If you live in a part of the world or US where you always have nice 70
degree weather, you won't need this tip.
Here in Texas, we have 100+ summers and 32-winters. My '97 EVC gets
very uncomfortable in the summer and in the winter the heater cycles
continually.
I've discovered a simple and inexpensive way to insulate the Pop-Top
for either climate situation. A material called "Reflectix" is sold in
home improvement centers like Lowes or Home Depot. It comes in rolls of
various sizes (for EVC's you'll want 48"wide x 25 ft.). It is the same
material that windshield sunscreens are made of; ie. a layer of thin
bubble plastic coated on both sides with 'silvered' plastic.
I cut two long triangle pieces from the roll which exactly match the
side measurments of the pop-top (about a foot at the narrow end and
3ft. at the wide end) and wrap half around the front. These two
triangles of Reflectix are pushed up under the pop-top overhand and
fastened with velcro strips along the base of the pop-top canvas. The
front halves overlap slightly.
Once in place (it only takes a couple of minutes to install when
camping), it insulates the inside from heat gain or loss. You can sleep
much later in the morning with the sun blazing.
The Reflectix triangles can be stored folded once in the upper bed
area or rolled and stored behind the rear seat, or any number of other
places. The Reflectix is waterproof and storms and rain don't bother it.
Kent Kirkley
'97 EVC
'86 Vanagon
'81 Vanagon
'74 BMW 2002
'95 BMW M3
Dallas, Texas
