suggest what kind of curtain rail I should use and where I could get one from? This panel seems like the best place to put a curtain as it cannot go over the 240v lights at the sides of that opening to the front. However can anybody suggest where and how else I could fit a curtain up? Thanks you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickt Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 Expanding rod with suckers on the ends Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 Mickt - 2017-02-22 2:33 PM Expanding rod with suckers on the ends Normal use for shower curtains. Pretty strong , as well. i sometimes dry washing over the bath on one.!! PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Bajcar Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 I have done similar to what you are trying using an expanding rail from Dunelm. Mine actually just fits into the gap between the cupboard and the forward bulkhead and I simply glued some blocks in for the rail to sit on and the curtain then hangs nicely behind the cab seats. Yours looks similar though perhaps the gap is too tight ? We bought some blackout thermal curtains, also from Dunelm and, as you say, it does keep the motorhome cooler in summer and it is very dark and private inside too. Mick Bajcar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 Two-Six I admire your optimism that it would be possible for a forum-member to say for certain what the panel you’ve ringed in your photo in a 2002 Autocruise Valentine (which I assume is still your motorhome) would be made of. However, you should be able to make an educated guess at the panel’s construction by tapping it in the areas where you plan to screw into and, if you still can’t be sure whether the panel has a solid core or if its lower surface is made of wood sufficiently thick to get a good screw fixture, drill a tiny hole in the panel and insert a compass-point through it. My crystal-ball guess would be that the panel is insulation-board of the type commonly used for motorhome ceilings, with a thin plywood lower ‘skin’ and polystyrene insulation above it. If that’s the case, then screwing curtain-rail brackets directly to it is unlikely to be practicable given that - to provide useful insulation - the long curtains will be quite thick and heavy. Normal practice when cab curtains are factory-fitted is for the rail to be lower down (at the height of the crossways strip of patterned upholstery fabric in your photo) and for the rail to be ‘U-shaped’, extending across the cab and backwards on each side. This allows the curtains to be pulled round in front of the cab seats across the cab’s side-windows and windscreen, and to be drawn back out of the way and secured when the motorhome is being driven. It’s also usual for the rail to be disguised with some sort of pelmet-arrangement as a bare plastic or aluminium rail is hardly a visual delight. (That’s where I’d put the rail on your motorhome, as I believe your proposal to fix it at ceiling-height is going to look ugly and there does not seem to be any obvious gain in having ‘full-height’ curtains.) If you are happy to have the rail straight across rather than bent, you could fix (screw and glue) to the panel a length of wood that matches the finish of the locker-door, and then screw the rail-brackets to that piece of wood. There is a wide variety of curtain-track available (examples here) http://www.ebay.co.uk/bhp/aluminium-curtain-track and which would be ‘best’ will depend on whether you want to have a straight or bent rail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will86 Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 The higher or longer the curtain = more weight on the fixings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BKen1 Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 There was a thread on this subject in 2011 on this forum which might be useful ...some familiar and current poster appear as well. I have a curtain behind the cab but not the one that goes round the windscreen. Found this useful when we wild camped on the streets, just draw the curtain leaving the cab seats visible so nobody passing would suspect we where inside asleep ( that was the reasoning anyway ) seem to work never got disturbed. http://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Cab-Curtiain-/22353/ Brian K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two-Six Posted February 23, 2017 Author Share Posted February 23, 2017 Thanks all, some great tips and information here. Thanks very much. Here is a better picture of the van's interior. http://i1292.photobucket.com/albums/b570/ComputerDOC1/Van%20inside_zps4bw1ebea.jpg Ideally the curtain would sort of "seal" the gap somehow.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Bajcar Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 I would suggest some hooks high up on those side panels and a flexible rail. I have a Chausson which has a curtain around the cab but it is too light in colour and does little or nothing to keep the inside dark. I have attached a couple of images of what I did which keeps the inside dark and private - the Chausson ones are there but never used now. My change is very effective and I tend to leave the new curtain closed if I leave the vehicle unattended Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will86 Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 Two-six Assuming that its a locker that's showing above I fancy attaching the curtain inside that particularly if there's a lip to clip to, and at the sides use something to attach it to the lights or (?) I use elastic bands in many sizes for a myriad of attaching things. There's also plastic bulldog clips and even small industrial hand clips. I vow never to put a nail a screw or stick anything anywhere that the next user doesn't want it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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