>  From:    yturn@HOTMAIL.COM (Sean Cole)
>
>  I've lived in my van ...  I created "crude home made curtains"
>  using 25 yards of black felt and button snaps ...  The fact of the
>  matter is, factory curtains allow people on the street to see what's going
>  on inside your van.  I've never found a commercial product that provides
the
>  service I require.

The factory curtains on my '88 Westfalia seem to me to do a good
job of covering all the glass, particularly if I go to the trouble to snap
them closed where there are snaps.  The one possible exception is
the sliding door curtain - its bottom hangs a bit away from the door,
but I think it would basically only allow someone to see the floor.

What problems are you finding with your factory curtains?  Where
can people see in?

Some ideas that come to mind to improve privacy:

    - Velcro to "seal" curtain edges together, and possibly to
      the wall of the van.  Could have strips going the full length
      of the curtain.

    - Heavily tint the side windows.  Unless the lights are on in
      in the van, this would probably prevent anyone from seeing
      through any gaps in the curtains.

    - Use cellular or accordian blinds.  That's what I see on most
      new RV's.  There's often a sort of frame added around the
      window; the blinds run between that frame and the window.
      That keeps anyone from seeing around the edges of the
      blinds, helps the blinds hug the curved wall, and keeps the
      blinds from rattling around when the van's moving.

    - Use a permenantly-attached horizontal accordian blind on
      the front window.  Can't remeber where I've seen these.
      Basically, it resembles a standard accordian blind mounted
      sideways, one to each pillar on each side of the windshield.
      To close them, you pull them toward each other and they meet
      and latch in the center of the windshield.

    - Get new RV curtains that are more light-blocking.  Camping
      World has a variety of window coverings at www.campingworld.com.

Good luck.

                                                      -Steven Sittser