Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2005 00:02:24 -0500
Reply-To: Joel Walker <jwalker17@EARTHLINK.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Joel Walker <jwalker17@EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject: Re: 7-passenger curtain rods?
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> Hi - I have an 87 GL that I'd like to install curtains in. The only
> place
> I've found the kits is at Go Westy, but their supplier stopped
> making them
> and they are unsure when they will get more. Does anyone know where
> else
> to get them?
you could make your own. i bought a set from Z-Products years ago for
$130! and was VERY disappointed when i got them ... nice idea, but
wasn't worth that much!
over each side window, the top curtain 'rod' was fashioned from an
aluminum strip. about 1/16th inch thick (perhaps just a tad more
...3/32nds?), 3/8ths inch wide, and as long as the window + about 2
inches at each end.
the ends were the key to the design: the curtain rod was bent twice at
each end, so that the flat side bent up (from the interior bus
surface) at an angle, then went about 3/4inch and bent back
horizonatal again. like the letter Z (at the front end of the rod) but
lazy ... flattened out. like __/-- cept the -- is up top of the /
the other end was the same thing but in reverse.
ok, so the flat part that fit against the bus interior ceiling (just
above the windows) was the __ part. about an inch long or so, it had a
hole in it for the sheet metal screw to hold it to the bus.
so you had this long aluminum rod, bent at both ends, and screwed into
the bus. aha! forgot the curtains! ;)
well, you'd have to find someone who knows how to sew to make the
curtains. but i'm reliably told it isn't hard and even a
fumble-fingered male such as i could do it. :) the kit i bought had
them already made, and they were NOT light-blocking nearly enough.
:( so choose your material well ..otherwise, the morning still finds
its way into the bus at a rather uncomfortably early hour. :(
that same design took care of the four side windows. now, the sliding
door needed special attention to make sure the rod and curtain did NOT
interfere with the opening of the door. so you might have to make that
one a bit flatter/closer to the 'wall'.
the rear hatch was the buggaboo ... it's such a wide window that the
rod bends and sags. so it had an extra support right in the middle.
just a sort of Z leg, riveted to the curtain rod, and with the flat
foot __ with the screw hole. other than that it was the same as the
others.
every window had two curtains that came together in the middle.
the kit had a design flaw, in my opinion: the curtains wouldn't STAY
together. going to the fabric shop and buying some sew-on velcro fixed
that little problem! :)
and if you opened the sliding side windows, the curtains blew all over
the place. :(
more velcro and some stretch cord to the rescue.
the velcro was sewn onto a small loop of cloth that was snap-buttoned
on to the wall ... when you opened the curtains, you closed the loop
of cloth around the curtain (like a belt) and the velcro kept the loop
closed and kept the curtains from flying around.
when the curtains were closed, they were held tight to the bus wall by
a stretch cord ... not sure what else to call it. you can get it at
marine/boat parts places ... might be called 'shock cord'. it's just
loooong elastic stuff, about 1/8th inch in diameter. you just run a
cord along the bottom of the window, maybe an inch below the bottom of
the rubber gasket around the glass, and secure it at both ends to the
bus walls. ideally, the curtain would extend a couple of inches below
this cord.
how to secure it at the ends? really simple! they made a loop at each
end, securing the loop to the cord by a crimp-together little thingie
of copper ... just a bent-over strip of copper. like crimping a
connector on the end of a wire. but you could also sew it with thread
... or just about any other way you can think of. you just need a
fixed loop at each end of the cord. and the cord needs to be under a
bit of tension ... not much, just a bit.
and all you do is get a small washer, and a sheet metal screw, and put
the screw through the loop in the cord and into the bus wall. the
washer goes between the screw head and the cord loop, and just keeps
the loop pressed down so it won't slip off the screw.
and that was it. i figure you could buy the materials for less than
$30, curtains included. once you see the rod with the bends at the
end, it all makes sense. ;)
hope it helps. good luck!
joel
