Day Night Shades..

TXBobcat

Fulltime
Well our second Day Night Shade broke on me the other day. It seems the strings in the shades do not hold up very well. Went to Camping World in Albuqurque NM to see if they had any available. Nope.. said they are custom and have to be ordered.. I though most windows in RV's were pretty standard.

I went to WalMart today and bought some cord to repair the shade. Is anyone else having them break on them?

If you have a blind that has failed and no longer need it and are going to the Rayford Crossing Rally, I will take it off your hands so I can have something to practice on.

I will let you know how I do. Has anyone repaired one?

BC
 

mjatwalker

Retired MD Chapter ******s
We are having problems with our shades also. I hope to ask the Heartland rep about this at the fall rally next week.

Mike
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
I've repaired several Bob. Yes they are a bit of a PITA but since I've found the "just right" tension on the cords, we have had no more issues. Adjust your cords so that they just hold the shade in position. If they are too tight, they will wear and break. There is a guide herer on the forum but I'll have to do a search. I thought I had it but ??
 

geeksrus

Well-known member
When the cord in one of ours broke, we took it to a repair place that charged us C$20 (C$10 per string) to repair it... well worth the expense as others have stated how difficult it was to self fix them.

We got the name of the repair shop from the parts department from one of the local Heartland dealers... maybe if you ask the dealer in your area they might have a contact.

Eh!
 

Tom of Ypsi

Well-known member
Bob, Do a temporary fix on the blind and when you get down to the "Valley" I will take you and Pat to look at some real wood blinds. BTW Ray did a fix on his blinds and it is posted on the forum somewhere just do a search. He also has changed out some of his blinds to the venetian type blinds.
 

ChopperBill

Well-known member
I posted this some time ago but here it is again. I hope it doesn't put the jinks on me, cause I never had to do it.
d52e3c54.jpg
 

DougLynne

retired Alberta Chapter Leaders
I followed retired4fun instructions in his previous post and managed to get 1 of my blinds fixed and 2 of my brothers in his Motorhome. Found the diagram wasn't exact for mine but maybe a different company strings theirs differently. At any rate the instructions worked. I had a problem getting the top of the blind to slide as when they were installed at teh factory they ran screws through the blind and you can slide because of the screw damage.
Here is a site I just read in our last Goodsam magazine that may also help.
www.dirtyblindman.com

Doug
 
Last edited:

htneighbors

Unbelievably Blessed!
Here's something I acquired from this forum once upon a time...
 

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TXBobcat

Fulltime
Thanks to all those that responded.. I haven't got to fixing it yet but will shortly..

Attached is what I found about how to restring the binds..

Ray:
I went to WalMart to get the 1.2mm cord. Couldn't find any but I did find a nylon cord that looked durable and large enough in diameter to do the job. It is white but it will serve good enough until we get to the RGV. Where did you get your cord?

when you get down to the "Valley" I will take you and Pat to look at some real wood blinds.

Thanks Tom.. I was going to ask you to show us where you got your blinds made.. We plan to do that when we get to Mission... I will hold you to your offer..

Maybe Ray can hold a repair class at the rally in Oct..:rolleyes: Hint Hint... :D

BC

P.S. that would be great when we get to the rally... Someone that has a talent that would like to teach some of us how to do something like this to help keep us busy and save some bucks..
 

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Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
Hey Bob, Chopper beat me to it with the stringing instructions. He must have it saved on his PC. I have it saved now as well. The cord I used is a braided polyester and it's original intention was for bowfishing. It's 90# test and white. perfect replacement. I wouldnt use anything other than braided poly for it's wear characteristics. Have Fun!!!:D:D:D
 

SilverRhino

Well-known member
Tension Adjustment

I've repaired several Bob. Yes they are a bit of a PITA but since I've found the "just right" tension on the cords, we have had no more issues. Adjust your cords so that they just hold the shade in position. If they are too tight, they will wear and break. There is a guide herer on the forum but I'll have to do a search. I thought I had it but ??

The BC is in storage so I can't go out and look right now ..... but ....... I think the tension is set too high in our window blinds. Is this an easy adjustment?? How is it done??
 

jmgratz

Original Owners Club Member
After a couple of our strings brokes we replaced all of the day night shades with mini-blinds (I know old-fashioned but we like them). The are easier to use than the day night shades and can open them and see out. We also put up curtains and it is much more 'homie'. No more day night shade problems.

BTW - Lowes has a large selection of blinds and will cut them to size free.
 

TXBobcat

Fulltime
Wah Hooo.. Got it fixed.
Just some thoughts. The cord I bought was about right. It was nylon cord, white but it looks alright. Sorta like the difference with the white cord. I bought 20 yards of cord at WalMart and a large needle to push through the holes. It worked great.

I followed the instructions which were pretty easy. Wasn't sure how much cord to use. One of the instructions said to take the width + Length + Length times the number of cords. I measured 18in wide and 2ft long. That turned into 18+24+24=66 inches times 2 = 132 inches divided by 12 inches per foot = 11 ft. I actually used about 15 ft and had to cut off about 2 1/2 ft. I just wanted to be sure. I would rather have it to long and cut off some than be 6 inches short....

SilverRino:
Here is some instructions I found about adjustment.
These blinds do require some adjustment to operate properly and the adjustment is quite easy to do. The first step is to determine what needs to be done. If the blind is very difficult to raise then the blind needs less spring tension. To decrease the spring tension carefully loosen the spool retaining screw on one side, while holding the spool firmly against the valence so that it does not twist free then rotate the spool counterclockwise 1 turn at a time. Tighten the screw and repeat for the other side. Move the blind completely up and down a few times then check to see if it operates correctly. If not repeat this procedure.

If the blind goes up in a zigzag fashion then one side of the blind has more tension than the other. In this case you may be able to see which side is loose and tighten the spool on that side. If you are unsure I suggest loosening both sides and apply an equal number of turns on the spool until the blind operates correctly. If the tension is too loose then the blind will not stay in position. Again adjust both sides one at a time to place the correct tension on the strings.

Hope this is of intrest to others.. It is not a real problem but I feel good that I could fix it and if I can fix it so can any of you..

BC
 

SilverRhino

Well-known member
Thanks for the Information

BC;

Thanks for the information ...... will be at the BC in the next few days and will try to adjust!

Travel Safe.
 
Adjusting Day/Night Shades

Hi,

I rebuild these shades here in central WI during the summer. Winter, Im in FL doing them.
Here's a proven way to adjust:

The tension adjustment is best accomplished this way.
1. Hang the head rail of the shade in the top of the valance.
2. Screw the cord retainers to the wall.
3. Take up the slack or excess cord (feed the cord through the cord retainer,
pulling it through quickly will damage the cord retainer).
4. Having removed all slack in the shade cord, mark the spot where the cord
exits the retainer hole.
5. Remove the screw and tie the knot in the cord ¼” tighter (higher) than
your mark.
6. Repeat this for the opposite side.
7. Replace the cord retainers and slowly operate the shade.
8. If it requires more tension loop one side of the cord around the cord
retainer. Another method is to loosen the retainer screw and rotate the
cord retainer to adjust the tension.
If the shade is set correctly you should be able to raise the bottom rail and have
the center rail stay in the upper position. When the shade is put together properly
and set it should last a long time. Friction is the biggest problem, nylon cord
through nylon or brass bushings. The faster the shade is raised the faster it will
wear out.

Hope this helps..

Roy (Lambchop)
 

mstrbll

Member
I had a string broke on a small window and warranty replaced it BUT I have all my large D/N shades bending and warping. was told by local dealer that nothing can be done even though I'm still under warranty
Anyone else have same problem??
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
I had a string broke on a small window and warranty replaced it BUT I have all my large D/N shades bending and warping. was told by local dealer that nothing can be done even though I'm still under warranty
Anyone else have same problem??
mstrbll, if you are still under warranty and your dealer is refusing to satisfy your concerns, your next course of action should be to call Heartland Cust Service and have you VIN available. We had a few problems with the shades and replaced them with wood blinds. The blinds we replaced were the large rear one the ones over the table and sofa and the desk area. They were all difficult to reach and operate unless you used two hands. The remaining shades are fine and the main reason for replacing them was the blinds are easier to operate and require NO Maintenance.
 

navyAZ1

Well-known member
We had 3 of our blinds break the strings, I tried to figure out how to do this and got really confused. We replaced ours with mini blinds from Lowe's we like them much better easier to open and close then the Day/Night shades. Good Luck!
 
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