Privacy for mini blinds

[Gravelcrunch]

My wife and I noticed on our just bought new 2008 20` Safari SE that from the outside of the unit and the blinds completely closed at night with the lights on inside we can see inside the unit from the sides of the mini blinds. Anyone have a solution to this design problem?

[ROBERT CROSS]

Keep your clothes on.....

Sorry couldn't resist.

DW used self stick velcro on our first stream to keep the curtains in place.

[smeltersmoke]

We also own a 2008 20 Safari SE. We have traveled about 8000 miles and camped 35 days since purchasing it last July. In fact I'm sending this note from the Premier RV Resort in Eugene, Oregon. Maybe at our age we just don't care, but we feel that the mini-blinds do an adequate job of protecting our modesty. Enjoy your Safari SE 20. We think it is a great floor plan and very comfortable.

[Whirlaway]

In my Safari I put frosted clear plastic from Walmart in the bathroom windows. I used velcro to attach it to the window after cutting out the shape it seemed to be enough to diffuse your actual image with the lights on. I found it in the craft section where the kitchen drawer liner papers were. It had a lined pattern on it and worked very well.

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by Gravelcrunch

My wife and I noticed on our just bought new 2008 20` Safari SE that from the outside of the unit and the blinds completely closed at night with the lights on inside we can see inside the unit from the sides of the mini blinds. Anyone have a solution to this design problem?

Simple. Don't turn the lights on.

[westernviews]

I had side curtains made for my rv when I started out. Unfortunately, heat eventually loosened the velcro from the fabric. Also, there are enough steps as it is to setting up when you get to a new spot. I have come to the same mind as smeltersmoke...I don't care.

It would be nice to replace the cheap blinds with nicer ones that are easier to clean.

[TinLoaf]

When I bought a comforter for the bed it came with a skirt. I used the extra fabric to create a valence or whatever you call that. It's held on by industrial velro and still allows access to the window levers.

My unit has the small corner bathroom so a little privacy is a must. The valences allow you to close the blinds so people can't see you changing through the gaping hole between the wall and the blinds. So far so good.


Steve

[Gene]

Other ideas:

1. Camp at nudist resorts and adopt the lifestyle.

2. Drink a lot and you won't care.

3. Keep the lights off.

4. Have strobe lights on the roof blinding anyone who looks at your Safari.

5. Run the shower all the time, keep all vents closed and condensation on the windows will solve the problem.

5. Wear a green skin tight suit and they will think you're space aliens and drive away.

You may not find this helpful.

The sides of the trailer are curved and any window covering is going to leave spaces at the sides. In our bedroom, it makes little difference because of the placement of the windows. In the main cabin, it is a problem. Also, the oval windows above the large side windows have to have the shades closed when a giant MH or a 5th wheel is next to us because their windows tower over us. If the blinds are turned down (looking from the inside), a trailer next to us may be able to look down into the area right in front of the window, but hardly very far inside, but sometimes I turn them the opposite way.

I don't think people bother to look. If they do, they have to get at a certain angle to see anything and wait and wait and wait. They have to be pretty tall to see into the trailer; otherwise all they can see is the ceiling. Only a teenager would probably have that kind of desperate patience. If it's daytime, it's impossible to see much of anything inside, even with the blinds or curtains open. Once people are inside their trailers, they seem to have little interest in what's going on outside. If they want to work that hard to see an old guy, I'm complimented. Wear a robe in the main cabin, or move fast.

Everyone has different standards of modesty. Our first floor bathroom window is about 6' off the ground and the next house is a quarter mile away through a forest. Even when no one is around outside and it's light out, some people have to put the blinds down. The basement bathroom has a small, low window. To look inside, you'd have to lie on the ground. But some people draw the curtains. No logic in either case, but some people feel uncomfortable.

Here's a possible solution: I suppose there's some coating that can be applied to the edges of the windows since that's the only place anyone could see through—perhaps some opaque plastic stuff that has a sticky backing. Cutting it a inch or two wide would probably block anybody seeing inside and leave most of the window clear.

Gene

[richinny]

i see i need to invent blind extensions!

i'm shocked that, on this forum, not one person, has yet asked for pictures

[Foiled Again]

String a tight piece of narrow elastic from one side to the other and tie it to the window operators (the gray thingies that you use to open the windows). It will slip naturally between two slats of the mini-blind pushing it backwards toward the window, making it nearly impossible for peepers to see anything.

Paula

[Soyboy]

I think this lady could fix you up with lots of privacy.

At times we think about getting a newer trailer. But one thing I don't like about them is the blinds that let in so much light when they are down. I know some folks don't care, but others like me do. It's not just privacy so much as it is that we like our trailer dark and "cozy" when we have the shades down. And we like to sleep in darkness, we gave up tent camping 20 years ago lol. About the only way to get that these days is to by an Interstate or a Classic model where the shades are built into the side panels. I also think the all-aluminum walls look cool in many ways, but cold in some other ways and we would want to break it up a bit. Again YMMV on this topic and that's fine.

In reality, we have done enough upgrades (cork floors, new pleated curtains out of a nice chino/khaki material, re-upholstery using Ultraleather Brisa, solar, etc.) that the desire to spend the bucks is somewhat dampened. One of the main reasons I think about getting a newer model is that I stripped and polished ours a number of years ago. It looks great, better than the new ones in my book, it is truly a "shiny" trailer. However, it is a bit maintenance-intensive if you want to keep it looking good. As I get older, I don't look forward to running the buffer and the Cyclo as much lol.

Furthermore, I think the curtains that they do put in over the panos are totally pathetic, they look like some flophouse with sheets over the windows. As much as Thor charges for these things, they could at least put something more attractive over the windows. However, to each their own. If your happy that's great! I think if we ever purchased a new/newer AS we would have the rails installed so we could fit some proper curtains, made up to put over the over the bedroom panos and side windows and likely the living area to (to warm it up).

[Gene]

Soyboy, I think you are being too kind about the curtains on the panos or other windows. Our Nash has cellular shades and while I like blinds for some things, shades keep out much more heat or cold. The Airstream problem is the curved body and they have not provided a way for window coverings to move close to the window. I doubt these are the only curved windows on the planet. Others have figured out how to have curtains or shades or whatever run in a track on each side of the window, but it would cost more money and Airstream cuts costs, not increases them.

We quickly became aware you could see inside between the window edge and the blinds. I figured if someone stared into the trailer at that angle to see an old man's body, why would I deny such a desperate person their jollies.

There are films that stick on a window where you can see out but people can't see in. I see it used on busses for advertising.

I vaguely remember this ten year old thread, so I still don't have dementia.

[Soyboy]

LOL Gene.

Even though I say "privacy" in reality it's more about keeping the light out. In our current AS we can keep it like a cave. We like to sleep in sometimes, plus in the summer the sun comes up early and is especially bright a the beach where we spend a lot of time. I even put some reflectix over the Fantastic Fan to keep the sun out in the a.m.

I really like the Classics with the shades "built into" the wall covers. Very much a "Prevost" look. But I understand that is a different look too. Too bad the Classics are so long. For us I draw the line at 28' and have thought about dropping back to 25' or so, now that it is just my wife and I (empty nesters).

The other thing is in the bedroom, the windows look unfinished with the blind pull down on the newer trailers with nothing around it. I understand the minimalist thing, but I think AS might take it a bit to far. Or are just cheap ;-)

BTW, great choice on the Nash! If I didn't have an Airstream I would have an Arctic Fox (kissin' cousin). Airstream could likely learn a few things about quality from them. That said, I've drank the cool aid on these silver bullets.

[Gene]

We are Reflectix fans too. In the Airstream we used it on all the windows in the bedroom and on the skylight and had them on the fan openings as well. Using Velcro allows us to remove them. Over the years the Velcro glue starts to fail and eventually you have to use new Velcro. The single pane windows pass heat and cold easily, so Reflectix helps with temperature inside. On the Nash, we just use it on the bedroom exterior door window and on the two Fantastic Fans.

The Nash is much like an Arctic Fox except the AF has better walls. Both are well insulated and the Nash we bought has thermal pane windows. For our purposes—we don't do long distance travel anymore—the cheaper version is fine for us. Northwood Mfg stands behind their trailers. We had some cracks develop in the fiberglass walls, long after the warranty ran out, and they are transporting it back to the factory and fixing that on them. They could have ignored me or just filled them in for a lot less money, but they are doing the right thing. It appears the cracks were filled at the factory, so this was product liability claim, not a warranty claim. There have been times when Airstream helped out people with problems like OSB subfloors and rear and front end sag, but I haven't seen anything like that in a long time.