Vanshades

[N1ck]

Got myself some van shades for my camper, the sliding door one is actually bigger than the hole for the door so when fitted Im assuming it will need a good slam to shut, the rear door ones are nowhere near the same profile as the door, so look absolutely rubbish and I can get my fingers through the sides, I can’t fit them as the screws are shorter than the plastic it has to go through to get into the metal and then there is a half inch gap

is it just me or are they really this poor, fir £700 + quid I expected a much much better fit

 

[Jack T]

Might be worth a chat with them as they were very helpful with queries.

For reference we have a full set and they fit really nice. We carpeted and fitted ourselves though.

 

[N1ck]

Thanks jack, I will speak to them on Monday but I really don’t see a solution to the rear door blinds as they just are not even close to being the same profile, but good to know they are helpful

 

[Jack T]

Rear door is the only I can’t help with as we retained the solid rear door.

It does seem odd as it’s hands down one of the best things we fitted when doing our conversion. Very fiddly to carpet but well worth it.

 

[Zave]

I got Absolute to carpet and fit mine. I believe it was a bit of a pain to do. The finished result is very good however.

 

[N1ck]

Mine came carpeted, here is a pic of the fixing screws the first is the screw in the kit, the second is the longer screws in the side kits, both are way too short, the first doesn’t even make it through the plastic

 

[Vanshades]

Hi Nick,
Sorry to hear you’ve experienced a problem with tour Window Pods. There will always be a slight gap down the inner side of the barn doors when closed. If we make the Pos any larger it will rub on the rubber seal due to the traverse of the hinge. Is everything ok now? Please call our offices on 01226 872330.
Regards Vanshades

 

[Oldrat]

Vanshades on duty on a Sunday morning.Good on you.

Any product from any company can have an issue, it’s about how they resolve it that makes a company stand out.

 

[Grim Reaper]

Hi Nick,
Sorry to hear you’ve experienced a problem with tour Window Pods. There will always be a slight gap down the inner side of the barn doors when closed. If we make the Pos any larger it will rub on the rubber seal due to the traverse of the hinge. Is everything ok now? Please call our offices on 01226 872330.
Regards Vanshades

I'm sure that was a spelling mistake, but....

 

[N1ck]

Hi
I did call your company and had a long conversation with you, you were not hugely helpful and a little defensive but that is to be expected if someone is questioning your product, I appreciate you have changed the design but to send them out without the correct instructions and the wrong fittings is to be honest quite poor, the product itself is great, the way they fit not so much, the sliding door fit is honestly horrific I cut 5mm off all the way round so it fitted inside the door rubber instead of pushing against it, the rear doors do have gaps but this could quite easily have not been the case had the frame been slightly different profile or you supplied some foam to put in the gap, at over £700 I expected a lot more bespoke fit than they were.
i did take lots of photos and was going to email you a long list of suggestions then thought, do you know what I’m not here to redesign your shades that’s your job, it was for a build I was selling anyway and it is sold, my next van will have bespoke blinds but I will design and fit them myself that way they won’t have gaps where they shouldnt

 

[Bargy62]

Hi Nick,
Sorry to hear you’ve experienced a problem with tour Window Pods. There will always be a slight gap down the inner side of the barn doors when closed. If we make the Pos any larger it will rub on the rubber seal due to the traverse of the hinge. Is everything ok now? Please call our offices on 01226 872330.
Regards Vanshades

if POS is a spelling mistake thats unfortunate as we use it as an abbreviation at work for something thats badly fitting or not done correctly

 

[Rg_]

I see where you're coming from @N1ck & feel a bit miffed too. The blinds look good, but for the money they cost and being a 2.0 revised design I really expected the fit to be perfect.

With the tailgate blind, it turns out that you have to screw through the frame to hold in the top, so you have this nice aluminum finish but then you have to put screws through it. So I opted not to do that as it will look rubbish so I have left the top unfixed. Thankfully the two bolts at the bottom hold it enough so it doesn't fall off if I open the tailgate.
As for the side windows, I just feel like the mold should be better and there should be no discrepancy on where to drill to get the best fit. I sat my sliding door pod in the frame trying to adjust the top and bottom and it was a pain. You shouldn't have to be modifying and changing the product to suit. Because of this I had to re-drill a hole and have a gaping hole in the plastic mold.
Also only one of the blinds had the van shades logo on the pull-down tab, which seemed half-assed.

Just was a bit gutting as I was expecting them to be 5 stars but was left feeling a bit let down. Especially for just shy of £600 for my set.

 

[KeVan T6]

Anyone had any positive dealings with Vanshades as I was about to push GO on an order but after reading some of these I'm having second thoughts

 

[Jack T]

Anyone had any positive dealings with Vanshades as I was about to push GO on an order but after reading some of these I'm having second thoughts

As above, we have them and very pleased with them. We did carpet and fit them ourselves though.

Find the issues above strange unless the design has changed??

We also have one of their screen covers too which has done good service for a few years now.

 

[KeVan T6]

As above, we have them and very pleased with them. We did carpet and fit them ourselves though.

Find the issues above strange unless the design has changed??

We also have one of their screen covers too which has done good service for a few years now.

Nice one, I'm chatting to them now, can't see an option for them to come uncarpeted though, It seems they just come good to go, I'm struggling to find a pic of them through the glass though

 

[Jack T]

Ours were 21/2 years ago so a lot could have changed. They are very fiddly to carpet so worth having them done if the finish is good.

 

[KeVan T6]

Ours were 21/2 years ago so a lot could have changed. They are very fiddly to carpet so worth having them done if the finish is good.

Thanks mate, I'll look into it

 

[Calps82]

These would be my ideal first choice, but the cost... wow. And above reviews don’t make for good reading.

 

[Harveyt10]

Just fitted some van shades , really pleased with them . just take your time fitting them , best to have two of you doing them one of you can hold in correct position whilst the other person drills the tech screws in .
i did pilot hole the fixing positions first ,which really made it easier to drill in to the body frame work . DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN the screws as this WILL distort the outer frame .
They look really nice and a very good fit in my humble opinion .

 

[Mr blue]

My ten pence worth I order a carpeted one for sliding door first set came wrong colour second was like a banana the outer shell had been glued to the inner one wrong so it rocked in the window frame having never fitted before I didn’t notice this till two hours later of swearing and head scratching Took a few emails and pictures to PROVE! I was right as I to had the defensive it must be you attitude, so another blind sent out which did fit as I t should have and I am now pleased with it . my advice would also to carpet the door frame so you can get a better light seal around the edges And can add more carpet in any gaps ,also didn’t open the door with the blinds down or you’ll scratch along the side of the van I don’t understand why they haven’t redesigned the Handel again a simple job or as I have and cut it in half