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Old 06-02-2009, 10:32 PM   #1
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1962 19' Globetrotter
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Off the rack mini Blinds

Hi all. finally had it with the darn drapes on my '73 21' Landyacht & decided to try blinds. didn't want to go custom. Well, I got Home Depot stock alluminum blinds & custom sized the height and they are great! Feel free to post questions on this thread!
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Old 06-03-2009, 05:20 AM   #2
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Hmmmmm. We have those day/night things that are a real bear to try to clean. Have been thinking about replacing them with something more user-friendly. We do like the attach at the top and the bottom element, which prevents the flapping around. Any thoughts, anyone??
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Old 06-03-2009, 08:10 AM   #3
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Pictures please
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Old 06-03-2009, 08:37 AM   #4
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if you scroll to the bottom of this page you'll see "SIMILAR THREADS".

there are some good mini blind discussions to read.
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Old 06-03-2009, 08:50 AM   #5
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We used off the shelf mini blinds on our houseboat many years ago. It had ten windows ranging in size from 20" to six feet wide. We bought lengths that were just a bit longer than the windows and used a saw and cutting tool to make them fit.

Saved a bundle over custom made blinds.

We used that boat for 27 years. Sold it eight years ago, and the blinds are still in use by the current owner.
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Old 06-03-2009, 09:10 AM   #6
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I considered mini blinds but had one concern. I like to open my windows whenever possible - save the A/C util it's unbearable (which, for me, is somewhere in the 90's). So, I thought maybe they (the blinds) would rattle when the wind blew through. Not a problem most of the time - but maybe it would be a litte anoying when trying to get some z-z-z-z's at night or when watching a DVD. Anyone have any trouble with the noise?
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Old 06-03-2009, 09:24 AM   #7
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Ours do not make any noise, but they sure get in the way of opening and closing the windows.
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Old 06-03-2009, 11:16 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mcair View Post
Ours do not make any noise, but they sure get in the way of opening and closing the windows.

Ahhhhhh, true, true. Though I often open/close mine from the outside - and with the new axles, I can just barely reach.
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Old 06-03-2009, 10:36 PM   #9
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The Home depot blinds come with plastic hold downs for the bottom rails. These keep the blinds more snug to the inside of trailer. However, I don't trust those to keep the blinds down while traveling down the often bumpy dirt roads we do. So, I bought mini bungees to help them stay down & snapped into place while in transit. I haven't actually tried them out, yet, so I can't say if it'll work the way I think. (I like the blinds down while in transit to keep the interior cooler. We live in AZ.) I bought stock widths of 1@ 23", 3@ 33" & 2@ 45". I shortened them to appropriate lengths & will save the extra aluminum slats for future repairs. I shortened, considerably, the draw strings and the wands. I must say.. They look great & make the interior seem much more spacious. (I will take photos & post them in a day or 2) re. noise when wind goes through: Frankly, my camping MO is to be remote and therefore 98% of the time will have the blinds raised up and out of the way to enjoy all breezes. Blinds will be down to travel & any other time I want to try to keep the interior cooler by keeping sun out & when necessary, privacy. OK? Cost about $100 for the whole thing. !
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Old 06-04-2009, 05:41 AM   #10
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How do you shorten these blinds??
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Old 06-04-2009, 11:40 AM   #11
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Shorten them AFTER hanging them. This is from experiance. I shortened the first one while it was on a table in my house & they totally fell appart when I picked them up to look at length. I spent over an hour re-threading the slats & pull cords. So... after hanging, you remove the plastic plugs on the bottom rail & cut the pull cords to remove plugs. Before doing so pull alot of the cord through so that they don't accidently slide up. Then cut the "ladders" 2 "rungs" below the length you need & pull out all the slats below this point. Return the bottom rail to the same ladder rung as your bottom slat, re-thread the pull strings through the holes in the last slat and bottom rail, and the plastic plugs. Tie knots and re-insert plastic plugs into the hole in the rail along with the excess ladder strings. Then shorten the pull strings as they sure don't need to be 3'long in the trailer & I found that cutting off the excess length of the blind's wand, also much more sensible for the trailer. Now you can attached the plastic tie-down brackets at both sides of the bottom rail to keep the blinds closer to the trailer walls. Also, I am keeping all the slats I pulled out of the blinds. for future repairs. The instructions that come with the Bali blinds from HD included the instructions & sketches of how to shorten the blinds. Obviously, some people will find it not necessarry to shorten them, my mom, for example. The come 64" and, to them, so what if they are long as you lower them to where you want anyway. However, I am of the "less weight is always better" mind and that every fraction of a pound adds up. I will get pics on this site soon.
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Old 06-04-2009, 12:40 PM   #12
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Thanks for the info. Will ponder making a change.
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Old 06-04-2009, 01:53 PM   #13
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CCD Marine Blinds

The CCD's now come with a roll up and down blind that's very snazzy - and OMG very costly. Also they must be either 100% up or 100% down, but they are room darkening. I like the look and they lie so close to the window that there isn't much problem with gaps on the sides which can be an issue with venetians. Check www.colonialairstream.com and look at the CCD interiors.

Mine came with venetian blinds - which are a once a month cleaning chore. I got one of those little finger things that fits between the slats and lets you wipe 5 or 6 slats at a time. It still takes about 10 minutes per window to do the job. The silver colored ones don't show dirt very much, so every time I clean them I am apalled at how much has built up.
There is so much gunk on the little cleaner fingers that I have to stop and vacuum them off three or four times per window.

A cure for side gaposis is to simply make a bungee cord out of lightweight sewing elastic and hook it across the blind in the middle - using the window operators for anchors. All but two of my blinds were just narrow enough to fit between the operators. I actually bent the little handles outward about 20 degrees on the two where the blinds were a bit too wide - WARNING - I did this by removing the plastic grip, and using two crescent wrenches, one laid flat against the frame and tightened down to prevent putting any pressure on the glass and the other put over the end and used as a lever to bend the front part outward from the window. Worked fine. I could also have taken the blinds to Home Depot or a blind shop which has a blind cutter - and snipped about 3/16 inch off of each end of the slats. I do like the way they darken the bedroom (I don't have the wrap around windows in my BR.)

Blinds vs. curtains - Not to offend any Classic/Excella owners, but the multiple layers of pleated draperies on those coaches look like coffin lining to me, especially the one I saw with pink satin drapes.... but that is all individual taste.

Paula
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Old 06-04-2009, 03:19 PM   #14
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Blinds and curtains

I have the plastic mini blinds in my 1976 Sovereign. They are cream colored and match the interior walls. They hang behind the "James Ambruso" curtains just inside the track that the curtains slide on at the top. I use the plastic hold downs at the bottom after shorting them to the proper length. I cut a couple of inches off of the ends of the 2 or 3 slats that hang over the window lifting hardware so that I can still open the windows without a problem. Now I can open the curtains and adjust the amount of light that I want to come in the windows based on the Sun. They look very good. The picture below shows the curtains and mini blinds in the front of the Airstream. Click on the picture to get a better view.

Don
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Old 06-27-2009, 08:58 AM   #15
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aluminum mini blinds

I went to home depot and lowes..neither one stocks the aluminum mini blinds..does anyone know of a retailer in the dallas area that has the aluminum colored mini blinds..thanks
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Old 06-27-2009, 10:39 PM   #16
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That's weird that HD in Dallas doesn't stock when, HD in Phoenix does. I don't know Dallas but maybe HD can get a quick ship since they stock in other cities. Houston? Austin?
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Old 06-29-2009, 06:58 PM   #17
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Here was a question i was asked about the mini blinds i fitted in renovating my 1962 0verlander.

Originally Posted by jjagnew
Wow, your trailer looks awesome! You folks did an amazing job on your renovation. Here's a random question. I see that you have mini blinds in your trailer. My trailer is similar in that it has the window handles on the side that protrude. I'm guessing the answer to using mini blinds is to always lift the blinds prior to adjusting the handles, correct? How is that working for you? Are the blinds getting accidentally bent? I know it seems like an odd question, but one that I'm hoping to get an answer to before investing in the blinds. Thanks so much for your taking time to respond and again congrats on all your hard work. John

Hi John,
Thanks for the kind comments about the trailer, I understand exactly what your problem is with the blinds, I had the same issues when we started to fit her out, the window openers get stuck behind the blinds and you also have the issue of the cures of the trailer walls,. So here is my very simple way around the said problem. The blinds are mini blinds from costco, they are measured in inches and the widths are taken 1/4" past the internal frame on each side, ( so if the window is 24" wide i ordered 24 1/2") The drop is again the exact length plus 1/2". The issue with the window openers, i found as you have they cause the blinds to bend, so i went to a local hardware store and purchased some 1" x 1" timber baton and cut them into 1" pieces and screwed the blinds holding brackets to them and then attached them to the wall of the trailer,,this worked perfectly for the window openeners to miss the blinds. My other thoughts were, when we are travelling what stops the blinds from swaying and getting all messed up. answer was blind door fittings, these came with blinds but were not sure what they did, on inspection they have two small dowels that fit in the bottom rail and two plastic clips that screw to the wall and allow the dowels clip into, I found out the clips are supplied if the blinds are installed on doors for exactly the same reason as i wanted to stop the blinds swaying and getting messed up. Well the wooden baton didn't give the look i wanted, it looked a bit naff, so i found a plastic supplier local to me and bought a piece of 1" x 1" piece of white nylon type plastic i cut to length the same and fitted them in place of the timber... Well they look the bomb because they just disappear into the wall making them virtually unnoticable, Sorry i have gone on abit but i know you will want the look like i did when you spend a few hundred dollars on blinds and them not look the best.......... hope i've been a help, phil,
p.s if you need some pictures let me know and i'll post a close up.



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Old 08-31-2009, 01:59 PM   #18
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Has anyone found a good bamboo blind for these, Mine is a 1983 310 I need two pretty large blinds for the front.
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Old 10-02-2009, 03:38 PM   #19
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Love the way your interior looks!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by adonh View Post
I have the plastic mini blinds in my 1976 Sovereign. They are cream colored and match the interior walls. They hang behind the "James Ambruso" curtains just inside the track that the curtains slide on at the top. I use the plastic hold downs at the bottom after shorting them to the proper length. I cut a couple of inches off of the ends of the 2 or 3 slats that hang over the window lifting hardware so that I can still open the windows without a problem. Now I can open the curtains and adjust the amount of light that I want to come in the windows based on the Sun. They look very good. The picture below shows the curtains and mini blinds in the front of the Airstream. Click on the picture to get a better view.

Don
Can you tell me how you did your headliner over the front window? Mine has a big crack in it and I would love to replace or ???? Also the divider between your stove and doorway looks interesting. Can I see a bit more of it? I'm trying to figure out a shelf (shelves) for behind the stove for bottles etc.

Pat
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Old 12-08-2010, 04:19 AM   #20
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Judy, Thanks for the informative thread on mini blinds. We will check out the Home depot blinds this weekend. I like the look of mini's or micro minis, behind custom curtains, but cleaning them is a pain. The photo of Don's front lounge is very nice, and I really like the clean look. We have used JPA draperys in 2 Airstreams, which are awesome, and give Audrey the credit for her attention to finish details. The mini blinds are a great idea behind the curtains, and yes, after unlocking the windows, we also open from the outside.
Thanks again Judy
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