Everyone loves clean windows.  Cleaning windows correctly requires removal of the screens.  However, on our new trailer trying to figure out how to remove the window screen had me stumped.

Nothing like clean windows!

Nothing like clean windows!

Every travel trailer has its own set of quirks requiring the owner to learn something new.  That is just a given.

In most of our travel trailers it was easy to remove the screens.  This made cleaning the inside of the windows painless.  The easiest windows to clean were the jalousie style.  These cranked out so there was no need to remove the screens; we could just walk outside and clean the inside glass panels.  I have no idea why these don’t seem to be manufactured on travel trailers anymore.  These were the best windows for ventilation, and during the rain they can also be left open .

On our newest travel trailer I could not figure out how to get the screens out. I struggled with them for quite a while before breaking down and making a phone call.  I started by calling our Travel Trailer Manufacturers customer service department.

Surprisingly, I stumped the customer service representative.  He told me that he had never been asked that question before.  So he decided  to go out to the production line and see what he could find out.  When he called me back an hour later he told me that his attempt to remove the screen was futile…and that maybe they could not be removed.  My next question was “Who manufactures the windows?”.  The answer was Lippert Components.  They are a company that provides the lions share of parts to the RV industry.

My next step was to call Lippert’s window division with the model number of my screen.  While their customer service person didn’t know the answer immediately, she was able to get the information and sent me a PDF.  The PDF showed how to insert the screen into the window.  As it turns out there are spring clips on the left side of the screen; so lift the screen out of the bottom track and push to the left, then pull out.

I then called the Travel Trailers Manufacturing Representative, and let him know the answer in the event the question should come up again.

It seems like this type of information would be known at the trailer manufacturer, or better yet, included in the owner’s manual.  Unfortunately what I have learned over the years is that there is too much information that is either glossed over or not included in the owner’s manual.  Think of the time savings for both the consumer and the customer service representatives if a complete owners manual existed. I will say that the manual I have with this trailer is probably the best one I’ve seen but obviously it’s not covering everything.

There are just too many “how to” questions to ever cover on a walk through at a dealership;  so consumers must rely on the owners manual.  The internet is rampant with horror stories of buyers not being well-informed; even after a walk through with the sales representative.  Stories revolve around everything from not understanding how the appliances operate to having no idea of how to dump the holding tanks.

There is no doubt at all that the RV Dealerships need to do a much, much better job educating their customers on the travel trailers they sell, and the manufacturers need to do a better job on creating an owners manual that will provide necessary information to the owner and relief to the customer service organizations.

Now if I can just figure out how to clean the inside of the glass on my fireplace…………………….