Window Tinting to Reduce Heat Inside Coach

Well, took the plunge and got professional window tinting done for all windows. I was originally looking for the Llumar film, but talking to an installer he recommended an upgrade that had a higher heat blocking ability. We went with XPEL Prime XR window film. It also has a lifetime transferable warranty.

Abilene Window Tint did the work. http://www.abilenetinting.com
They have an air-conditioned space with 17' x 13' doors at each end. We were able to pull the rig in fairly easily, and exit easily as well! Great service, and great work!





Will report back our experiences, supposed to be over 100 every day this week.




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Re: What did you do to your camper today?

TravelTiger said:

Well, took the plunge and got professional window tinting done for all windows. I was originally looking for the Llumar film, but talking to an installer he recommended an upgrade that had a higher heat blocking ability. We went with XPEL Prime XR window film. It also has a lifetime transferable warranty.

Will report back our experiences, supposed to be over 100 every day this week.

Click to expand...

Erika, out of curiosity, what was the ball park cost, $1,000 or $5,000? I know it will depend on number and size of windows. Also, how long did it take for them to do it and do they guarantee against air bubbles and pealing in writing? I was in my trailer for a week over the 4th and the poor old ACs were working their tails off but since I don't full time, it might not be cost effective. Thanks George

Re: What did you do to your camper today?

Do they tint the inside or outside?

TravelTiger said:

Well, took the plunge and got professional window tinting done for all windows. I was originally looking for the Llumar film, but talking to an installer he recommended an upgrade that had a higher heat blocking ability. We went with XPEL Prime XR window film. It also has a lifetime transferable warranty.

Abilene Window Tint did the work. http://www.abilenetinting.com
They have an air-conditioned space with 17' x 13' doors at each end. We were able to pull the rig in fairly easily, and exit easily as well! Great service, and great work!





Will report back our experiences, supposed to be over 100 every day this week.

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Click to expand...

Re: What did you do to your camper today?

porthole said:

Do they tint the inside or outside?

Click to expand...

Based on a photo from their website, a tech is shown installing film on an exterior side window of a car.

Another question is how susceptible is the material to scratches from washing/cleaning??


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Re: What did you do to your camper today?

travelin2 said:

Based on a photo from their website, a tech is shown installing film on an exterior side window of a car.

Another question is how susceptible is the material to scratches from washing/cleaning??


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No, Tint is applied Inside.


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Re: What did you do to your camper today?

TravelTiger said:

No, Tint is applied Inside.


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Click to expand...

Ok.
What are the cleaning requirements??

Aftermarket tint in my SD has specific requirements to minimize scratches and maximize its lifespan


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What did you do to your camper today?

Chippendale said:

Erika, out of curiosity, what was the ball park cost, $1,000 or $5,000? I know it will depend on number and size of windows. Also, how long did it take for them to do it and do they guarantee against air bubbles and pealing in writing? I was in my trailer for a week over the 4th and the poor old ACs were working their tails off but since I don't full time, it might not be cost effective. Thanks George

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George, it would depend on the type of tint you are looking at. Quotes for our rig with 33 separate panes of glass (including door, we have a clear glass insert) ranged from $950 to $4000, depending on the type of film.

This particular tint company was familiar with doing RVs, and had a facility to handle them. They would have come to us as well and done it on site for $100.

We arrived about 9:45am, and pulled into their air-conditioned bay, which was large enough to hold the truck and trailer hitched up. We ended up pulling forward so the slides could clear their film rack when open, and disconnected the trailer from the truck so we could run errands. There was room for the slides to be out. We used a reducer to plug into a standard outlet so they could use electrical plugs in the rig, fridge could run on electric, and we didn't have to worry about running down the battery. They finished up about 4:30. It was the owner, Chris and his wife, Megan. They were great folks. They are not typically open on Saturday, but did this for us. I am not sure if he has any other workers or not, but they did a terrific job.

We paid just over $1000 for the XPEL PRIME XR Black 5. It claims an 88% reduction in heat transfer, and 99% reduction in UV Rays. It has a lifetime transferable warranty. Other films may not.

I have heard of others paying more ($1400) and paying less ($700) so I think it's based on location, experience, and type of film.

Since you don't full-time and don't have to pay for your electricity use, it may not be cost-effective. Those that travel and stay in 80 degrees all year, probably don't need to do this. But we are semi-stationary and we both work, we're stuck with whatever Texas throws at us. This week, all over 100 degrees, and typically just too darn HOT until late September.






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Re: What did you do to your camper today?

Erika,

How much is visibility out the windows reduced? Can you post some pics looking out the windows.

What did you do to your camper today?

danemayer said:

Erika,

How much is visibility out the windows reduced? Can you post some pics looking out the windows.

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I wish I had taken a before shot, but didn't have a chance.

Of course my phone tries to take the best photo possible and does some adjusting....

But here is a photo from inside, and one where I stepped outside.

Inside:


Outside:



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Re: What did you do to your camper today?

I'll be very interested in how well it works on keeping you cool.

Here's another photo, where I opened the window half-way, (also without the window screen) and took a photo in morning sun. The camera tried to minimize the glare, which made the tinted window look too dark. I then closed the window and took the same photo. I composited the photo so you can see a more accurate representation of the difference between no tint at all (open window) and window with our tint, based on what my human eyes see.



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travelin2 said:

Ok.
What are the cleaning requirements??

Aftermarket tint in my SD has specific requirements to minimize scratches and maximize its lifespan


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Click to expand...

Here's from the website:

XPEL PRIME Automotive Window Films were designed to keep their flawless appearance and clarity for many years. Follow these tips to properly care for your windows and keep them looking their best:

• Keep in mind that your window tint may have a hazy appearance or moisture bubbles for up to ten days after installation. These conditions will disappear once the moisture used to apply your tint dries up completely.
• Wait 5 days after installation before rolling down or cleaning your windows.
• Use a microfiber towel slightly dampened with water to clean your windows. If necessary, mild, non-ammonia glass cleaners may also be used.
• Avoid the use of abrasive materials such as scouring pads, to clean your tinted windows.

We offer a transferable lifetime warranty on both the CS, HP and XR series. The warranty covers against cracking, peeling, bubbling, delamination, fading and color change for the life of the film. The warranty is transferable and will continue with the car even in the event the ownership change.

From what I see, it looks like the darkening is quite acceptable. Looking forward to hearing the heat reducing results.

jbeletti said:

From what I see, it looks like the darkening is quite acceptable. Looking forward to hearing the heat reducing results.

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Jim,

We looked at the 5% and 20% but decided to go darker for maximum heat reduction benefit. I am glad we did, the view so far in daylight is very acceptable. We have a clear glass door window we bought with our Zarcor [FONT=&quot]CloZures window shade, so we decided to have the door window tinted using the 20% instead.[/FONT]

Will post results of how it handles the heat when we know more.

Oh and thanks Dan for moving it, when I got long-winded, I was thinking this might need to be it's own thread.... LOL!


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Erica, thanks for the info. My guess is that using the same film you all did, the cost would be $1500/$2000 for my trailer with the big windows and like you say, for an old geezer just using the RV every now and then, and usually using the park electric at their expense, doubt I could justify the cost. So I guess I will spend the "boy's inheritance" on something else. But I am sure there are a lot of folks out there that could and will justify the cost.

We had a similar product installed in large house windows. The difference for heat was fantastic. Dramatic reduction in heat from the sun.... downside we found out later: if applied to thermo pane windows the heat buildup between the panes can blow out the seal. This did happen on our windows. It makes me wonder what effect this may have if applied to RV dual pane windows, which are not exactly the same as home thermo pane windows. ????

Good question, Terry, I don't know. We have single pane windows, and this product is meant for auto tinting.


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Great thread...thanks for sharing all this info. I'm just getting into this RV'ing stuff but have already camped in some 95 degree days where my single 13500 BTU AC was working its tail off just to keep my smallish coach livable. It doesn't have all that much window exposure but when it is hot out, every bit counts.

Today's assessment:

Temp: got up to 100 according to the weather app today. We had shades closed, ran all our fans like we normally do, kept lights off and no cooking. Both AC units set on 76 all day, and ran all day.

It "seemed" to be cooler, but we did have a few afternoon clouds. However, when our thermometer on the kitchen table said it was 99 outside, and didn't go above 79 inside, so we feel like that's a win!

Compared to a few weeks ago when temp was 95 and same thermometer read 83!


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TravelTiger said:

Today's assessment:

Temp: got up to 100 according to the weather app today. We had shades closed, ran all our fans like we normally do, kept lights off and no cooking. Both AC units set on 76 all day, and ran all day.

It "seemed" to be cooler, but we did have a few afternoon clouds. However, when our thermometer on the kitchen table said it was 99 outside, and didn't go above 79 inside, so we feel like that's a win!

Compared to a few weeks ago when temp was 95 and same thermometer read 83!


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You keep your AC on 76? Wow. Our 15k is set at 72 and our 13.5 is set at 68. We have had a lot of rain and no triple digit temps like y’all and ours will cycle. 76 just seems hot to me though. We like it cold. We also don’t pay for electricity either but we do pay $700/month right now during this construction boom but were paying $550.


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