Over a year ago, we replaced the mini-blinds in our travel trailer with pleated shades and wrote a blog post about the project. Well, we recently bought another travel trailer and replaced its mini-blinds with the same type of pleated shades. Why another post on the same topic? This time we took a few pictures showing some of the installation steps and thought they made it worth another post.

I guess there are many possibilities when it comes to window treatments for RVs. Pleated shades are just one of these. Many RVs, whether motor homes, 5th wheels, or travel trailers, come equipped with mini-blinds. There is nothing at all wrong with mini-blinds. Deb simply wanted something different, that is quieter—the aluminum-slat minis can rattle a bit—and “softer” looking. We opted for pleated shades because they were reasonably priced, reasonably easy to install, have a wide color assortment, and look nice. For the bedroom, we chose the room-darkening variety, and the standard material for other windows.

The photo to the right shows the windows in our  bedroom slide with the original mini-blinds. Not bad at all, just not what we wanted. When preparing to order the pleated shades, we measured the width and height of each window. We added an inch to the width and a couple of inches to the height of each one. We ordered our shades from www.blinds.com. And, yes, we were happy with their products and service so we joined their affiliate program. So, if you decide to order your shades, blinds, or other window treatments from them and you click on this link, or the one in the sidebar, to get there and order from them, we’ll make a few bucks. Just so you’ll know.

When you get ready to install your new pleated shades, the first thing is to remove the mini-blinds from their brackets, then unscrew the brackets from the wall. You may also need to remove the little hold-down (travel) brackets at the bottom of the windows. You’ll end up installing new ones for the pleated shades but, chances are, they will be somewhat different and mounted in slightly different locations.

After you’ve removed the mini-blinds and their mounting brackets, the next step is to select a window to start installing the new pleated shades. Each of the shades should be sized correctly for a specific window. I started by measuring the shade to be installed [Figure 3]. Blinds.com includes pretty good instructions with their shades, and they tell you how to position the mounting brackets. Keep in mind that your shades will be “outside mounted.”

Most of the shades we’ve installed have taken either two or three brackets, depending on the width of the shade. The two outside brackets should be mounted about 2½ inches in from the ends of the shade. If the shade requires a third bracket, then obviously it is mounted in the center of the window. In fact, I  start by marking the center of the window with a light pencil mark on the frame [Figure 4].

Next, mark the center of the shade itself, then line up the center-mark on the shade with that on the window frame. Put light pencil marks on the wall at both ends of the shade. [Figure 5]

Ok, it’s about 11:30 PM and I’m going to get a bit of shut-eye. I’ll post the rest of this project tomorrow.