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View Full Version : Does anyone have info on Day/nite Shades


nelsonraymond
09-01-2007, 09:14 PM
Hi
Does anyone have information on how to get the restringing kits from the
Day / nite shade people? And how easy is it to restring?
Janice

bstark
09-01-2007, 10:06 PM
Janice: I have done two of them so far and used generic kits I bought in Yuma from a fellow who repairs them for a living. They're a fiddly project for sure and impossible :? to write all of the steps needed to get it right but can give you some tips.

If you're a fulltimer use the bed as your work surface, if at home use the floor. This project can overwhelm a large table.

Remove all of the end caps and carefully separate top and bottom (they slide apart) sections (Day & Night) into separate groups laid out as they came apart. Carefully note the route the cording follows from the upper tension spring down the night, dark section and then across the middle bar and then down the day, light section and back across the bottom bar & out to the bottom anchor. Do not cut the old cord as you will need it to establish correct length for the new stuff.

Make a wire loop out of single strand wire of the thickness of a paper clip and have the loop about 6 or 8 inches long so you can thread this loop through the collapsed blind sections, put the new cording in the loop and then pull it through the blind.

The trick is to leave extra cording so that when finished, you can tie off to the anchor having the top tension spring stretched just enough so that the blind will stay up but not so tight that the cording is trying to saw it's way through the blind material.

The wider blinds over the dining table or back window have four runs of cording :shock: I have not attempted one of those yet.

WildJohn
09-02-2007, 09:02 AM
Sandra and Bruce,
I am impressed..I haven't had the hootspa to try mine yet but it won't be long since the one ahead of the dinette is getting shredded string.

but here is what I was able to find by surfing..

http://www.fixmyblinds.com/instructions-09.html

and

http://www.rversonline.org/DayNight.html

I will post when I do get to it.. but it looks like you got the best advice already.
Happy Camping.. all the time

John[/url]

anijet
09-02-2007, 10:13 AM
We had the large dinning shade replaced at the factory and now only 30 days later is has one broken string! :( The only way they can take care of it under warranty is for us to send the shade to them and they will return it after repair. That is too much hassle for us because we move about every five days. DW wants to replace them all with single element pull down shades from a home store. Has anyone done this?

keithandpenne
09-02-2007, 11:06 AM
I had looked for local string and ended up using nylon string. Worked but not as well as original.

Found the name of the company on the blinds, can not remember it now, then did a search on-line, found an 800 number and called. Spoke with a lady in service and she sent enough string to re-string all of our blinds, and included written instructions.

She said the problem with DT is they are tensioning way to tight and that I should only put enough tension on them to hold them in position. When pulling tension, pull both strings at the same time, this keeps the spring in the top bar centered.

I found that by drawing a "string route" on a paper was much simpler than attempting to read the directions, one step at a time. The 2 string and 4 string routing is some what different but the drawing helps on both.

Perhaps the most difficult part is removing/sliding the "fabric" from the cross bar with out loosing the ends of the strings the first time you do it.

Our rear blind on our TK3 needs stringing, when I do it, I will take photos and post.

Motor31
09-04-2007, 09:20 AM
Sigh,

It's a bit of a coincidence but one of our blinds just had a string break yesterday. I hope that the photos and "how to" are posted soon. :wink:

bstark
09-04-2007, 01:41 PM
Just came back and read the posts after mine and the second link (rversonline) that John has provided above is the exact "how-to" in a nutshell!

Most common failure is "frayed cords" and that is usually caused by tension being set way too tight. The ideal setting is just enough tension to hold the blinds up when sitting stationary. While travelling the blinds are normally closed (dropped) anyway. Too much tension results in the cords fraying where they make the transition through the separator bar in the middle or the small metal eyelets in the bottom edge of the metal top/middle/bottom bars.

ebrowne826
09-05-2007, 04:54 PM
I've re-strung 4 of our shades so far. It is not a hard
job, just takes a little time. I found the string at a Jo Ann
Fabric store. A hundred yards of the string cost about $20.
You can find it in the blind section. It takes about 30 mins
to an hour to re-string the blinds. The large shade took a
little longer.

jdwilson3
09-05-2007, 08:17 PM
Another suggestion....use a fairly small plastic needle (like the ones used on "plastic canvas" which can be bought at Michaels, etc. My wife had one that I used when re-stringing blinds on our last 5er.

sigo'suite
09-05-2007, 08:45 PM
Here is a link to another source:

http://www.rvshaderepair.com/

oldSalt
09-07-2007, 08:44 PM
The shades in Mobile Suites are made by Specialty Window Coverings, 1655 Gateway Court, Elkhart, IN 46514; phone: 574-262-5190. They have a lifetime warranty against breakage. If you feel up to stringing, just give them a call, tell them what color the string is, and they'll put a complete stringing kit, (there will be enough string to do the biggest blind they make) including very thorough instructions, in he mail to you that day or the next. If you'd rather have them repair it, they'll pay postage both ways for the first 3 years (after that you pay the postage to send the blind to them).
Hope this helps a little.

Jim

Hobo
09-08-2007, 02:42 PM
I have restrung a number of shades starting 3 months after delivery. I have picked up string at craft shoppes and from Specialty Window Coverings. I also had a string saw thought the plastic divider and had to send 2 of the shades in for warranty repair. SWC as addresses above are good people to work with and do stand behind their products.
I found most directions on line confusing so I keep a diagram of how they are strung.
Leaving extra string makes reassembly a lot easer.

bstark
09-08-2007, 08:53 PM
Rick: That schematic is super! Just what the doctor ordered. Well done. :D

keithandpenne
09-13-2007, 07:26 AM
Rick,

Good job!

I second Bruce's comments. It is much better than the line sketch I made for my use and is much more clear as to the path of each cord. It should very helpful for anyone attempting to replace theirs.

Keith

Teksun
09-23-2007, 06:56 PM
Janice

Here is the number for the manufacture of our MS day/night shades.
Give them a call and they will send you repair kits with instructions at no charge.
I have called them twice for string repair kits, they are very nice and helpful.
They will also repair it for you if you ship it to them.
On the bottom of my shades was as ticker with the company name and number is how I found it. They will need to know the color.

SWC specialty window coverings - Elkhart, IN
574-262-5190

Tommy Walls