Back window tinting

Yolandi_thebus · 09-01-2020, 12:19 PM

Hello, I was curious about the legality of tinting the very back windows of the bus. I have this pretty color changing mirror film that I’d like to use, but my partner is afraid it’s not allowed? You can see through it from the inside quite well.

Texan · 09-01-2020, 12:44 PM

Tint laws vary state by state. I suspect you could bypass many state laws by installing a rear facing camera with a monitor up front. A friend of mine has a monitor mounted on his rearview mirror with the camera hardwired high on the back of his work van. Check local laws before you take advice about this on the internet.

JackE · 09-01-2020, 01:58 PM

There are plenty of manufactured RV's and travel busses going down the road with a solid back end. Tinting the window isn't a problem. Adding a rear view camera is highly advisable for any and all busses just for the safety factor. As cheap as these systems are now, it's silly not to add a system to your build. I am putting a 4 camera system with DVR on my bus.

o1marc · 09-01-2020, 02:02 PM

I believe that as long as you have side view mirrors, rear windows in the doors are not required, so no regulations against tinting or painting, or removing them.
My brother almost got a ticket in his Dodge van for no center rear view mirror, his van came stock with solid back doors.

Texan · 09-01-2020, 03:34 PM

While we are on cameras, I thought about having a single monitor for rear view display while driving. If I turn on a turn signal, the monitor could switch to the camera for that side. I wonder how hard that would be to set up and if doing it in night vision would help. The mirrors would be kept as a backup. The cameras could double as security cameras when parked.

JackE · 09-01-2020, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texan

While we are on cameras, I thought about having a single monitor for rear view display while driving. If I turn on a turn signal, the monitor could switch to the camera for that side. I wonder how hard that would be to set up and if doing it in night vision would help. The mirrors would be kept as a backup. The cameras could double as security cameras when parked.

You'll pat a higher premium for a plug and play set up like that, but there are systems that do exactly what you are wanting, all while recording all the camera views at the same time.

peteg59 · 09-01-2020, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texan

While we are on cameras, I thought about having a single monitor for rear view display while driving. If I turn on a turn signal, the monitor could switch to the camera for that side. I wonder how hard that would be to set up and if doing it in night vision would help. The mirrors would be kept as a backup. The cameras could double as security cameras when parked.

This can no doubt be done, however if simply hooking up power to the camera(s) and monitor to the respective turn signal side, the intermittent 12VDC would power up the cameras in cadence with your flashers.
That could be more distracting than helpful, maybe?

I'm planning on doing a high mount dome style camera out back, as well as a high mount dome up front, and another at driver view level inside, looking straight through the windshield wired into an ignition circuit that has power when key is on. (You can always flip the key on if you need to record/document an event when necessary). ((As long as you're in the bus!!)).

I might need to rethink that strategy and wire the cameras on full time with a simple power disconnect inside when the cameras are not needed as there are more thugs, druggies, and ner~do~wells running around almost everywhere too, looking for that lucrative payday at someone else's expense...

That coverage should be cheap insurance against the seemingly endless supply of idiots running our nations roadways every day, too!

Sad fact of life but "CYA" is the name of the game nowadays, and long into the future after we're no longer above ground and breathing!

Sorry for taking this thread off topic YTB, and my $0.02, for what its worth is the others are right about tinting the rear windows.

The main windows that must remain clear or having only stock factory tint are the driver/passenger windows in the front, as well as the windshield, (in my state). Check with your DMV or state safety inspection stations if they do them wherever it is that you'll be registering in.

Welcome to the site yolandi, and post pics of your bus/project when you get a chance to do so...

Yolandi_thebus · 09-01-2020, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peteg59

Welcome to the site yolandi, and post pics of your bus/project when you get a chance to do so...

Thank you everyone for your replies. I will make sure to introduce ourselves in a whike. We just got our bus and we’re far too excited to stop work on it

Brad_SwiftFur · 09-01-2020, 11:56 PM

In Georgia (where I live) window tint is restricted to:
"On windows to either side of driver or in back of vehicle, the light transmission restriction may not be less than 32%, plus or minus 3% or increase light reflectance more than 20%."
Exceptions:
6 (a-g) "Multipurpose passenger vehicle, school bus, public transportation bus, nonprofit bus, limousine, Windows tinted before factory delivery, tinting otherwise expressly permitted by federal law".
I'm going to tint my side and back windows as dark as I can find (95%, or "Limo Dark"). Being a bus, it falls under the exceptions, and no one's likely to stop and check it. The door, driver's window and windshield will remain untinted.

shaymcquaid · 09-02-2020, 11:51 AM

I put a mirror like reflective film on the back window.
It’s awesome, BUT, I’m going to remove it and use regular tint because I think it’s unsafe to potentially blind other drivers.

o1marc · 09-02-2020, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brad_SwiftFur

In Georgia (where I live) window tint is restricted to:
"On windows to either side of driver or in back of vehicle, the light transmission restriction may not be less than 32%, plus or minus 3% or increase light reflectance more than 20%."
Exceptions:
6 (a-g) "Multipurpose passenger vehicle, school bus, public transportation bus, nonprofit bus, limousine, Windows tinted before factory delivery, tinting otherwise expressly permitted by federal law".
I'm going to tint my side and back windows as dark as I can find (95%, or "Limo Dark"). Being a bus, it falls under the exceptions, and no one's likely to stop and check it. The door, driver's window and windshield will remain untinted.

The number is how much light is transmitted, if you want "Limo" tint, you want 5%. The state can't regulate windows that are not mandatory. Limo tint is not safe on windows that need to be seen out of. I was in the business in the late 80's, early 90's. I would recommend to the kids who wanted limo to just save their money and paint the windows black.

Brad_SwiftFur · 09-02-2020, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by o1marc

The number is how much light is transmitted, if you want "Limo" tint, you want 5%. The state can't regulate windows that are not mandatory. Limo tint is not safe on windows that need to be seen out of. I was in the business in the late 80's, early 90's. I would recommend to the kids who wanted limo to just save their money and paint the windows black.

T'is true, there's numbers for light transmission (which Georgia uses) and corresponding numbers for light blocking (whatever the "correct" term is), which for "Limo" tint is 95%. I have even seen 97.5% tint (2.5% light transmission) but it's not as common.

o1marc · 09-02-2020, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brad_SwiftFur

T'is true, there's numbers for light transmission (which Georgia uses) and corresponding numbers for light blocking (whatever the "correct" term is), which for "Limo" tint is 95%. I have even seen 97.5% tint (2.5% light transmission) but it's not as common.

Show me a brand that lists it as 97.5% tint, or limo as 95%. It is always sold by how much light transmission, not by absorption.

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