20' Series Offside Shade (with slide out)

Lap Dog

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Jan 13, 2017
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We are now in NT and temps are starting to get up a bit and starting to worry about the Kimberleys and beyond. Trying to put shade cloth up for the slide out and the rest of the offside. I measured up and went to the local Caravan supplies and I am a few mm's out and wondering what to do.

The slide out is 2219mm and the smallest (tracked) shadecloth is 2220mm which is optically ok but this is at it widest point which includes some moulding and also where the unit is not very strong (thin). I would need to rivet it however there are not many good rivet points. I would prefer to be inside the moulding at 1900mm (w) and use screws into the main structure/wall of the slide out.

I am not a very seasoned caravaner but have never seen a slide out with off-side shade cloth (on the slide out). Has anyone done it? any recommendations?

The offending moulding below.
 

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Crusty181

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Feb 7, 2010
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I know @Smirke has a slide out, but if she has shade sail on it I could not tell you

samies as @Crusty181 he has a slide out as well............
Although we have a slide out model, we had the slide out deleted from the design of our 20ft'er for a number of reasons.

Are you primarily concerned about keeping the van cool in the northern heat, because we didnt have any issues in the 43deg central Oz heat. We only have the front bed end, and didnt do anything specifically to prepare for the heat,. We found that using the storm cover made a significant difference to keeping the heat out, and cool in.
 

Lap Dog

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Jan 13, 2017
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Currently on the big Lap
Although we have a slide out model, we had the slide out deleted from the design of our 20ft'er for a number of reasons.

Are you primarily concerned about keeping the van cool in the northern heat, because we didnt have any issues in the 43deg central Oz heat. We only have the front bed end, and didnt do anything specifically to prepare for the heat,. We found that using the storm cover made a significant difference to keeping the heat out, and cool in.

I wanted to keep the fridge cool and then generally protect the wall from the heat. I guess the heat protection of the slide out was a secondary consideration but I thought while I had the tools out I may as well cover the slide out also. I wanted to make it look as factory as possible so I wanted the track on the slide out to be at the same height as the fixed side wall track. If nobody's done it and it can't be done easily then I will just leave it ... I'm not that passionate about it.

Crusty I was interested in your experience with the storm covers. We have the Jayco ones and they are very heavy and I suppose they would keep the cool in with the a/c on but thought they would be stifling in the heat. Thanks for that we will give that a try!
 
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Crusty181

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Feb 7, 2010
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Crusty I was interested in your experience with the storm covers. We have the Jayco ones and they are very heavy and I suppose they would keep the cool in with the a/c on but thought they would be stifling in the heat. Thanks for that we will give that a try
Our storm cover is factory issued, and I only use it for temp extremes either hot or cold. They are pretty good, but i find installing them a bloody nuisance. I had the lid gas struts pumped up a bit too to better handle the cover particularly when wet and windy.
 

bigcol

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Nov 22, 2012
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I only put ours up if its raining - or we will be there more than 2 days.............

keeping the ends "dark" helps to keep it warmer in the cooler times, and cooler in the warmer times.........
 

Macca_75

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Our storm cover is factory issued, and I only use it for temp extremes either hot or cold. They are pretty good, but i find installing them a bloody nuisance. I had the lid gas struts pumped up a bit too to better handle the cover particularly when wet and windy.
Why not just leave the cover on? Takes me less than 10 seconds to fold up when closing the lid once you install the extra clips.
 

Lap Dog

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Macca, I have seen people do this with thinner black mesh bed ends (fold them up in the bed ends) but not the thicker (factory) ones. I have started not lashing the front (bed) mattress to the bed base when folding up - just standing it (folded) upright in the recess (full size 20')... using that method I think the factory ones could be folded up insitu. Can't do that with the rear. Any tips

What do you mean by 'extra clips'.

Thanks
 

Macca_75

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Macca, I have seen people do this with thinner black mesh bed ends (fold them up in the bed ends) but not the thicker (factory) ones. I have started not lashing the front (bed) mattress to the bed base when folding up - just standing it (folded) upright in the recess (full size 20')... using that method I think the factory ones could be folded up insitu. Can't do that with the rear. Any tips

What do you mean by 'extra clips'.

Thanks
Hopefully a picture is worth a thousand words. The Storm covers are Jayco - purchased mid-late 2016.

I needed to add the "male" part of the button clip where my hand is onto the lid. The female part of the clip was already on the storm cover. Picture also shows how you "punch" the side in to fold it up.
_clip_placement.jpg


Shows both sides clipped up, ready for the lid to be closed.
_folded.jpg


And the covers hanging when you open the lid and "unclip" both sides. You can see the position of the female clip on the cover (just above the gas bottle in the photo) and then image how it swings up onto the clip in the first photo.

_Hanging.jpg


Takes about 5-10 secs extra at setup time and maybe 10-15 seconds extra at pack up time, but we always use Storm covers because of it.
 
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bigcol

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see, mine - being the first generation of those covers
the tracking is not on the inside - but on the edge of the lid
so I cannot leave mine on........ must be fitted & removed every time


how do you go with the lid locks,,,,,,,,,,,,, just to be a pain

have you got piccies of that?
hang on, just had another look, and there is a sewed edging around where the lid locks are

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
 

Macca_75

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Aug 3, 2016
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see, mine - being the first generation of those covers
the tracking is not on the inside - but on the edge of the lid
so I cannot leave mine on........ must be fitted & removed every time


how do you go with the lid locks,,,,,,,,,,,,, just to be a pain

have you got piccies of that?
hang on, just had another look, and there is a sewed edging around where the lid locks are

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Yeap - storm covers are under the lid and a small gap is sewn around the locks.

I wonder if newer covers fit older lids?
 

Macca_75

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Aug 3, 2016
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they probably would

but

why buy more - when I already have.......
convenience
time saving
space saving

probably, but that coin............
options, plus others reading this forum (unlike Facebook you can actually search for answers in a forum) may not have storm covers or feel comfortable spending the coin for the benefits you outlined.

Personally anything I can do to save time is a massive bonus if I setup the van with 3 kids eager to run and play.
 

Bellbirdweb

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Jan 24, 2014
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see, mine - being the first generation of those covers
the tracking is not on the inside - but on the edge of the lid
so I cannot leave mine on........ must be fitted & removed every time


how do you go with the lid locks,,,,,,,,,,,,, just to be a pain

have you got piccies of that?
hang on, just had another look, and there is a sewed edging around where the lid locks are

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Yeah mine are the same. I like the fact that they are further away from the canvas, but can be a bit of a pain fitting and taking off on a long trip
 
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Lap Dog

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Currently on the big Lap
On a similar note I saw someone roll up their sun/privacy screen up with their awning (by leaving it in the track) and have started doing that and it works a treat. I racked my brain for a while trying to determine a reason why I shouldn't do it because I don't see anyone else do it ... but can't.