Roller Shade instead of Blind?

[Mitzi Agnew-Giles]

The reason I am thinking about switching to a s=roller shade is that the cats are pushing the blades of the venetian blinds and they are snapping off.
Also that long blind cord is just too inviting to play with even rolled up in a cord shortner.
Has anyone switched to roller shades and what was your experience.

[JBB]

We don't have cats or dogs, but a parrot who will be traveling with us when we pick up our Snoozy, hopefully next month. We plan on changing the blinds as well, but not right away. I've been looking at the different styles available, but haven't decided on any particular kind.

[Wallo]

Mitzi - I'm glad you raised this question. My Casita will not be available until November, but i saw shades at Ikea that look good. Following to see other comments.

[k corbin]

Roller shades are a good affordable option. However as the walls of the trailer slant (on many of the models) with the upper edge being further forward than the lower edge then you do need to have some type of fitting at the lower edge of the window to hold the shade against the wall so that it does not create a gap of several inches.

Another option besides roller shades are the new cordless pleated window shades. They have versions that have metalized surfaces on the backside of the fabric which helps with heat control as well as room darkening. Cost more but they are very easy to use and look upscale too. Once again, you will need some type of fastener to hold them close to the wall at the lower edge.

[JBB]

Since we don't have our Snoozy yet, how do the regular blinds hang without a gap at the bottom?

[WendyW]

The previous owners of my 2014 17' Casita SD had both white blackout shades and black one-way privacy shades hung on all windows, and I love them! They had Velcro at the bottoms to prevent the hanging gap, but I removed them. I can live with the gap.

Wendy

[Wallo]

I've seen these in person at Ikea. In the middle on the bottom, there is a tab that could be hooked on to an upside down command hook.

[Glenn Baglo]

I've never understood "upside down Command hook". The hook slides down on the mount. If you turn it upside down, it will just fall off on its own or from gravity and vibration.

[rbryan]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

I've never understood "upside down Command hook". The hook slides down on the mount. If you turn it upside down, it will just fall off on its own or from gravity and vibration.

I think they mean with open side of the hook facing down instead of up. The blind would pull up on the hook. It's a similar idea to what I used to hold a curtain on the entry door.

[Glenn Baglo]

Aha.

[tua]

What material is on the trailer wall that you would you be attaching your hold down device to? With fiberglass walls I am using suction cups. Upside down command strips all fell off right away.

[rbryan]

Originally Posted by tua

What material is on the trailer wall that you would you be attaching your hold down device to? With fiberglass walls I am using suction cups. Upside down command strips all fell off right away.

If the command strips fell off of smooth gelcoat, there are a couple possibilities:

Either the fiberglass wasn't cleaned/prepped before application (use isopropyl alcohol) or the adhesive strip wasn't held firmly in place for at least half a minute. Do that and they won't budge. The photo above shows the hooks on the gelcoat of my entry door. The curtain is under alot of tension so the hooks are being pulled on quite firmly. Over a year now and they are solid as a rock.

[Kai in Seattle]

The right combo of magnets for your exact situation can be very effective. You can find magnets with holes in the center for screws...you can use special epoxy glues to glue them on...you can sew them into curtain hems...

We use them in the curtain hems and screwed to the inner liner of our amerigo, plus the curtain hem magnets will stick to the curtain rods above, too, giving us more options.


For blinds or roller shades, magnets glued below the windows and onto the bottoms of the treatments could hold the treatment nicely to the walls...


Showing two examples of the curtain in a tight roll, one of the "bow-tie" technique, and one with the curtain down and magneted to the door below the window. There's a Velcro tab sewn to the center top of the curtain panel...and there's another idea, Velcro. It could be screwed or glued or even stapled to the bottom of the treatment of choice, and glued to the wall below the window...
Just be sure to "de-hair" it once in a while if you travel with hairy creatures. I don't know if feathers would stick to Velcro the way pug hair will.

YMMV of course! The idea sounds very nice and, as you say, upscale!


I guess we go with downscale. It'll do.

BEST
Kai

[Jim W]

I changed my blinds to roller shades and it is much better in my opinion. The blinds were difficult to clean, would pop off the retainers when under way, and just unruly. I purchased black out blinds from blinds.com. Fair price and quick shipping. No affiliation, but I would order from them again. The stainless steel chains are a no charge option. The vinyl material is easy to clean and it makes the perfect screen for my laser projector, I don't have a TV and the projector is really small. Very easy to operate, pull the base free from the magnets and pull the chain up or down.

Here it the plastic clip that holds the bottom of the blinds,

https://raywomble.smugmug.com/Other/...z2/i-DqHZ5nH/A

I still have the blinds over the couch, I attached the roller shades to the cabinets and the shelves on the curbside. I would like to attach the roller shades to the shelf over the couch but I haven't built it yet. Another project.

Here is a picture of the shade over the "entertainment center"

https://raywomble.smugmug.com/Other/...z2/i-wcq8rrQ/A

I used magnetic cabinet latches to hold the bottom of the shades in place. I used 3M VHB foam tape to attached to the bottom of the window and attached the steel plate to the back of the aluminum rod at the bottom of the shades.

https://raywomble.smugmug.com/Other/...z2/i-D3sDvK2/A

Sorry about the picture quality, old cell phone. If you have any questions or would like any other pictures feel free to ask.

[rbryan]

Roller blinds are fine when the windows are vertical, as in your Snoozy. When the windows pitch slightly in at the top due to the slight slope in the sides of other trailers (like my Escape 19), not so much. The bottom of the blind would be too far off the window. Mini pull down (accordion) blinds are far better in such an application because they follow the slope.