Info on duell privacy shades

[Flame]

Well I feel pretty silly. 1998 concourse...My 12 year old grandson had to point out to me that we had "double" privacy side curtains!! He asked me..Why is there 2 sets of knobs for the side shades? I told him one set was just ornamental. Then he pulled down on them and we discovered we had double darkness shade!!! I had no clue but had always told the wife I think people could see in here if you have too bright of light. Duh!! I have always said..." There is enough I don't know to start a whole new world!!" Any pros and cons or things to watch for in using the double shade? Don't want to tear them up now that I know I have them..

[eporter123]

I've heard of them as day/night shades.

One set is thinner/lighter so you can have daytime privacy when it's bright outside, but not make the interior too dark. The other set is thicker/darker, so you can have night privacy when it's dark out and there's a light on inside the RV.

I need to get a new setup of those at some point.

[Blue~Go]

Now that's funny

The main "thing" about all shades of this type (whether double or single, any RV brand) is that the strings break and you have to re-string them. Mine never happened to (and then I went to curtains because I prefer them), but it's very very common. As mentioned, with some patience (and maybe a few cuss words), you can re-string them.

If you leave them up (or was it down -- I forget now) when traveling you may notice the bottom bar bangs on the window. You can then just change them to the other position. I would guess traveling with them down might put a wee bit more stress on the strings, but maybe not. Maybe it's just a matter of luck or how often you change them?

Lastly, just know that even with the privacy part down, they are not totally opaque. At least on mine, people could see shadows inside (I checked). It's also possible to look through the holes where the strings go (I know, no-one probably will, but it crossed my mind at a Walmart).

Still funny. I wonder what features you will discover two years from now

[chin_k]

The previous owner of my Chinook never realized there is a safe under the seat. She owned it for like 16+ years.

[Blue~Go]

Okay, Flame: Beat that one! We'll check back with you in the year 2034

[Flame]

Well, I did know I had a safe and the key even was on the chain with all other keys and it worked!! No hidden treasure...just a hidden treasure chest!! I will say about the shades... I drive with them up because I use the view out those windows a lot when maneuvering around!! And Blue...I hope I am still around in 2034. I'll dang sure drop you a line!! Ha

[dougm]

I know this is an old post, but i thought i would mention that its not really difficult to restring your shades. I used 100 pound test catfish fishing string to do mine. Almost the same diameter but far stronger than the strings that came installed in your shades.

[deppstein]

Doug...talk about timing--day before seeing this post, I just got done ordering a new dual day/night shade for the kitchen window. The line you are talking about broke while we were camping in VT and so I poked around and saw that there was a sticker for Speciality Window Coverings in Elkhart IN (with a phone number even!). So I gave them a call when we got home and sure enough, they are still in business. Of course the old Pewter Gray from 2004 is no longer available, and the frames have changed slightly (so I will have to remove the clips under the valance and install new ones). I thought about going cordless, but my wife likes this "retro" look, so I ordered the new color gray for $79...if close enough match to existing, we'll call it a day. If not, will either get the other two windows to match, or go cordless on all three...I could restring the broken one, as you suggest, but don't think I have the patience for it--besides the kitchen shades were pretty stained after 16 years of use.
David

[dougm]

$79 bucks seems really fair pricing. The ones above my kitchen sink are stained pretty bad on one end so im in the same boat even though the catfish string is still performing flawless. I looked at some night shades and they wanted $279 and up based on length, then to add electric motors to them was an additional $250 bucks on top of that per blind.

Can you post a link to their website so i can have a look see?

[deppstein]

I thought that was a good price as well--especially since my order was sort of custom...they don't make the grey over grey anymore (it is off white for day and grey for night to let in more light). They were nice enough to fabricate a grey over grey as a special order. Howe delightfully midwestern of them!
It looks like they are still called Speciality Window Coverings Inc. and the phone number I used from the sticker on my old shade (574/262-5190) still worked. But, a click to their website brings up Ascot Enterprises with a website address of:
ascotent.com
Hope that helps.
David