Privacy curtains (or divider curtains) are placed just behind the front seats of your car or van to prevent people from seeing into your living space while parked. They are a more temporary, flexible, and removable option than a fixed bulkhead wall. The curtain can prevent light inside your vehicle from escaping at night, making you less noticeable, and provide some insulation.
If you don't want a privacy curtain or bulkhead in your way, you can use window coverings on your windshield and side windows to accomplish the same thing, but these may take more work to deploy each evening, and they are more noticeable from the outside.
Curtain options
Curtains can be actual curtains, but there are other choices which may work better for your needs. Vinyl shower curtains are lightweight and generally won't block much light. A simple bedsheet can work. Mylar sheets are very lightweight and provide some insulation, but block very little light and will be more noticeable due to their shininess. A combination of these options is also possible; layer different materials to combine their benefits.
You may want a curtain that is divided in the middle so you can easily get between the cab and living area of your vehicle (passthrough), but if the curtain isn't divided you can generally just lift it up and go under it, or remove the curtain during the day.
You can also buy purpose-built vehicle privacy curtains to save time.
Depending on your available space, you can also make a temporary bulkhead wall out of cardboard or foamboard that is cut to the shape of your vehicle. It can then be folded up and stored during the day.
Attaching the curtain
A curtain rod, mounted near the ceiling will hold the weight of the curtain. You may wish to make it removable, but be sure that it won't become a projectile that can injure you during a crash. A clothing rod that is designed for use in vehicles may work well; it hangs from the existing clothing hooks that are found near the ceiling in most vehicles. Depending on your vehicle, you may be able to zip-tie a rod from the top of the shoulder belt attachment points if you can do it without interfering with the seat belt function. A shower curtain tension rod that can push against the sides of the vehicle (such as your B pillars) may work, though the constant motion from driving may cause it to fall down.
Attaching the curtain directly to the ceiling may work, but if you just use temporary attachments like tape or pins, they will probably fall down fairly quickly with use and during driving. Screwing into your metal ceiling will work if there are ribs that you can attach to, but you must be careful not to pierce the vehicle roof. If you cut away a strip of the headliner, you may be able to use stronger adhesives that won't fail, but this is a permanent change.
If you have very strong magnets, you may be able to attach your curtain to the ceiling that way. If you have very strong magnet hooks, you may be able to attach those magnet hooks to the ceiling and attach your curtain to the hooks. They magnets must be strong enough to securely attach to the metal roof of your vehicle through the headliner, if one is present. If you don't have a headliner, this may be your best option.
For lighter weight curtains, you can use screw pins to screw into the vehicle headliner or fabric walls.[1]
Ceiling contour
Curtain rods are straight, and most vehicle ceilings are not. As such, there will be a gap between the top of your curtain and the ceiling. People outside the vehicle won't be able to see over the curtain in most cases, but light will escape.
One way to solve this is to split your divider horizontally into two parts. Keep the curtain you have as-is. Then, use cardboard (or thin foam board available in the crafts section at many dollar stores or Walmart) and create a small wall that is cut to fit the contour of your ceiling. Make your wall just long enough that it will go past the top of your tension-bar curtain. Attach the wall to the ceiling with tape and stick pins inserted into the headliner. This works because the weight of your curtain isn't hanging from the ceiling; instead you just have a lightweight divider doing that.
Another solution is to use stiff wire, attached to your curtain rod in two or more places, and create an arch up to the ceiling. Then attach your curtain, or a separate valance, to the wire.
Another solution is to skip the curtain rod and just get a flat strip of steel or aluminum from a hardware store that will flex a bit but not bend. Cut a length a bit wider than the ceiling of your vehicle so that it can be inserted into the trim above the pillars behind your front seats. This way it will come close to following the curve of your ceiling.[2]
Privacy curtains gallery
See more in the Privacy curtains category. For image credits, open image and click More Details.
Resources
| Resource | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Installing curtains and screens | How to install various types of curtain and privacy screens in your vehicle. | |
| Search Amazon | Search Amazon for related products. | |
| Search forums and groups | Search van life discussion groups for "privacy curtains" | |
| Search related sites | Search van life sites for "privacy curtains" | |
| Search NomadLife.wiki | Search other pages on this wiki for "privacy curtains" |