Community Forums

jim burr · 05-01-2009, 06:53 PM

thinking about replacing my d/n blinds with faux wood mini,s. anyone have any experience/problems with this type project. please advise. thanks jim burr.

paz · 05-02-2009, 07:20 AM

Jim, welcome to iRV2.

You don't say what kind of RV you have, but I see you are a member of the National Owners Club so I assume you have a motorhome. I think wood blinds would be fine in a 5th wheel since you wouldn't be riding in it going down the road, but you may get some rattling in a motorhome.

Have you thought about the American Duo Shades by MCD? As the Duo name suggests, these have two shades - a see-through shade to provide privacy during the day and an opaque shade for night. They don't have the problems of strings breaking like the traditional day/night shades. Many RV manufacturers have gone to the MCD shades as original equipment.

Bob (WA0MQE) · 05-02-2009, 11:18 AM

I agree with Jim. I saw the MCD Due Shades at the FMCA Convention in St. Paul last July. If ever I were to replace mine, that's what they'd be. You can get them in motorized versions and they work slick. Slick in respect to their looks, operation and ease of installation. The only set back would be running the +12vdc to each window. But after talking with the folks at MCD that isn't really all that bad either.

two2go · 05-02-2009, 11:18 AM

I have had success with vinyl blinds. They don't make much noise compared to metal blinds. If the wood-look blinds are plastic, it might work OK. If you have the formed valence sides that are padded and cover the ends of the slats, you would get some cushioning on the outside. A foam insulation strip mounted vertically on the wall behind the valence would cushion the blinds from contacting the wall and shouldn't be very noticeable. Some of that type of blind slats tend to be pretty heavy, however, so if you have a wide window, you might want to consider that.

Another thing about blinds is that you have to put hold-down hooks on the bottom that you have to hook for travel, and you will have the length of strings pulled down to contend with when you raise the blinds.

Regarding the day-night shades, I just replaced broken strings in one with a heavier duty cord. I observed how tight NRV had mounted all our blinds which makes them hard to raise and lower as well as make the strings prone to break. I put much less tension on the one I fixed so it is real easy to raise and lower, yet stays in place fine. I am going to rework all of the blinds. It isn't hard, just time consuming to remove the valence assembly and tricky to restring the blinds. There are instructions on-line. Google "restring day night shades". You don't need a kit. Just buy nylon sash cord. I was even considering 50# mono fish line. If you don't like your d/n shades because they are a pain to work, maybe they are too tight.

jim burr · 05-03-2009, 10:22 PM

thanks to all for your ideas. not sure what i'll do but thanks for the input. jim burr.

jspande · 05-04-2009, 12:29 PM

I'd suggest you take a look at Energy Saving Side Track

I replaced my day-night shades with these, and while it was a bit more work, it was well worth it. These are cellular (double row honeycomb) shades with a special plastic "energy saving sidetrack" - basically they cut a saw kerf into the edges of the shade and mount a plastic rail on each side so the shade slides along the rails. This blocks light and air from escaping around the sides of the shade, giving it much better insulation rating (r value around 5!!!). Also, because they consist of 3 layers of fabric each separated by about 1/2 inch, the light diffusion is much better and you don't need the "night" part of dya/night shades to get good privacy. That means they don't take up so much space at the top of the window when up, leaving a more unobstructed view. I used the "room darkening" version in the bedroom, which blocks every bit of light, thanks to the sidetrack.

One caveat - if you have dual pane windows you should check with the manufacturer if the warranty is voided by using such insulated shades. The high insulation can cause pretty high temperatures at the inner pane, possibly rupturing the seal between the panes.

The side track will hold the shades all along their sides from rattling against the window, so you can travel safely with them up or all the way down. I don't think it would be a good idea to travel with them part-way down since one end might jiggle down while the other end jiggles up and they could slip out of the tracks.

offshore · 05-12-2009, 02:55 PM

We full time in our MH and replaced the day/night shades in the bedroom with Levelor 2", faux wood blinds. I left the valence around the window so this holds the blinds in place. I had to remove the valence from the window, install the blinds on the valence then reinstall the valence around the window. We are very happy with them. Good luck.

DonnaB · 05-13-2009, 07:19 AM

We just (yesterday) replaced our bedroom day/nite shades and the metal blind in the bathroom with the MCD duo shades. We bought these at The Rally in ABQ in April and had them shipped to my sis-in-law's house where we picked them up. However, I would say there was no savings by getting them at this Rally. Same price as if you ordered them from MCD.

Now the install on the first one took 1 1/2 hours to do and there was a lot of teeth gnashing, finger injuries and foul language. But you know that first one is a learner and the next 3 took about 10-15 minutes each and none of the other extras. They look good and they do block the light in the bedroom.

We did not get the motorized version as they are $165 x 2= $320 more per window and a lot more complicated to install. Decided we could reach over and pull the shade down ourselves. One issue is that the wood valance in the bathroom isn't long enough to cover both rollers, so we will be looking to have another valance made that is a couple of inches taller. But, the fabric covered valances in the bedroom and the rest in the coach are fine.

Will be looking to to replace all the rest in the house as the wallet expands over the next few months. Although these are pricy, this is our home and it is well worth it.

donie · 05-31-2009, 08:58 AM

FWIW, we replaced the ones in ours because they were starting to fall apart.
We replaced them with the same brand only chose darker nite side shades.
Ordered and had them installed by CW.
Altogether it ran close to $900.

LVJ58 · 05-31-2009, 11:12 PM

Hi Jim, we replaced our bedroom dan-night with metal mini's special ordered a & color coordinated from Lowes. Not to difficult to install, we really like them and they add a bit of class to the coach. As our other d-n go belly up we'll replace them with mini's as well.