Hello,

I recently changed the wiper blades on my '06 F250. I decided to go a little longer, and put on 22" Rain-X Latitude wipers. The wipers do a good job, but as the right arm goes all the way back, it leaves a blank spot (does not wipe) on the middle of the windshield.

I have swapped the right and left wipers, and the right side still gets a blank spot. Any suggestions on how to correct this, or does it mean I should just stick with the recommended 20" blades? Thank you.

 

I had the same problem - try another brand name in the 22" - sometimes the older ones work better than those new Ibeam ones, if that was what you got...

just buy one at like walmart, cheap cheap - and see if that works - if not, then it's 20's for you :-)

I need 16's for my Explorer, and have had the same problem as you - but I found the older designs to work better for wiping in both directions for some reason...

 

I bought the Bosch Icon 24" wipers a few years ago and they're still wiping like they should. I bought the Rain-X Latitude for my car, and even at the standard length it was less than a year before they were missing spots in the middle of the windshield.

 

Trico makes one now too - never tried the bosch, but I have heard good things - I wish trico made the ones with the spoiler on them - those were the best wipers I ever had - used to just buy the refills, and slide them out, etc - they were great zooming down the hey with the van, no wind lift, kept the blade on the glass all the time...

 

> I bought the Rain-X Latitude for my car,

I did not have good results with them too.

 

The Rain-X started off good, but yeah, after only 5 months they are starting to streak. The rainy season is about over here, so next Winter I'll give the Bosch or Trico a try. Thanks for your help.

 

What happens when you put longer blades on it that it is not getting the pressure it needs to make the correct contact. The fix I do is bend the wiper arm towards the windshield some and that should fix it, hasn't failed me yet. Or if you don't want to bend it, find a stronger spring for the wiper arm. Just a thought

 

I've done the opposite since vehicles went to longer wiper blades. I use shorter blades. I would much rather have a smaller but clean and clear area to see. Every car or truck I've had over the years with long blades left streaks or even strips of snow across my vision path when the blades got a few months of age.

Having to reach out and flip the snow off the blades is a pain in the rear. Never had that trouble before the longer blades. Also seems like the new blades use inferior material compared to years ago. Used to be able to use the same blades for several years, now have to change blades a couple times a year, even with in between cleaning.

Like everything else, make it cheaper but charge more so you can replace 3 times more often. All I know for sure is shorter blades leave me a nice clear place to see out of in heavy rain or snow that the longer blades just can't do.