Entrance door window - Montana Owners Club

Johnnyg · 01-23-2010, 07:05 AM

Our entrance door has a clear window without any type of shade.
With mininum clearance between the screen and outside door I was wondering if anyones installed some type of shade that fits between the doors?

Art-n-Marge · 01-23-2010, 07:30 AM

The easiest thing I have heard about is a stick on decorative film, but this does not blackout the window. It can be cut to fit and you don't have to worry about clearance and should provide very colorful shade.

In another smaller rig, on the bedroom door, I used one of those presized shiny window blackout covers that were held on with velcro, but I could only put it on at night because opening and closing the door would cause it to fall off. Kinda ugly and impractical, but kept the room dark so it was easier to sleep.

If you need it dark then window tint might work. Unfortunately, a day/night shade would provide all the options for clear, shaded and blackout but good luck finding a sturdy low profile version. Hopefully another member has that solution.

cdaniels · 01-23-2010, 07:33 AM

Some on the site have replaced the window with a stained glass window. You may want to do a search if you are interested. It is about $100.00 from what I remember.

Mrs. CountryGuy · 01-23-2010, 08:10 AM

Re: that window film, they also now make some that is for "side lites" or is that side lights???

That would be the smaller skinny windows that are long, one on each side of say, your front door. We hardly had to trim ANYTHING off to make it fit, and the pattern fit well too.

footloose · 01-23-2010, 08:49 AM

On our SOB we had shade cloth covers made for the outside windows that snapped on. We left them on all the time, even while traveling. One night I was walking by another 5er at night that had frosted glass on their window door. She was undressing and I was shocked to see her clearly. So, we ALSO had a shade cloth cover made for the INSIDE of the door window that snapped on. It worked great. We just haven't gotten around to doing it yet for our new Monty, but will soon. In the meantime, I'm doing all my dressing/undressing at night when the lights are on in the bedroom!
Sharon

Jolu · 01-23-2010, 10:09 AM

Several of the Quartzsite Rally folks went to Algodones,MX and picked up some beautiful stained glass windows for their units and they were in the $40 to $50 range. The size of that window in most of the rigs are 12.5" X 21.5". I have noticed a new Montana in the park I am in now and the window is much taller than 21.5". I don't know if that is a new thing for Montana or not.

DnDatGrdJct · 01-23-2010, 10:39 AM

John,

What we did is went to Lowe's (or other hardware store, or sewing store) and bought some nylon screen type material (it is available in various colors). We then used stick-on velcro to attach it to the frame of the window. Just velcroed in a few spots.

Goes up easy and comes down easy.

We also did the same thing with material used for auto window shades. This worked for Black Out purposes and provide some heat retention in cool weather.

Works for us.

Dean

exav8tr · 01-23-2010, 11:33 AM

Another option: www.rvstainedglass.com. We obtained ours from a travelling couple that have a workshop in the trailer they pull behind their MH. They do not have a website, that I know of, yet. They travel the 1000 Trails circuit. We paid a premium price but it has lasted well so far.

Phil

adelmoll · 01-24-2010, 01:09 AM

The new Montana's have a lot longer windows now. I have not seen a stained glass window made for that size yet. Thankfully, ours has the regular size window. It is one of the few new things I do not like about the new changes.

Helen

Bill-N-Donna · 01-24-2010, 01:28 AM

Has anyone got any pictures they can share of the modifications they have done on this? The window even frosted lets a lot of light in and we would like to have a fix for that as well.

Johnnyg · 01-24-2010, 01:42 AM

Thanks for all the great ideas. We like the benefit of being able to see out of the door and are leaning toward the flat cloth cover that footloose mentioned.
Maybe a split panel that's attached top and bottom. Then we can draw the center back when needed. I'll post the results.

bncinwv · 01-24-2010, 02:14 AM

I don't know if this will help or not, but there are a couple of things that can be done to the screen door to allow the outer door to stay open. Several members have mounted plexiglass panels on the screen door (mirror hangers or similar attachment methods). I am sure that smoked plexiglass is available that could be used. My super-cheap fix that I used made use of a plastic mylar sheeting that is available in the craft (fabric) area at Walmart. The total cost was about $3.00. We used clear but there is now smoke color available as well that I will be switching to this year. I removed the screen door, and used a screen edging tool. I removed the rubber edging from the door, and laid the mylar film over the screen and re-installed the edging while pulling the mylar film taut. We leave the outer door open all time. Just a thought,
Bingo

DonandJudy_12 · 01-24-2010, 06:54 AM

We installed a pull down shade inside the unit above the screen door- This allows us to shade the interior of the unit when we have the outside door open as well- Don

footloose · 01-24-2010, 07:16 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by DonandJudy_12

We installed a pull down shade inside the unit above the screen door- This allows us to shade the interior of the unit when we have the outside door open as well- Don

Don, how did you do that? We did that on our SOB, but on the new Monty there is a decoration over the frame. We don't see how to put one up. Do you have the same? And, if so, do you have a picture?
Thanks, Dick and Sharon

DonandJudy_12 · 01-25-2010, 07:05 AM

Don't know if we can post photos, but will work on that- I mounted the pull down shade on the wall above the door valance- It is quite simple to do- The hard part is making holes in the wall- I hate drilling holes for fear of hitting a hot wire ( don't ask me how I know this can happen ) LOL - Let us know how you accomplish this task- Don

footloose · 01-25-2010, 09:18 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by DonandJudy_12

I mounted the pull down shade on the wall above the door valance . . .

Thanks, Don. We wondered if it would look funny above the valance. But, that appears to be the only option. We used the pull down shade a lot in our SOB when we had the door open (as you do). Maybe if we put it all the way to the ceiling it wouldn't be so noticeable. If you get those pictures, please post them.
Dick and Sharon

footloose · 02-13-2010, 08:10 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Johnnyg

Our entrance door has a clear window without any type of shade.
With mininum clearance between the screen and outside door I was wondering if anyones installed some type of shade that fits between the doors?

We finally got around to putting up a shade on our entrance door. We bought some shade cloth/sun screen cloth, I sewed the edges and Dick put the snaps on it. It is rubberized material, but sews well. I folded the edges over an inch, creased them and used paperclips to hold them for sewing. We had to buy 2 yards of cloth (wouldn't sell less than that) so it cost us $10.80 plus 4 snaps. We didn't want to put more holes in the door than we had to. Since it isn't on the outside of the door we don't have to worry about wind taking it off with just 4 snaps. Works for us, maybe it will work for you. We still plan to put a pull down shade on the inside for when the door is open and Monty is positioned with the sun streaming in the door. Here's a picture:

Dick and Sharon

sreigle · 02-14-2010, 07:06 AM

Bill and Donna, you asked on the prior page for pictures of what folks have done to their entrance window. Here's ours. We got the window in Algodones, Mexico. It doesn't block out the light but one would have to put their face right up to the window to see anything inside our outside. What appears to be clear glass isn't.

Art-n-Marge · 02-14-2010, 11:00 AM

footloose, that's a pretty good mod, because it allows that you can remove it and have the clear window if you want. Mine is frosted glass and is always frosted glass. Yours has some flexibility since the shade can be removed. When you keep the door open, I hope no one comes by and "snaps" it up. Doh! You are probably around the area when it's like that.

Hey Steve, very nice alternative to frosted glass and we wouldn't use that window to check who's out there anyway, since our kitchen window is right next to the door. Did that opaque backing behind the stained glass come with it? It certainly helps the stained glass stand out more.

I also like Bingo's idea for adding mylar or some other material to cover the screen door mesh to help with ventilation on a nice day but allow that door to stay open longer as it prevents so much wind coming inside. It seems like as soon as the temp starts dropping the main door gets closed so fast to keep things warmer.

sreigle · 02-17-2010, 12:13 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by bncinwv

I don't know if this will help or not, but there are a couple of things that can be done to the screen door to allow the outer door to stay open. Several members have mounted plexiglass panels on the screen door (mirror hangers or similar attachment methods). I am sure that smoked plexiglass is available that could be used. My super-cheap fix that I used made use of a plastic mylar sheeting that is available in the craft (fabric) area at Walmart. The total cost was about $3.00. We used clear but there is now smoke color available as well that I will be switching to this year. I removed the screen door, and used a screen edging tool. I removed the rubber edging from the door, and laid the mylar film over the screen and re-installed the edging while pulling the mylar film taut. We leave the outer door open all time. Just a thought,
Bingo

Bingo, I like your idea. Do you happen to have pictures? We're using the plexiglass but your idea is something I'd like to know more about. Thanks.

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