Need opinions on an idea...

[Scott Douglas]

Back story: My daughter and her family came to visit from Japan. Her husband had a conference to go to so they took the opportunity to fly here and also get a vacation in. Long story short, conference got cancelled he flew home to Japan early when the girls all got sick and couldn't fly (not Covid but had fevers etc so not good to go).
My daughter and the girls have the use of a condo out in Palm Springs until August. My daughter is due in mid-July with a boy. They won't be flying home until the baby is born.
Rather than rent a car for the time they'll be here, they bought a used Suburban. My daughter is thrilled with how much room they have compared to what she's been driving in Japan.
My 'problem' is that it is black with a black leather interior which gets hotter than hades out there in PS with the heat.
My 'idea' is to lessen the heat load. I initially thought of getting some cross bars for the roof rails and making some sort of 'safari' roof for it. Out of what I haven't figured out. Then last night I had an idea.
What if we just had the roof 'wrapped' between the rails from the windshield back to where the lift gate starts?
Get it done in a plain simple white to reflect the sun.

Advantages: It doesn't add a lot of weight (not that that is a problem) or height (think parking garages etc when shopping) and wouldn't add any wind noise when on the highway or suck more gas from wind load too. It'd be removable if/when they go to sell it too.

Cons: I don't know if this is pie in the sky thinking or not.

What does the collective think?

It's all about protecting the girls who are strapped into very tight car seats while in the car.

[flatbutt]

This article states what we would think is logical but I can't vouch for any of the info in it.


https://www.off-road.com/trucks-4x4/tech/why-the-roof-on-your-offroad-ride-should-be-white-54729.html

White Roof Temperature Differences
The before-and-after temperature drops for a white-roofed truck that started life with dark paint are noteworthy. These measurements were taken on a dark green 4Runner with the windows up, parked in the sun for two hours on a summer San Diego day. The concrete driveway's temperature was 150 Fahrenheit. Here's how much difference a white roof makes:

- Dark-green roof external temperature: between 176-180F.
- The same roof, painted white (other circumstances unchanged): between 104-113F.
- The dashboard - exposed to the sun and interior heat - dropped from 212F to 185F.
- The elbow rest, exposed to interior heat but not sun, dropped from 204F to 165F.

These temperatures show us that white paint reduces the temperature of the roof surface, which in turn cools the vehicle. Windows and the sunlight they allow into a vehicle contribute to interior heat of course, but just cooling the roof surface can still have a major effect on the interior temperature.

[Scott Douglas]

Thanks!
That is what I'm thinking will happen too.
When I was out there visiting them the other day it was so hot inside I couldn't get in to look around the interior to see what was what. It was like an oven.

Is wrapping 'durable' enough to take washing at a car wash?

[herr_oberst]

I think the wrap would be the best option, and it's removable. The owner of the service could best inform you about durability, product life, care and feeding.

(Also, and I'm sure you already do this, make sure you use the windshield sunshade when the rig is parked!)

[Scott Douglas]

Yup, my daughter already got a big shade for the windshield. Amazon delivered right to their door.

I think I'll contact some wrap places today to see what they think and charge.

[craigster59]

Maybe one of those solar powered car ventilation fans could help while it's parked.

https://www.amazon.com/STYLOOC-Windshield-Ventilator-Radiator-Ventilation/dp/B07P38PKYF

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

I think I'll contact some wrap places today to see what they think and charge.

I'd be interested in your results! I wonder if they have a flat or matte clear or black that could be applied to the hood to reduce reflected heat through the windshield?

[Scott Douglas]

Or something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088R1D2D8/ref=sspa_dk_detail_4?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B088R1D2D8&pd_rd_w=1tplT&content-id=amzn1.sym.e620829b-a408-427e-99ea-7ac734a316f7&pf_rd_p=e620829b-a408-427e-99ea-7ac734a316f7&pf_rd_r=HY49VPSD35FV24VBD5N6&pd_rd_wg=oWp39&pd_rd_r=3919f12f-83f4-479c-89f7-ca985bf59600&s=kitchen&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExT0JMMzRIME5XUEtKJ mVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMTA1NjI4MzZQUDlXN1dDMUdZMCZlbmN yeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMzA5NDI1MzZOQjQzUE81NldDMSZ3aWRnZ XROYW1lPXNwX2RldGFpbF90aGVtYXRpYyZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2t SZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

I know it wouldn't work while parked.

[Scott Douglas]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

I'd be interested in your results! I wonder if they have a flat or matte clear or black that could be applied to the hood to reduce reflected heat through the windshield?

I'll have to check. I know my daughter is into this car as she kind of picked up the bug from me. She cried when she had to sell her Accord after having paid it off early too when they moved to Japan.

[vash]

I think it wouldn't hurt. my white roof home is very cool.

I would drop some money and tint all the windows with that ceramic stuff. not sure if it is legit, but my wife's car is noticeably cooler. she went all out and even had the wind shield done. and the expansive glass roof as well.

[dad911]

Spray it on, peel it off:

[Scott Douglas]

Originally Posted by dad911

Spray it on, peel it off:

Good idea!
I think my son uses that when he wants to black out his wheels. I'll have to check with him on that.

[craigster59]

Originally Posted by vash

I think it wouldn't hurt. my white roof home is very cool.

I would drop some money and tint all the windows with that ceramic stuff. not sure if it is legit, but my wife's car is noticeably cooler. she went all out and even had the wind shield done. and the expansive glass roof as well.

I had the windows tinted on my F150 with a 3M UV tint. They had a plexi cube in the showroom that had different grades of tint that spun around a heat lamp. It was amazing how much heat was deflected compared to the side with no tint. It was great when we were visiting Phoenix, truck didn't get very warm when parked at all.

[vash]

Originally Posted by craigster59

I had the windows tinted on my F150 with a 3M UV tint. They had a plexi cube in the showroom that had different grades of tint that spun around a heat lamp. It was amazing how much heat was deflected compared to the side with no tint. It was great when we were visiting Phoenix, truck didn't get very warm when parked at all.

same here. same tint I think (3M expel? did I just make that up?). car feel noticeable cooler. the guy put a heat lamp on the glass when we picked up the car and compared it to another client car yet untinted. it was profound, but could have been some snake oil sales trick.

[Scott Douglas]

I believe the car already has factory tint on the rear windows which is usually pretty good so I don't think it'll be necessary, although the driver's and passenger doors windows might be candidates.
We have low e glass in our house windows and they work extremely well so it's not a snake oil sales pitch by any means I don't think.

[javadog]

There are some new window tints that are hugely effective at reducing heat transmission. The ones I’ve seen don’t even have to be very dark to accomplish that. I know the factory tint is there but I would take a look at that to see if that something that would help. The white roof isn’t a bad idea, I’d get that done in a wrap.

The other thing you can do is keep the windows cracked a few inches, it makes a huge difference. I also put a sunshade in the windshield when parked, you can also do that on passenger door windows that face the sun.

When finding a parking spot, I go for the one with the most shade and not the closest one to the door.

Do all of that and then she can run the car with the A/C on for a few minutes before she loads the kids into the car.

[vash]

yea. tinting the windshield was a good idea on my wife's car. she has some light blocking, but not much. (not legal).

[javadog]

I sold an old M3 to a guy that got the windows tinted with this newfangled, highly effective stuff. You could easily see right through the entire car, almost as if the windows were not tinted, but he said it made a huge difference.

[gacook]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

I believe the car already has factory tint on the rear windows which is usually pretty good so I don't think it'll be necessary, although the driver's and passenger doors windows might be candidates.
We have low e glass in our house windows and they work extremely well so it's not a snake oil sales pitch by any means I don't think.

Regular tint vs. the ceramic heat blocking tint is a HUGE difference. The ceramic stuff is legit. Here in AZ, normal tint doesn't put a dent in the heat of your car after sitting in the sun.

[Tobra]

I like the white on top. Not sure if tinting the front windows darker is legal in Cali, but the clear UV blocker stuff is okay.

They make solar powered fans that you close in the top of the window that helps more than you would imagine.