Forum Discussion

snickster's avatar
snickster
Explorer
Feb 15, 2014

Motorized Windshield Sunshades

Last summer I drove our 99 Monaco Windsor out west. The afternoon sun was a killer while driving . I have had motorized sunscreens before and they helped tremendously.

A couple of weeks ago ,( in a weak moment ! ) I had the windshield measured for an MCD duo motorized sun screen and shade. I was pretty excited about it , but I;m not sure I want to put that much money into it on a 15 year old coach.

Carefree has some split motorized sunscreens that would probably serve my intended purpose.They are substantially less than the MCD shade. Has anyone used these ? If so , please give me your opinion.
http://www.carefreeofcolorado.com/carefree/products?action=product&productid=70&tab=

Thanks !
  • Call Northwest RV in Eugene,OR. They buy surplus stuff from RV manufacturers. I replaced mine with some they had. Reasonable and they replaced the OEM ones that quit.
  • I think you made a good choice. The Carefree shades are perfect for what you want to do.
  • Well , I finally decided to go with the Carefree shades. They were on sale .
    I thought I wanted the MCDs , but it just made no sense. I'll have $560 in then vs about $2k for the MCDs. If our coach newer , i would have gone with the MCDs.
    Thanks for your input !
  • I just installed a great shade by Bali, full width set the height on the drivers side.

    $140 thru Home Depot or other online dealers.

    I think MCD are so over priced,
  • The power sunshades that came with our coach look just like the ones in your link. So, I'm assuming ours are Carefree.

    A few months ago, I had a side MCD window shade installed on the drivers side (about $300 installed). Our coach came with a pull down mesh type shade that I could pull down with one hand but had to pull a string to raise it. When I pulled the string, it would fly up. So, I had to pull the string with one hand and hold the shade with the other hand....not safe when driving with no hands.

    So, I bought a duel side MCD shade where one shade is mesh and one is a black out. All I have to do is pull the shade down and when I want it raised, I just tug on it a little and it will go up slowly on it's own. Love'm!!!! Wish I had changed it the first week we had our coach!

    Now that we are going to order a new coach, I will probably just get a year of use out of my new side shade. The new owner will love it too I'm sure.

    MM.
  • I would consider the least expensive the best choice for a couple of reasons.

    1. You have a 15 year old coach which you may sell or trade in the future and your current need is a better sun visor in that coach.

    2. Adding the more expensive MCD shades will not increase the value of your coach anymore than the Carefree shades and they serve the same purpose and do the job equally well.

    Paul
  • My MH cane equipped with motorized shades and they are a tremendous help... They look like those MCDs.
  • I have much smaller shades. Kind of expensive, too. I keep them in a little case. When the sun starts to bother me, my copilot helps me change the clear ones for the prescription shaded ones. Portable to the other vehicles, too. Bonus.
  • MCD makes good stuff for sure. My Allure has two motorized sun shades that work very well. Since all the awnings on the coach are Carefree, I guess these are also. They are a heavy black mesh material and they can descend about 1/3 the height of the glass and are quite effective at blocking the sun. If I did not have these, I would certainly consider installing the MCD shade/s.

    http://www.automotionshade.com/English/Product-More.aspx?pSerial=39&serial=41&parentNode=0-001&currentSerial=123