Keeping the flies out of the caravan, camper or motorhome is an ongoing battle. Adding kids to the equation only makes it worse. As a family of 5, our door was opening and closing all day long, letting in so many flies in the process. We’re going to show you how to install a fly screen to your caravan or motorhome to help keep the flies on the outside.
The first step is to purchase a fly screen. You can pick these up at discount stores or Bunnings. We purchased our latest one from Bunnings for just $9.99. This comes with all you need, although we upgraded the hook and loop tape for a further $10 and you will need to trim the door down to suit your caravan, camper or motorhome.
This is the $9.99 fly screen from Bunnings plus an extra roll of hook and loop tape.
Measure up the door you plan to cover. Allow extra coverage in the fly screen as it will shrink over time, pulling the fly screen apart. The first time we did it after a month or two we had to adjust it as it kept shrinking! Allow an additional 5 or 10cm either side. Cut the width and height to size using a pair of scissors.
Trim it down with scissors, and then line the sides with hook and loop (velcro) tape.
The next step is to line the sides of the door and the fly screen with Velcro. As mentioned it does come with all you need in the box, but there isn’t too much Velcro. The door to your caravan or motorhome will tend to be high traffic, so it’s best to get some extra tape. We put the hook side on the door frame, meaning in the future we only need to add new loop tape to any new fly screens we add over time. Our last one lasted 4 months before needing to be replaced, but that’s with a family of 5 and three boys in particular!
Once done, apply the door to you frame. Remove the header board if you have one, and use that as additional fixing. We removed ours, applied the Velcro and fly screen, then replaced the header board over top. Use additional screw holes if the exist, as opposed to putting new ones in wherever possible, including further down the door near the base to secure the fly screen in place.
Fit to your door, and using the power of magnets your new fly screen will protect your caravan or RV from flies!
That’s it, your done! A new fly screen that is automatic thanks to the power of magnets. Everytime you pop in or out, the flies should end up staying on the outside!
Check out our video above for all of the details on how we installed the fly screen and how it works to keep the flies out of our caravan during our lap of Australia.
