Blinds Up or Down

[Gary_374358511]

Good morning all. I wonder what your views are on this. I've read many posts about people recomending that when the caravan is in storage you should close all your blinds.

The other half say you should leave them open because the springs get lazy and the blinds go baggy.

In our van we have those blinds that close Upward and can meet the fly screen half way up. What would be the best thing to do here. My dilemer is that if I leave them open then the sun is going to fade my upholstery, if I leave them closed, am I going to damage the springs.

Any halp would be apreciated.

Many thanks

Regards

Gary

 

[wendylois]

Hi Gary

I have blinds like that on the sides of the 'van, but sprung ones closing downwards on the front. I therefore close the side blinds as they're not sprung, but shut the curtains on the front windows. You certainly need to close something to protect the upholstery from the sunlight.

Best wishes

Wendy

 

[vernon]

I bought a couple of cheap reflective car wind screen sun shades and cut them to suit.

 

[Sedo]

Hi Gary

We have blinds that pull down (sprung).

What we've done though is to buy a roll of radiator reflector foil and cut it into rectangles that then fit into the blind slots. If you also tape the ends with a good wide tape it makes them more rigid.

This blanks the windows out, reflects the light but allows airflow at the top, looks neat from outside too.

Best regard

Tomo

 

[wendylois]

Hi Gary

I have blinds like that on the sides of the 'van, but sprung ones closing downwards on the front. I therefore close the side blinds as they're not sprung, but shut the curtains on the front windows. You certainly need to close something to protect the upholstery from the sunlight.

Best wishes

Wendy

Forgot to say, used to leave sprung blinds down when stored on previous van and springs very poor next season, so don't use them. Wendy

 

[KnL]

Gary,

We have had experience of the springs in our blinds weakening after being left under tension for prolonged periods, ie in the closed position, whether top or bottom mounted.

We now simply close all the curtains, except on our door and small kitchen windows, which don't have curtains fitted,

Ken.

 

[MickC1]

Personnally I prefer to leave the blinds up. Mold and damp love it when it is dark and cold. So we leave the cupboard doors open and the blinds up to let the light and warmth in.

Winter sunshine isn't really going to have a great affect on most furniture but if you are worried then take the curtains off and turn the seats over. It only takes a few minutes.

If your caravan is in storage and/or you have security worries then probably just having the fly screens down should be sufficient.

Whatever you do don't pull the blinds across on any skylights. There is a warning in the Heki instructions about this. On a sunny day the heat can build up between the skylight and the blind as it has nowhere to go. This can end up damaging the blinds and the skylight itself.

 

[mickk]

Hi all

we had the same problem with the springs after being closed, I purchased some white faced hardboard cut it to fit into the slots where blinds slide but not to tight, this has worked well lets some light in, keeps eyes out & the sun, these then store under the beds till needed after a trip out.

Mick K.

 

[SillyBilly]

Are replacement springs available?

 

[SillyBilly]

Just read in my Bailey Ranger 550/6 manual that (4.22) 'It is not advisable to keep the sun screens closed when travelling for periods of 2 weeks or more'. I don't understand that. Is travelling the operative word - how about when stored in my garden?!

(422.1) says blinds may need periodic retensioning. It says 'Pull off the corner pieces and turn the tension screw 1 or 2 times in a clockwise direction. Repeat if necessary but do not over tighten.'

Discovery, Ranger and Pageant's having Remiflair combination window blinds of sun screen and fly screen can be retensioned (4.23.1) 'On the left hand side of the cassette you will find 2 tensioning screws. The top one is for the fly screen and the lower screw is for the sun screen. Rotate clockwise 1 or 2 turns until the correct tension is reached. The blinds should rewind without stopping or in a sluggish manner. Take care not to over tighten the spring.'

I think I will close the sunscreen to limit fabric fading and to keep the interior cooler, and retension if it becomes necessary.

 

[Stephen_374341239]

Hi there

Go to Wicks purchase a roll of thermal insulation foil. Cut to the size of your caravan windows. This will stop the sun fading the upholstery as its just the same as those car blinds.

 

[Gary_374358511]

Thank you all for keeping this one going. We've just moved to a new storage site which is fantastic because they have great security and a caravan service center on site. How handy is that.

One thing they insist on is that no gas bottles are to be left on site which kinda makes sense but it's a bit of a pain having to unstrap them every time we store it.

Another thing thay ask you to do though is to leave you blinds open so they can see through the caravans which increases security. It's not manditory but they prefer it if you do.

I like the idea of turning your seats over and maybe just closing the fly screens. I'll give it a go.

Thanks all

Regards

Gary

 

[ShadySadie]

When we first started caravaning we bought a used van that the blinds always had beeen left up on and the fabric inside fell apart due to UV. Since then we have always kept the blinds down and have not suffered weak springs.

We keep our van at home and the blinds are opened most weeks, that may make some difference compared to a van left for weeks on end with the springs not moving.

 

[Ian341]

Hi Gary,

I posted a similar question to yours a few months ago.

At the moment the blinds and flyscreens are all closed on the van in storage because we will be using it next weekend but if we plan to leave the van for more than a few weeks we leave them all open (including heki's), and we put throws over the cushions.

During the winter we used the van in January and intended to use it the following weekend but due to our son having flu we didn't go so left the van until Feb half term, we went down to the compound opened the door and the mirrors were condensed and there was mould on the cupboards and even parts of the upholstery. So from now on the blinds stay open in storage during the winter.

We try and stow as much stuff underneath the bed, this makes the floor space clear but also people have nothing to see.

Hope this helps

Ian