Sunday, February 26, 2012

Motor Home Upgrades

Zephyrhills, Florida (high 70 , low 61)

Yesterday we went to Outback and had a late lunch.  Of course we went to the gym first, so we felt we “deserved” it!

It was a beautiful sunny day with lower temps and no humidity.   It was wonderful.

Today it’s cool, cloudy and it rained for about 2 minutes.  No problem….it can’t be perfect every day.

We have someone coming over later to give us an estimate for replacing the carpet in the motor home.  I expect his price to be way too expensive, but we thought we’d check it out, just to see.  I really want the carpet done, but I really don’t want us to have to do it!

Another possible upgrade for sometime in the future is MCD Shades.   Our motor home came with the old  day/night shades.  We haven’t had any problems with broken strings yet (knock on wood),  but they get dusty, attract cat hair and don’t give as much privacy as the MCD shades.    I think we can install them ourselves, which would save a lot of money.  Anyway, it’s something to think about. It looks like it would cost about $270 each for the main living/kitchen windows and a little less for the bedroom windows.  I estimated about $1250 for the main windows.  That doesn’t include the front windshield or the front door. 

The only think I don’t like about the MCD shades is the black “day shade.”  I think a nice beige would look nicer inside.  I’m not so sure how the beige would  look from outside, but it doesn’t matter because they only make the day shades in black fabric. 

So….something more to think about.

It’s only a little over 3 weeks until we leave here and head back down to the Keys.  We’re hoping my Mom and Brother won’t have any other health issues, and we’ll be able to go.  We are both getting a good case of hitch-itch, and we’ve only been here about 6 weeks.

How about all you other snowbirds?  When do you head north?   It seems like most people around here wait until the first of April.   It will be nice to be able to travel around this state and have nice empty campgrounds!

13 comments:

  1. Good luck with the MH upgrades. Hope the prices aren't too scary.

    We'll be heading north about the last week in March along with a lot of other folks I suspect.

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  2. We actually don't mind the black day shades; they cut down on the glare and still let in plenty of light; and they're not very noticeable from the outside. We even bring down the day shade a bit while we're driving ... sort of like the visor in the car; makes a big difference to the driver.

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  3. We really want MCD shades. We have a curtain that goes around our windshield and front windows. It is stating to show the years. We don't really care if we get them over but definitely the windshield!~wheresweaver

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  4. Annie took out (almost) all the carpet in the Duck, which makes it much easier to keep cleanish with cats. Also better for her allergies.

    Roxanne
    The Good Luck Duck

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  5. I'm glad I had MCD shades put in around the windshield and front seat windows. They really help keep the beating sun out of that area.

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  6. I'd love to get MCD shades, but the first thing on my list when we start making upgrades is to get rid of the carpet.

    We'll be turning north about the middle of March, but will only be going as far as Tennessee this year.

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  7. My mother use to love the blooming onions at the Outback, but the calories:(

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  8. We loved our MCD shades in the motorhome. We had them on the windshield and front windows. One of the best investments we made in it. And as E Squared said - they are wonderful when you're driving. We won't head north until sometime in May.

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  9. The Alfa has mini blinds that are in good shape. I dont like the carpet very much, but a few throw rugs help a lot. One thing I am considering is some sort of slip cover for the couch. I is a dull cream color and looks a bit worn and soiled. Not to bad, but I can see it gettin worse in the future. We will have to experience some hot sunny weather to evaluate the blinds.

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  10. I thought the MCD shades came in a lot of colors... when we saw the rep at the super show she showed us swatches.. maybe that was fgor the privacy blind. I don't think I'd like black but you never know... we are thinking of letting the factory in Texas install them summer 2013... I want them so if it is only in black then I guess I am getting black ~ lol lol

    We are leaving April 1st... Heading towards the northeast ~ New Brunswick is our destination point.
    Have fun & Travel safe
    Donna

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  11. I can't wait to get home and get the carpets out of our Rig..that will be Ricks first major job!! :)....mind you I can wait to get home..I don't want to leave but all good things come to an end..we're leaving here heading for pensacola on tuesday, then into Mississippi to visit our daughter and sil...then working our way back home 2nd week in april...

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  12. Hi Karen, I'm Peggy from MCD. I wanted to assure you that you will love the black solar screen material that MCD uses for your day shades. I live full time in my motorcoach and have had the shades for two years. You see right through the black screen and don't even notice it is there. I leave mine down 98% of the time, only raising them to show people how they work. The beige color doesn't give as clear a view to the outside as the black does.

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  13. Hi Karen, I am Peggy from MCD. I read your post about the black day screen material and wanted to assure you that you will love it. Black is the best to see out of. The shades will disappear so you will just be looking at the beauty around you. I have had mine for two years and almost never raise the day shades (just when I show people how they work). You are also going to get some great heat protection from these shades.

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