Magnetic attachment or suction cups?
Suction cup mats are more universal. They can be easily attached to the windows of any car, and this solution holds surprisingly well. On the other hand, we have magnetic mats, which are a fantastic solution in a car like our Toyota Land Cruiser. The door frames are metal, so magnets hold perfectly, and where there are plastic parts, thin magnets can be used. In our case, the second option turned out better. Additionally, suction cups leave marks on the windows, while magnets do not.
What color should the outer layer of the mats be?
The most commonly available magnetic thermal mats on the market have an outer layer in silver or black. A frequent question arises: does black material offer less protection from heat caused by sunlight? In the short term, black material indeed heats up faster than light gray. However, thanks to the insulating core of the thermal mat, the heat doesn’t immediately penetrate the interior. Therefore, in the long run, both versions insulate approximately equally well.
Our magnetic thermal mats
For our magnetic thermal mats, we chose a product from Project Camper, a company based in Hamburg, Germany. The mats are black on the outside and beige on the inside. We have a set for every window, but the ones on the trunk windows stay permanently attached. Besides the summer insulation, we feel safer because no one can see what’s in the trunk.
For those interested, we recommend visiting the Project Camper website. You’ll find magnetic thermal mats for nearly every van model. Unfortunately, they are only just starting with off-road models, although they already have everything needed for the Toyota J7.
