Pleated shade only raises half way?

[brianosaur]

So I get that the tension on the string, that is attached to the spool that's screwed into the wall, allows the shade to raise and lower.

When the tension is too loose the shade will fall on its own, and if it's too tight it will be too hard to raise.

My issue is that on a large shade, over the dinette slide window that's probably about 48" wide, will only go up halfway before jamming. It raises smoothly from the bottom until halfway up and will remain there, but will go no further.

If I loosen the tension it won't stay up at all and if I tighten it any more it won't raise even from the bottom.

These are new shades in a 2019 TT.

Any suggestions?

[Veebyes]

Want something confusing & awkward to do? Replace those strings on a day/night shade. It will test your sanity.

[JKJavelin]

Check to see if strings are not frayed or knotted. Also, if I recall, there are grommets that guide the strings.

ryoung

^^This. In the 2 years we've owned our fifth wheel, I've fixed several and just did one last week. The strings fray and eventually break. Usually the big windows.
JK

[ryoung]

Check to see if strings are not frayed or knotted. Also, if I recall, there are grommets that guide the strings.

ryoung

[brianosaur]

OP here
Only a single pleated shade. Not 2 part day/night.
No cord to pull, cords mounted to wall on each side and it raises similar to how a cordless shade does - by just lifting.

Anyway, after much endless fussing and plenty of cussing, I got it to go 90% of the way up smoothly.

Holy smokes what a total PITA!
Yeah, I was this close to ripping it off the wall and tossing it in the garbage, but there are five other matching shades and I didnt want an oddball one.

It seems to be that both cords on either side have to have exactly the same amount of tension, and you can only adjust them when the shade is completely lowered. You have do a little adjustment at a time, one at a time.

Hope that help anyone who has the same problem.

[colliehauler]

I got rid of the corded blinds and went with cordless pleated shades. So nice not to have a cord to deal with.

[Z-Peller]

As Sam Spade said above, if its the 2 part pleated day/ night shade, then the darkening part must be pulled all the way up first, then raise the light filtering part, otherwise there is just too much friction to pull both parts at once. If you go online and look for a diagram of how those blinds are strung it will give you a better idea of what is going on. I have restrung a large blind such as you have when it was only a year old. Not a fun job. One string broke inside from chafing on a rough grommet. Poor manufacturing, like so much else these days.

[SidecarFlip]

I did the same, tossed the cheap pleated shade. They work for a short while and then become a PITA.

Wife went to Walmart and bought mini blinds (with the slats) and that is what we replaced the paper pleated cheap shades with.

[lenr]

It sounds like the OP is talking about Day/Night pleated shades that slide up and down a string. The string has to be tight to create friction in the plastic bar to hold the shades in place. The strings stretch and the shades drop. The little plastic piece at the bottom where the strings tighten is difficult to use because the strings just wind up on your screwdriver. Adding a small washer between the screw and the plastic piece will allow tightening without winding. Eventually the strings will wear and catch. There are YouTube videos on re-stringing. We had a 56” shade that kept falling down because the RV manufacturer screwed it up with just 2 screws. We gave up, threw it away, and replaced it with a household curtain rod and curtain—loved how well the new curtain worked.

[Sam_Spade]

brianosaur wrote:

These are new shades in a 2019 TT.

Any suggestions?

Warranty repair or replacement.

If it is a two section shade, the top section should be put ALL the way up before opening the bottom section.

[brianosaur]

Dick_B wrote:
This is only a band aid but what if you loosen the tension and put a small cleat in an appropriate place to tie off the pull line.

There isn't really a 'pull line', as in the traditional miniblinds with a pull cord to raise them. Just the stationary down cords on both sides attached to the wall with a little spool.

[Dick_B]

This is only a band aid but what if you loosen the tension and put a small cleat in an appropriate place to tie off the pull line.