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PatLee · 10-02-2020, 04:05 PM

After 3 seasons on the road, the cream-colored, slide-off curtains in my AS need washing. However, I am unable to remove the Phillips screw that allows one to slide the curtains off, because it was screwed in so tightly. I'm afraid that I will strip the screw if I persist. Complicating things is that I have to angle the screwdriver into the screw in order to remove so am unable to get a good grip. (I suspect this is because the AS techs use battery-operated screw drivers). The good news is that the curtains - fore and aft - can slide off the rails from either side - so I only need to get 2 (of the 4) screws out. Any tips on how to do this?
Thanks!

ROBERT CROSS · 10-02-2020, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PatLee

After 3 seasons on the road, the cream-colored, slide-off curtains in my AS need washing. However, I am unable to remove the Phillips screw that allows one to slide the curtains off, because it was screwed in so tightly. I'm afraid that I will strip the screw if I persist. Complicating things is that I have to angle the screwdriver into the screw in order to remove so am unable to get a good grip. (I suspect this is because the AS techs use battery-operated screw drivers). The good news is that the curtains - fore and aft - can slide off the rails from either side - so I only need to get 2 (of the 4) screws out. Any tips on how to do this?
Thanks!

May be time to include a manual impact screwdriver to the AS tool kit.👍

Bob
🇺🇸

Ginophiles · 10-02-2020, 07:16 PM

We removed the curtains on our rig before a Labor day trip to the dusty Nevada desert. I have to go out and look, but it seems there is 2 screws. 1 holds the end cap onto the mount and 1 holds the mount to the wall. I found that the screw into the wall was easier to access. Once removed, the mount could be slipped off of the curtain rail. Slide the curtains off, slip the mount back onto the rail and re-attach the mount. I used a screwdriver, not my rattle gun.

Al and Missy · 10-02-2020, 07:36 PM

I had to use a right angle ratcheting screwdriver to get ours out. Then I discovered another problem. Even with the screws out, the clips wouldn't pull out of the extrusion. The screw had deformed the aluminum. I used a scrolling sabre saw blade (it was only half the blade width of the standard blade) in the groove to cut down the bump the screw made. I think I had to use Vise-Grip needlenose pliers to get a couple of screws out.

twobikes · 10-02-2020, 07:49 PM

Timely Topic. With lots of time on our hands, we are trying the same and having the same issues...and those da&$ Valances!! I was wondering if anyone had re- engineered the balance hangers ( simple bent tin) to make removing them simple?

By the way, it bares repeating that gentle cycle in Woolite and hang drying has given good results. Having a lady nearby helps reduce the cussing to a necessary minimum....

Al and Missy · 10-02-2020, 08:10 PM

Hi Al and Pat,

Yes, gentle cycle washing works wonders. Our trailer had a stale odor which I had always assumed was out-gassing from materials. After pulling the curtains and washing them in the gentle cycle the smell was gone. The curtains are much softer now. I don't know whether it was dirt and accumulated cooking oils/smoke/? or a resin in the fabric but it is so much better now.

rmkrum · 10-02-2020, 10:20 PM

Sometimes decorative fabric is treated with materials like starch or silicone to make it easier to sew and install it. Makes it smoother and a little stiff. I bet that stuff got old and smelly.

RJJ · 10-03-2020, 09:53 AM

From my younger bicycle self-repair days, I have repurposed items similar to the ones below: a simple offset screwdriver and a ratcheting offset. I'd love to get a Powe one, but... if it ain't broke, don't fix it. 😏

https://www.amazon.com/MulWark-Profi...t+screw&sr=8-5

https://www.amazon.com/I-MART-Offset...t+screw&sr=8-4

JCWDCW · 10-03-2020, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Al and Missy

I had to use a right angle ratcheting screwdriver to get ours out. Then I discovered another problem. Even with the screws out, the clips wouldn't pull out of the extrusion. The screw had deformed the aluminum. I used a scrolling sabre saw blade (it was only half the blade width of the standard blade) in the groove to cut down the bump the screw made. I think I had to use Vise-Grip needlenose pliers to get a couple of screws out.

Ditto my experience on my ‘96
Also had to pry the end panel off the overhead cabinet to clean up the deformed track
JCW

cegardner · 10-03-2020, 10:17 AM

Probably the only screw in an airstream that doesn’t fall out!

cegardner · 10-03-2020, 10:24 AM

Probably the only screw in an airstream that doesn’t fall out!

PatLee · 10-03-2020, 11:54 AM

Al and Missy, Yeah, I know. My AS smells like wood smoke, understandable since there were camp fires burning every night I camped during my 3 months traveling New England this summer. Washing the curtains as well as your bedding is key to restoring a fragrance-free interior.

PatLee · 10-03-2020, 12:02 PM

I'm half tempted to add it to my warranty list, but I called last week for a warranty appointment at Jackson Center and earliest I could get in was 15 December. So will probably continue trying to remove screws based on your suggestions. Two things I discovered while trying to unscrew the curtains holder is that 1) one of the plastic holders is cracked; and 2) the snap for one of the curtain corners is loose (see photos). Those items will definitely be on my warranty repair list. Yes, that is soot on the rails from campfires. The trailer needs a good scrubbing.

PatLee · 10-03-2020, 12:04 PM

Ginophiles - umm, so where is the wall screw that you removed? Thanks.

PatLee · 10-03-2020, 12:05 PM

cegardner - ha! You made me LOL!

PatLee · 10-03-2020, 12:11 PM

Robert Cross - thanks but I think the bulkiness of the tool won't be able to get close enough to work. I think the right-angled screwdriver might work better . . .

Al and Missy · 10-03-2020, 12:51 PM

This is what I used. It seems most of my tools are old enough to be called vintage...

Harbor Freight sells something similar.

https://www.ebay.com/p/1526540668?ii...AaAsitEALw_wcB

57Wanderer · 10-03-2020, 01:24 PM

Yes ...agree with Ginophiles. Don't mess with the screw that's at a strange angle, and go for the other one. We just hand washed all of our panoramic window curtains. A word to the wise: put them back on the curtain rack while they are still damp: they can shrink if left out in the air.

saraed · 10-03-2020, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PatLee

Ginophiles - umm, so where is the wall screw that you removed? Thanks.

Ginophiles is right-the wall screw is way easier. I don’t have a picture of mine, but it takes the entire end cap off. The screw you’re looking for is toward the very end of the track and attaches that cream plastic end cap to the wall. I think it’s right below (or above on the bottom) the screw you were trying to get out; hidden from view by the track it’s self and the curtain.

Julie-Bob · 10-04-2020, 07:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PatLee

After 3 seasons on the road, the cream-colored, slide-off curtains in my AS need washing. However, I am unable to remove the Phillips screw that allows one to slide the curtains off, because it was screwed in so tightly. I'm afraid that I will strip the screw if I persist. Complicating things is that I have to angle the screwdriver into the screw in order to remove so am unable to get a good grip. (I suspect this is because the AS techs use battery-operated screw drivers). The good news is that the curtains - fore and aft - can slide off the rails from either side - so I only need to get 2 (of the 4) screws out. Any tips on how to do this?

Thanks!

In our 2009 Classic, the screws that hold the end cap in place is screwed from the bottom though the the end cap then into the metal rail, not as showed in your photo.
Maybe the AS worker installed that screw wrong and the screw is so tight that you can’t loosen it without a lot of torque.

[ATTACH] As far as how we clean our curtains each year, I soak them in our Landry tub over night in warm water with some oxiclean and very little bleach as they are soaking I turn them over in the tub. Then I wash only the front or the aft set at a time in the washer on white setting with soap and a little bleach. After that washing I re-wash them without any soap or bleach on express wash cycle to insure no soap is left. Then into the dryer on the lowest heat sitting. We have been doing this for the past 7 years being we now live in the Valley of the Sun Phoenix. Lots of dust. Look luck on your removal and cleaning your curtains.