Window blinds / flyscreens

[Trevor S]

I am sure this has been asked before somewhere - but I can't find anything on it.

 

My Auto-Trail Miami has the type of combined window blind / flyscreen that you pull down. The bottom part is a blind and when you pull it down further the blind concentina's shut leaving the flyscreen in place.

 

The problem I have is that three of the blinds will not stay down in the "flyscreen" position. They tend to be pulled back up leaving half blind and half flyscreen.

 

I am sure there must be some way to retension them - but I don't know how.

 

Any help appreciated

 

Trevor

 

 

 

 

[maggyd]

I click both together then push the blind down as they fasten to-gether !

[Trevor S]

So do I, but the problem ones come up a bit!

[Trevor S]

So do I, but the problem ones come up a bit!

[Derek Uzzell]

Trevor:

 

I may be being a bit dumb here, but is the 'blind' part of your combined blind/fly-screen unit actually tensioned?

 

These sound to me like Seitz S5 (or possibly REMIsmart) units, with a conventional spring-tensioned roller-blind-type fly-screen that's pulled down from the top and a concertina blind that's pulled up from the bottom. As far as I'm aware, concertina blinds aren't tensioned - they are just moved to the required position and stay there via friction. I've looked at Seitz S5 diagrams on

 

http://www.leisurespares.co.uk/modules/products/product_setup/file_library/S5.xls.pdf

 

and this seems to be the case for the S5 design as I can't spot any tensioning mechanism for the lower concertina blind.

 

Assuming your Miami's blind units are as I've described above, if you link upper fly-screen and lower concertina blind together and pull the fly-screen right down, then the fly-screen's retraction-spring mechanism will naturally try hard to raise the concertina blind - and, with three of your blinds, the fly-screens are doing just that.

 

I can suggest three possibilities:

 

One: In the fly-screens that are managing to lift the concertina blinds, the spring tension in the retraction mechanism is set overly high and reducing it slightly should solve the problem.

 

Two: There's a capability in the blind-unit design that you've overlooked allowing the fly-screen to be locked into its fully-down position, thus preventing it from hauling on the concertina blind. Perhaps you need to pull down the fly-screen and engage it into a 'notch' (or something) in the inner part of the blind unit's surrounding framework, and then link the concertina blind to the fly-screen to close any gap?

 

Three: That's what this design of blind unit does and you'll just have to put up with it.

[Trevor S]

Thanks for your reply Derek.

 

I think your first possibility is the likely one.

 

The combined blinds / flyscreens in question do not separate; they are one unit with the blind at the bottom and the flyscreen at the top.

 

When lifted fully up , they retract into the top of the unit leaving the window clear.

 

When pulled down to position 1, they are in the blind position and effectively 50% down (if that makes sense).

 

When pulled fully down, the blind is concertinered at the bottom leaving the flyscreen in place.

 

There are six of these on the Miami.

 

What is happening with three of them is that when pulled fully down they are being "pulled" back up leaving appx 50% blind at at the bottom and 50% flyscreen at the top.

 

There is no clip or notch and the three that work properly just stay in place.

 

I am pretty sure that that the retraction mechanism needs adjusting but cannot see an obvious way to do it.

 

I was rather hoping that was a simple everyday thing that an experienced motorhomer would know how to do - I purchased my Miami in June and am still in learning mode.

 

These things are so easy if you know how.

 

Trevor

 

 

[Derek Uzzell]

Trevor:

 

I've re-read MMM's Jan 2007 report on a Miami and I notice that the article refers to "two-piece Remis pleated blinds" being used on the cab windscreen, while an inquiry in the Motorhome Matters forum-section indicates that Auto-Trail are fitting REMIS-made roof-lights. It's reasonable therefore to assume that your window blind-units also come from REMIS and the MMM photos suggest that they are REMIsmart-type. See:

 

http://mobil.remiglas.de/274/?L=1

 

I'm not on intimate terms with REMIsmart, but photos on the REMIS website suggest that gaining access to the flyscreen mechanism should be relatively straightforward, employing a method similar to that used with traditional Seitz blinds.

 

Basically, you (carefully!) pull off the appropriate L-shaped plastic 'trim-mouldings' that cover the corners of the blind-unit, then remove the appropriate horizontal and/or vertical plastic covers. As no attachment screws are evident for the corner covers, they probably just 'snap' on to lugs on the frame behind them, so, if you grasp a cover on its inner edge and pull it (carefully!) inwards and upwards, you'll probably feel it release. Once you've removed a corner-cover you should be able to see how the horizontal/vertical covers are attached and then you can decide how many of the remaining covers will need to be removed. Adjusting the flyscreen's 'pull' shouldn't be too difficult, but be aware that the tensioning mechanisms can be a mite fragile.

 

While I'm sure it's true that motorcaravanners with DIY inclinations would have few qualms over carrying out exploratory surgery on their vehicles' window blinds, it's certainly not something they'd be doing on an everyday basis. It's also the case that the window-blind design varies from maker to maker and model to model, so there's no guarantee that a technique applicable to one blind will work with another. And (if you are really out of luck and the manufacturer of your motorhome has been particularly bloody-minded) there's no guarantee that the 'approved' technique for dismantling a blind will work in practice.

 

Best of luck...

[Trevor S]

Derek,

 

Thats a great help.

 

I could not find the information on the Remis - never thought to look on a German Website

 

Armed with the information, I shall now have a go!

 

Thanks.

 

Trevor