I haven't really seen much discussion of alternatives to OEM or MCD blinds.
While sheltering from winter storm Landon yesterday, I replaced two of our blinds in our 1997 U320 with blinds I custom ordered from Lowe's. I did the passenger window and the recliner window. I had done the driver's window and the kitchen window previously. They're a huge improvement:
1. Single hand raise and lower.
2. Light blocking.
3. Much cheaper than MCD. $405 for the whole coach.
4. Pretty straightforward DIY project.
Downsides:
1. The look like they're made from a paper product. It's a clothlike paper, kinda like US currency.
2. They don't like to be closed the first time. They tend to stick at the top and if you're rough with them, they can wrinkle. Pro tip: With the blinds completely open after you instal them, keep the bottom of the blind bunched up while you extend the blind from the top. This seems to unlock whatever is sticking at the top.
3. Lowe's website it terrible.
4. The kitchen window clatters when I drive. Although it's much less than the original mini blinds, I solved that with felt pads on the back of the bottom piece.
To swap out, simply remove the top valence. All the screws are square drive and as you remove them, the valance can rest on the side valances without falling. There is no need to remove the side valances. Snip the cords at the bottom of the window at the little button and remove the old blinds by removing the square drive screws holding them in.
Install according to the package directions. Pro tip: I put a small shred of double sided tape on the top of the spring steel clips while I marked the holes for the drill and also to hold them in place while installing the screws. I would recommend placing them about 1/8" away from the wall and then marking in the middle of the slot to allow adjustment (it probably won't be needed). Making sure the clips are perpendicular with the wall is pretty critical.
To replace the top valance, I adjusted the screws so about 1/8" of the point was sticking out to help with aligning with the original holes in the cabinet.
We chose blackout shades for everything except the kitchen because we never use the day shades and mostly lower them at night. Your choice might be different. They darken a lot, but I wouldn't call them blackout. They will prevent people from seeing in at night when your lights are on.
For my coach:
1x 1346784 for the kitchen. This is grey to match our backsplash. It takes a thinner 1" blind.
1x 2599949 for the driver's window. This is alabaster 1.5", as are the rest, and fits well within the window treatments in both color and size.
1x 2635047 for the passenger window.
3x 2599881 for the recliner, sofa, and dining windows.
The colors are pretty subtle and neutral, so they don't clash being different colors.
I'm going to see how they work out over the next year and if I like them, I'll probably do the same thing with our fifth wheel. I've fixed the day/night shades a couple of times by rethreading the cord and replacement is MUCH easier.
We put little magnets on our shades to keep them from making noise.
They roll up and "click" into place for travel.
Camper Comfort White RV Pleated Shades | eBay (https://www.ebay.com/itm/154234566609?var=454341695221&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&siteid=0&customid=link&campid=5338164441&toolid=20001&mkevt=1)
These are really nice, Made in USA by Ivine shade , and dont make noise. About 70 per .
Are those Levolor's? If so they were in my coach when we bought it in '15 Have had some issues with the push button but was able to fix them. All in all like them.
No. They're Lowe's house brand, allen + roth. We looked at the Levelor's in the store. I don't recall why we went with the allen + roth. These don't have the buttons, but otherwise are similar.
I was previously planning to have MCDs installed eventually, but saw an ad for blinds from some other brand I thought might work. Looking at the website, you could "click here to schedule a fashion consultant to come to your home". So, we got in the car to see what Lowe's had.
I think those are what came OEM in my fifth wheel based on the shape of the base piece.
We installed Levolor "cellular" shades and have found them to be very insulating for both AC and heat. We have rubber strategically glued on the inside of the valences to quiet them down or up. We also used a Levolor night shade for the windshield. Rather than build the side "visual blocks" for privacy we put together some wide fluted moldings to match the valences and install them when we park on the forward valence with Velcro. Fit our budget, insulate and look good (my DW says so anyway)!
We had blinds made for this new to us class c and we are very pleased with them. Not cheap but worth it. I installed them as they needed to have both ledges for bottom fasteners. Made by Hunter Douglas life guaranteed called Norman.
Johnh
We purchased the Levolor. Brenda recovered the valances and now we have no blue in the coach
We used Graber honeycomb for the same reasons (easy to use and good R value)