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Windshield Wiper Blades

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This subject is not directly mentioned in any of the thread titles, so I placed it here.

This is a link to a Consumer Report that covered in detail. Hope this helps.

https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/wiper-blades/buying-guide/index.htm

   I personally have had no luck in finding a wiper blade that lasts like the ones made years ago. Traveled for business and pleasure  and had blades that worked well for up to 3 years.  The new style wiper design portion that contacts the glass starts to separate from the main rubber structure supported by the metal or rubber beam starts to tear loose in 3 to 6 months.

Rich.

Secondary Link 

          https://www.google.com/search?q=wiper+blade+quality+by+manufacture&rlz=1C1VFKB_enUS711US716&oq=wiper+blade+quality+by+manufacture+&aqs=chrome..69i57j33l5.529520j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

                         Check for  wiper blade quality by manufacture at the above link.

 https://10beasts.com/best-windshield-wipers/

        Some good information, but lacks information regarding longer blades.

 

 

 

 

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I know what you mean - they don't last as long as they used to and seem to be made from thinner rubber.

We have 20" wiper blades on the coach. I've found that using commercial-grade wiper blades has two advantages - first they are a bit more heavy duty, both the blade and the rubber refill, and second there are refills available. I could easily get 'regular' 20" wiper blades, but they don't seem to last long at all. Sometimes they are hard to get, but using the commercial wiper refills means that I can get a full season from the refills before they start to fail. When they start to smear instead of wipe, I wipe them thoroughly with rubbing alcohol. This removes much of the build-up on them and helps greatly.

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I have begun placing tennis balls under the wiper arms. It takes the pressure off the blades and they stay flexible. The blade isn't sitting with the pressure  on the causing them to set up with a bend in them. Works for me. 

Herman 

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1 hour ago, hermanmullins said:

I have begun placing tennis balls under the wiper arms. It takes the pressure off the blades and they stay flexible. The blade isn't sitting with the pressure  on the causing them to set up with a bend in them. Works for me. 

Herman 

I do the same thing, but it does not stop the wiper blade edge section from tearing away from the main body.

Rich.

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Here is an item that I use about every two months on the blades, we use it in printers and copying machines, it prolongs the life of the rubber many times longer than rubbing alcohol because it contains the right formula to rejuvenate the rubber. https://www.ebay.com/itm/CAIG-RBR100L-25C-Rubber-Cleaner-and-Rejuvenator-25mL/321527462136?epid=1200148658&hash=item4adc87b8f8:g:4NoAAOSwVFlUGxg3

 My blades are 28" and usually last 4 to 5 years, yes I do buy commercial blades also, pretty easy to find the correct blades in most truck stops.

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I stick mine in a piece of 30" water hose.  Seems the longer the blade, the more it cost and the shorter the life span!  :angry:  My motors are above the windshield.

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Rich, ours are 32” and I just replaced them last week. They were 5 years old and over the winter started to tear. They are Trico’s, I was happy with getting 5 years out of them. Herman I like the tennis ball idea!

380B478E-87EF-415C-8A3D-3B15097785F8.jpeg

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18 hours ago, hermanmullins said:

I have begun placing tennis balls under the wiper arms. It takes the pressure off the blades and they stay flexible. The blade isn't sitting with the pressure  on the causing them to set up with a bend in them. Works for me. 

Herman 

Herman, when you are driving down the road and it starts to rain, can you see out the window where the tennis ball swipes across?

Couldn't resist.

You can also use those pool noodle. Just cut a 4" or so piece off the end.

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Yes, they come in Lime green, Cannery yellow or Hot pink!  What color do you use? So does tennis balls!

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I'm sure glad you made that clear. No telling what little man running around in my head would have poked up and typed something baaaddddd!

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Somewhat related; keep an eye on rockauto.com for wiper blades. About 4 years ago I found a closeout on Anco 28"wiper blades @ $4 each. RainX had a sale 2 yrs ago, I bought 4, they have plastic frames so I'm down to 2 now, they don't last long. Went back to Anco's I had for spares.

 

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Our friendly Wally World has a great selection of wipers/blades...Rain-X, Michelin, Trico, Bosch and maybe more.

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33 minutes ago, FIVE said:

Our friendly Wally World has a great selection of wipers/blades...Rain-X, Michelin, Trico, Bosch and maybe more.

Any commercial wipers or refills there?

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1 hour ago, richard5933 said:

Any commercial wipers or refills there?

I haven't found commercial ones there, I have bought some there only to modify to fit in a pinch.

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My last set came from NAPA.  Wall Mart don't come close to my original length at 32", now I use 28" Trico & they are a year old and fraying!  Got to see what I can find in Canada...got to Montreal yesterday!

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I upgraded to "J hook" adapters so I can run most anywiper. 

Carl, Check and see what your original equipment length was. I had real long 32" blades but REV group said I should have 26". I still run the longer blades to clear more area.

Bill

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19 hours ago, WILDEBILL308 said:

I upgraded to "J hook" adapters so I can run most anywiper. 

Carl, Check and see what your original equipment length was. I had real long 32" blades but REV group said I should have 26". I still run the longer blades to clear more area.

Bill

 A friend  went to longer wiper blades, a year later the splines on the gearbox shaft stripped.

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3 hours ago, RayIN said:

 A friend  went to longer wiper blades, a year later the splines on the gearbox shaft stripped.

Yeah - I've had a few experiences trying to change wiper length on a vehicles, usually not ending well. Changing the adapter type is easier, but I've found that the engineers typically think through things like wiper length pretty well, trying to get the largest area of the windshield cleared with equipment being used.

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I have found that the longer blade, as it goes from point A to B, about 4", is not making contact with the curved windshield, at point B.  That's on right side only.  I had one blow completely off at 65 mph....that left scratches on window, until I could shut it off.  Adjusting the arc & going to a shorter blade, is not perfect, but ok.  That was the best REV engineers could come up with! :blink:

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My last experience with wipers was during a very heavy rain storm just outside San Antonio.  With each swipe of the wiper, the rubber blade slipped down about an inch off the arm (wipers are roof mounted).  So I turned them off, and turned them on/off enough to see.  I now have a very small zip tie securing each blade.

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If it's just the rubber refill slipping, check that the metal clip at the end is not broken and that it's properly seated in the wiper arm/blade. I had a set of refills recently with defective clips - the fix was to used the clips from an old set of refills.

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Have a 2006 Mandalay. Just lost my second driver side windshield wiper. I used the 32" boomerang. Traveling 60mph raining. I have a curved windshield

and the wiper goes past the curve and on the way back broke off. Works fine while running windshield wash while sitting. It doesn't even get to the curve part of

the windshield. It is a j hook type. Its like it starts flapping all over the place when running in the rain. I really don't know what to do at this point. Need some help on this matter.

 

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16 minutes ago, johnpam19 said:

Have a 2006 Mandalay. Just lost my second driver side windshield wiper. I used the 32" boomerang. Traveling 60mph raining. I have a curved windshield

and the wiper goes past the curve and on the way back broke off. Works fine while running windshield wash while sitting. It doesn't even get to the curve part of

the windshield. It is a j hook type. Its like it starts flapping all over the place when running in the rain. I really don't know what to do at this point. Need some help on this matter.

 

Kind of thinking that you might need to shorten the blades a little. When the blades go too far past the curved section and the wind gets under them, something has to give!

Rich. 

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