Attaching a car curtain

Dependable darkening of cars and "part-time camper"

Author: supermagnete, Uster

Online since: 20/04/2011, Number of visits: 1190370

Table of Contents

There are cars on the road today, that still have metal interior panelling: Volkswagen vans of course, but also Caddy, Kangoo, Partner, etc. Families, especially, might be bothered by the fact, that these cars don't come with standard sun shades and that accessories are often expensive and impractical. Besides, these products often do not make it dark enough for sleeping in the car overnight, an option especially popular with “part-time campers”. Hand-sewn car curtains with magnets in the seam can do the trick. The advantages of the magnetic vehicle curtains are clear:

Thanks to the magnets, the curtain can be installed in the car or camper van without drilling any holes.
Small neodymium magnets are hardly visible.
The magnets are sufficiently strong, but not so strong as to damage the fabric when you want to take it off.
The car curtain can be pulled tight so absolutely no light enters the interior of the car / camper van
The car curtain can be quickly attached and removed.
The car curtain also works when windows are open.

Depending on the time budget and skill level, different styles are possible. We would like to show you some of them here.

The following applies to all of these curtain versions:

The number of magnets needed, depends, among other things, on the format and material of the curtain as well as the distance between magnets and surface.
The magnetised curtains must be removed and stored safely before the car starts moving again!

For additional tips and detailed information on utilising magnets in campers, visit our FAQ on the use of magnets in camper vans / caravans.

Black-out curtain for the car with sewed-in magnets

Sew magnets into curtain seam

Stefan from Ulm sewed some Q-20-04-02-N block magnets into the seams of the blackout-fabric curtains for his "part-time camper."

The block magnets need to be fastened in the seam with a few stitches so they don't go wandering, or else it would be difficult to put them back in the desired spots. The thin block magnets don't need much space and keep a low profile opaque vehicle curtain.

Now, Stefan can sleep at night in his darkened bus. During the day, he can quickly take off the curtains and use the vehicle as a pick-up truck again.

Pro tip: Instead of block magnets, Stefan could have also sewn sew-in magnets directly on the fabric or, for example, placed rubberised disc magnets S-15-03-R on the fabric without having to sew the magnets into the car curtains.

Decorative curtain rod with pot magnets

Another car curtain project by Johanna S. from Zurich:

If you want to hang up curtain rods in a camper without damaging the interior panelling with drilling, super magnets are a simple solution. Advantages are secure mounting and demounting without residue or scratches, provided that there is an iron sheet panelling in the upper window area.

Material per window

Curtain made of light material (white for screen, black for black-out)
Bamboo rail
3 pot magnets with internal thread ITN-20
3 rubber caps PAR-21 (Alternative: 3 rubberised pot magnets ITNG-16)
3 screws of fitting size with M4 thread
4-8 sew-in magnets (depending on the curtain size)

Close-up of the pot magnet with attached bamboo rail

The bamboo rail can be easily drilled. The drill angle depends on the angle of the interior paneling. Use fitting screws (e.g. M4 like in the example) to attach pot magnets with an internal thread to the rail. The right rubber caps protect the paint from scratches and prevent the magnets from sliding down.

Alternatively, you could use three rubberised pot magnets type ITNG-16 to begin with, since they already combine these two positive features.

In the middle and at the bottom of the curtains are additional sewn-in magnets that are almost invisible and allow for the curtain fabric on the sides and the seam to be tightened.

Thanks to the sewn-in magnets, the car curtains can easily be folded upwards.

You can also attach the bamboo rail on the outside of the car to dry laundry.

Mounting solution for car curtains using pot magnets

Another mounting version was submitted by Alexander S., who needed car curtains for his converted Ford Transit. He used ITN-20 pot magnets with internal thread and bought matching eyelet bolts. A convenient alternative are eyelet magnets which are available at our online shop. He stitched a wide seam onto the homemade curtains so a threaded rod could be pushed through.

Mr S first attached the magnets in the desired spot before sliding the threaded rod through the curtain seam. Next, he passed the threaded rod through the eyelets. To prevent the curtain rods from suddenly falling off while the camper van is moving, he attached hex nuts to the ends. In the pictures, you can see the final result of this clever mounting solution for car curtains.

All projects on the topic 'Camper'

Articles used

Q-20-04-02-N

Block magnet 20 x 4 x 2 mm, holds approx. 1,2 kg, neodymium, N45, nickel-plated

	10 pcs.	0,62 EUR ea.*
from	40 pcs.	0,52 EUR ea.*
from	80 pcs.	0,47 EUR ea.*
from	160 pcs.	0,44 EUR ea.*
Ask for a rebate from 900 pcs.

Available: 68 060 pcs.

S-15-03-R

Disc magnet rubber coated Ø 16,8 mm, height 4,4 mm, holds approx. 1,5 kg, water-proof, neodymium, N45

	1 pc.	2,07 EUR ea.*
from	3 pcs.	1,82 EUR ea.*
from	10 pcs.	1,60 EUR ea.*
from	20 pcs.	1,50 EUR ea.*
from	40 pcs.	1,41 EUR ea.*
Ask for a rebate from 600 pcs.

Available: 24 299 pcs.

Sew-in magnets 12 x 2 mm angular

holds approx. 1,2 kg, water-proof, with square PVC cover

	20 pcs.	0,71 EUR ea.*
from	60 pcs.	0,67 EUR ea.*
from	140 pcs.	0,65 EUR ea.*
from	360 pcs.	0,63 EUR ea.*
Ask for a rebate from 560 pcs.

Available: 218 280 pcs.

Sew-in magnets 12 x 2 mm round

holds approx. 1,2 kg, water-proof, with circular PVC cover

	20 pcs.	0,77 EUR ea.*
from	60 pcs.	0,74 EUR ea.*
from	140 pcs.	0,72 EUR ea.*
from	360 pcs.	0,69 EUR ea.*
Ask for a rebate from 500 pcs.

Available: 34 060 pcs.

Sew-in magnets 18 x 2 mm angular

holds approx. 1,9 kg, water-proof, with square PVC cover

	10 pcs.	1,07 EUR ea.*
from	40 pcs.	1,01 EUR ea.*
from	80 pcs.	0,98 EUR ea.*
from	160 pcs.	0,96 EUR ea.*
Ask for a rebate from 450 pcs.

Available: 86 240 pcs.

Sew-in magnets 18 x 2 mm round

holds approx. 1,9 kg, water-proof, with circular PVC cover

	10 pcs.	1,13 EUR ea.*
from	40 pcs.	1,08 EUR ea.*
from	80 pcs.	1,05 EUR ea.*
from	160 pcs.	1,02 EUR ea.*
Ask for a rebate from 500 pcs.

Available: 16 530 pcs.

ITN-16

neodymium pot magnet Ø 16 mm with internal thread, holds approx. 5,2 kg, thread M4

	5 pcs.	2,32 EUR ea.*
from	15 pcs.	2,00 EUR ea.*
from	40 pcs.	1,78 EUR ea.*
from	80 pcs.	1,65 EUR ea.*
Ask for a rebate from 260 pcs.

Available: 44 420 pcs.

Rubber caps Ø 17 mm

to protect surfaces

	10 pcs.	0,25 EUR ea.*
from	40 pcs.	0,23 EUR ea.*
from	80 pcs.	0,21 EUR ea.*
from	160 pcs.	0,20 EUR ea.*
Ask for a rebate from 3 500 pcs.

Available: 16 560 pcs.

ITNG-16

neodymium magnet system Ø 20 mm black rubber-coated with internal thread, holds approx. 3,2 kg, thread M4

	5 pcs.	3,43 EUR ea.*
from	15 pcs.	3,01 EUR ea.*
from	40 pcs.	2,70 EUR ea.*
from	80 pcs.	2,52 EUR ea.*
Ask for a rebate from 240 pcs.

Available: 11 685 pcs.

ITNG-25

neodymium magnet system Ø 29 mm black rubber-coated with internal thread, holds approx. 11 kg, thread M5

	1 pc.	6,33 EUR ea.*
from	3 pcs.	5,54 EUR ea.*
from	10 pcs.	4,84 EUR ea.*
from	20 pcs.	4,50 EUR ea.*
from	40 pcs.	4,19 EUR ea.*
Ask for a rebate from 160 pcs.

Available: 3 822 pcs.

S-15-08-R

Disc magnet rubber coated Ø 16,8 mm, height 9,4 mm, holds approx. 3,7 kg, water-proof, neodymium, N42

	1 pc.	3,95 EUR ea.*
from	3 pcs.	3,46 EUR ea.*
from	10 pcs.	3,02 EUR ea.*
from	20 pcs.	2,79 EUR ea.*
from	40 pcs.	2,60 EUR ea.*
Ask for a rebate from 240 pcs.

Available: 461 pcs.

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