Pleated day/night window shades are a common feature in just about every class of RV. Since the design relies on thin fabric cords sliding across hard plastic parts, cord wear and breakage is a distinct possibility.
During our 10+ years of full-timing, we've probably had to re-string blinds around 10 times, or an average of about once a year. Part of the inherent problem with the design is that there needs to be enough tension on the cords to hold the shades where you put them, preventing them from falling on their own.
Unfortunately, keeping tension on the cord increases the friction of it against the hard plastic parts as you open and close the blinds. It's a delicate balance that sooner or later leads to broken cords.
The good thing is that re-stringing a pleated RV window shade is a do-it-yourselfer's dream job, with the vast majority of the cost being labor, inexpensive & readily available replacement parts (just the cord) and no special mechanical skills or tools required. A little time, patience and care are all that's needed for this task.
We don't pretend to be experts on any particular RV topic, and mostly know about maintaining our own rig. But many systems are the same on different RVs. The advice we give works well for us, but be sure to consult a professional technician if you're unsure about working on your own RV.
FYI - I recently purchased a restringing kit from Camping World and attempted to replace a broken string myself. After several hours and 2-3 tries at re-assembling, I finally ended up taking it to an RV shop and paying them to do it. It looks easy in the video, but there are many things that can go wrong (and usually do).
ReplyDeleteSorry you had a hard time with this. As we mentioned in the video, the real key to this is planning... be sure to carefully diagram the stringing pattern before taking it apart. Once you document exactly how to run the cord, every other challenge (getting the string through the holes, getting the tension right, etc) can be easily overcome.
DeleteYes indeed, those day-night shades do break strings, and on the road its a bit of obscenity to restring. Make a curtain rod of small plastic pipe with 2 90 degree elbows and flanges to attach above the window. Use tie-wraps loosely as the slide rings, and attach a real fabric curtain instead.
ReplyDeleteLike the Geeks said, knowing the string sequence is a must. When my first one broke I ordered the string kit from my manufacturer. For the next one I went out and bought colored twine from a craft store. I now spend more time taking down and re-installing the shade then it takes for the repair.
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