Vanshades Barn Door Window Pods
We have just had a pair of Barn Door Window Pods fitted (see Vanshades).The Barn Door pods will not be to everyone's taste. For a start, the fit is not smooth, like the side windows presumably are. The problem is, the barn doors curve both across the door (hinge to centre) and up the door (top to bottom). The window recess goes from deep at the lower centre, to shallow at the hinge-side top. In addition, the profile of the van rear opening, where the rubber seal is, limits how wide the window pods can go.
Window blinds need a flat, square channel to work, and so maximising the blind frame in order to reduce the amount of window area being blocked, while taking into account the limitations on area, and still having a flat front surface to fix to the van door and present a suitably attractive surround is quite a challenge.
We chose the 'Select' version of the revised (version 2.0) pods. I think they have a greater visible area (bigger window opening) than the first version. We went for the uncarpeted, painted aluminium finish, as we have no carpet on the barn doors and thought it would look a bit odd. The White paint does not match our Candy white. We ordered (free) a couple of samples of the blind to match the curtains in the rest of the van, so those are a good match.
I am sure many of you will look at the pictures and think 'my god, that's awful!'. From our point of view, we think they are great. For us, it is absolutely function over form. The rear curtain that is standard on the Leisuredrive is an absolute pain in the backside. Especially on this van, where the toilet at the rear has been a godsend on long lockdown days out, the curtain just gets in the way when not in use, is awkward to draw and secure, takes forever to adjust at the far end, hangs down into the living area and has to be tucked away, and when camping has to be repositioned each time you use the barn door at night.
These pods are great. Lean over, pull the tabs down, 2 seconds and they are done and in place.
As you can see below, there is quite a big gap on the hinge side. As stated above, the recess is very shallow here, and the van profile and rubber seal dictate how far the pod can go towards the hinge. When the doors are closed and blinds down, there is no noticeable light, either through the blind channel or around the edge of the pods. If you stick your nose into the blind you can see some light at the edge, but that's about it. It's impossible to compare the thermal properties without an infra-red camera and another Leisuredrive van, but I can't imagine they are worse than the admittedly thick curtains they replace.
So, here are the pics. Some overall fitted shots, and some trying to show how they sit in the window recess. If anyone wants a particular picture or close-up, just give us a shout.
