Re: [VAC] 1973 31' Excella 500

["terry tyler" <tylerbears@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

In our '77 31' Excella 500 (with the wide blue
stripe),
we have pull window shades throughout. In our '86
32' 
Excella that we've been using for the last six
months, 
we have venetian blinds throughout.

On both Airstreams, we have the full awning
package. 
If we happen to be assigned a campsite next to one
of 
the behemoth motor homes that have their dinette
five
feet higher than our eating table, the awnings are

a distinct advantage for privacy. But, beyond
that:

Observations about the venetian blinds:

1 - All it takes is one dusty day and I can print
my 
initials in the dust on each blind. Cleaning them
may 
look easy in the TV ad, but it has to be done in 
such a way so the dust isn't scattered to the  
drapes. Total time for me to clean the dust off 
all of them is more than an hour. After that, I 
can begin getting the grit off everything else.

2 - At night, in campgrounds with small sites, 
our venetian blinds do not provide sufficient 
privacy along the edges. Because the blinds are 
attached at the top and bottom; and because the 
attachment hardware is set off from the wall to
accommodate their 2 inch depth, there's a vertical

space along the wall at each blind where it's easy

to see inside the Airstream, from the outside, 
when the lights are on inside.

During the day, venetian blinds do provide a 
small amount of privacy while allowing us to see 
outside. For us, this feature does not offset 
our need for privacy after dark.

Observations about the pull curtains:

1 - All it takes is one dusty day and I can print
my initials on the counter tops. Counter tops are 
much simpler and faster to clean than blinds. 

2 - In campgrounds with small sites, the pull
curtains provide complete privacy for us at night.

  a. The hardware for our pull curtains is closer 
to the wall than the hardware for venetian blinds.

  b. Because pull curtains are a piece of cloth,
they take up less space than a two inch wide
section of venetian blinds. 

  c. Pull curtains can extend farther along the 
side wall than venetian blinds and still not bump 
into the drapes. 

The combined benefit of these three
characteristics 
allow our pull curtains to provide complete
privacy 
rather than the partial privacy we have with our 
venetian blinds.  

3 - During the day, the tinted, thermo pane
windows 
with the reflective coating provide complete 
privacy for us. In the morning, the vista vue 
windows allow plenty of light on our breakfast 
table while the curtains are pulled down. In 
the morning during the summer, when my honey wears

her skimpy negligees, I like having breakfast with
her at our very private dining table.

Bottom line for me:
No contest. It's pull curtains. I'm in the 
process of converting to them on our '86.
I've already purchased pull curtains for  
our '67 22' Safari (which is a fish bowl
without them). 

Terry