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Old 11-23-2018, 10:24 PM   #1
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I hate pleated blinds.

So I have had my trailer for a year and a half now. Have gotten just about all the kinks worked out.

Next up on the list are the blinds. It has thicker pleated blinds that you push up. Think they are considered day/night.

The issue is that I cannot open them with out them bunching up in spots. They are supposed to fold back and forth as the bottom slides up but they won’t.

Am I doing something wrong or do I need to let my wife rip them off and make new ones?

Writing this as I sit in my recliner in a mo state park. They gave us a voucher for a free night as a Black Friday gift today.
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Old 11-24-2018, 05:14 AM   #2
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They might need to be adjusted, loosen the round piece at the bottom then you release or add tension to the cord, hold the cord then retighten the round piece. Just wait until you have to restring one
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Old 11-24-2018, 06:45 AM   #3
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I replaced mine with Venetian blinds. Much better! A twist of the wrist to open partially or fully. I hated those pleated blinds. Couldn't see out unless fully opened.
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Old 11-24-2018, 01:02 PM   #4
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We have those pleated blinds and were having the same problem until we started leaving them completely up when not camping. They don't bunch or wrinkle when we let them up or down when camping now.

I have plans on replacing them at some point.
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Old 11-24-2018, 01:14 PM   #5
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I love my day night shades. Had to restring one , watched the video and only took the guy 15 minutes. Took me twice as long to untangle the strings. But after an hour they were done and everyone was happy again.
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Old 11-24-2018, 01:40 PM   #6
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Wait until you break any of those e n d pieces trying to get them out. The one I did had the center section ends super glued in. Boy that was some fun!
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Old 11-24-2018, 03:07 PM   #7
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I'd never own them again. Roller blinds have been the best thing ever in our last 3 units. Darken the interior and there are no shadows seen from the outside at light. Also heavy enough to hold heat or AC in. Stops most heat coming through from the sun. No strings either! Although those OP has are not cheap they are a lot less than roller blinds which is why they come on many units.
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Old 11-24-2018, 03:15 PM   #8
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Leave them up when not in use. We were specifically told this by our dealer during delivery.

Have not had a problem so far and these are far superior to regular blinds.
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Old 11-24-2018, 04:02 PM   #9
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Had them in our last Coachmen T/T and were pretty pleased with them. New Coachmen has black soft up roller shades. We didn't like them at first but they raise and lower so easily and really darken the interior. We've come to like them a lot. Just my preference but I wish they were a light color inside. As is pretty standard the kitchen area has venetian blinds witch we always keep up when under way.
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Old 11-24-2018, 04:05 PM   #10
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I love my day night shades. Had to restring one , watched the video and only took the guy 15 minutes. Took me twice as long to untangle the strings. But after an hour they were done and everyone was happy again.
Same here. Unlike Venetian type (with slats) the pleated blinds provide some insulation over the window for hot/cold weather. I have the Venetian type on one side at kitchen. Rest are pleated. If the sun is beating on kitchen side you can feel the heat from the hot metal slats. If beating on dinette side, noticeably less heat coming through the pleated. During cold weather the same only they help keep heat in.

Perhaps wood slat Venetian blinds will yield similar benefits but they're heavier and more expensive.
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Old 11-24-2018, 05:06 PM   #11
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You mean...like this?

Funny...first shot the original from the factory...

Second shot was the replacement shade under warranty!
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Old 11-24-2018, 05:10 PM   #12
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I have been replacing the pleated shades that came with the TT with the cordless Top down/Bottom up shades which I got from Menard's and Home Depot. The ones I have put in so far have worked wonderfully and you can't see through them like you can the OEM shades, even when they are on night time. Fairly easy to install although the final "snap in" was a pain (but worked and is great). No, they don't fall as you travel down the road and go up and down with the touch of a finger. Love them so far.
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Old 11-24-2018, 07:05 PM   #13
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I have been replacing the pleated shades that came with the TT with the cordless Top down/Bottom up shades which I got from Menard's and Home Depot. The ones I have put in so far have worked wonderfully and you can't see through them like you can the OEM shades, even when they are on night time. Fairly easy to install although the final "snap in" was a pain (but worked and is great). No, they don't fall as you travel down the road and go up and down with the touch of a finger. Love them so far.
Your shades sound great. Please give more information. Brand name and model numbers if you have them. Would like to have a color to enhance the look in our trailer.

I just restrung one of our shade. All I had was very large fishing line and so far it is working great. Slides up and down easily. Much more smoothly than before.
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Old 11-24-2018, 07:35 PM   #14
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Sorry to hear having issues with shades ... are they day/night shades or just night shades? All the way up can see window, one pull down - day shade, another pull down - night shade ... I found was best pulling down using two hands ... one each side
Love the day/night shades ... was a deal breaker with our new 5th ...

Enjoy your "freebie" ...
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Old 11-24-2018, 09:21 PM   #15
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Your shades sound great. Please give more information. Brand name and model numbers if you have them. Would like to have a color to enhance the look in our trailer.

I just restrung one of our shade. All I had was very large fishing line and so far it is working great. Slides up and down easily. Much more smoothly than before.
We have a front kitchen Windjammer 3008 W. The shade I replaced was one of the long window shades by the kitchen table (free standing). I bought two more since there were 3 long windows. Luckily, I didn't have to trim them or have them trimmed. They fit right out of the package. They were the Bottom Up/Top Down Cordless light filtering shades that measured 23 width X 72 height. Color was Alabaster and the code above the UPC was 98-7100-20. the UPC code itself was 0-44294 19053-5. Another number on the box was 7918102 and the company that made them was Springs Window Fashions LLC, Middletown WI 6352 phone: 800-221-6352. These were purchased at Menard's Home improvement store.

The other replacement shade was for the Living room window which I ordered through Home Depot. Since that window is much shorter, I was able to find a 60" wide X 48" high shade for that one. This one was only a standard cordless shade with only a bottom up since I didn't need the top down feature for that particular shade. That one was from the "Home Decorator's Collection" and the color was "Parchment" and it was a cordless model. The number on the box was 1000 029 466. I ordered it on line and had it delivered to our Home Depot store. Actually, I don't remember if I had it cut to size or it just fit, but, I did fit both shades in the old valences and tried to have a little more overlap of the windows just for privacy. The shade was a "light filtering" shade. I plan to go to a custom shade with the Top down/Bottom up feature for the bedroom shade when I order it (maybe in the spring).

Both shades work very well and do a much better job of blocking out the view from the outside than the original string shades. One thing, though, since it was hard to reach the living room shade to pull it down, I glued a small drawer pull (ceramic about 1/2" size) to the center bottom of the bottom plastic bar shade pull. It has worked perfectly and looks like it belongs there. The Home Depot Parchment matches very well with the Menard's Alabaster even though they were bought at different times. The hardest part is making sure the clips are level and then getting the top of the shade securely in the clips. Also, keep them level because there is no bottom fastener to keep them from going sidewise. In use it has not been a problem and the shades hang like they do in a house. You have to take the valences down to access the screws on the old shades, but, the new ones cover up the screw holes just fine. Both shades pull up and down beautifully and have not dropped when in the up position for transit (the old string ones quite often fall down and are crooked when they do - and look aweful).

Good luck with the project. I'm doing mine a little at a time since I just wait for the old ones to break before I replace them, although I may do the last two "dining room" shades at the same time, and the bedroom shade will have to be custom since it is so short, but it can be ordered through Home Depot.
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Old 11-24-2018, 10:24 PM   #16
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Our trailer came equipped with mini blinds. Those were the first things to go. We're now on the second set of black out curtains on tension rods.
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Old 11-25-2018, 01:14 AM   #17
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Pleated blinds ....

Quote:
Originally Posted by quicky06 View Post
So I have had my trailer for a year and a half now.........,

Next up on the list are the blinds. It has thicker pleated blinds that you push up. Think they are considered day/night.

The issue is that I cannot open them with out them bunching up in spots. They are supposed to fold back and forth as the bottom slides up but they won’t.

.
The day / night blinds have a lighter bottom shade and a darker upper shade. Do you, by chance, have the day AND the night portion of the blinds pulled down and you are trying to push them both up at the same time? I find if the day&night blinds are both down, it is difficult to push the blinds up neatly from the bottom. Push up the night blind first (upper half) then the day blind. And, as noted above, you may need to adjust the blind tension somewhat
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Old 11-25-2018, 07:39 AM   #18
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You mean...like this?

Funny...first shot the original from the factory...

Second shot was the replacement shade under warranty!
never had this problem with opening or closing and to restring one why? just go to Lowes buy a new string less one cut to size and install a lot easier. I have them in my house for 15 years and never a problem
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Old 11-25-2018, 08:36 AM   #19
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Agree to keep the pleated shades up when in storage or when traveling or they will lose their "memory" of the pleats. I made a couple of hooks from coat hangers to support the picture window large shade while traveling. We hang a sheet over the window when traveling or in storage. Have not had any problem with the small shades.
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Old 11-25-2018, 08:41 AM   #20
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On your pleated shades....pull them down and spray them with spray starch...push them back up and store them in the up position.
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