Date:         Mon, 28 Jun 1999 15:13:53 -0700
Reply-To:     Steve Macaulay <smacaulay@INFINTIUM.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Steve Macaulay <smacaulay@INFINTIUM.COM>
Subject:      Front windshield shade
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

I recently got a special-made vanagon-sized front windshield shade from JC
Whitney that is kind of unique, so I thought I would pass it on to the list.
It comes in two halves that mount on the inside of each side of the
windshield.  Each half is attached at opposite ends of the windshield with
two mounting brackets that are held on by a strong sticky tape.  The
brackets house a spring-retracted line that pulls in and folds the
accordian-shaped screen to about an inch in width.  Setting it up involves
pulling the two screens together to the middle of the windshield and
attaching them to each other with the velcro fasteners built in to the
shade.  Taking it down involves pulling the velcro apart at the built-in
tabs and allowing each side to automatically retract to its mounting bracket
where it collapses to about one inch thick. The shade can be easily removed
from the brackets, but the brackets stay stuck to the windshield with the
strong sticky tape.  The shade seems to be well-made and it is a reflective
gray-silver color.  This may be considered a drawback to some, but I really
like the fact that they are always there and it only takes a few seconds to
hook/unhook it up.  They are easy to set up, and I use mine all of the time,
even when I'm just making a quick stop at the store.  I hate the big
fold-out kind that always seem to be in the way when you aren't using it.
The brackets and folded screen together come out about two inches from the
side when folded up (1 inch screen + 1 inch bracket).  It does cut down
somewhat on the visibility at the far edges of the windshield, but it really
isn't that bad.  You can't see through the screen, and the brackets block
out two spots on each side with a two inch by one inch bracket.  This shade
combined with a recent limo-dark tint job have done a lot to reduce the
summer heat in my van.

The only thing I didn't like about this shade was the price.  About $40 for
a custom-made set for the vanagon.
They told me it would take 3-4 weeks to get it since it was custom-made, but
I got mine in under a week.  If you are in the market for a nice retractable
front windshield shade, this works out great.  If you don't want these
hanging relatively unobtrusively on the side of your windshield, then you
won't like these.  If you don't like messing with the folding cardboard
screens, then you will like these.  After a day you probably won't even
notice them there.  Hopefully they will hold up and last a while.  They seem
to be pretty well made, but I've only been using mine a couple of weeks. I'm
pretty sure they came with a 1 year replacement guarantee, but I could be
wrong on this.

A drawing and additional description of these can be found in any recent JC
Whitney catalog.

Steve

89 Westy