Foretravel Owners' Forum

Well yall,,,,, got home, scheduled windshield replacement at MOT,  at an estimated 1350.oo plus trip to and from , and 3 days of my time...and started thinking, well if it does not travel, maybe I can live with the crack...Several phone calls later Vincent, here at Advanced auto glass quotes me 647.00 done in the driveway, if I wish, less if I bring it to him....I told him straight out that Fore travel says they own the mold etc,  and he insists he has a 99 u320  unicoach drivers side available, that he can put in for that price, with warranty.......I am tempted

Any thoughts for or against?.... Dave and Wendy, 99 u320, 2005 Mini

If it were me, I would write down the information on your current windshield glass and physically check the glass he is offering to see if it has the same information on it.  Then if it does, the only question is quality of workmanship to remove, seal and reinstall.

His may work just fine...BUT: what are the chances he has that exact year and etc available like he is stating ???  my guess would be about 1%. Check BBB. I have found you usually get what you pay for...JMHO

Dave, I own a '99 U-320 also.  Shortly before I bought it the previous owner had the passenger side windshield replaced in his driveway by a local glass company.  It was not a good idea.  The glass is close to the original but not exactly.  It ended up with a larger gap down the middle between the two windshield halves.  The rubber gap sealer (whatever it is called) just barely spans the gap.  I have to adjust it regularly to keep it centered so that there is not an air gap which whistles loudly at any speed above about 30mph.  I am actually looking forward to a good ding on the windshield so I have an excuse to replace it. 

One way to identify the non-standard glass is that it is a flat plane from top to bottom across the front part of the glass.  The proper glass bows slightly near the upper and lower edges. 

Bottom line, there is no reason a reputable local company cannot do a very good job replacing hour glass.  Just make absolutely sure it is an exact replacement piece of glass.

Ok, for everyones benefit, here is what I found out..Coach Glass, makes the windshields,  two sources,, one is guardian, here in the usa, the other is Tara , or Dura, in turkey.... they told me Fore travel would like to think, they have a lock on the market,  but the glass they, Coach) sell is identical..and Foretravel, gets it from them..... The high price is profiteering  Coach quoted 677 for the wind shield delivered, and agreed that wholesalers get a better price , to the point that 650 installed was resonable in their eyes....  (This man worked for Country Coach for 30 Years, he said).. Fore travel, wanted 700 for the windshield, plus 175 shipping, plus another 500...to install.... Encore in Nacodoches Quoted about 900 installed, certainly a great deal, with a couple day wait...The local guy,  said call me two days before you want us to do it...I will report back, with tears or smiles, when the job is done....Input, as always invited... People are making big money off our ignorance..I just want to level the field a bit....

Dave, 
You present a compelling case for going with the other source.

Got mine (passenger) at MOT this week. Happy. Good luck.

Previous owner had Coach Glass installed in May 2010, I have had the coach since July 21st and the window stress pop'd after going over a train track. The window does not seem to fit as well as the factory driver side. I am now looking at different option myself!
Thanks
Mark Self
South Texas
WM5S

Good to know, thanks

Well, is the hole to big or the glass to small?  Have seen lots of post elsewhere that say that the hole had to be made smaller on other brands.

well , got a new windshield today, the source was  guardian glass...Local guy put it in..looks the same as the old one measured the same..total cost, installed , in my drive..650.00    .Took 2 hours  got a wealth of info from Todd , at Coach Glass, who worked at Country Coach for 30 years..he was the one who gave me the confidence to go local rather than traveling to nacodoches...Only the future will tell....So far, I don't think it is rocket science yet.....

Dave, we will really be interested in how it turns out. Keep us posted.

Dave,
 
I am glad to hear that this went well for you.  Please let us know in 6 and 12 months if all is well-- as I hope it will be.  You are not the only one who has to travel a long way to get to Nac.

Two years ago I had the passenger side windshield replaced by "whoever State Farm" uses to do windshield replacements.  It was done at my storage slip.  It is still going strong and zero leaks.  My only complaint is that after warning them several times prior to the installation to order the right velcro for the windshield shade, guess what, they screwed it up.  So the velcro "rides" the windshield from the use of the front shades.
 
Remember, this is a Poortravel w/o the electric roll-up front shades...  :))

I had the passenger windshield replaced in July 09 by a local installer in Rapid City SD.  The glass contractor (for National Interstate Ins) was RV Glass Solutions.    They were very concerned to get the exact windshield part number off the cracked one.  I'm not sure who they ordered from, but the replacement went in smoothly and has been in for almost a year and a half now with no problems.

Peter,

We used the Walmart "Industrial Grade" Velcro on our left windshield and the adhesive kept coming loose. I bought some Velcro at MOT about 6 months ago and it works great and was inexpensive.

Thanks,
I thought as much.  I had requested the insurance company do just that.  In one ear...out the other, however.