Curtain hanger tabs

[Bill]

A few days ago we took down our curtains to wash them. We noticed that several of the little plastic hanging tabs were broken, and needed to be replaced. A quick review of forum posts told us that no one has had much luck in finding replacement tabs, so the hunt was on. I couldn’t find exact replacements, and the TM factory says they are no longer available. But it turns out that there is a perfectly workable variant, easily available, inexpensive, and easy to sew on. These were used on Airstream trailers, and are available from several sources. Amazon has them as JR 81275 Curtain Carriers for $6.20 (free shipping) for a package of 14. Vintage Trailer Supply has them as VTS-354 for $7.49 + $4 shipping for a package of 25.

What’s the difference between these hangers and the TM originals? The TM hangers consisted of a long strip of clear plastic, with the little T-tabs permanently attached to it every few inches. You would cut off as much of the strip as you need, and sew it horizontally onto the curtain material. By contrast, the new tabs are individually attached to short strips of elastic fabric. Wherever you need a tab, you simply sew a fabric strip vertically onto the curtain, and cut off any excess.

These hangers fit the existing TM curtain track exactly, and they are a lot easier to sew on than the hard plastic of the original strips.

By the way, I was not acquainted with VTS, but they seem to have a lot of the parts that we find hard to get, such as the Thetford 08706 Slide E-Z Valve for the toilet, and the shower curtain hangers with the little wheels.

Bill