IMHO, the "mini-blind" is the most horrendous invention of the 20th century. I just removed them from my '87 and now I am thinking, what do I replace that with? My vision of a coach intererior is "Star Trek Enterprise" whereas the Airstream I have with "Rosette" (Mauve) interior is right out of "Best Little Whorehouse in Texas". I guess it was an 80's thing. Enough already. What's are good substitutes?
I like the idea of a shade of sorts, which has side tracks so that it doesn't flop around. Goes absolutely neatly up and down - kind of like an airplane window cover. A tracked shade - anyone know of something like that?
mdeneen
I like the idea of a shade of sorts, which has side tracks so that it doesn't flop around. Goes absolutely neatly up and down - kind of like an airplane window cover. A tracked shade - anyone know of something like that?
mdeneen
Many of the new Airstreams come with what are referred to as a day nite shade. They run on a set of cords, one way they filter light, but you can see out. The other way they block light. They can also be moved so that they are all stacked up so you have no window coverings.
The tracked shade idea is how the Vista view closeouts worked in the 70's models. Now they use a day nite shade.
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Brett G
WBCCI #5501 AIR # 49
"Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey." -- Fitzhugh Mullan
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I think what you might want is what is called a cellular shade. One comapny (Hunter Douglas) calls them "Duette" cellular shades. They have an inner and an outer layer connected with horizontal pieces in between a little like the slats of a mini blind but all with fabric. The horizontal slates are usually opaque and the inner/outer layers are transparent or at least translucent. The controls allow the inner and outer layers to move up and/or down so that the horizontal slats become more vertical thereby blocking the view and light. You might check the following website for product availability:
Unfortunately I could not find a photo that really shows what I mean at that site. This type of shade is very readily available however. You can see some at Home Depot or Lowes. Also you can see them at any curtain, drapery or home decor store. From what I can recall they are not cheap but they do come in all sorts of colors, configurations, fabrics, overall thicknesses and etc. They can also be lifted up all the way or constrained at the bottom.
Our CCD came with simple roll-up shades. They're not very attractive or interesting, but they're very functional. They're held in place when down by a metal snap thingie.
I like the idea of a shade of sorts, which has side tracks so that it doesn't flop around. Goes absolutely neatly up and down - ...
Here is a pic of one of the cellular shades I installed in the '87.
I have recently installed "Shade Boxes" that conform to the radius of the coach, and guide the bottom of the shade to the base of the window, eliminating the shade/wall end opening that is evident in the photo.
I picked up three shades for the main cabin double windows off of e-bay, but they are readily available new at many home interior outlets.
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Dennis
"Suck it up, spend the bucks, do it right the first time."
I think the "shade box" is along the lines of what I was thinking. I'd like a standard ROLL shade, not pleated or slatted, or folded or anything involving cords, robes, chains, pulleys etc. If the right and left edges were captured in a track, I could pull it down to any spot and the shade would not sway too and fro or flap around. Sounds like I will have to fabricate the tracks or shade boxes myself. Good info here, I'll check out the products mentioned.
mdeneen
We have a shade in the bathroom that I like. It isn't in a box. It pulls down like any other shade, is made of a decoraded shade material, and has a pocket at the bottom with a dowel in the pocket. The towel sticks out about an inch on each side and hooks under what looks like curtain rod holders that have been turned upside down. I think this shade came originally in the 1978 Sovereign. The nice think is it is totally open to cleaning and adjusting when the inevitable happens, ie. the roller gets weak and needs tightening, and fits well. The drawback is it has to be pulled down and then under the window latches so it is a bit bumpy looking at the bottom. I am thinking about making such shades to replace the curtains in the front cabin of the rig. I like the idea of being able to get a sturdy thermal shade material that blocks most light, heat and cold. They are a lot easier to make than drapes, can be replaced with new shade material when I/we want without worrying too much about cost and provide excellent privacy for my cave dweller cohort in this Airstream Adventure.
We were in terrible heat on the Columbia this summer and in desparate need of some sort of shade in a hurry. I went to the local Ace hardware. They began by giving me large sheets of cardboard they had from broken down cardboard boxes. Then they sold me a roll of the aluminum backed bubble foam. I took it back to the trailer, cut the carboard to size plus about an eigth of an inch for each window, adheared the alumanized foam to the cardboard with rubber cement, cut around the form and stuck each one in its window. Voila! Instant shade and heat reflection. I was really surprised at how snuggly the pieces fit in the windows. Later we discovered they would work even better when slipped between the screen and the window from the outside. I have give serious thought to covering the cardboard with a nice fabric on the side that faces into the A/S and using them on a permanent basis. They actually stay in the windows from the inside right now because of the excess of 1/8 inch makes them snug. I imagine this will change with use and have a plan to put in four small toggles around each window to hold them in place if I decide to do this. The need to go outside to put them in between the window and screen is ok in the summer but will be a pain in the winter and rain. I am especially drawn to this concept because of the weatherizing effect in both hot and cold weather. We had some freezing nights last year and could use the insulation. D'Andrea
The aluminum backed bubble foam works well from the inside of the windows to block light and really keeps the heat reflected back outside, the AC dosen't have to work so hard. Also it keeps your shades from rotting and colors from bleaching from the sunlight.
We have the day/nite shades as well as the draw curtains in our unit. We went to Lowes and got the tinfoil bubble wrap and fit it to all of the windows and overhead openings. We use the "sunblocker shades" when we are in extreme heat and sunlight on the sides or ends that are facing the sun. It helps a lot in the extreme situations but it does make it dark as a den inside.
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