Day/Night blinds

[SlickWillie]

We've had a problem with the screws that anchor the string on the blinds pulling out of the wallboard. I've got a box of those plastic hollow wall anchors I install as the screws pull out. Anyone else have this problem? Is there a better fix?

[sailer]

Hope you bought enough for the unit

john

[OntMont]

We have not had that particular problem (yet). I do believe that the cords are often installed too tightly and this leads to difficult operation of the blinds, and eventually to the problem you are having. When you put them back, try this suggestion, only put on as much tension as is required to hold the blinds securely in the up position. (You can do this by winding the cords around the anchors and twisting the anchors until you get the desired tension).

Good luck!

[David and Jo-Anna]

Virtually all of the "bobbins" on our Big Sky have no cord wrapped around them at all. If only!!! So it sounds easier said than done to propose just unwinding a bit of the cord wrapped around the bobbin. What I had to do to get any loosening of the tension on the day/night shade cords was to untie the knot at the end and try to move it about one-half an inch to the very end of the cord.

[OntMont]

You are right, I was not too clear in what I wrote. So far as I know, the blinds always come from the factory with the cords tied to the bobbins. It is just my own notion that the intent of the bobbins is probably to provide tension adjustment. In order to do this, you need to:
1. Loosen the bobbins (be prepared for the shade to drop all the way down).
2. Untie the cords from the bobbins.
3. Thread the cord through the little holes in the bobbin and retie the cord with a few inches of slack.
4. Re-install the bobbins slightly loose, then wind the loose cord onto the bobbin until you start to put tension on the cords.
5. Fine tune the tensions so that the blinds run up and down smoothly and evenly.
6. Snug the bobbin down to hold the tension.

This is not a particularly difficult chore, but there are a lot of cords when you start to count them all up. I only did it for a few blinds that seemed more difficult to operate than others.

There is no official source that suggests that this is the "right" way. It is just based on my own experience. The fact that the cords do come with bobbins suggests that they should have some purpose.

[sreigle]

Will, I haven't had this problem with the shade screws but have had it with other areas. I tried a number of anchors but found two things that seem to work best for me.

One is fill the hole with elmer's wood glue then break off as many toothpicks in the hole as you can. Then when it's dried, reinsert the screw.

The other is to use an anchor. I've tried several but find this one, an "auger anchor" works far better than others, short of an actual toggle bolt.

You use a screwdriver to screw this anchor into the hole, then the screw screws into the anchor.

I've used these anchors to hold a magazine rack to the wall in the water closet, a four hook clothes rack on the wall in the bedroom, and a paper towel holder to the thin paneling on the island in the kitchen. All have continued to hold very well for the past six months or so we've had this rig.

I can't guarantee it will work on the shade but it has worked well on other things for us.

[MikeandBarb]

Thanks Steve for showing the picture of the auger anchor. I'll have to get a few of them to use around the camper! Mike

[SlickWillie]

Thanks for all the tips. I will look at the different anchors, and definitely try to loosen a couple blinds up when we get the trailer back from the dealer.

[sreigle]

OntMont, thanks for the tip on how to adjust the tension. We have a few needing that done, too.