DIY Car Window Covers for Camping + Easier Alternatives!

You’re thinking of car camping, but do you really need window covers? Do you HAVE to make them yourself? If not, where can you get them?

These were my questions 2 years ago before my 2-year road trip across the USA.

And let me give you my answers now after all this time:

• Do you NEED car window covers for camping? Oh yeah!
• Where do you get them? You can buy them or make them yourself.
• Do you HAVE to make them? No, but…

I realized a few nights into car camping that window covers were absolutely necessary for privacy and temperature control.

But Lala and I made them ourselves, which was a little stressful, since we aren’t particularly handy.

In this blog post, I’ll teach you how to make window covers that will last 2+ years like ours did.

But I’ll also give you an alternative to making them!

Disclosure: This blog has affiliate links, and it’s how I can keep doing what I love. If you book something, I might make a commission with no added cost to you. Thanks for the support!

Do you Really Need Car Window Covers?

I thought we didn’t need window covers before we started car camping.

Thankfully, Lala insisted we make them.

Then, day 2 of car camping, we spent the night at a Walmart and I was SO thankful to have them.

The light from the lamp posts was a lot, even with the window covers, but that wasn’t the biggest reason I was thankful.

Sleeping in your car makes you feel exposed, especially at a Walmart, and people walking by feels creepy no matter who they are or what intention they have.

So, believe me, having window covers makes SENSE once you’re actually lying in bed in your car.

And I realize you probably (hopefully) won’t be sleeping at Walmart all that much!

But this applies anywhere… window covers give you a sense of safety and control while car camping.

What Car Window Covers for Camping are NOT!

There are a lot of misconceptions about what window covers for car camping are.

So, let’s clear that up.

• Window covers are NOT pieces of fabric that you pull over your car windows. Those are window screens, and they’re great for the summer when you want some air flow with protection from mosquitoes. But they don’t do much for temperature control or privacy.
• They are NOT car window covers for rain, also known as rain guards. Those are also important for car camping, but totally different from window covers.

Both window screens and rain guards are essential for car camping, though, so I’ll cover them both real quick later.

How Car Camping Window Covers Work in the Real World

Window covers for car camping have 3 main uses:

• They help regulate temperature in the car at night.
• They keep people from seeing into your car at night.
• They keep light out at night (even the moon is too bright sometimes).
• They help you go stealth mode when you’re in sketchy places.

1. Controlling Temperature

With good window covers, one side is black fabric, while the other is bare Reflectix.

Reflectix is an insulator, so when you put the shiny, reflective side of the window covers facing into the car, it keeps heat in.

This is great for car camping in cold weather.

My favorite temperatures for car camping are actually under 40 degrees, and apart from having a great bed setup, the window covers are a huge part of that.

Then, when you don’t want that insulation, you put the reflective side of the window covers facing out.

It insulates less, but it also reflects the sun in the morning, keeping your car from getting too hot.

2. People Peeking

Actually, window covers aren’t for people who intentionally want to look inside your car.

It’s so that people can’t just see everything going on in the car when you turn on a light at night… even from far away.

In a dark campground, turning on a light in the car is like a beacon.

And you will have to turn on a light at some point.

And then you will have to take off your clothes at some point.

So, get window covers so that you can have the privacy to do anything you want in your car without having to think of who might be able to see.

3. Bright Lights

Even with car window covers for camping, light will make it’s way in, so imagine without!

My first experience with bright lights was at a Walmart parking lot.

But the full moon has also kept me up at night when it lined up perfectly with the small gap in my window covers.

Sleeping in a car is bad already, so make it slightly better by making it as dark as possible.

4. What is stealth mode?

Sometimes you want to be inconspicuous.

Stealth car camping is something that urban car campers do most – they sleep where people don’t want them or where it’s illegal, so they need to be stealthy.

When stealth camping, you use the black side of the car camping window covers.

Because imagine parking somewhere illegal and then putting the shiny side on your windows like, “Hi, I’m right here!”

But being able to go stealth mode is useful at all times.

We never parked illegally, but we went stealth mode often enough.

For example, we did it a lot at rest areas and on the side of the road.

We also went stealth mode when places felt a little sketchy or more exposed. (Emphasis on “felt”… the spots were never actually creepy. Kind of like sometimes your house is terrifying at night).

The Easiest DIY Car Window Covers for Camping

This explanation is the easiest way to make window convers you’ll find on the internet.

We pulled from lots of different videos to make our own and then adapted as we ran into obstacles.

This is how we ended up making our own window covers for car camping:

Step 1. What you Need to Buy

First buy what you need. This is exactly what I used to make my window covers:

• A big roll of Reflectix
• A big swath of black fabric (I got it at Walmart)
• Spray-on glue

And, in case you’re wondering, it IS cheaper to buy these and make your own window covers than to buy ready-made window covers.

Step 2. The Initial Cut

Then, we’ll start with the side windows – every single one, even the tiny windows.

Do this for all the windows on ONE SIDE:

1. Measure the widest and highest sides each window.
2. Cut out a rectangular piece of Reflectix that’s bigger than the window in every way.
3. Push that cut out piece of Reflectix into the window and draw the window’s outline on the Reflectix. This part is easier with 2 people.
4. Cut out the outline of the window. Make sure this initial cut-out is actually BIGGER than your window. You’d rather it be big and have to cut more because there’s no way to recover it once you cut too much.

Step 3. Refining the Shape

This next part is trial and error.

Put your initial cut-out over the window to see how it looks.

Then, draw again to perfect your cut-out and really try to get the outline of the window even better.

If needed, do this step a few times until your Reflectix cut-out is just right.

Follow steps 2 and 3 for all the windows ON ONE SIDE of your car.

Step 4. Glue on the Black Fabric

The good news is you don’t have to do all the outlining again.

Just cut Reflectix copies of all the side windows you just made and that should work for the other side.

Then, spread out the black fabric on the floor.

Spray glue on one side of each window cover and then carefully turn it around onto the black fabric and press down all over it.

Then, cut the black fabric around the window cover, but leaving a good 2-3 inches of fabric around the window cover so that you can fold over the fabric onto the other side of the Reflectix.

Finally, spray glue onto the edges of the side of the Reflectix that’s still bare and fold over the extra fabric to glue it on.

Your side window covers are ready!

Step 5. The Hard Way and the Easy Way

Now it’s time to do exactly the same steps for the windshield and rear window.

Just cut out a piece of Reflectix, outline the shape of the window, cut it out, refine the shape and then glue on the black fabric.

So, why a whole step for this part?

Because the windshield and rear window are so big that the process is SO difficult.

Honestly, we gave up.

But I’m glad we did because what we did was so much easier.

We just got a pair of really cheap windshield and rear window covers and then glued black fabric to one side.

Side window covers are expensive because no one uses them, but windshield covers especially are so common that they don’t cost much.

I recommend you do that for time’s sake.

Tip for You if you aren’t “Artsy”

The car camping world is often over-hyped.

Like, most car camping influencers will say you HAVE to build a platform in your SUV, when it’s really unnecessary in a lot of SUV’s… and an absolute hassle!

Well, there’s also a trend of making a series of very careful cuts in your Reflectix so that you can fold them like a fan to save space in your SUV.

It makes the whole process SO much more complicated. Don’t do it.

Guys, Reflectix is super bendy.

You can just pile them all on top of each other and then roll them all up and put a rubber band around them. Or leave them flat under your covers.

Alternatives to Buying Car Window Covers for Camping

If I was doing it all over again, would I make my own window covers?

You know, maybe not.

But I do admit I’m glad I did because it was cheaper in the long run and they lasted our entire 2-year road trip.

Plus, there aren’t many ready-made alternatives that actually look like they’re good quality.

But there is one: the KMF window covers on Amazon.

You can head to their store and browse a BUNCH of different car models.

I also like that all they make is window covers.

Now, Zatooto also sells window covers on Amazon, but they don’t look as good and it’s not as easy to browse for your car.

Plus, they make a lot of products that are NOT good for car camping at all.

If you’re looking to buy window covers, remember: they NEED to have one reflective side and one black side.

Most car “window covers” for camping out there are absolute trash, so be wary of them.

That leads me to the next section – how to spot these bad alternatives.

Stay Away from These “Ready-made” Window Covers

How can you tell if window covers sold online will not be good?

First, one side NEEDS to be reflective. Most you’ll find out there are black on both sides, which is not ideal.

Second, you NEED it to be a truly insulating material. A lot of window covers out there are foam or just curtains.

You won’t feel good sleeping in your car with either of those.

Third, some companies sell curtains or dividers that go over your front seats. But what you really need is a full front windshield window cover.

That divider won’t insulate well, and it cuts off access to your front seats, where you’ll probably store a lot of stuff at night.

Fun idea, but not functional.

My last piece of advice is to stay away from the “window covers” Luno sells.

Luno is a car camping company that makes some really good mattresses (I think – I haven’t tried one), but their window covers suck.

They’re actually window screens, which are nice to have, but are NOT window covers.

A Note on Window Screens and Rain Guards

Two things that make car camping a lot easier are window screens and rain guards.

Window screens are a mesh that can go over your car windows.

They’re perfect for the summer, when you want some more airflow but no mosquitoes.

But do they work?

In my experience, no.

I got these window screens and they do keep mosquitoes out, but they don’t allow enough airflow.

We ended up having to take the window screens off in the summer and just sprayed ourselves down with bug spray to sleep.

Let me know if you find one that works well!

Finally, rain guards are amazing because no matter how cold the weather is, you need to crack open your windows at night.

It keeps moisture from building up too much in your car (which can make things even colder).

So, having rain guards means you can ALWAYS crack open your windows, even if it’s raining.

They’re just really nice to have.

So, are Car Window Covers for Camping Worth it?

Despite the hassle of DIYing your own car window covers for camping, it really is worth it.

Not only is it cheaper in the long run, but they last SO long.

And, though there are some OK alternatives, most can’t compare to what you’d make yourself in terms of quality.

So, now that you know, go get your materials, make your window covers, and go car camping!

But if you’re still building your sleep setup, here’s the perfect car camping bed setup I used for 2 years!