VanEssential appropriately named their company because their window covers are essential for van travel during every season. The Front Cab Kit for the Ford Transit comes with two front door window covers and a windshield cover and are important for temperature regulation and privacy. Whether you’re traveling in the winter or the dead of summer, having these window covers will make your van life much more comfortable.
Temperature regulation is key for us in the cold and hot months while traveling in the van because we always have Hank with us. These window covers both insulate and keep the hot sun out of the van. In addition to temperature regulation, these add incredible privacy to the cab of the van. We don’t have a cover or divider between our cab and our living space, so anyone who can see through the windows in the front can see straight into our living area.
The VanEssential Front Cab Kit is also crucial if you plan on doing any stealth camping/sleeping. You can put these up and have lights on and no one will even know you’re inside (if the rest of your windows are covered, of course).
We love how packable and easy to stow these window covers are and they take very little time to break down. They come with a bag (one bag for the two doors and one bag for the windshield) so you can stay organized. We all know how important organization is for van living.
The two-door window covers easily magnet up to the frame of the window and are a super solid fit. The magnets inside the cover are sewn in place so they stay put. You can see in the video just how quickly and easily we can get them in place. The front windshield cover is held in place by the sun visors and mirror. Again, it’s a solid fit.
We don’t have any major complaints, except for the fact that the stow straps will blow out of the door and then you close the door on them and they are just flapping in the wind. It would be awesome if there was a way to stow the stow straps. We also wish the two window covers were labeled so we could grab it and immediately know which window it belongs to.
Overall we’re so happy to have the VanEssential Front Cab Kit with us on all of our adventures. Not only are these shades super important for regulating the temp in the van, they also give us the privacy we need no matter where we’re parking for the night. We would also like to mention that we tried the Ford window covers in our last van and they were way bulkier, heavier, harder to put up and $500 rather than the VanEssential price of $320.
*We received this gear for free in exchange for a review, however, it’s important to know that all thoughts are our own.
Front Cab Kit
$320
Pros
- Lightweight and packable to stow
- Insulating (from hot and cold)
- Total blackout shades
- Take only a few seconds to put in place and break down
- $170 cheaper than the Ford shades (and less bulky and lighter)
Cons
- Wish we had them sooner!
