Installing EDWIN - another RV remodeling adventure

No, we didn't put my father in the ol' RV.  . . . here's the story.

The one drawback to the floor plan of our Arctic Fox trailer is that there is limited ventilation in the bedroom. When we're out in really hot weather a little cross-ventilation would be nice. I once suggested putting a window in the wall next to the door. The Wagon Master (a.k.a. chief mechanic and RV maintenance guy) looked at me as if I'd finally go 'round the bend and informed me in no uncertain terms "We are NOT cutting a hole in the wall."

OK then . . .'not to be stymied in my search for fresh air, I hit the Internet and after searching several RV replacement window sites, I came up with the Atwood EDWIN - short for Entry Door WINdow.

This little treasure fits the existing door window opening and the window in it opens!! It was really easy to install (I can say that as I actually helped), and appears it will be trouble free. We'll see if it provides adequate air flow when were out on the road. We do leave the door open if it's really hot, but this should be a nice intermediate solution. We also have a foil blanket to Velcro over the window for light and heat control when we need it. Problem solved! 'Wish all our remodeling jobs were this simple! We're still waiting for parts and pieces for the solar project, when we've got all the materials we'll launch into that.

 After almost three months on the road we can now honestly say that the window was a good solution, but, we discovered after the first month that we needed to go a few steps further. First, the window glass is smoked, but not textured, so at night with inside lights on you can see into the bedroom, and because the foil blanket I mentioned covers the entire window, and the screen door blocks access to it from the inside, we decided we needed another "light control" solution. We went to a hardware store and bought some "privacy" window film and put that on the window, solving the privacy problem. Then, I made a curtain out of fabric heavy enough to block all the light. It pulls to the side during the day, so it doesn't hinder use of the door, and air can flow around and under it at night if we have it pulled all the way closed. It seems we now have all issues resolved.


When we visited the Northwood factory (see previous post) we inspected several new trailer models, and saw stacks of windows ready for installation - they all looked like the Edwin! Apparently the same company is supplying them now. The new version of our model does have a window in the bedroom, so the airflow is improved, but if you have an older 30U, or some other RV model that needs increased ventilation, this solution might work for you.