MCD Innovations

POTENTIAL FIRE HAZARD FROM MCD SHADES
Three months ago my Country Coach engine abruptly stopped on the interstate. We smelled a hot electrical odor, but could find nothing abnormal. The gauges, ignition, and everything activated with the key were just dead. After several hours beside the highway the coach was towed to an RV/​diesel mechanic. Imagine my surprise when they found that the problem was caused by the MCD power shades on the front window
In Nov, 2010 I had MCD shades installed at the factory in McKinney TX. The power privacy and sun shades were a big improvement over the stock curtain in my ’07 Intrigue. It was necessary several times to reset the shade limits and a motor needed replacement, but other than those minor problems, the shades functioned well and we were happy with them. MCD has helpful tech reps that I occasionally called with questions. Prior to my coach towing experience I felt that MCD was a reputable company.
One of the MCD features is that the shades will not lower enough to block the drivers view while driving. To facilitate this function MCD made an electrical connection to the ignition wire directly behind the key, but they did not install a fuse or diode in this line. It was just a direct wire from the ignition which ran up the side post on driver side and across the front beneath the metal shade frame to the motor power connections on the passenger side. Apparently 5 years of vibration had rubbed a bare spot in the insulation and the wire from the ignition shorted out. This caused the wire insulation to burn leaving bare wire along its entire course to the main ignition wire. Two different repair facilities inspected the damage and said we were extremely fortunate the coach did not catch on fire. They both said the plastic/​vinyl material where the shade structure was mounted is very flammable.
This is when I changed my opinion about MCD. I initially phoned them and talked to the helpful tech rep who I had previously dealt with. I explained the problem and asked that MCD reimburse my repair costs. His response, after checking with his superiors, was that it had been 5 years and was beyond any warranty period. Furthermore they always connected to the ignition wire and there had never been a problem. A fuse was not needed because this wire was only to detect if the key was on or off and no significant current was involved. My roadside engine shutdown and near coach fire was not their fault and they would assume no responsibility for repairs.
I was naïve enough to think that MCD just did not have the big picture, and if they understood the problem that they would be thanking me for alerting them to the potential liability of a coach fire. I contacted two independent MCD shade installers who told me they never make a connection to the main ignition line, but if they did, they would certainly put a fuse in the line.
I mailed a detailed letter to «MCD Management» explaining everything. A month later when I phoned MCD, no one knew anything about my letter. So I emailed the letter to them twice. The best offer I got after repeated phone calls was «10% discount on future MCD parts».
So my warning to any of you RVer’s with MCD shades, check to see how the ignition is connected to the shades. You might be able to prevent a breakdown on the highway, and worse case scenario, prevent the loss of your coach to a fire. I am very disappointed that MCD has chosen to not take this potentially dangerous situation seriously.

My RV came with MCD shades and some of the standard honeycomb shades that they always put in RV’s. Well in less than a year the non-​MCD Shades had already broken. The MCD shades were perfect.
I went online, ordered what I needed, Kristi at MCD called me back and wanted to make absolutely sure the shades I had ordered matched my other shades in the RV. She had me take down one of the other shades and get the serial number off of it to make sure.
Sure enough, I’d ordered the wrong ones. She corrected the order and as I was getting ready for a trip fairly soon, was able to get them expedited and they showed up a day early.
Once I received them, they were installed perfectly in about 5 minutes. It took more time to remove the old shades than to install the new ones!
I can’t say enough about not only their product but their customer service as well. I just wish all companies were as great as MCD Innovations.
Great work to everyone! Loving my new shades!

We had been wanting to replace all the outdated pleated shades in our 2005 Beaver motorhome since we bought the coach early in 2013. So, after doing her research, my wife contacted MCD Innovations and ordered three units to replace just the shades in our bedroom. She wanted to be sure we would be happy with the company and their product before ordering shades for the front part of the coach. It took about three weeks to get that first order and, I must admit, we were very pleased. The blinds were of the quality we expected and they were a snap to install. (Anyone with a skoshi bit of mechanical aptitude should be able to install one of these shades in any size in about 30 minutes.)
We were so pleased with the first order that we immediately ordered shades for each of the other 8 windows in our coach. Three weeks later (on 12÷8÷14), we received our second order — and that’s when our faith in MCD Innovations was shattered.
Apparently, the second batch got fabricated, packed and shipped without any adult supervision because two of the units arrived without mounting clips. Moreover, 7 of the eight units had not been adjusted for automatic stop. (I wish I had noticed the stop adjustment issue before I had mounted all six of the ones I had clips for, because now I’ve got to take five of them back down so I can make the adjustments they neglected to do.)
Anyhow, my wife called MCD the next day, but couldn’t get a human on the phone. So she left a voicemail message to tell their support staff that we needed six clips. It took MCD two business days to get back to us. And when they did, it was by way of an email message stating that they would be sending out the clips the next day. So now it’s four days after we received the second order and we still can’t hang the last two units. Frustrating… Oh well, at the least the clips are on the way, right? NOT!
We waited another week, then had to call MCD again because we still hadn’t received those damned clips. This time, just like the previous time, there was no human to be found at MCD Innovations. So I left the obligatory voicemail and waited the obligatory two days for the obligatory email replay, which basically said, «Your message got sent to the wrong department. Do you still need six clips?» To which I basically replied,“YES! I still need six clips! Would you please overnight them to me?”
They did, indeed, overnight my missing clips and today, on Christmas Eve, 16 days after we received that second order, we finally received the clips we need to complete the project.
MCD, I like your Gold Series shades — notwithstanding the exorbitant price. What I don’t like is the statement on your website that says, «MCD is committed to excellent customer service.» The reality is that your customer service is poor. If yours was a culture of excellent customer service, a real person would have answered my call — or at least called me back within a reasonable time frame. If yours was a culture of excellent customer service, someone somewhere along the way would have said, «We apologize for screwing up your order; how can we make it right?» If yours was a culture of excellent customer service, your response to our first call would have been, «Gee, we appreciate the fact that you just forked over $ 1,600. And to show our appreciation, we’re going to spend the extra five bucks and overnight you the clips you need, rather than put them on the next slow boat to China.»
At bottom, you missed several opportunities to provide me and my wife with some of that «excellent customer service» you say you’re committed to. Talk really is cheap, isn’t it?

I purchased all new shades for my older motor home. It’s a 2004 Thor coach. My mother in law purchased some for her coach and loved them. She installed them in no time her self.
I had nothing but problems from start. They told me when I ordered the shades they were simple to install also. Wrong! I had limited space inside my valances due to the fact they doubled as cabinets. I was told to install the clips up in the small limited space and snap the shades in place. Never happened! Not enough space to rotate and snap into place. Also after I installed the first shade I checked the operation of the shade. It did not retract back up after pulling the shade down. I removed the shade followed the instructions and called technical support for help. Still no luck. So I took two shades down and call tech support again. I was treated like a criminal and issued an RMA. Two weeks later I received them back after asking them to adjust them so that they would rollback up after being pulled down.
I hired a professional to install an adjust all the shades. One of the shades still came back not working due to a broken part. I called today and still no call back.
Be aware, not as easy to install as they say.

Recently had MCD install power day/​nite shades in my 42′ motorcoach. From the time I pulled in to their RV parking area till the day I left the whole experience was great. Everyone there was super nice and very professional. Installation was perfect… Fit and finish impeccable… Don’t miss a chance to tour the production facilities… Thanks Joy, Peggy, Jim, Tremaine,& Caleb!!!