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Old 04-09-2011, 06:29 PM   #1
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Re-stringing Day-Night shades

I know that some people just replace the day/night shades rather than re-string them or even buy the MCD shades. Couple of thoughts.

The reason the strings usually break is because of shoddy manufacturing. I looked at one of mine during disassembly and found that several of the little plastic strong guides had either sharp edges, weren't put in straight or fell out. That is no less than poor workmanship I recommend that before your warranty runs out, check for these things and get them repaired under warranty. To check for fraying, remove the shade and check the bottom and center plastic support areas. If you see fuzz, get them repaired under warranty, they will break right after the warranty runs out.

My fix is to get some screw together bushings and replace the cheap plastic guides used in manufacture. I drill out the old guides and put in new ones. You don't need to use fishing line or any other heavy duty line, the standard line will not rub or break again. You don't have to use wax or anything on the lines, they no longer break because there are no sharp edges to shred them.

For those wanting to replace the shades, you can get double pull down shades that do just what the MCD shades to from almost any window blind store. Just ask for double pull down shades, pick your choice of materials and stick them in. I am sure the MCD shades are all some say but without going to their location you really can't see how the different materials and colors work.

When asking for pull downs just specify that you want the inside shade to roll toward you and the outside shade to roll away from you. You'll now be able to choice virtually any material and color and even get samples to see how everything looks before you buy. They will usually cost a bit less as well.
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Old 04-09-2011, 09:06 PM   #2
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Where did you find the screw together bushings cause I could sure use a few of those.

Thanks Trap
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Old 04-11-2011, 02:38 AM   #3
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I'm in the process of restringing mine now and it looks like all of the gromets are in place. I'm not sure what holes you are refering to, do you mean the little holes in the PVC where the cord passes through?

My shade is nine years old and only one cord was frayed to the point of breakage.

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Old 05-19-2011, 01:53 PM   #4
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I just replaced the strings on my 07 Sightseer. At first it was a pain, but after the first one it was pretty easy. The only problem other then the grommets being worn was that the attaching holes they drilled in the factory (the screws going through the upper hard mount where the spring is). These holes had huge metal burrs hanging off of them. On one shade, the string broke right at the burr. So I would recommend removing all of the burrs before re-stringing with the new string. It could save you lots of rework.
Remember to re-adjust the tension knobs after a week or so as the string seems to settle in or stretch initially.
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Old 05-20-2011, 10:01 AM   #5
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I just restrung two of my blinds and I found the burrs on my blinds too. Also some of the bushings were put in upside down so the head was on the wrong side, which helps to fray the cords.
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Old 05-20-2011, 05:16 PM   #6
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At six years I need to re-string one shade.. Do you have the routing diagram?

And is there a superior string or just visit the RV store for a ball of the proper stuff?
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Old 05-20-2011, 08:43 PM   #7
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Check out this site for restringing directions.

http://www.winnebagoind.com/resource...t%20Blinds.pdf
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Old 05-20-2011, 09:36 PM   #8
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I got to tell ya, I restrung 4 shades. Then I tried just one 60" MCD blind. I now have all 4 MCD blinds. I didn't do the one small bedroom and two small slide blinds yet.

Are they expensive yes. Are they a real pain in the butt to install yes. Are they 10 times better, look nicer, and way eaiser to operate than the old brittle and cord breaking shades...YES

Just an FYI... in the Winnies the blinds are top and bottom, not side by side.

Reagards Jim P.
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Old 05-21-2011, 08:33 AM   #9
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I say, a BIG thumbs up to Winnebago for making MCD shades standard across their product line-up!

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Old 05-21-2011, 12:55 PM   #10
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"The Dirty Blind Man" has kits for restringing shades. I purchased one for a 4 string shade and still have enough supplys for another shade. His kit came with instructions and a DVD. You can pick the color of cord. He is on line and was in Palm Desert area.
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Old 05-21-2011, 04:26 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tiggertoo View Post
Check out this site for restringing directions.

http://www.winnebagoind.com/resource...t%20Blinds.pdf
As a very famous gentelman who died of a self induced drug overdose (Prescription drugs no less) used to say:

Thank you, Thank you very much.
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Old 01-10-2012, 11:19 AM   #12
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Smile Restringing Day/Night Shades

I know there is a ton of info hereabouts on restringing pleated fabric day/night shades, and I have done almost all of mine over the years, the most recent being one of the small shades in the bedroom while watching bowl games on the day after New Year’s. I’m just tacking this post onto this thread, which seems to be the most recent with "restringing day/night shades" in the title.

I have posted two Word documents in the Files area under Miscellaneous (it would be nice if there was an “Interior” category). One describes this process in detail and the other has diagrams of MY window shades. You will need to measure your shade and markup or make your own diagram to determine correct cord lengths for your own RV.

My first one was a real knock-down, drag-out affair, but now it is easy! You can do it!
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Old 01-10-2012, 06:09 PM   #13
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After plenty of day/night blind frustrations, I replaced our blinds in our 40' Tour using pleated blinds from Lowes (see: Replacing Day/night Blinds. These worked great, much easier to use than the day/nights and easy to install.

That said, about a year later (and NOT for the blinds!) we replaced the 40 Tour with our current 42' Tour AD (which just happens to have the excellent MCD blinds). Still, the Levellor blinds we used in the earlier Tour were a very good option.
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Old 01-15-2012, 10:56 AM   #14
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Likewise, after restringing just about every blind several times I caved into the DW's demands and replaced all of the blinds with MCD shades. Since we rarely used the daytime portion We bought only the Night portion of the MCDs and we love them. No more dust and dirt on the pleats.... no more strings... and much better appearance.
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