Kez Posted July 11, 2021 Share Posted July 11, 2021 In my continuing quest to find a potential van conversion that we like (as opposed to our Coachbuilt) we have visited a number of dealers and done a considerable amount of research online. One of the issues that we have found is the importance (to my other half and I who react badly to insect bites) of insect screens on the sliding door (and potentially but not essentially) on the rear doors. We have found that a limited number of van conversions , such as Elddis, Compass, Benimar etc supply a screen as standard. However, we were very disappointed to find that Auto- Sleepers, in particular, do not and will not fit such a door even as an extra. This has been a great disappointment since we did have an interest in Auto-Sleeper. What I would like to ask is such a screen prone to faults, can you damage the screen if the outer sliding door is closed when the screen is in a closed position and is there a decent/robust retrofit that can be fitted on the sliding snd possibly on the rear doors? Appreciate your comments please. Many thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulmold Posted July 11, 2021 Share Posted July 11, 2021 Check VanComfort website, they do such screens for afterfit but you need to check if they fit between door and any furniture . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don636 Posted July 11, 2021 Share Posted July 11, 2021 I have heard that these sliding screens can jump out of the bottom runner quite easily and can be tricky to get back in. No personal experience of this though but maybe someone will come along who does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HymerVan Posted July 12, 2021 Share Posted July 12, 2021 A cheap but in our experience effective solution has been to buy an ordinary window screen (in our case from Dunelm) and to hang it on a track fitted along the length of the side door. This rolls up and sits on the front edge of edge of the door in an analogous way to the cab curtain. Less weight and faff and much less cost. We were lucky to find one with the correct drop (length) as well otherwise it may be necessary to do a spot of sewing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 12, 2021 Share Posted July 12, 2021 kez The following link shows the results of a GOOGLE-seach of this forum using "panel van conversion door flyscreen” as the search-term. https://tinyurl.com/db8v8mwm and this 2018 forum thread specifically related to flyscreens for the rear doors https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Back-door-fly-screen/49268/ The results of a more general search are listed here https://tinyurl.com/cyn26w2j I’ve read complaints about panel-van-conversion (PVC) sliding-door flyscreens installed as original equipment (or as a factory option) fitting badly, and retro-fitting a PVC with a sliding-door flyscreen when the vehicle was not designed for this carries extra risks. This USA YouTube video mentions damage occurring if the fyscreen has not been retracted before the sliding-door is closed PVC sliding-door flyscreens are made of similar material to that used for the flyscreens of coachbuilt motorhome habitation-area entrance doors and that material is far from robust. Breakage of the ‘guide strings’ of coachbuilt motorhome door flyscreens is a known problem and PVC door flyscreens are not immune. https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Broken-fly-screen-door-on-Globecar/46030/ If you’ve concluded that a PVC (rather than a compact narrow coachbuilt motorhome) is the way to go https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Coachbuilt-v-Van-Conversion/58182/ and that a sliding-door flyscreen is a must-have, you’d be better choosing a PVC model that has the flyscreen as standard (or as a factory option) rather than hope that retro-fitting would be successful (or even practicable). And if a PVC does have a standard/optional door flyscreen, you’d be wise to check how well it has been fitted and its likely effectiveness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peejay Posted July 12, 2021 Share Posted July 12, 2021 HymerVan - 2021-07-12 7:17 AM A cheap but in our experience effective solution has been to buy an ordinary window screen (in our case from Dunelm) and to hang it on a track fitted along the length of the side door. This rolls up and sits on the front edge of edge of the door in an analogous way to the cab curtain. Less weight and faff and much less cost. We were lucky to find one with the correct drop (length) as well otherwise it may be necessary to do a spot of sewing. Much appreciated if you could supply a link to the Dunelm curtain you have used Lawrence as I can't find it. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdf Posted July 12, 2021 Share Posted July 12, 2021 Pete This might help. Our Rapido V68 came with a screen fitted as standard and we now wouldn't want to be without it. Retro fitting a screen will depend upon there being sufficient space between the furniture built across the door opening and the door itself for the screen to fit. Regarding closing the sliding door with the screen across the door then the handles on the inside of the sliding door will definitely damage the mesh BUT I don't know when/how you would close the sliding door with the screen across - if you are in the van then you'd have to open the mesh screen to get to the door handle and if you were outside then how did you get out with the mesh across? In normal use we have found that the issue is that the mesh part sometimes comes out of the top channel as you push the screen back and this causes the mesh panel to not slide into the rear edge properly and to 'bunch up' outside the frame but it is an easy job to put the mesh back in the channel. For a reason I haven't worked out things work better if I push the screen somewhere about a third of the way from the bottom. We have had one potential disaster when other half stumbled against a partially open screen and somehow knocked the plastic front edge out of the channel. It did go back in without breaking anything but I don't want to do that 'fix' again! Hope this info helps you decide. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted July 12, 2021 Share Posted July 12, 2021 We had a mesh sliding door retrofitted to our Globecar. On ours you can close the SLD with mesh fully open or fully closed, it can catch if mesh is part closed, but doesn't damage the mesh. As gf found out, using the mesh to keep out a 6 month GSD will get it damaged :-S but the mesh can be repair with needle and thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
costaexpress Posted July 12, 2021 Share Posted July 12, 2021 In response to your question as to how robust these door screens are, my experience is as follows. Mine was factory fitted to my Swift Autocruise pvc and after 2 years I have not encountered any problems with the screen nor the runners it glides on. Like others I wouldn't be without it, not just for insects, it also provides a little extra privacy when sitting with he sliding door wide open. I would add though, that like most items on a camper van/motorhome you have to treat them with respect as it is not difficult to break most items if not treated with care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kez Posted July 12, 2021 Author Share Posted July 12, 2021 HI everyone, Many thanks for your informative responses. Think that after further consideration we will attempt to find a suitable vehicle (if possible) with a factory fitted insect mesh door. But as always we may have to reconsider a retrofit if we find a van that ticks all or most of those boxes. We are not in a hurry however to buy a PVC, if that is the way forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spirou Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 Ours had a flyscreen fitted as standard and it looks/works exactly as the one on our balcony glass door (left/right harmonica) Yes, you can close the door with flyscreen in place. No, it's no big deal if kids push it out of the guide profile. I guess the strings can break but we haven't had an issue yet. I suppose it's a standard item you can also buy in the aftermarket but I have no idea who the manufacturer is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 Some manufacturers of retro-fit fyscreens for Boxer/Ducato/Relay PVC sliding doors are Remis https://www.remis.de/mobil/produkte/insektenschutztueren Horrex https://www.horrex.nl/van-flyscreen-doors Dometic https://www.dometic.com/en-gb/outdoor/uk/products/climate/blinds/pleated-blinds/dometic-flytec-ft200-_-69761 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peejay Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 gdf - 2021-07-12 10:27 AM Pete This might help. Our Rapido V68 came with a screen fitted as standard and we now wouldn't want to be without it. Retro fitting a screen will depend upon there being sufficient space between the furniture built across the door opening and the door itself for the screen to fit. Regarding closing the sliding door with the screen across the door then the handles on the inside of the sliding door will definitely damage the mesh BUT I don't know when/how you would close the sliding door with the screen across - if you are in the van then you'd have to open the mesh screen to get to the door handle and if you were outside then how did you get out with the mesh across? In normal use we have found that the issue is that the mesh part sometimes comes out of the top channel as you push the screen back and this causes the mesh panel to not slide into the rear edge properly and to 'bunch up' outside the frame but it is an easy job to put the mesh back in the channel. For a reason I haven't worked out things work better if I push the screen somewhere about a third of the way from the bottom. We have had one potential disaster when other half stumbled against a partially open screen and somehow knocked the plastic front edge out of the channel. It did go back in without breaking anything but I don't want to do that 'fix' again! Hope this info helps you decide. Dave Thanks for that but the cassette type screen wont fit on an ENC Fifer, it will have to be some sort of black net curtain or mosquito screen that we can adapt to fit. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witzend Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 I got a JML fly screen from the Range magnetic sides weighted bottom 2 would easily do a PVC side door Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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