Best Fly Screens for Campervans in Australia (Buyer's Guide)

Australia's van scene runs hot. Whether you are chasing the dry season up north or parked at a coastal campground, the moment you open the sliding door or a window for a breeze, the mozzies and flies move in. A good fly screen fixes that: it lets the air through and keeps the bugs out. But what makes a good screen for a campervan is not the same as for a house, and the wrong one wastes a weekend and your money. Here is what actually matters, the main types compared, and how to pick the right fit for your campervan, caravan or motorhome.

What makes a good campervan fly screen?

Five things separate a screen you will actually use from one that ends up in a cupboard:

• It fits the opening. Van openings are not house-door size. A sliding door is usually far shorter than a 2.1 m house door, and van windows come in dozens of odd shapes. A screen built to the wrong size never seals properly.
• It attaches without damage. The best van screens need no drilling and no permanent glue, so your panels, your paint and your resale value stay intact. This matters even more on a leased or financed van.
• The mesh does its job. A quality fly-screen mesh blocks mosquitoes and flies while still letting the breeze through. (Our tight-weave mesh is fine enough to hold back midges and sandflies too, which matters if you tour the tropical north.)
• It holds in the heat. A van interior can top 60 C. Adhesive and stick-on velcro often peel once it gets hot, which is a very common complaint in the Australian sun. A magnetic seal has nothing to peel.
• It is easy to live with. A walk-through screen that seals itself behind you beats one you have to unzip every time you carry the billy back to the van.

The main types of van fly screens, compared

There are four common approaches on the Australian market. Here is how they stack up.

Universal screens are cheap and quick, but a one-size sheet rarely seals cleanly on a specific van. Velcro kits are the budget option, but the adhesive is the weak point in our climate. Zip screens fit well and are tough, but only if your exact model is on the maker's list, and fitting can take an hour with rubber removal. Magnetic made-to-measure screens combine an exact fit with a walk-through seal and no drilling, which is why they suit the widest range of vans.

Custom (made-to-measure) vs universal vs by-model

This is the choice that trips most people up, because the word "custom" is used loosely.

• Universal: one screen sold in a couple of sizes. Cheapest, but you are trimming and hoping for a seal.
• By model: a screen cut for a named van (say a HiAce or a Sprinter). Great fit, but only if your van is on the list. Older, imported or self-built vans, and almost all windows, fall through the cracks.
• Made-to-measure: you enter your own dimensions and the screen is built to them. It fits any van, any opening and any shape, which is the only option that reliably covers windows, barn doors and non-standard builds.

Choosing by opening

Most vans need more than one screen. Here is what each opening asks for.

Sliding side door: the one you use most

This is the big one, and the opening that decides how liveable the whole setup feels. You want a full walk-through screen that seals itself on the steel frame, so you can carry a chair, a billy or a sleeping kid through without stopping to unzip anything. On a magnetic screen the two panels snap shut behind you straight away, which is what stops the flies following you in during that two-second gap.

See the door fly screens

Side, awning and pop-out windows

Louvre, hopper and pop-out windows are where most van owners get stuck, because they are almost never a standard size and rarely appear on a by-model list. This is exactly where made-to-measure earns its keep: you give the width and height of the opening and the screen is cut to it. A pair of window screens also gives you cross-ventilation on a hot night without opening the main door at all.

See the window fly screens

Rear and barn doors

If you have a rear kitchen, or you just want the view with the doors open at camp, barn doors deserve a screen too. Wide rear openings usually work best as a multi-panel screen so the magnets still close cleanly across the full width.

Cab windows and roof vents

A matched pair of cab-window screens is the cheapest upgrade to a hot night's sleep, because it gets air moving front to back. Roof vents and hatches are worth screening too, especially if you leave them cracked open while you are out.

Fly screens by van model

Most of the vans on Australian roads are variations on a handful of platforms: Toyota HiAce, Mercedes Sprinter, VW Transporter, Ford Transit and the Fiat Ducato that underpins a lot of imported motorhomes. A by-model screen suits them well when the model is listed and the van is standard.

In practice, though, very few vans stay standard. A pop-top, a lifted roof, an aftermarket window, a self-build or a grey import will all sit slightly outside the catalogue. That is the case for measuring your own opening rather than trusting a model name: the screen is then built to your van as it is today, not as it left the factory.

Fly screens for caravans

Caravans are their own thing, and a huge part of the Australian touring scene. The entry door usually already has a flimsy factory screen that sags or tears within a couple of seasons, and the windows often have none at all. A made-to-measure magnetic screen replaces or supplements the factory one without drilling into the van body, which matters when you are dealing with a thin composite wall.

The same logic applies to annexes and pop-tops: measure the opening, order to those dimensions, fit it in about ten minutes. And because it comes off as easily as it goes on, you can pull it down for storage over winter.

Blockout curtains: the companion to your screen

A fly screen handles insects and airflow. It does not handle light, heat or privacy, which is why most van owners end up pairing it with a blockout curtain. The screen stays up for the breeze, the curtain comes across for an afternoon nap in a hot car park or for privacy at a roadside stop. Used together they cover the two things that actually ruin sleep in a van: bugs and light.

Why it matters on the road in Australia

The mozzie problem on the road

Free camping and coastal campgrounds put you exactly where mosquitoes breed: near still water, at dusk, with a warm body inside a metal box. Sprays wear off, coils are unpleasant in a small space, and plug-ins need power you may not have. A physical barrier is the only thing that works all night without being topped up.

Ventilation versus protection: do you have to choose?

This is the trade-off every van owner knows. Shut everything and the van becomes an oven; open up and you are feeding the mozzies. A screen removes the choice: the door or window stays wide open and the insects stay outside.

Comfort in the heat and in humid areas

Up north, and anywhere humid, airflow is not a luxury. Being able to leave the sliding door open all night while you sleep changes what the van is like to live in, and it is the single upgrade most owners say they should have done first.

How to choose, in one line

• Want the cheapest and do not mind a loose fit? A universal screen.
• Van on a maker's model list and you want plug-and-play? A by-model screen.
• Want an exact fit on any opening or shape, with no drilling? Made-to-measure magnetic.

Where Moskera fits

We build magnetic fly screens to your exact measurements, for any van, caravan or motorhome opening. You enter your size, we measure, cut and sew each screen to order in our own workshop, and it holds on with MagnetX magnets and a weighted hem, so there is no drilling and no damage. The mesh is a tough E-glass fibreglass that stops mozzies and flies while the breeze still gets through. We ship Australia-wide and we are rated 4.7 out of 5 on Trustpilot.

Build your custom fly screen

Not sure where to start? Our campervan fly screens page walks through every opening and product.

Frequently asked questions