Bug Proofing my Bug Out Car?

Part of my emergency evac. plans it to use my vehicle as a shelter if necessary. I have plans for keeping warm in cold weather in my vehicle, but warm weather would require leaving the windows down at night so air can get in.

But then comes the bugs.....

Today I was thinking about it,and I want to bounce an idea off you folks I had.

Since we all have that roll of duct tape in our cars anyway, I thought about adding to my trunk kit, just enough fine mesh screen material to cover all the windows and then duct tape in place to keep bugs out.

Crazy or worth it?

PS, in theory, the screen material could be used for fish catching, or straining large debris out of water also.

Check out truck outfitter places which sell truck tents. The same folks that make the truck tents usually make bug mesh screens that are magnetic around the outer seam and can be applied to a car or truck on the outside of an open window.

I haven't looked into them in quite some time or I'd remember the brand name...shouldn't be hard to find via Google.

buy some of the roll magnets like they put around a fridge door without the rubber. cut the screen material a little bigger than the window and glue the magnets to the screen around the edges. This way you can take the screen on and off alot without damage to your paint, using your duct tape up or leaving the sticky stuff on your car.

You could do it that way.

When I was van camping across the U.S., I made custom window-shaped forms out of wall paneling (1/8"), then cut out the interior with a sabre saw, leaving a 2" (or so) wide solid rim.

I found strips of U-shaped metal stuff (think metal molding --I don't know what it was for) at the hardware store, and hot-glued it in place, roughly an inch up from the bottom edge, for the window glass to catch on.

Then I hot-glued screening in place.

All I had to do was raise the glass a bit, set the thing in place so it would go up into the groove that the glass normally went into, then roll the glass up snugly to hold it in place.

They also discouraged people from reaching into the van to pet my dog. My girls have always considered my vehicles to be THEIR vehicles, and all strangers had best stay away.

And they lasted for years. Alas, I had to make a new set for each vehicle, as no two vehicle windows are alike.

Sue

Better ideas than mine, I will look into the roll magnets

Great idea. Bugs can make you miserable. Here's something similar to what you're looking for. It looks like the screen is in a pocket shape and just slides over the whole window frame. You could probably sew up something like that with some mosquito netting.

http://ajprindle.com/products/product.aspx?sku=12717

Hi B.C.C.L,

Two years ago I took the family on a roadtrip and one of the activities was going to a traditional drive-in movie, the same kind I used to go to as a kid 40 years ago. I saw people in other cars taping mesh screening over their side window openings and thought it odd?

All went well in our mini-van and we sat with the windows down until dusk, then the mosquitos came out in hoards so we quickly rolled-up the windows, but with 5 of us in the van this caused the windshield to fog-up! The theatre had a rule against idling of vehicles so I had a problem with 3 upset children (and DW but we will not talk about that).

So I dug into the car/camping kit and found some PIC coils to burn. They cannot be good for you and it smelled up the van but we did finally get to see the movie.

So I agree with you, I think some mesh screen in a car kit is a great idea.

Mike

That's what I'm taking about!

I hate the little buggers.

Here is So. Illinois, you can't do squat in the summer after dark within 10 miles of water. A dear friend of mines 14 year old son was diagnosed last week with West Nile Virus, but he's young and in great health (football player) so they think he's gonna be OK.

If it works, it isn't crazy.

Or, in other words, "If it's crazy, it will work."

When I still had a car to drive, I kept my camping setup in the trunk. The bug netting I used for my hammock was big enough to cover my windows when draped over the roof.

I like the idea of magnets on netting to cover the window. Seems like it would take up a lot less space than my bulky netting.

The magnet setup may be less bulky but tossing the whole thing over the roof is a good idea. REI has large mosquito nets for about $15. @10'X 12' rolled up isn't too compact but the simplicity and multi-use capability is nice.

I knew a guy in the 70's who bought an old school/church bus for $100.00 It was one of those big old 60 passenger International Harvester jobs, It had a big gas hog V8 and a four speed transmission. That tank ran along on big old balding tires, that leaked.

It was rusted out in many places as well.

Well he gutted, and furnished it inside nearly like a mobile home.It had nearly everything. The windows had specially made aluminum framed screens that could be taken off via means of clips that loosened on a screw. They worked well.

The bed area and the living area had windows that opened for fresh air. Many other windows were covered with sheet metal or painted over with stain glass effect paint.

He painted the whole thing flat black.

It was one ugly, patched up pile of junk. But, it ran good, and afforded a measure of comfort for about a grand total of $1,500.
and a lot of elbow grease.

This guy was one of the early "Survivalist Types" of the era. He was a bit "Farout" there and a borderline radical.

He decided he'd drive out into the woods and set up for an extended stay. On the way into a state game area, he blew a tire on the rear. He had no spare. He got out his bicycle, and wheeled back to a small burg about 20 miles away. It was late night now. No one was open. He waited untill dawn in a car he found unlocked. Next day, there was no one in that area equiped with a rig that go in, jack up the bus, pull the tire, drive back out, pull the tire of the split rims, and hopefulluy patch up the worn out tires he had on it.
He was forced to hitch hike back to town here. Now two full days had passed and was approaching a third. He didn't have much cash, so he went to truck junk yards looking for a cheap replacement. No luck. Nearly a week passed. Finally he found a dude who felt sorry for him, and offered to drive him back up there, (75 miles away) and help him pull the wheel and tire, and patch it there on the spot.
He'd have to wait until saturday. Another days wait.
Well, they drove up there to where the broken down bus was waiting. A burned out and gutted shell was all that remained. Vandals found it, gutted it, and torched it. Manny was heartbroken.
So much for living out in the woods like a freeman.
He never bought another bus or truck for that matter. Last I saw him in the late 80's he was driving an old rusty honda civic!
He was still wearing his old OD green field jacket, and had a long greying beard, and a tie dyed head scarf covering his balding head.

Survivalist were pretty fringe then. SAD!


War Dog out...

No, not quite. I've had some hairball plans that kinda blew up. Only a few literally, although some others did start small fires....

But it does explain things like why there is clamp on desk lamp, long cord and an inverter in my car.

If you had pre-cut squares for each window, I wonder if you could use museum putty (poster putty) to hold the netting in place without damaging the vehicle paint.

I might be out of line to suggest this, but you could trade your car for a pickup with a campershell that has screened windows on both sides. I love pickup trucks with shells. They have plenty of room for sleeping, storage, and if its a 4X4, then its better at bugging out on questionable roads. I especially like the ones with the window behind the benchseat that you can crawl through to get from the cabin to the bed and vise versa.
The only advantage I can think of that a car has over a pickup is that it can carry more seat-belted passengers.
I will never buy a mere car.
Pickups and dual-purpose motorcycles only. Maybe a van. No, vans are for psychedelic partyers in their early twenties. Been there, done that.