2 questions - Windscreen covers- in or out? And sterilizing the water tank - how?

[Herbyventures]

Hello Motorhomers, we are nearing completion with our project but a few details are still a puzzle.
Q1. We need to black out the windscreen, obvs, but there are covers that go inside the cab and covers that go on the outside.... Which is best?!
Q2. The water tank instructions tell us to sanitize the Tank using bleach from time to time (and our water at home is from a bore hole so it has no chlorine added) - we'd rather not use bleach in case we don't manage to clean it out properly afterwards. Does anyone use Milton for this purpose? And seeing as it's only got a hose pipe push on inlet, no direct access to the Tank, how do you get the bleach or whatever in the tank?

 

[Gellyneck]

Hello Motorhomers, we are nearing completion with our project but a few details are still a puzzle.
Q1. We need to black out the windscreen, obvs, but there are covers that go inside the cab and covers that go on the outside.... Which is best?!
Q2. The water tank instructions tell us to sanitize the Tank using bleach from time to time (and our water at home is from a bore hole so it has no chlorine added) - we'd rather not use bleach in case we don't manage to clean it out properly afterwards. Does anyone use Milton for this purpose? And seeing as it's only got a hose pipe push on inlet, no direct access to the Tank, how do you get the bleach or whatever in the tank?

External screens for us as they negate condensation as well as block light \ heat.
Don't use Miltons as can impact stainless steel in water heater. We use Puraclean however others use dirt cheap alternatives.

 

[Lenny HB]

Milton is not recommended as it can damage stainless steel boilers. I use white wine vinegar to descale & clean the system. You can also use citric acid.

 

[AJM2]

Another vote for external covers + white vinegar

 

[tonka]

Ditto the above.
External screens are by far more efficient to insulate the glass area and also reduce condensation.
Milton is not recommended due to damaging the stainless steel. BLEACH !!! Who wrote the instructions ?? Was he named Trump ?

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[Reallyretired]

Milton is bleach, just more expensive and dilute. Dont use in your water system.
Externel screens are more efficient but you have to go outside to remove them so they are not popjlar with wild campers who may occasionally need to move in a hurry.
I dont use either just the provided blinds.

 

[Captain Yoghurtpot]

External screens for us as they negate condensation as well as block light \ heat.
Don't use Miltons as can impact stainless steel in water heater. We use Puraclean however others use dirt cheap alternatives.

We use puratabs in the tank and then a solution of white wine vinegar when draining down the boiler to aid with limescale removal.
As for screens, we bought some Brunner ones which are an exact fit for our van and are internal fitting with silver one side ,and grey on the other .
I remember reading once of someone who was wilding who heard a very serious commotion in the early hours outside his van, which was sufficiently scary enough for him to want to move his van out af the are pronto .
He stated that he didn't even open any blinds or curtains or get fully dressed, just turned the key and got the hell out of the area, AFTER removing his Internal blinds.
Had he have had external ones fitted, that would have meant going outside into the unknown and facing god knows what and possibly risking his own life.
So from a purely security and removal aspect, I went for internal and compromised on the level of effectiveness over speed of removal in an emergency.

 

[Podney]

We started off with internal screens as they were left in the van by the previous owner....................
We soon found out why....They were worse than useless. As much use as an ash tray on a motorbike.

Puraclean or white wine vinegar.

I’ve never had to take flight in the middle of the night.

 

[Riverbankannie]

I would not wild camp with external blinds. We do have the Remis fitted internal cab blinds but if wilding, we just hang up a cloth curtain across the back of the cab. We bought this large cloth in a french market after seeing them being used as extra sunshades from front or side of awnings. Used as a picnic blanket too. In a PVC everything has to be very useful.

 

[Riverbankannie]

To put tank cleaner in (I use Puriclean too), you could have a short length of hose with a hozelock fitting (is that what you mean by push on?) on one end and a silicone plastic funnel fitted on the other.

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[dunnah01]

External blinds when less than about 10deg outside - internal blinds when over 10 Deg are fine.
I like the warning sticker on internal Remis Blinds to open before driving off

 

[Lenny HB]

We used to use external blinds but don't bother with this van as our front blind is an aluminium insulated one and there are heating vents between the screen and blind. I have been considering making some internal blinds for the cab side windows but not got past the thinking stage.

 

[Minxy]

We use whichever is best/more convenient/appropriate at the time.

External ones are best for cold weather due to their ability to reduce or completely remove condensation but obviously they get wet if it rains/snows, or simply from the cooler morning air, so you then have to store then when wet and dry them out.

Internal are ideal for warmer weather as they not only block the light but the heat too and you can easily remove them to let the lovely morning sun in.

When we wild camp etc we don't use external ones unless we feel it is safe to do so, if we don't use external ones and we get condensation inside we have a Karcher window vac to get rid of it - wouldn't be without it.

 

[Henry Walpole]

We used an external screen on our last van but it was a faff. On our A class we have an internal roller blind and cab blinds which are much easier to use and allow us to maximise the views out of the A class window. Also for security reasons mentioned above would not want to go back to using external screens.

 

[Off da Grid]

We’ve got remis blinds and silver screens as well.
The silver screens can be put between the remis and the windows for extra insulation.
I’ve taken the suckers of the side window screens so they fit better

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[Speve]

We have always used external Silverscreens good in the cold and cool in the heat, have to say it’s never bothered us using them when wilding and never had to move out in a hurry.

 

[Gaston aires]

As Speve above. Works we for me.

 

[Wellington]

That’s why there’s a packet of citric acid kicking about. I couldn’t for the life of me remember why I bought it (now I can’t remember where I put it!)

I use the over cab bed instead of blinds. You can see a strip about hip height, but frankly if anyone wants to peer in at me arguing with the girlchid about bedtime again, they’re welcome to applaud the points and shout out tips. By the time I’ve got her into bed, I generally go myself. We both change in our beds, and I generally just read in bed for an hour anyway so nothing to see. I’d need a ladder to get silver screens up and I like the view out of big window. I might use the internal blinds, but not often. I only really camp on sites in the summer, so I generally don’t much bother about them (unless I’m leaving the dog inside, then I always close them)

 

[St Ivian]

We use an external but in the recent high winds the elastic holding It tight to the windscreen have stretched so Mrs SI needs to sew new ones on. It’s also a faff when it gets wet just before you take it down to pack up.

 

[Minxy]

We use an external but in the recent high winds the elastic holding It tight to the windscreen have stretched so Mrs SI needs to sew new ones on. It’s also a faff when it gets wet just before you take it down to pack up.

The elastic they put on isn't the best and easily stretches - you really want some that's about double the width so it doesn't weaken so easily.

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[Herbyventures]

To put tank cleaner in (I use Puriclean too), you could have a short length of hose with a hozelock fitting (is that what you mean by push on?) on one end and a silicone plastic funnel fitted on the other.

Yes, that's it. And that makes sense, thank you!

 

[Herbyventures]

Thank you all for your practical advice! We'll go for external windscreen covers, white wine vinegar for cleaning the water tank and hope we never need to do a moonlight flit!

 

[Minxy]

Thank you all for your practical advice! We'll go for external windscreen covers, white wine vinegar for cleaning the water tank and hope we never need to do a moonlight flit!

If its cool but you don't want to put the external screens on you could instead prop them up inside so you get some of the benefit.

 

[RobbyMClark]

The elastic they put on isn't the best and easily stretches - you really want some that's about double the width so it doesn't weaken so easily.

Have a set of external blinds, had the elastic stretch so now when the elastic is inside I clip the freezer bag clips on to stop them stretching.

 

[SpeedyDux]

I bought a set of internal silver insulating screens with sucker attachments for the VW camper but in the end left them in the garage. Too much hassle and I hated the sucker marks.

During summer the Remis cab blinds in the Ducato are fine on their own. Very little condensation on the windscreen by morning. Only fitted the external Silver Screen as insulation when it was very hot and sunny. Having said that, it is used a lot in the cooler months. OK, when wet it is a bit less convenient to pack away. Next time I will try the Karcher window vac on it before it goes back in the bag.

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[Minxy]

I bought a set of internal silver insulating screens with sucker attachments for the VW camper but in the end left them in the garage. Too much hassle and I hated the sucker marks.

You could try propping them on then holding them in place with the Remi blinds instead of using the suckers ... it might work?

During summer the Remis cab blinds in the Ducato are fine on their own. Very little condensation on the windscreen by morning. Only fitted the external Silver Screen as insulation when it was very hot and sunny. Having said that, it is used a lot in the cooler months. OK, when wet it is a bit less convenient to pack away. Next time I will try the Karcher window vac on it before it goes back in the bag.

Not thought of the Karcher on the external blinds but worth a go, we don't actually put them away when wet, instead we lay them on a plastic sheet on top of the bed to let them dry out.

 

[TerryL]

External blinds for us every time. If we are at all concerned about where we're parking, we move on! Or don't fit them.

As for the freshwater tank, normally I drain it down fully and then flush it before use. Due to lockdown it got left with about half a tank for 3 months so I've just finished several flushes with normal city tapwater, which I believe contains enough decontaminants. Have used Milton in the past with no apparent ill effects.

 

[CamperJack]

Don't external covers get awfully soggy in our wet weather? Where do you put them when it's rained and you want to get on your way?

 

[Stonemags76]

Don't external covers get awfully soggy in our wet weather? Where do you put them when it's rained and you want to get on your way?

They come with a waterproof bag, so in they go! We do try to dry them out if they are not going to be used for a while though! Wouldn’t be without our silver screens - we have the privacy panel so we can see out during the day, but I can still get changed if I need to, as we have a pvc, so nowhere to hide! Have to say, if we are wilding we just use the remis blinds, but they are not a patch on silver screens for insulation, condensation or black out qualities!

 

[gpat]

Tesco thin bleach.

1 capful into empty tank. Fill tank with water. Stand 24hrs. Empty tank. No need to rinse.

DON'T USE THICK BLEACH