You might not believe this, but out of all the works done to the van, installing the curtains was the most time consuming process .

The Kangoo has 4 lateral and 1 back windows all in weird, fiddly shapes. Finding a cheap solution to install curtains was a real hassle.

You can find prepared curtain rails specific for campervans and van conversions but those are VERY expensive.

I decided to instead try this method using picture wire found in the incredibly helpful Exploring Alternatives channel.

The method consists in drilling small holes at the top and bottom sides of the window and fixing some picture wire by securing it with some screws. I’ve also added some hooks to keep the curtains in place.

 

 

WHAT DO TO:

1. DRILL SOME HOLES

Drill 4 small holes in the 4 window corners (for the screws), 4 on the two vertical sides (for the hook) and 1 in the horizontal sides (for the eyelets) with your 1mm drill bit. If you have carpeted your van, drilling small holes is likely to drive you crazy. In case you didn’t know, the carpet favorite hobby is to snap your drill bits by wrapping itself around it.  I found that cutting a small split in the carpet to allow the drill to touch directly the metal part worked .

2. SCREW IN THE FITTINGS

Screw in your eyelets, your hooks. screw in the screws but not all the way down.

 

 

3. SEW YOUR CURTAINS

Sew your curtains by taking your window measurements, and creating a fold both on the top and on the bottom (this video might come useful). If your windows aren’t a perfect rectangle, you might need a couple of try to make your curtains fit right. If you aren’t practical, you can always learn. Sewing comes very handy. If you don’t have a sewing machine, you can just hand saw. Yes it will take longer, but just because a car goes faster doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy walking right?

 

4. CUT THE WIRE

Cut a piece of picture hanging wire wide as the upper side of the window. Add 15cm or so to the width of the window.

 

5. WRAP THE WIRE

This is the tricky part: wrap the wire around the left upper screw you previously fixed then screw in the screws all the way in. This way the wire should be fixed firmly.

6. SLIDE THE CURTAINS IN

Slide the upper side pocket of the pre-made curtain on the wire. Pass the wire through the middle eyelet. Pass the second curtain on the wire and then fix the wire on the upper right screw. Slide the end of the wire wrapped around the screw into the curtain pocket.Repeat for the bottom side of the window.

7. MAKE MORE HOLES

Use a hole punch to create two holes on the left and right sides of the curtains in correspondence to the hooks previously fixed.

8. FIT THE GROMMETS

Finish by pressing in the grommets. Slide the hole into the hook.

9. REPEAT

Repeat for the remaining windows.

 

For the tent between the drivers cabin and the back, I simply screwed on the upper shelf a plastic curtain rail that I cut to the right length.

 

I know what you are thinking, white curtains aren’t the most cleaver idea in a van as if the lights are on people can see inside it. I know realized that and will be soon adding an extra black shade on the back! 🙂

LINKS TO MATERIALS USED

• eBoot Picture Hanging Wire 2 mm x 6 m with 2 Crimp Tube Hold Up to 60Kg,
• Draper 61275 305-Piece Self-Tapping Screw Assortment,
• Motamec 19 Piece HSS Drill Bits Set 1-10mm High Quality DIN338 Metal Case Kit,
• Outus Screw Hooks Assortment Kit Cup Hooks, 100 Pieces,
• Am-Tech 8 1/2-inch Punch Pliers and 115m Eyelet Pliers with 100 Piece Aluminium Eyelets
• IKEA VIVAN - Curtains, 1 pair, white - 145×300 cm

TOOLS USED

• Bosch 603983972 PSB 10.8 LI-2 Cordless Lithium-Ion Hammer Drill Driver Featuring Syneon Chip (1 x 10.8 V Battery, 2.0 Ah)
• A similar sewing machine to mine Janome 525S Sewing Machine

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