Has anyone who self installed their replacement windshield shades had any significant problems? would you in retrospect have had it installed by a professional? Look forward to some comments on this topic as I am thinking about self replacement pretty soon as the installation prices for MCD shades quoted by MCD, Motorhomes of Texas, and Foretravel of Texas have significant variances; for the same product, on the same coach. Go figure.
Am going to pickup some MCD shades in a few minutes, will post on how the install went.
Roland
The install is very straight forwad. The easiest way--You need to remove the vertical (2 screws each) and the horizontal valences (more than 2 screws depending on window size) (in that order).
Attach the shade brackets (1 screw each) and snap the shades into place. Replace valences.
I was having the horizontals recovered and and replaced the verticals with ones I made from solid cherry, much like the ones on my brothers U295.
Rich
I think the windshield shades Fiddler is asking about are a tad more involved than that ;) .
#1 they have to be powered.... and interlocked to ignition-on hot.
Hi Michelle:
Thx for the important reminder; yes they need to be hot wired to the ignition to restrict lowering height while driving to retain view of the road.
Something to think about regarding location of switches. FOT installed our windshield shades and did a fine job for a reasonable price, however the up/down switches were installed on the panel near my left leg when sitting in drivers seat...where the spec labels are located. A convenient location when driving but when parked, the seat turned around and stuff stored behind seat, or steering wheel table if you use one the switches can be a challenge to reach. When we are parked for a while and lowering the privacy shade each night, I would like the switches in a more convenient location.
We self-installed and did not have significant problems, but we were assisted by
1) David Flanagan pointing out beforehand that it's a lot easier and cheaper if your TV area has already by modified to allow full-width rolls to be used.
2) Being at MCD when we were installing them. They measured, so they would have been on the hook if the measurement was wrong, and when we had an issue with their operation they discovered the shades had been assembled incorrectly for our specific need. At that point, it was on MCD's time and dime to uninstall, re-assemble, and reinstall.
Our passenger side edge falls fairly vertically and tight against the side pillar. The driver's side tends to push away because of the dash "hump", so MCD provided some u-channel that we have adhered to just that side's pillar to keep the vertical edge of the shade tight to the pillar.
We installed our switches in the same cabinet above the passenger side of the windshield where our patio awning control is.
Oh, and you really do need 2 people to do the install because of having to hold the rolls up while clipping them in.
Seems they had to modify ours somehow but I can't remember the details since it was on their dime. There is a channel on each side the shade moves in and there is a flexible part at the bottom to go over the hump. We also needed the bottom to be flexible to clear the center vent on the AQuahot and we had to put a cup holder or two to keep the shade from coming down and blocking that vent. Now that we put the shut off switch for the front vent we don't need to worry about that. Our switches are in a blank space to the left of the steering column opposit the ether and boost switch on the right. I like to reach them while driving to block the sun. On our kids coach they next to the left knee position. I like ours better.
Sorry--missed the windshield part.
Rich
I did not install windshield shades, did the living room and kitchen windows. Very straightforward. My DW made curtains for the windshield, now that is an altogether different story.
Roland
We installed ours all by ourselves.
See earlier posts
MCD Shades Gold Series (http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=22432.msg170929#msg170929)
We used the switches provided by MCD. Kind of pricey but ready to go. You need one for the sun screen, one for the night shade. You can easily find a +12v source, a ground and with some hunting, a +12v ingnition controlled line in the upper compartment on the driver's side. Where to put the switches is important. Are the accessible? Does the driver need to get to them while driving? They have a wireless option too. Ours ended up to the left of the TV. Easy to use when we want to operate the shades.
The shades come adjusted for up stop position and ignition on down stop position.
We made wedges as described above. This makes any additional flap at the bottom unnecessary and allows the shade to clear the center defrost vents in our coach. The width of the shade where it meets the dash when it comes down the wedges is narrower than it is at the top by about 3/4" because the bottom of the windshied starts to curve in. I would make it a bit narrower than it looks like it could be at the top. We ordered ours at 98,5". With the wedges I would order 98". We ordered 48" vertical. Price doesn't change with length so order it long.
The shade mounts with four clips mounted towards the windshield to the bottom of the horizontal bittom of the upper compartment in front of the vertical valence. In my coach there were speakers mounted up there so I made some wooden spacer blocks about 1" thick that dropped the shade below the speakers. There is plenty of room behind the valence so this is no problem. The hardest part of this whole job was getting contorted enough on the driver's side over the steering wheel to get that side in. A second person on the other end is required. The shade snaps into the clips without too much effort and seems to be very secure.
Our shades roll towards the inside of the coach near the vertical valance.
This is a great upgrade. You will need a helper. Plan carefully. Measure carefully.
Roger