Heki 2 rooflight - blind/flyscreen issue!

[john_5040735]

Hi folks - have the above rooflights (front and rear) on new 2006 Elddis Crusader. Whilst in storage I have the blinds drawn fully across to prevent bright sunlight entering van. On visits to the van I have noticed that the blinds have moved from closed to partly open, with some flyscreen netting now partly covering the opening - both of them! When I read my manual it quotes "caution: in extremely bright sunshine, the blackout blind must only be closed two thirds, and the pane must be set in the continuous airing position".

Do I take it that the btight sunshine is at fault and that I should have had the pane set in the airing position whilst van in storage? Or do I have a fault? Has anyone experienced this issue and if so what is the solution?

I travel to France on Tuesday and would like to sleep in a blacked out van!!

Thanks in advance!

John

 

[mistralse]

Hi John,as I understand it you must not have the blackout screen completely across in sunlight but you can have the mesh across because the mesh is breathable and the blind is not,having said that we always sleep with the blinds over and I open them up as soon as I get up,no problems so far,it appears that the blind will cause a build up of hot air thereby damaging the Heki,that is all I know,best of luck.

 

[mistralse]

PS we have just come back from France and Germany,very hot,no trouble with blinds.Denis again.

 

[crusader_5040706]

hi john, we also have the same thing happen in storage to our blinds{ mailed you before 2006 aurora} not realy worried too much ,i blamed the better half at first for not closing them properly at first !!! we had 3 weeks in france in may never woke up to sunsine { woke up bleary eyed on a few mornings but blame that on the wine not the morning sun} be prepared for a few funny looks and second glances over blacked out windows ,but they do block out a lot of the heat, and ime sure you have got used to the privacy they give, hope you have a good holiday we did 2,690 mile{only thing i can think of to tell you is check nose weight we had to up ours to @ 110 kgs to get it to be as stable as our old 2003 auora} what do you tow with ? jim

 

[john_5040735]

Hi Crusader - I tow with a Santa Fe (80kg max noseweight) but so far don't appear to have a stability problem. It seems to take a bit of effort getting noseweight to this level - or is it just me!

glad to hear someone else experiences the issue with the Heki blinds - must be something to do with a build up of heat. Having had the van down from storage for 24 hours, and blinds drawn overnight, they have stayed in place. Trial and error.

As said before I think the Aurora is a superb van - impressed - but I have only done a 4 nighter up to now (190 miles towing) and all went well. i will be giving it a stiffer test from Tuesday next week - off to France for 3 weeks. I can quite imagine the continentals heads turning when they see the 2006 Crusaders. i remember causing a right commotion some years ago when i pulled on a site in the Ardeche with my rear toileted Avondale. The locals just couldn't stop walking closely past the van for the whole 2 weeks. On the last day they asked for a look inside and were "gobsmacked".

Anyway, thanks for your response once again, and I look forward to many "groggy" mornings!

John

 

[vernon]

I read in a Dutch caravan magazine, that temperatures can reach 80 degs C inside a closed Heki with the blind across. A Dutch firm (www.ocs-recreatie.nl)makes an external cover to fit a Heki, for 25 euros

 

[john_5040735]

Whow - that probably does explain the movement. By the way, since bringing van out of storage issue has disappeared - blind staying put!

John