I hope you all enjoyed some quality time with friends and family yesterday during Thanksgiving. We did, and I had just enough time to install our new Four Wheel Campers thermal liner. We've had their OG thermal liner since we bought the camper a couple years ago. Our previous FWC didn't have one, and I'm here to tell you that even the older thermal liner did help keep the interior warmer and it most certainly cut down on condensation. But...I always felt like it looked cheap and certainly wasn't attractive, and I couldn't help but wonder if something thicker might be more efficient.
Not long ago FWC launched their new and improved thermal liner, which is two layers of fabric with insulation between, sewn into a quilted pattern. Equally important, the new thermal liner includes insulation panels for all of the glass windows. Our son sleeps on the dinette bed at the back of the camper, surrounded by three glass windows, and he often complains about getting cold. Since those windows are single pane glass, I'm sure they do little to keep out the cold. I'm hoping the combination of the new thermal liner, and the window coverings, will help keep us all warmer when camping in cold weather. We've got a two week trip to Arizona over Christmas, and that will likely be our first test of the new liner.
How hard is it to install the new thermal liner?
It was a piece of cake. Both liners attach to the camper via velcro strips at the top and bottom. Pro tip: when removing the old liner, don't just grip it and rip it away from the bottom velcro. The velcro strip is only attached to the camper by adhesive and if you yank on the liner it'll tear the velcro strip away from the camper wall. Slowly pull it away, using the other hand to apply pressure on the velcro attached to the camper. Once the old liner was off, I installed the new liner on the passenger side first. Again, super easy. Line up the rear window of the liner with the rear window on the camper soft wall, attach the top and then work your way all the way to the front and back, ensuring the liner is up tight against the roof. Repeat on the driver's side. The glass window coverings attach even easier using small plastic tabs at each corner that slide under the window frame. All told, it took me 1/2 hour to remove the old liner and install the new one.
Initial observations
- It looks much more high-end than the old one. Far more aesthetically pleasing.
- Seems to be well-made, with nice materials, and overall higher quality than the original liner.
- It lets in less light, so the interior is definitely darker.
- It is considerably thicker than the old one, but the roof still collapses and locks in place for travel. I had to loosen the front two clamps 1 - 1.5 turns each for a good fit, but the sides and back needed no adjustment.
Does it actually keep the interior warmer than the OG liner?
No idea yet. I'm going to try to get out for a quick overnight before our two week Arizona trip, primarily to test it out. Regardless, I'll have a full report sometime in early to mid-January after our time in Arizona. Stay tuned.
What does it cost?
The new liner is around $1,500. The old liner sells for $825.
Questions? Fire away.
A few photos of the new thermal liner installed in the camper
