Working in the field the past couple of weeks I have had a solid amount of down time between borings and permeability tests, tests down for green infrastructure investigation and design. I was able to make the most of of this free time and work on the van. Today I made custom sun shades out of reflectix for every window in the van. The weather has been blisteringly hot outside but I am refusing to turn on the van for AC. Deaiel prices are up and I'm broke as f*#$. I already had the material for the sun shades so hopefully they help keep the temperature in the van under control.
The custom shades are only custom because I hastily made them in a few hours and no two pieces are cut the same, that's what custom really means. Below I have outlined the Stew Steps to custom sun shades.
Step 1: Roughly measure the window. Cut an inch extra material on each side.
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/8bca7a_873ed8fb72e14092b1b891545d6fa633~mv2_d_1836_3264_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_1742,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/8bca7a_873ed8fb72e14092b1b891545d6fa633~mv2_d_1836_3264_s_2.jpg)
Step 2: Roughly cut out the size of the window. I used a pair of kitchen scissors and they worked well.
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/8bca7a_098c306c798c4855b9161ba5e711557a~mv2_d_3024_4032_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_1307,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/8bca7a_098c306c798c4855b9161ba5e711557a~mv2_d_3024_4032_s_4_2.jpg)
Step 3: Jam the cut piece of reflectix into the window and Mark with a sharpie all the overlapping parts. Trim those off. This will take many iterations to get right
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/8bca7a_02bd6a3385ee42aea0401735acf677fd~mv2_d_3024_4032_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_1307,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/8bca7a_02bd6a3385ee42aea0401735acf677fd~mv2_d_3024_4032_s_4_2.jpg)
Step 4: The reflictix pieces I cut fit snuggley into the frame of the window and didn't fall out but if they do then I will cut a sticky magnet strip into pieces and attach it to the side of the sun shade. For the driver and passenger windows I duct taped two pieces together with enough extra tape to pass over the window separating beam.
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/8bca7a_223b3ce5d7d641e9aa03fb1c2d897114~mv2_d_3024_4032_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_1307,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/8bca7a_223b3ce5d7d641e9aa03fb1c2d897114~mv2_d_3024_4032_s_4_2.jpg)
Repeat all the steps for each window. Good luck with the wind shield, mine is shit and needs to be recut. Maybe ask someone to provide assistance.
Steps to avoid: Parking a sketchy white van with covered windows in front of a Early Childhood Development Center.
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/8bca7a_e600958ee5d24a58ba23d63922018a78~mv2_d_3487_2576_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_724,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/8bca7a_e600958ee5d24a58ba23d63922018a78~mv2_d_3487_2576_s_4_2.jpg)
Making your own window shades while at work 10/10 would recommend