Are the blinds / screens just always going to be a problem?

kbdigitiqe

Welp.. we just left our brand new 400 BD on the lot and are going to double back in a couple weeks.. after they replace the brand new star gazer window with another one. 

We had nothing but trouble with one of the side window shades on our 320 constantly falling off the rails and finally had the entire assembly replaced under warranty. It was endlessly frustrating. 

Went to pick up our new 400 today and the shade on the stargazer window was acting a little funny, so I asked the rep to take a look at it.. she nudged it a little too hard and the whole screen string snapped and blew up the entire shade. We told them we’ve done the whole re-stringing thing enough already just order another window and we’ll come back to get it when it’s ready. 

What a bummer. 

All the other windows in our 320 and this 400 seemed fine but definitely has us wondering what life outside of warranty is going to be like with these window shades

Denny16

The window shades on our 2018 (built in Jan 2018) are still working fine, no issues.
cheers

kbdigitiqe

That’s nice to hear Denny thanks, I’m hoping that occasionally there’s just a bad one like in our 320 and that by just outright replacing the one in the 400 from the start it’ll be smooth sailing for at least a while 🙏

4ncar

Knock on wood, I haven't had any issues with my '18 320 and I'm going into my 4th season...

kbdigitiqe

I think we’re just super “triggered” because we only really had two issues with our 320 - one was the blinds on that one window and the other was a piece of the side trim flew off in a wind storm in New Mexico. Both of which our same dealer just finished fixing under warranty. 

Aaaaaand when we went to pick up the 400 immediately one of the window blinds broke AND we noticed the trim and seal around the trim was already coming off on one side! So we finished our paperwork and walkthrough and just left the camper there to make sure we didn’t start off with the exact same issues we had on our 320 which was sitting right next to the new 400 on their lot LOL

VictoriaP

I don’t know if it’s true or not, but one thing my service tech emphasized during my original walkthrough was that the blinds perform best when you use both hands to raise and lower every time. And sure enough, the one time the strings in the frame have given me any trouble was early on when I forgot and tried to do it one handed. 😁

I do think they’re a bit too finicky, so I feel your pain on that score. Hopefully your new one behaves better!

Sharon_is_SAM

@kbdigitiqe - as a reminder, keep your shades and screens retracted while towing.  It reduces stress on the shade/screen and wards off evil spirits in general😁

Dutch061

The star gazer window on our 2020 400 BDL takes much more effort than the other window shades. I attribute that to the length and curvature that doesn't exist in the other windows. We have found that 2 hands are a must plus that you need to not force it. If it resists, back up and then move forward again. In our season last year we had zero issues with any of the shades, in fact we didn't really have any issues that prevented us from using it all year. 

Brad