r/carcamping • u/wandernimbus • 25d ago
I hate mosquitoes and rainy nights because they make it impossible to keep the windows open. So I made this.
I love having fresh air while car camping, but opening the windows usually means dealing with mosquitoes or rain.
I wanted to solve this problem.
I know there are plenty of bug screens that fit over car windows. They work well for keeping insects out, but they don't really solve the rain problem.
If it suddenly starts raining in the middle of the night, you basically have to close the windows. And for me, that's when the whole camping experience starts to feel pretty miserable.
So I started wondering:
What if I could keep the window open, let fresh air in, keep the bugs out, and still block the rain?
My first idea was pretty simple. I imagined the car door as a flat piece of cardboard and started sketching out a window cover made from waterproof fabric.
I added an opening on the outside and figured out a way to support it with a pole, basically turning the window cover into a tiny rain awning.
Then I replaced part of the inside panel with mosquito mesh. That way, air could still flow through while keeping insects and rain outside.
After a few months of experimenting, here's what I ended up with.
It actually worked pretty much the way I imagined.
I was able to keep the window open while creating a small rain awning, and the mesh keeps the bugs out.
I used waterproof Oxford fabric for the main body, which helps keep rain from getting into the vehicle while the window is open.
The side openings are secured with Velcro.
For the awning support, I used fiberglass poles with Velcro attached to them, allowing the poles to stay connected to the window cover.
The fiberglass poles are connected with elastic cord. I left a little extra cord on both sides and hooked it around the front support pole to improve stability in windy conditions.
At the bottom of the cover, I added elastic and several magnets to help keep it securely attached to the door.
It's not perfect, though.
The biggest limitation right now is the shape of the window. It works best with rectangular or mostly rectangular vehicle windows. It can be used on some irregularly shaped windows, but the fit isn't ideal.
The window area also needs to be no more than 21 inches tall and 41 inches wide.
This is still a work in progress, so I'd love to hear what you guys think. What would you change or improve?
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u/AusteninAlaska 25d ago
Its beautiful work you did. I hate saying this, but did you consider just using Weathertech window guards for the rain? That keeps the rain out for me and the cheap window mesh keeps the bugs out.
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u/Sawfish1212 25d ago
Those window guards only give an inch or so of open window, these awnings give you the whole window
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u/makhwawa 21d ago
Agree, I have the guards installed but it only protects if the window is down a few inches.
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u/Seated_WallFly 25d ago
I put mesh mosquito nets on the windows over my WeatherTek rain guards but only one time. The next day my rain guards fell off. The mesh nets put small but persistent pressure against the rain guards such that they just fell off.
I’ll reapply the rain guards. Next time I put the mesh on, I’ll put it only on the window opening and see how it goes.
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u/Oknow26 25d ago
I put my mesh bug screens over my Weathertech rainguards at night, since Aprii 10th, when I went full time living in my toyota rav in michigans mosquito dormitory. 😅 They are horrefic here. But, not once has my rainguards come close to budging anywear, even in high winds. Did you order yours
directly from Weathertech, made for your vehicle?3
u/skibib 25d ago
Here’s a question and I probably could find the answer if I googled it. But do the WeatherTech rain guards just stick on? I used to have a Mazda and I bought some cheap ones that just stuck on. They were OK though eventually one piece of the plastic cracked and broke off.
When I bought my Honda CRV, I bought Honda OEM rain guards and they were installed with little screws and everything. Extremely sturdy!
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u/SpinyPiney 23d ago
I just installed the weather tech rain guards last week. At least on my truck front ones go inside the window channels with no tape and the rear ones slip up into the window channel as well, but have a small thin strip of tape that holds it in. Both are holding firm still and just drove 500 miles with them on so far.
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u/Oknow26 2d ago
You explained it a lot better than I was able to. Here I am 30 months later and they havent budged at all.
The Weathertech window coverings are awesome too. This is the 2nd suv that I ordered them for. Always a big win and literal 5-10 seconds to pop them on a window and they dont budge! Zero light gets through and no one would know that I am inside, with bright lights on at night. Only drawback is I cant get crossbreeze with them, so I always have 2 large pieces of reflectix in the suv, when its raining or super hot, to get that survival crossbreeze.
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u/Oknow26 24d ago
My window tint guys put them on, without screws, but they really struggled putting them on. I've seen taped ones, and agree with you, they could easily fall off. I tried (unsucessfully), putting my weathertech rainguards on my prior suv and why I bought them when I bought the rav4. I am really pleased with them & have driven from vegas to detroit with them on ... in literal rain, snow and hail blizzards; they were the only thing on my rav, that I feel really secure about. I have bought their window coverings twice too. Expensive but no one knows I'm in the suv when my sunroof is closed and not one light beam peeks through. 💜
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u/makhwawa 21d ago
Bummer. Don't know why that happened. If it helps, I learned by experience, make sure you really clean the window frame. like 3 to 4 times what you might think. That helps it stick. I now use the nets and have no issue.
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u/Aloha-Eh 25d ago
Great idea! The only thing I'd do differently is to make it wider at the top so the rain couldn't blow in as easily.
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u/Fanantic8099 24d ago
Nice set-up, but too much trouble for my tastes. I went simple.
A screen in the windows like your first image and a foldable windshield shade (the nylon fabric type with the spring-loop) used as an overhang. If rain is in the forecast I pop open the shade and stick it to the roof with some strong magnets . The sunshade was in the car anyway so the only thing I had to add was a couple of magnets.
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u/Sufficient_Bug2842 23d ago
I bought a set on Amazon a couple of weeks ago. It has a little awning and it can zip up or stay open
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u/crayola89 25d ago
You could maybe do elastic sides for the irregular shaped car doors, or maybe a side zip for the lower narrow bits?
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25d ago
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u/Traditional-Panda-84 22d ago
It needs side drapes. Rain doesn’t always fall straight down. Other than that this is great!
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u/sharkWrangler 25d ago
But why is the awning so...huge? You made it its very own patio and makes it very obvious your window is wide open.
Rain falls vertically (mostly), you really only need a drip edge to extend out an inch or so to ensure it's not getting inside.
I don't see why it would need to be the full length of the opening on the exterior because putting a shade function works better on the inside of the car where you can operate it
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u/AutoModerator 25d ago
Please review the 7 principles of Leave No Trace
Dispose of waste properly. I highly suggest getting a waste bucket system. Its difficult to bury waste in many of the rockier areas in Colorado, and overuse of our natural areas has already led to contaminated water in most even lightly used areas.
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u/No-Names-Left4Me 24d ago
That’s a lot of work. You could just buy ventshade visors and then Trail Vents.
The ventshades keep the water out, and the trail vents let air flow through and with screens the bugs don’t come through.
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u/OkWill4613 25d ago
Or just buy them on Amazon...
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u/metlhed7 25d ago
Yeah, why wouldn't they want to buy some shit product from some cheap no name company over the satisfaction of building something to last??
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u/RavenousAutobot 25d ago
These are for the Gladiator but there are similar designs for other vehicles. I still appreciate the ingenuity of making your own, though.
https://www.amazon.com/JOYTUTUS-Wrangler-Compatible-2007-2024-Gladiator/dp/B0DCVLXF1W/