Community Forums

Gadget Man · 08-12-2015, 11:44 AM

I am installing new MCD shades in my RV today. All of the shades came out of the box with a section of pinched material, shown in the below photo. Anyone else experience this? Does it eventually stretch back out?

Thanks.

Craig

Melmoses · 08-12-2015, 03:05 PM

Send them back. There is already some raveling on the shade edge where it was pinched. I would not count on it smoothing out - the material is stiff and has no weight to help pull that out. Plus it looks stretched which won't correct itself. No way I would accept that but that is my opinion.

Gadget Man · 08-12-2015, 03:51 PM

Ok thanks.

MCD really has some quality control issues. Several night shades also had dirty hand prints on them. One night shade will not stay open. I bought these thinking they were the best on the market, but apparently I was wrong. They are by no means inexpensive either. I can't recommend them.

Craig

Gadget Man · 08-13-2015, 04:02 PM

I spoke with a rep from MCD today. He was very nice and apologized for the damaged shades. Apparently they just re-designed the shade end caps and the new design is causing problems like I experienced. He asked me to do the following: Spray the wrinkled areas with water and then hit it with a heat gun. While heating it up, pull snugly from the bottom of the shade to stretch out the imperfections. This worked on all but one of my shades, the one shown in the above photo. As Melmoses pointed out, the material is frayed. I also had a problem with the roller mechanism on another shade and a third shade has what looked like staple holes in it. MCD is sending me out replacement shades as soon as they can get them built.

While I’m still not impressed with MCD’s overall quality control, I am happy that they are rectifying the issue without a hassle. The shades that were unaffected look and function beautifully.

Craig

Dutch Star Don · 08-13-2015, 05:05 PM

"Gadget Man".....I ordered $3500.00 in shades for my Diplomat a couple of years ago. The big ticket item was the power front shade. When they arrived, they were all in good shape, but several of the non powered ones didn't operate properly and they had to send me new mechanisms. I figured each shade would have been tested and adjusted prior to being shipped, since they're all made to an exact size. I was not impressed with how they worked and the amount of time I spent adjusting them.

My sister bought the 'In Motion" brand and you can't really tell them apart, plus they were substantially cheaper. One of the reasons I went with MCD was because they advertised that they were ALL made in America and I thought their product was the best. I wouldn't necessarily buy from them again. They sent me new internal parts, but the second set that went bad they got a little snippy. I reminded them how much I paid for a product that didn't work.

Gadget Man · 08-13-2015, 07:12 PM

Don,

I seriously considered AutoMotion shades. As you stated, they are less expensive. The problem with them is they are not factory direct. You must go through a dealer which slows down the process of having them custom made. My closest dealer is about 50 miles away and they seemed upset that I didn't want to hire them to do the install, when I inquired about pricing. That said, I now wonder if they might have been a better choice regardless.

Craig

G Shaw · 08-13-2015, 09:16 PM

I had MCD's installed a couple years ago at the factory. Job didn't go real well and the product sure doesn't reflect the price charged.
Made in America doesn't mean what it used to.
BUT they do beat those horrible day/nite that were installed originally.

On The Road · 08-14-2015, 12:26 PM

Wow! Was just finishing my order list for some MCD shades and decided to do a little search to get some info on how hard it was to install myself. Glad I did, going to hold off on ordering and take a look at the AutoMotion ones
Thanks for keeping people informed. I think if your going to charge a premium price the quality better reflect it.

Gadget Man · 08-14-2015, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by On The Road

Wow! Was just finishing my order list for some MCD shades and decided to do a little search to get some info on how hard it was to install myself. Glad I did, going to hold off on ordering and take a look at the AutoMotion ones

Thanks for keeping people informed. I think if your going to charge a premium price the quality better reflect it.

Glad to help out. I did the same thing before ordering mine and I read nothing but positive remarks. While I still like the shades that arrived undamaged and defect-free, I was expecting them to be 100% trouble free, considering the cost.

BTW, I found another shade with pin holes in it, which brings the number of defective shades to four, 50% of my total order.

Good luck with your choice.

Craig

Dutch Star Don · 08-14-2015, 03:07 PM

"On the Road".....Depending on your valances, installation can be a breeze. Monaco made large (deep) valances where you could easily reach up and remove the old shades. If you have to remove the valances to do the work, it becomes more difficult.

When I installed the MCD's, I'll bet it took me less than 6-7 minutes a shade. It was adjusting some of them that takes a while. They need to be adjusted for both speed and length.

With that said, even if you have someone else install them, at some point you'll need to adjust one. Once you figure it out, it's not a huge deal. I wouldn't fear doing your own install. Now the power front shade was a project and I wouldn't recommend that install unless you really feel comfortable with your skills.

Gadget Man · 08-14-2015, 04:55 PM

I agree with DSD, installation is very easy if you have deep valances that don't require removal. It took us longer to remove the old pleated shades than it did to install the MCD's, with the exception of one of my small slideout windows that had a narrow wooden top and bottom valance...it was part of an adjacent cabinet. I would assume however that MCD isn't the only shade that is easy to install. My shades were all manual. I REALLY wanted all electric shades, but the cost was prohibitive.

My MCD's came pre-adjusted according to my ordering specs, so there was no need to adjust any of them unless I wanted to change the roll-up speed, which I didn't.

I will say something something about these MCD shades, they keep the coach a lot cooler in the summer. I have the MH sitting next the house right now. I have both the day & night shades down and the coach is a lot cooler than it would normally be in 100F+ weather. It's dark inside, but a lot cooler than I expected.

Craig

Gadget Man · 08-24-2015, 07:00 PM

I installed my replacement order of MCD shades today. To my delight, one of my night shades had the same exact pinholes in it as the first shade. Are you kidding me?

I don't know who is doing MCD's QC, but they seriously need to look for a new career.

Gadget Man · 09-08-2015, 03:03 PM

Well the wonderful people at MCD did it again. I received my second replacement (third shade overall) for one of my bedroom windows today. Once again, the night shade material was damaged due to improper packing and assembly.

I give up...I’m tired of going back and forth with them. The pinholes are easier to live with than the frayed material, but neither one is acceptable. I told them to issue me a full refund for the remaining defective shade. If they refuse, I’ll file a dispute with my credit card company. No one should have to go through this when they pay this kind of money for window shades.

Craig