Windows - How to keep the cold out

[TinnedFish]

My constant questions don't seem to get me blacklisted, so I'll try another.

I've got 2 weeks of vacation to turn my sKoolie into a living room. We're keeping all the windows in place, because light is more valuable than beer up here in the winter. But, then it begs the question - how should we cover the windows at night when we're relying on the lil wood stove for heat?

I was thinking blackout curtains w/ magnetic strips sewn into the bottom edge. But I'm also tasked w/ a few windows that will be behind shelves (open so the light can come through, but difficult to raise/lower curtains every night).

I'm brainstorming old fashioned rolling blinds, bamboo/paper rolls, 20'curtain rods and some excellent polynesian barkcloth curtains... Anything that can be open/closed, raised/lowered w/ a cord or a string. I'm not really concerned about light, I just want some kind of thermal barrier over the glass.

How have others solved the twighlight conundrum w/ stock windows?

TinnedFish

To allay the arguments against stock windows -

a. Not enough time before winter to even think about replacing windows.
b. No, really, light is the most valuable thing on a mud covered rock in the depths of a 27 day rainstorm.
c. Even if we wanted to, we couldn't afford RV windows.
d. When summer rolls around, every single one of these window will be open for 112 consecutive days (wet winters have their reward).

[Forgottenhighway]

Tin,
You could use tin foil over the windows and that will keep the light away...and if you cover your head with tin foil I can pretty much guarantee it will keep the neighbors away......LOL
Cheers, Pat

[Dennis The Bus Dweller]

Hi Tin

I got a huge kick out of the tin foil idea I still have 8 stock windows in the front and 2 in the back of my rig and they are drafty. I got a pile of movers packing blankets in a garage sale and covered them with fabric. I just simple screw them up over the windows in the winter and they work great. The winters here in N.Y. have been pretty wild here the last couple of years and i've been plenty warm here in the rig. If you drop me an email at busdweller56@hotmail.com i'll send you back a couple of pic's of my rig in the snow It was a great winter.

[Damien]

I lived in a '59 Dodge Fargo school bus for over a year, with most of the windows as-is. I think you'll find the heat-output of a wood stove in a school bus so overwhelming, that loss through the windows is no big issue.
In my firetruck I have cut out 1.5" inch thick sheets of pink styrofoam that press into the window frames. It's actually great for blocking out the light, although I draw the curtains across on top of them. Surprisingly keeping out the heat (sunshine) has turned out to be more effective with the sheets... than keeping warmth-in. The best insulation you can possibly have in winter is a layer of snow on the roof, and the best form of air conditioning is a bright white reflective vinyl sheet (as used to make advertising billboards) laid out on the roof, throughout the summer. My actual roof is a stuck-down single 40' sheet of thin rubberized pool liner ... which is black. Great for the winter, a disaster in summer.

[Dennis The Bus Dweller]

What kind of heat did you put in your fire truck/home?

[Damien]

I have five antique heaters (from the 20's and 30's I think) which draw about 1500 watts each. On my page you can see one, on the floor in the washroom shot.
Each is hooked up to a thermostat that is independent of the physical heater, and trips a very small relay which in-turn whack's down a 40 amp high current relay. Each heater is on its own 20 amp circuit from the main entrance panel.
When you heat up a rolling-home most of the initial heat-energy goes into warming up the furniture, walls, floor, books etc. Seemingly everything but the "air". Everything on-board is one giant heat sink. sucking up the heat energy to warm itslef.
Once the high heat-capacity items are warmed up, the heat-output needed to maintain a warm temperature is quite low. The outside temperature is obviously a factor ... and any kind of wind can really diddle with the equations.
All my heaters can generally raise the on-board temperature by 30 degrees F in about four hours. It's amusing how 0 can feel warm when it's minus 30 outside.
All of my heaters are connected to a system where I can phone up the firetruck and flip them all on. By the time I arrive (or our friday night movie is over) the heaters have pushed through the "heat-sink" lag phase, and my wood stove takes over with a couple of logs for the night. As the temperature rises all the thermostats trip, and the heaters shut down.
It's pretty efficient since the heaters are only used for about four hours out of an entire weekend. Gone are the days of wringing my hands together trying to keep warm, while attempting to get the newspaper under the wood lit, then huddling under blankets waiting for the dam stove to fire-up.

[TinnedFish]

Thanks for all the shout-out.

I don't wear the Tin on my head - it's not the neighbors you have to worry about - it's the radiant energy bandits working out of Roswell! A small circle of tin foil, applied w/ bone paste over each of your chakra's will render you invisible. The Bandits need those arc's of life energy to find you in the dark... <grin>

I'm plotting a near impossible, plexiglass, external eave/storm window on a hinge that will mount over the stock windows. During daytime, they're up like wings, keeping the rain off the windows. During the night, they fold down against the side of the bus, and create a thermal space outside the stock window to keep the drafts down. (And it will look as spooky as a tin foil hat to boot!)

i'll sketch it out and stare at the bus, and see if it can really be accomplished....

TinnedFish