mini blinds?

[johnsoba]

I want to put up mini blinds to give privacy without covering up as much window as curtains do. How do you install them and does anybody have a suggestion about where to get them for the windows of our 83 scamp? I saw a picture of sombody's blinds, maybe on this site but can't remember where. Also cost and best kind to get for durability? ann

[potteralice]

do you really want miniblinds? i hate mine. they hang away from the window just enough to not cover the entire area. then, my dog had to see where i was when i plugged in the electric cord and bent the one above my bed. my previous casita had nice opaque white curtains that i could close with a clothespin at night and open all day to let in light.

never did figure out how they were attatched, though.

[Con]

Take a look at my pics on Webshots. The blinds I bought at Canadian Tire for $2.95 each. The width was exactly right but I had to shorten the length.
I fabbed the mounting blocks out of scrap 3/4" HDMW Plastic (High Density Molaculer Weight)
Made a cardboard template to the body profile. That material is very easy to machine and thread and will never break, rust or rot and being white never needs painting.
I threaded the holes to mount to the body and mount the blind end caps with 10-24 SS bolts. At the bottom of each blind I attached a strip of stick on Velcro to hold the against the window frame at night. Otherwise they hit you in the head. I raise the blinds when we are on the road.
If you want more pics let me know.

[Brian B-P]

Since the upper walls of most moulded fiberglass trailers slope inwards towards the top, the blinds will hang away from the frame at the bottom. I wondered how this was handled, too, and in an earlier discussion another member supplied the same Velcro® answer as Con.

In addition to the hook-and-loop fastener (e.g. Velcro) idea, I noticed that the Escape has small loops of elastic material trapped under the window frame at each lower corner - when the blind is fully lowered, the loops can be pulled over the ends of the blind's bottom piece, and are held neatly against the frame. This seems a bit fussy to me, but it is easy to do (tried it in the showroom), and my guess is that it would function well.

I still have annoying and ineffective curtains; I'll report on my modification when I choose and install something better.

[Chris B]

Casitas have the elastic loops to hold the blinds in place, but sometimes the tension on the blinds loosen during travel and end up swinging. There is a drapery hook queen amongst us (Carol Upton) along with another (webmaster's wife, Lori). Carol uses a drapery hook to tighten the slack in the elastic by looping the elastic around the drapery hook and stabbing it right into the Casita wall carpet. It appears to work very well.
Chris

[CarolnJim]

You are right on Chris... I just put the drapery hooks a little below the blinds and hook the elastic over the hook. Then pull the blinds up tight. They hold against the wall and don't move. The drapery hooks stay in the carpet all the time.

Also we just purchased new vinyl blinds for our Liberty (52" wide for the three windows). They fit just fine .. the back window is a little snug. .. They don't sell 50" blinds unless you pay to have them made. Had to remove about 40 slats but that was easy. These we purchased at Walmart for $19 each. Vinyl works great.. no noisy aluminum...

[Ed Harris]

The mini blinds that I have bought come with little clips for the bottom end.
On a Trill the window frames are wood so it is simple matter to attach both ends of the blinds.

I like the look of the mini blinds mostly but they do not get too dark and do not give real privacy as compared to drapes.

They can be very inexpensive though and I can not sew at this piont so I use them for now.

[Raymond Brodeur]

Hi. Here is what I have installed in my Boler. I found 24", 48" and 60" wide. These dimensions were exactly what I needed. For a Scamp, dimensions may be different, but it's easy to ajust them on both dimensions. I don't remember how much I paid, but it is cheap. Less than 10.00$ CAN each. I found them in a fabric store. Spacers for curtains have been cut from plastic tubes for sink faucets...

[Raymond Brodeur]

Take a look at my pics on Webshots.

Congratulations ! You have done a fantastic job. Specially on the door....