Blinds up or down?

[stephena]

Two questions, when towing i notice some drive with the blinds of there van shut and others open... which is better and why?

Also when sat at home on the drive same question... up or down?

 

[ValA.]

There are quite different views - we leave ours down whilst towing, and down whilst in storage. People say that this will affect the tension of the springs in the blinds and cause problems, but our van is now ten years old, and the tension of the blinds is still fine. We think it saves the sun fading our upholstery, and as we're usually towing in France, it also keeps the van cooler inside.

No doubt someone will give you equally good reasons for leaving the blinds up all the time!

 

[forestgump]

some say its the law that they should be open when in travell to see that no one is inside .

 

[Lutz]

There is certainly no law requiring blinds to be open. If one kept down low even opened blinds wouldn't reveal whether anyone was inside or not. And one can't see inside a trailer covered by a tarpaulin either.

 

[starlightdj]

Hi whilst in storage we put all the blinds down to stop sunlight fading the furniture.

When towing we have a twin dinnette so leave front and back blinds open to see right through the centre of the van so i have some rear vision, but keep all side windows down to keep contents dark making rear vision clearer.

cheers

John

 

[Wendy-Norfolk]

We always travel with the blinds up, not nice for other road users when they are dazzled by your blinds in bright sunlight.

 

[Gagakev]

Hi whilst in storage we put all the blinds down to stop sunlight fading the furniture.

When towing we have a twin dinnette so leave front and back blinds open to see right through the centre of the van so i have some rear vision, but keep all side windows down to keep contents dark making rear vision clearer.

cheers

John

Mine are down in storage (on drive) and up when towing and as previously mentioned both reasons come into the equation, better vision (rear Window) and to save the tension springs.

 

[Gagakev]

Hi whilst in storage we put all the blinds down to stop sunlight fading the furniture.

When towing we have a twin dinnette so leave front and back blinds open to see right through the centre of the van so i have some rear vision, but keep all side windows down to keep contents dark making rear vision clearer.

cheers

John

sorry pushed the wrong reply button!!!

 

[Guest]

Just one comment, as computer dying.

The blinds will reflect heat and light back through the window and over time, and hot summer can warp the window, especially big ones.

Leave them up as much as poss, and in store, use a cover

 

[Mikey1]

Or get a van with privacy windows?

If you have a tracker depending on where the gps antenna is you might find that with blinds down you block the signal?

 

[chrissie2]

We keep ours up while towing to improve vision of following traffic, but this only works with some caravan layouts - if you don't have a clear line of vision through the 'van, there is no advantage. We started off leaving the blinds down while not in use, to avoid fading, but we've got very slack about that over the years, so now, if we're not asleep in the 'van, the blinds are probably up!

 

[stephena]

Thanks Everyone,

I guess fading the upholstery is my biggest fear about leaving it stored with the blinds open.

I guess Scotchlad made the most viable reason for not "The blinds will reflect heat and light back through the window and over time, and hot summer can warp the window, especially big ones."

Still indecided maybe i will have to alternate one week to the next : )

 

[Paul_5064559]

Stephena,

When in storage try this solution recommended to me by a mobile service engineer. Visit DIY supplier like Wickes and buy a roll of their reflective central heating radiator lining. This is pretty stiff and can be cut up into individual window sizes but make these a bit oversize then you just press these into your window aperture and they will remain in place. For the front windows you will need two lengths cut to go right across the front windows/window behind your fabric curtains. The lower one will stay in place without support but you will just suspend the upper half with 3/4 pieces of duct tape.

You can us these over and over, have had mine for 7 years and just roll up after storage season and use again when I lay up end of season.

 

[ValA.]

Get a

 

[Parksy]

Our caravan (Abbey 620) is fitted with curtains in addition to the blinds. We just draw our curtains when the caravan goes into storage.

 

[Michelle_374463275]

Thanks Everyone,

I guess fading the upholstery is my biggest fear about leaving it stored with the blinds open.

I guess Scotchlad made the most viable reason for not "The blinds will reflect heat and light back through the window and over time, and hot summer can warp the window, especially big ones."

Still indecided maybe i will have to alternate one week to the next : )

Hi Stepena, we leave our blinds up when not in used as we leave our van away from our home, & we can see though the windows as we drive pass making sure no ones inside the van.!Van is secure behind locked gate with alarm on.....Also when we're towing I've looked back in the van & notice the wardrobe door open so good thing to leave blinds open when towing. But it's your choice up or down. "Happy Caravaning".