What a great idea. I may have to check into that. We have a Class A and we get a lot of heat from the front windshield. We have Reflectix, But you can't see thru it. This may work. Thanks for sharing
I have had our EZ Snap window coverings going on 3 years! However I just purchased the EZ Snaps... and the screen material through Home Depot for substantially less money! I wouldn't do without as it makes a huge difference in the cooling of our fifthwheel. Always enjoy your videos!
The shade material is called "Textilene" and they sell it in both 90/95 percent blockage. The stuff is pretty amazing in the fact that in direct sunlight it will easily cut 10-20 degrees from one side of it to the other. I have it covering the roof of my dog kennel and several of my windows at home. I had a left over piece of the stuff and actually hang it up on the outside of the RV along the refrigerator wall if it's in the direct sunlight at our campsites. By cutting that direct sunlight I get nearly 20 degrees cooler on the exterior refrigerator wall which I'm assuming makes it that much easier for the refrigerator to keep cool. I love the snaps that EZSnap has made and will probably buy some, but you can definitely buy rolls of the Textilene way cheaper off eBay
It looks pretty easy to put on especially with a ladder. I would say a ladder is a required tool to have to install the screen. I hope the review comes out really good because I will end up buying some for my RV. I have a couple of windows that need that to be installed on. Thanks for sharing.
Turned out really nice Ray. I REALLY LIKE NOT BEING ABLE TO SEE IN. YOU DID A GOOD Job. Will have to wait and see like YOU said about how it looks at night! Keep us informed . CHEERS.
What a Great Idea!!! That looks good and you can see out;-) You can still open your slide windows with it being outside. Thanks for being the gennie pig. Happy Trails...
Thanks for the review, I am looking forward to the full review. I have been using the foil sunblocker inside the RV when I am in direct sun. I have seen the ex-snap product online, wasn't sure whether to buy it or not. I really like what I see so far, I'll wait an see how it does reducing the heat in the RV.
Great review Ray. I don't care for the 40 fasteners that line the outside of the window. I like the ones where you put rare earth magnets inside the windows and they give you a skinny pole so you can install the fabric from the outside with no ladder. jmho thanks again Ray
My first thought was why don't they use magnets, maybe it jacks the cost up too much or something I'm not thinking of as a drawback. Sure would be easier to get on and off.
Another great video and product tip. You are definitely the RV Guru. I always look forward to seeing my little youtube notification when you have posted a new video. Woohoo! Peace! 🌈🌈
It reminds me of that UV film for house windows, but you put that on the inside with a bit of water spray and a squeegee. You can see out (of the gold film) but people can't see in. It blocks heat and UV rays, but not light. Hope yours works as well. Jon in Vancouver, BC
I will be interested in your full review. Personally I think it would be better if the connection points were strong magnets. Or if you have room to put a small grommet on the screen before you put it into the pin thing, because I do not see you driving down the road with that still attached. It might be ok for a back window but I don't think it would be ok to leave on a side window while traveling. I think if you take it on and off eventually you're just going to get big holes in the screen where it fits over the pins.
You're not supposed to drive with it on. You actually don't remove the screen from the pins, the whole pin unsnaps from the white stuck on studs using the little tool. I like the idea of magnets, would make it easy to take on and off. Wonder why they went with studs vs. magnets.
I'm sure there are pros and cons to each. Our rigs double pane windows are slightly tinted. I guess the one pro is the screen can be removed when in places where heating isn't a problem or you want the full light in the rig to help keep it warm in winter. Tinting is always there.
Ray that looks very awesome good job. When you're traveling do you take your weather station down off the pole or do you leave it up. We just got one and we don't want it to blow away driving down the highway.
Thanks. I actually don't have a weather station. I have a flag pole and a cell booster antenna up there. Flag pole comes down and cell antenna stays during travel. Cheers.
I've been wondering ... How can you afford living this life style? Maybe i missed it in one of your videos . I love your videos and i'm thinking i may like this life style .
We have figured out how to keep our expenses low by living a fairly frugal RV life. Here is a post I did last year divulging typical costs - www.loveyourrv.com/much-cost-rv-snowbirds/ We sold our house 6 years ago so have a nest egg plus savings. We are debt free. For income, we have bootstrapped several online businesses. While we don't make gangbuster incomes off them it's enough to keep us going now without dipping into the nest egg. Took a few years of living off savings to do it. Cheers! Ray
Yeah, I've thought about it, awnings are definitely the best unless the wind kicks up, then there is the hardware to mount and maintain. Also, not too much structure on the back wall to mount to as well, it's pretty flimsily built back there. Pros and cons to everything I guess.
No, in case they come off for some reason it could land on a vehicle windshield behind and blind them. I'll likely only use the shades when we are somewhere long term like where we are now we are here 4 months.
Hey great videos. So you want to cut the suns shine or heat through your big window. They make a window tint like they use on car windows that you install on inside that are reflective on outside and no tint or tinted on inside. It comes in different exterior colors of tint. Gold, Silver, Blue, Black. We got ours at a commercial auto body paint and repair supply store. Not, Autozone, Advance, or O'Reillys. They may be able to order it, you never know.We put it on the inside of our house windows that face south and west. It works great and you won't have to remove it when traveling. Good Luck, bye..
Thanks. The problem with tinting is you can't go back. Alot of these new dark tinted window RVs are soo dark inside I find. In the colder parts of the year, I actually want the suns heat coming in to warm the RV. Saves on propane. Much of the year we are boondocking in the south. There we point the RV nose into the sun and enjoy the views out the back window so want clear glass. Also being winter and short we like the full bright light coming in. Cheers Ray
3 snaps came off, mostly because I would let the fabric hang by the bottom row when I pulled it down for the morning, but I had lots of spares. No discoloration of snaps and fabric is in good shape. Here was an update - ua-cam.com/video/Oigk2WHnrVs/v-deo.html
Yes, some people apply a reflective window film to cut down on heat and give privacy. I prefer the shades since I can remove them for those times of the year that I want to have the extra heat and light in the RV. Cheers, Ray
Limo tint will not necessarily reduce the heat. You need to block the UV rays, not the visible light. So even though it may be dark inside, the UV rays will heat the glass, and then heat the RV. They make special tint to reflect UV rays.
How much material did they send you? I have 3 big windows I would need to cover and would like to cover the smaller windows also. Where I live full time we get a lot of heat. This would be great.
6 feet by 7 feet www.loveyourrv.com/ez-snap-exterior-rv-window-shade-review-demo/ I also recently bought another 6x7 roll to do some other windows - www.loveyourrv.com/simple-to-install-exterior-window-shades-for-a-cool-rv/
If you have the extra material that might be a good thing to do. You also might see if there is a light meter app you can get for your phone, if possible. then you can get measurements of the lighting effects with a full window covered and w/o. Just saying, that would be a technical and scientific review.
Love Your RV lots of free light measuring apps if you search under photography. Looking forward to your findings! We use the usual silver stuff on the inside of the windows in the Tex's summer sun, but I always figured the heat had already magnified through the windows already. We are adding window awnings to our new fifth wheel after it arrives. Wasn't an option at the Jayco factory, but slide awnings and dual pane windows were, and extra insulation underneath with pipes wrapped with heat tape and heating pads under the tanks were a silent option.
It looks like a portion of the black snap remains all of the time on the rig. Do they come in white so that they do not stick out like a sore thumb when the shade is not in use?
The black snap unsnaps from the white stud. See here - ezsnapdirect.com/about-ez-snap/our-technology/ez-snap-fasteners/ The stick on stud does come in several shades.
I've used them each summer since and they work great, blocks the heat before the window and also allows air to come in through the window. So far the 3M connectors have held up well. Here is my review update video clip - ua-cam.com/video/Oigk2WHnrVs/v-deo.html Cheers, Ray
Yes Oregon will def get tsunami but if the Cascadia fault has a full rip it will go all the way up to Van. Island too. I would think the 9.0 earthquakee that will last for 4 minutes and the ocean receding out of sight would be warning enough! But some people are heavy sleepers. lol
I'd keep sleeping. haha But my wife would definitely wake up. The west side of the Island is for sure at risk of a big wave but on the east where we are there are a ton of little islands that would break it up. We are in Campbell River, you can see this map, we are luckily in a fairly safe place. - www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/public-safety-and-emergency-services/emergency-preparedness-response-recovery/embc/preparedbc/tsunami_zone_province_final.pdf
That looks like a great area! You boondocking? IF it did happen though when u were there, which is highly unlikely, it might be hard to get off the island and most bridges would be down I suppose as well as most services like electricity, groceries, gas and infrastructure.
No, we are in an RV Park right now. Vancouver Island is large around 300 miles long and 50 miles wide mostly rural so no real need to leave. It's serviced by ferries no bridges. The island is home to Canada's western navy and there is a large military airbase. It actually is probably a good place to be, especially compared to large cities like Vancouver and Seattle. Lots of natural food sources and less populated lands with more self-sufficient people.
The screen reflects the UV rays that heat the RV. Keeping the UV rays out of the RV is what will reduce the heat, putting the screen on the inside will have no effect.
What a great idea. I may have to check into that. We have a Class A and we get a lot of heat from the front windshield. We have Reflectix, But you can't see thru it. This may work. Thanks for sharing
I have had our EZ Snap window coverings going on 3 years! However I just purchased the EZ Snaps... and the screen material through Home Depot for substantially less money! I wouldn't do without as it makes a huge difference in the cooling of our fifthwheel. Always enjoy your videos!
Thanks, nice to hear from someone that has had it on for a while. Cheers! Ray
I'd love to know more - I can't find the snaps or material elsewhere...
@@JohnRushing777 Google EZ Snap. I have tried to post a "link" and obviously it's not allowed.
The shade material is called "Textilene" and they sell it in both 90/95 percent blockage. The stuff is pretty amazing in the fact that in direct sunlight it will easily cut 10-20 degrees from one side of it to the other. I have it covering the roof of my dog kennel and several of my windows at home.
I had a left over piece of the stuff and actually hang it up on the outside of the RV along the refrigerator wall if it's in the direct sunlight at our campsites. By cutting that direct sunlight I get nearly 20 degrees cooler on the exterior refrigerator wall which I'm assuming makes it that much easier for the refrigerator to keep cool.
I love the snaps that EZSnap has made and will probably buy some, but you can definitely buy rolls of the Textilene way cheaper off eBay
Cool, thanks for sharing this. Good ideas on the fridge vent and dog kennel.
Cheers! Ray
Great idea. Thank you for sharing with us
I had no idea these even existed thanks!! 🙂👍
It looks pretty easy to put on especially with a ladder. I would say a ladder is a required tool to have to install the screen. I hope the review comes out really good because I will end up buying some for my RV. I have a couple of windows that need that to be installed on. Thanks for sharing.
Great idea! I would think that extra fine mesh would also cut down on the teeny tiny bugs coming through the screens.
Turned out really nice Ray. I REALLY LIKE NOT BEING ABLE TO SEE IN. YOU DID A GOOD Job. Will have to wait and see like YOU said about how it looks at night! Keep us informed . CHEERS.
I look forward to your review after you have had a chance to use it, but this looks like a winner.
I'm sure it's another great video!. I'll watch it later. Thanks Ray
It will be interesting to see how much dust builds up in the screen. And, how well you can wash it clean again.
Suppose to be able to just hose it off. We'll see how it works out. Cheers Ray
What a Great Idea!!! That looks good and you can see out;-) You can still open your slide windows with it being outside. Thanks for being the gennie pig. Happy Trails...
Lady Jay It's Guinea, not gennie.
Thanks George..I had a brain fart that's all..
It would do a roll down reflective shade on the inside or a Venetian blind. Happy trails.
Y trailz
Since it is a screen like material, maybe you can get your logo "Love your RV" screen printed to the outside, with a smiling Beagle on it to?
haha, not a bad idea. :)
Based on your review might have to grab one of these!
Thanks for the review, I am looking forward to the full review. I have been using the foil sunblocker inside the RV when I am in direct sun. I have seen the ex-snap product online, wasn't sure whether to buy it or not. I really like what I see so far, I'll wait an see how it does reducing the heat in the RV.
You bet, I have an Infra Red temp gun, so will do some comparisons. Cheers Ray
How exciting, objective info!
Great review Ray. I don't care for the 40 fasteners that line the outside of the window. I like the ones where you put rare earth magnets inside the windows and they give you a skinny pole so you can install the fabric from the outside with no ladder. jmho thanks again Ray
My first thought was why don't they use magnets, maybe it jacks the cost up too much or something I'm not thinking of as a drawback. Sure would be easier to get on and off.
you are correct, i'm sure the cost is more, but it's all a trade off. love your videos
I will buy that window screen. You can include that in review!
Looking forward to the review.
thanks for sharing
Another great video and product tip. You are definitely the RV Guru. I always look forward to seeing my little youtube notification when you have posted a new video. Woohoo!
Peace! 🌈🌈
Thanks, appreciate the compliment. Cheers!
Very nice. Look forward to your review.
Very nice, can't wait for the review
It reminds me of that UV film for house windows, but you put that on the inside with a bit of water spray and a squeegee. You can see out (of the gold film) but people can't see in. It blocks heat and UV rays, but not light.
Hope yours works as well.
Jon in Vancouver, BC
I've seen that on some RVs too, especially in the south.
hi from Canada N.-B., love your video and nice work on the windo looking cool
Thanks! Hope you're having a great summer over there. :) Cheers! Ray
That's amazing!
I would imagine as it warms up the material would expand a little and cause the odd wrinkle etc. Not a bad quick fix.
We'll see what happens so far it hasn't changed much cold to hot but we haven't had a really hot day yet.
kool...
I will be interested in your full review. Personally I think it would be better if the connection points were strong magnets. Or if you have room to put a small grommet on the screen before you put it into the pin thing, because I do not see you driving down the road with that still attached. It might be ok for a back window but I don't think it would be ok to leave on a side window while traveling. I think if you take it on and off eventually you're just going to get big holes in the screen where it fits over the pins.
You're not supposed to drive with it on. You actually don't remove the screen from the pins, the whole pin unsnaps from the white stuck on studs using the little tool. I like the idea of magnets, would make it easy to take on and off. Wonder why they went with studs vs. magnets.
I would think doubling edge over, would improve strength.
I asked about that and they said it wasn't required.
What about window tinting?
Seems like a lot of work to keep putting on and taking off. Plus, seems like on/off would wear it out quickly (?).
I'm sure there are pros and cons to each. Our rigs double pane windows are slightly tinted. I guess the one pro is the screen can be removed when in places where heating isn't a problem or you want the full light in the rig to help keep it warm in winter.
Tinting is always there.
It would be great if it helped in the winter....
I think I'd be tempted to cover the whole side, not just the windows
Ray that looks very awesome good job. When you're traveling do you take your weather station down off the pole or do you leave it up. We just got one and we don't want it to blow away driving down the highway.
Thanks. I actually don't have a weather station. I have a flag pole and a cell booster antenna up there. Flag pole comes down and cell antenna stays during travel. Cheers.
Ok, Thank you. I though you did have one. Maybe I am thinking about the cell phone buster install. Anyways, Hello from Oklahoma City.
I've been wondering ... How can you afford living this life style? Maybe i missed it in one of your videos . I love your videos and i'm thinking i may like this life style .
We have figured out how to keep our expenses low by living a fairly frugal RV life. Here is a post I did last year divulging typical costs - www.loveyourrv.com/much-cost-rv-snowbirds/ We sold our house 6 years ago so have a nest egg plus savings. We are debt free. For income, we have bootstrapped several online businesses. While we don't make gangbuster incomes off them it's enough to keep us going now without dipping into the nest egg. Took a few years of living off savings to do it. Cheers! Ray
I think an awning would work better. the sun bakes the whole wall which soaks up the heat.
Yeah, I've thought about it, awnings are definitely the best unless the wind kicks up, then there is the hardware to mount and maintain. Also, not too much structure on the back wall to mount to as well, it's pretty flimsily built back there.
Pros and cons to everything I guess.
Do you leave them in place as youre going down the road?
No, in case they come off for some reason it could land on a vehicle windshield behind and blind them. I'll likely only use the shades when we are somewhere long term like where we are now we are here 4 months.
Hey great videos. So you want to cut the suns shine or heat through your big window. They make a window tint like they use on car windows that you install on inside that are reflective on outside and no tint or tinted on inside. It comes in different exterior colors of tint. Gold, Silver, Blue, Black. We got ours at a commercial auto body paint and repair supply store. Not, Autozone, Advance, or O'Reillys. They may be able to order it, you never know.We put it on the inside of our house windows that face south and west. It works great and you won't have to remove it when traveling. Good Luck, bye..
Thanks. The problem with tinting is you can't go back. Alot of these new dark tinted window RVs are soo dark inside I find.
In the colder parts of the year, I actually want the suns heat coming in to warm the RV. Saves on propane.
Much of the year we are boondocking in the south. There we point the RV nose into the sun and enjoy the views out the back window so want clear glass. Also being winter and short we like the full bright light coming in. Cheers Ray
How about an update. Have any snaps fallen off? Any discoloration of snaps.
3 snaps came off, mostly because I would let the fabric hang by the bottom row when I pulled it down for the morning, but I had lots of spares. No discoloration of snaps and fabric is in good shape.
Here was an update - ua-cam.com/video/Oigk2WHnrVs/v-deo.html
Almost looks like the heavy duty porch pet proof bug screen available at Home Depot.
Can you put tinted window film just like on cars?
Yes, some people apply a reflective window film to cut down on heat and give privacy. I prefer the shades since I can remove them for those times of the year that I want to have the extra heat and light in the RV. Cheers, Ray
Ray, I would not do that to my cougar. I would've done Limousine tint. 🦅 🇺🇸
Hogue Repair
Limo tint would darken the view too much.
Limo tint will not necessarily reduce the heat. You need to block the UV rays, not the visible light. So even though it may be dark inside, the UV rays will heat the glass, and then heat the RV. They make special tint to reflect UV rays.
I would be interested in seeing how it looks at night with all or some of your inside lights on? Looking at this vs a 5% limo tint. Thanks!
Ronny Julian
Limo tint will make the view very dark.
At night you can see into the rig pretty good. But we do have inside night shades we can draw.
How much material did they send you? I have 3 big windows I would need to cover and would like to cover the smaller windows also. Where I live full time we get a lot of heat. This would be great.
6 feet by 7 feet www.loveyourrv.com/ez-snap-exterior-rv-window-shade-review-demo/ I also recently bought another 6x7 roll to do some other windows - www.loveyourrv.com/simple-to-install-exterior-window-shades-for-a-cool-rv/
I see one problem with the shades, With the frame-less windows that open out from the bottom to let air in.
Good point I'll mention that in my review, thanks - Ray
It looks like you could (if the screen blocks opening a window) attach this directly to the window.
Yes, I was reading on the website some testimonials and one RVer attach the screen directly to the frameless window glass using black studs to match.
Can you do a video where you only cover half of the window?
Yes, I could include that in the review
If you have the extra material that might be a good thing to do. You also might see if there is a light meter app you can get for your phone, if possible. then you can get measurements of the lighting effects with a full window covered and w/o. Just saying, that would be a technical and scientific review.
Thanks, I'll look for an app.
Love Your RV lots of free light measuring apps if you search under photography.
Looking forward to your findings! We use the usual silver stuff on the inside of the windows in the Tex's summer sun, but I always figured the heat had already magnified through the windows already.
We are adding window awnings to our new fifth wheel after it arrives. Wasn't an option at the Jayco factory, but slide awnings and dual pane windows were, and extra insulation underneath with pipes wrapped with heat tape and heating pads under the tanks were a silent option.
Hey you got a beagle
It looks like a portion of the black snap remains all of the time on the rig. Do they come in white so that they do not stick out like a sore thumb when the shade is not in use?
The black snap unsnaps from the white stud. See here - ezsnapdirect.com/about-ez-snap/our-technology/ez-snap-fasteners/
The stick on stud does come in several shades.
"do dads" must be the technical term lol
is it 2 weeks yet?
Haha, no not yet. :) So far it's a mixed bag with Anne being less of a fan than I'm.
How has this held up? You didn't sound very impressed and I don't see a follow-up - does it block the heat?
I've used them each summer since and they work great, blocks the heat before the window and also allows air to come in through the window. So far the 3M connectors have held up well. Here is my review update video clip - ua-cam.com/video/Oigk2WHnrVs/v-deo.html Cheers, Ray
Why not put the screen on the inside
Heat reduction. By blocking the suns UV radiation on the outside it's prevented from even entering the RV. Inside shades are less effective at that.
do you have an emergency escape exit in case of the 80 foot tsunami they're expecting?
Not expecting one here, but I think about it on the Oregon Coast. Hope the sirens work.
Yes Oregon will def get tsunami but if the Cascadia fault has a full rip it will go all the way up to Van. Island too.
I would think the 9.0 earthquakee that will last for 4 minutes and the ocean receding out of sight would be warning enough! But some people are heavy sleepers. lol
I'd keep sleeping. haha But my wife would definitely wake up. The west side of the Island is for sure at risk of a big wave but on the east where we are there are a ton of little islands that would break it up. We are in Campbell River, you can see this map, we are luckily in a fairly safe place. - www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/public-safety-and-emergency-services/emergency-preparedness-response-recovery/embc/preparedbc/tsunami_zone_province_final.pdf
That looks like a great area! You boondocking? IF it did happen though when u were there, which is highly unlikely, it might be hard to get off the island and most bridges would be down I suppose as well as most services like electricity, groceries, gas and infrastructure.
No, we are in an RV Park right now. Vancouver Island is large around 300 miles long and 50 miles wide mostly rural so no real need to leave. It's serviced by ferries no bridges. The island is home to Canada's western navy and there is a large military airbase. It actually is probably a good place to be, especially compared to large cities like Vancouver and Seattle. Lots of natural food sources and less populated lands with more self-sufficient people.
Why didn't you install it on the inside ?
The screen reflects the UV rays that heat the RV. Keeping the UV rays out of the RV is what will reduce the heat, putting the screen on the inside will have no effect.
Ray, you should have washed your window first!
haha, I did! not a great job I guess. :)