Has anyone pulled the panels on a V2 camper?
I have been thinking about having them powder coated a light color to help with the heat buildup.
Have you noticed an issue? I’ve been surprised how cool mine stays.
I’m in texas, and it has been 100+ for the past month or so, and with the black side panels it has gotten dang hot in the bed of the truck, like warped my tubs for tools and truck stuff hot. Thinking a lighter color may help, just hoping someone had done it and would chime in. Not sure how much of a PIA it is to pull the panels off.
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This video from GFC shows the process for the rear. Sides are the same. Pretty simple. The slots in the “pocket locks” they mention are a weird size and soft aluminum so be really careful.
I’d make sure to slide the hinge off the panel so it doesn’t end up with sand in it when the powdercoater sandblasts it.
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thanks for the link! seems easy enough.
Can definitely confirm this, living in Vegas. My buddy has a white Super Pacific and his panels don’t hold any heat. At 85 degrees, his were cool to the touch. Meanwhile, you’d get mild burns touching mine in the same ambient temp. I added reflectix to my panels and his is still cooler, but it helped a lot in the hot and cold.
I thought about doing a JetHot ceramic coating, so I could keep the black. But it would probably be ridiculously expensive. It’s about $400 to do a set of headers.
Try out the reflectix, it’s worth a shot. You really only need to do the sides and tailgate panel, so maybe 15-20ft. A 24"x25ft roll is ~$28+ some aluminum ducting tape (~2-3 rolls, I think).
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I noticed this the other day. When I was inside on a hot sunny day the panels burnt my arms. And they definitely hear things up in the cab. May try the reflectix myself.
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Wow, that’s hot. The new hinges come apart. Should be fairly easy.
vinyl wrap might be easier and cheaper than powder coating
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About a year ago, I took the GoFast color samples, put them in the sun, and measured their temps with a non-contact thermometer. Results below:
White 97 degrees +0
Red 106 degrees +9
Grey 113 degrees +16
Green 113 degrees +16
Blue 118 degrees +21
Black 118 degrees +21
We ended up going with black, thinking we would take other steps if it got too hot. We live in the San Francisco area and tend to camp in the mountains or by the coast, so heat has not been a big problem, yet.
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That’s awesome info!
21 degrees is a massive difference, especially if you are camping on the edge of comfortable. If anyone thinks otherwise, come to Vegas. It’s around 90 in the morning which is warm, but the afternoon is 110+. It’s like sitting in front of a blow-dryer, but you can’t turn it off and it’s over your entire body.
Good research there!
Last week it was 107 here, and the thermo in the camper read 132, I knew it was hot, but figured the thermo must be wrong, now am thinking it was correct.
I have black panels.
Think it is time to break out the cup gun and practice spraying some automotive paint…
What did you use as adhesive to attach the reflectix? I’ve heard people having their velcro coming unglued due to heat when trying to adhere to the roof.
I’m in Louisiana, and the other day I checked the temp in the camper with a Bluetooth gauge I have, and while driving it was showing 109 inside. Opening the little air flow vent I installed does help some. But yeah, I can’t even touch the camper if it’s been out in the sun.