Hello, my name’s Andrew, this is my van, Morpheus (aka Morphy) and today we’re installing three Arctic Tern awning windows with flat double pane glass to get some stereo sunshine and a cool cross breeze for van life.

Preparation

Back in August I installed some massive bonded windows on my Ford Transit, but while fixed glass looks sleek, it’s not so great for insulation or airflow.

Arctic Tern

So for my last three windows I went with three of Arctic Tern’s awning windows in the new flat style, which look more seamless than the old curved style, but are also double pane acrylic for extra insulation and have a pull-down privacy shade and screen system for temperature regulation.

Tools & Materials

If you’re considering Arctic Tern windows, I’ve put links down below to all the tools and materials we’ll be using for the install, as well as a written guide with step-by-step instructions.

Here’s a list of tools I used for the install…

Plan

But for a quick overview, what we’re going to do is building a support frame, making a paper template, tracing the template onto the van, cutting out the hole, screwing in the window, and then attaching the blind assembly.

FYI, with drying time it takes two days for each window.

Installation

When I bought my Artic Tern windows, I considered buying some premade window jams from Satsang Van Works, but for a set of three it would have cost me $1,000 (!!!), so I decided to make my own.

Window Jam

For starters I cut some 1 1/4” hardwood boards down to create a rectangular frame, drilled holes in the ends with a guide, filled them with wood glue, connected the pieces with dowels, and then clamped them together for around 24 hours.

Honestly, I wish I had gone with aluminum extrusion instead of wood, because, although it would have cost a bit more, the beams would have been much thinner, but, I ended up trimming my borders down to 2.5”, which worked ok.

Supports

Before starting the rest of the install I taped off the work area in my van with a plastic tarp, cut off the minor support beams with a die grinder, pried them away from the wall with a crowbar, chiseled the leftover adhesive with a plastic scraper tool, sanded the metal edge with a die grinder, cleaned it with rubbing alcohol, blew any shards out of the crevice with a shop vacuum, and then applied a layer of rust paint.

Template

Next, I held the wood support frame up to the van wall, measured to make sure it was where I wanted it, and then traced both the inside and outside edge.

After that I took a large piece of poster board and traced the outside of the inner Arctic Tern window ring, checked that the cutout fit around the metal, and then taped it up inside the frame outline, again measuring carefully on all sides.

Cutting

After that I taped a large plastic tarp all around the work area, drilled some pilot holes at the bottom of the window outline, inserted my jigsaw, and then started slowly cutting up the first side, adding painter’s tape for support on both the inside and outside of the van as I went.

Halfway through I repeated the process on the other side, and then carefully pushed the top corner out, so I could grab and remove the metal cutout.

Cleaning

With the hole finished I sanded down the rough edges with a die grinder and used the inner trim ring to check that there was enough room for the window, after which I cleaned the edge with rubbing alcohol, let it dry for a couple minutes, and then applied some rust paint.

Frame

While that dried I wiped the support area down with rubbing alcohol, applied a thin bead of adhesive around the middle of the wood frame.

Pro tip: it helps to spread the bead flat, which gives you a better sense of how much to use, because the tootsie roll size bead on my first frame ended up oozing out of the cracks, and it was an absolute nightmare to clean up.

Once the frame was in place I lightly clamped the top with a piece of scrap wood to protect the outer van metal, so I could adjust the positioning, and then added two clamps each to the four corners, until the curved van metal was flush with the support frame, which I let dry for a full 24 hours.

Window

The next day I took the clamps off, fitted the Arctic Tern window into the van metal from the outside with a suction grip, and then braced it gently with a step ladder.

Inside I mounted the metal ring to the wood frame, hand screwed it in, stopping as soon as I felt pressure, and then tightening each screw gradually until the outside rubber had compressed to around 50% of its original thickness.

Since the window was “clamped” (not bonded with adhesives), it was safe to check for leaks right away with a garden hose.

Blinds

Once I confirmed that the seal was watertight I fitting the blind assembly into the top clips of the metal ring, popped the top and bottom covers off, and then hand screwed it into place, making sure not to over tighten it.

Finally, I repeated the process for the other two Arctic Tern windows, and then tested the shade, screen, and awning mechanism.

With one pull you can create sun protection, privacy, venting, and then open the window at three different levels to control the amount of airflow. Genius!

Conclusion

Overall, installing Arctic Tern windows was definitely more challenging than bonded windows with the custom support frame and cutout hole, but in the end it the extra climate control and insulation were totally worth it.

Resources

That said, if you’d like to support the channel, you can shop with the referral links below, check out my van build playlist for more install videos, or watch my Van Life Day One video to see what it’s like moving into a Ford Transit for the first time.

Finally, if you have a question about installing Arctic Tern windows, or about van life in general, let me know in the comments.

Thanks for watching, catch ya next time. Peace!