Day/Night Shade Troubles

Taz Devil

Well-known member
Does anybody have any suggestions for making my day/night shades straight across all the way from top to bottom? I have a slight slanting in my rear shade.

Thanks
 

jimtoo

Moderator
On the low or drooping side tighten the cord or string at the bottom just a little. Loosen the screw in the clamp and just turn a little,, does not take much.
Jim M
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
Kevin & Celeste, That big rear shade can be a real pain. A couple of key things to remember. Only put enough tension on the cords to hold the shade. When you raise the lower section, the upper section should stay put. If you tension the cords too much they will wear and break. You should be able to hold one side with one hand and raise or lower the other to match and then as Jim says, with even tension it should be fine. If all else fails, do like us and replace it with wooden blinds.
 

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leftyf

SSG Stumpy-VA Terrorist
Kevin & Celeste, That big rear shade can be a real pain. A couple of key things to remember. Only put enough tension on the cords to hold the shade. When you raise the lower section, the upper section should stay put. If you tension the cords too much they will wear and break. You should be able to hold one side with one hand and raise or lower the other to match and then as Jim says, with even tension it should be fine. If all else fails, do like us and replace it with wooden blinds.

I really like the look of your blinds..and am thinking bout doing the exact same thing. The shade in the back is such a bear to raise from my wheelchair...and I'm worried about breaking it too.

Thanks for the idea.
 

leftyf

SSG Stumpy-VA Terrorist
Does anybody have any suggestions for making my day/night shades straight across all the way from top to bottom? I have a slight slanting in my rear shade.

Thanks

Now that I have looked...I got the same thing in my bedroom in my slide.

Well, Shade....I'm headed your way with a screwdriver.
 

Tom of Ypsi

Well-known member
We also got tired of fighting with the shades so we are having the whole living area done up in custom blinds and should be installed next week. They were cheaper than we thought, comes with the travel brackets similar to the ones in the bathroom.
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Lefty,

Roll up blinds like those used in some class A's (roll up like shades) are also available and they can be installed as electric units. Not inexpensive however. To do the back window is about $500 (electric - installed). Bradd and Hall Furniture does custom blind installations in Elkhart, Indiana.

Jim
 

leftyf

SSG Stumpy-VA Terrorist
Lefty,

Roll up blinds like those used in some class A's (roll up like shades) are also available and they can be installed as electric units. Not inexpensive however. To do the back window is about $500 (electric - installed). Bradd and Hall Furniture does custom blind installations in Elkhart, Indiana.

Jim

I need to do some leg work on this. I hope to be in Elkhart, (April-May timeframe) next year. An electric blind would be right up my alley for the back. Better start saving my military $$$...gonna need them *IF* I do all the mods I got planed for this thing next year.:eek:

Thanks, Jim.
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Lefty,

Maybe you can alter your plans slightly to make the Escapees Escapade in Sedalia, MO in May then to Goshen, IN for our big rally mid-June.

Jim
 

hillsonwheels

Well-known member
Jim,

What kind of bike rack are you using on your coach? We have a 3400RL Bighorn and I've been thinking about adding a bike for local travel when in "port". Would what you have installed work on the Bighorn?

Dick
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Dick,

I think the brand is Swagman. Not sure. I believe the hitch is from Hidden Hitch. Then there are a set of custom brackets that were welded onto the bottom of the I-beam.

The hitch is a 1.5" receiver. Most people will want a 2" for a larger or heavy dutier bike rack, platform etc.

See an RV dealer that has a good welder or a welding shop and they can fab up and weld on a receiver that will accept the bike rack of your choice.

At this time, Heartland is not offering a bike rack option.

Jim
 

hillsonwheels

Well-known member
Jim,
Thanx for the info. Didn't realize the rack was frame mounted. Looks like a ladder mount in the picture. I'll have to chew on the info for awhile before deciding what I'm gonna do. Have any thoughts on ladder mounted racks? Anyone else?

Dick
 

Uncle Rog

Well-known member
Back to the shades, we took Ray's route and have replaced with mini-blinds as they fail. We have replaced three so far, the rear and the two on the dinette slide. We prefer the mini's for the ease of use and performance...................
 

Gary Steeves

Well-known member
Rog, It's been awhile. I have a shade that just broke it's line. Can you give me any tips as far as getting the square headed screw driver onto the screws to get the valances off the wall so I can get to the shade itself. I think, at this point, I will re-thread new line and put the shade back up. It is a small one, so just the 2 lines are threaded thru.

Any help (step by step) to make this job easier is much appreciated.

Thanks and a Merry Christmas to all the forum members.
 

Uncle Rog

Well-known member
Hey Gary, Merry Christmas to all, I tried to take the easy route the first time, to no avail. I finally just removed the side valances completely and since I was replacing the unit's they were then easy to pull. The three that we have replaced so far are under cabinets (flat / flush mount top valance) so I just mounted the new brackets into the bottom of them. In retropspect I probably should have used vinyl retro's but opted for the aluminum for weight consideration, vinyl or wood has much better insulation values, good luck................
 

vrugt

Active Member
Valances

One of the first things we modified was to remove all of the valances. We replaced them with curtain rods & curtains. It is and it looks much "spacier" and by picking contrasting colours/patterns it makes the interior less bland looking.
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
Rog, It's been awhile. I have a shade that just broke it's line. Can you give me any tips as far as getting the square headed screw driver onto the screws to get the valances off the wall so I can get to the shade itself. I think, at this point, I will re-thread new line and put the shade back up. It is a small one, so just the 2 lines are threaded thru.

Any help (step by step) to make this job easier is much appreciated.

Thanks and a Merry Christmas to all the forum members.
Gary, Depending on which window you are working on the valences are attached a little differently. Some are through the head/top piece up into a cabinet bottom. You will need an extended shank on a cordless drill or screwdriver to reach. There are usually 2 and maybe 3 screws. There may be a screw on the upper outside corner through a fold in the material and there is also a screw in the side panels lower outside corner through a fold in the material. For the shade, the header is attached either to the wall or window frame with 2 screws. Here is a diagram posted for the routing of the cords. If you are doing a shade with 2 cords, follow lines 1 and 2.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v425/ClayL/d52e3c54.jpg Have fun!
 

Gary Steeves

Well-known member
Thanks for the reply, Ray. That helps. I'm a bit confused on the string route. If I follow strings 1 and 2, they both come out on the same side :confused:.

Is there a "special" tool /needle required to thread the string through the holes?

Thanks, Gary
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
Thanks for the reply, Ray. That helps. I'm a bit confused on the string route. If I follow strings 1 and 2, they both come out on the same side :confused:.

Is there a "special" tool /needle required to thread the string through the holes?

Thanks, Gary
Sorry Gary, I meant 1 and 4 for the strings. Lin had a huge sewing needle that we used. It's more of a PITA to thread because you almost have to re-assemble the shade as you thread it. Once you've done it for the first time, doing it again is much easier. Did I mention we found some replacement cord in a sporting goods store. We used Bow Fishing string. I believe it was 80# test. Works great and isn't too expensive.
 
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