Good afternoon folks, I hope everyone had a good and safe holiday weekend. I have a 1990, 36' G.V. with an Oshkosh chassis. We have owned it since May, It has run and preformed excellent, but I have developed windshield problem. The driver side windshield was cracked when we purchased It, and the 800 mile drive home was a little noisy wind wise. It was blowing in where the molding had separated in the center and on the passanger side top where it starts to cure around to the side glass.
One of our first projects was to replace the diverside glass. I checked the cab for sagging or twisting, everything measure out the same on both sides. There is no cracking in the gel coat, so it appears the opening is not moving. The windshield moulding felt fairly soft with no cracking, but I still purchased a complete new set from F.T.
I took the coach to a glass shop that I have worked with for years here in town and has been in business since the 50's. They do cars to semi trucks, the owner talked me out of replacing the moulding, he said nothing would fit right the side windows etc. They replaced the diverside windshield, used the original moulding and off I went.
Everything lined up good no wind leaks, side windows open and close without binding. We have traveled just under 3000 miles this summer and fall with no problems. I parked the M.H. for the winter about the first of October, but I have not stop working and up dating her. I was replacing the side mirrors and mounts today and have noticed that the center strip of the windshield moulding is starting to look like a snakes back. The moulding has shifted to the divers side up at the top to the point where I can stick a knife blade between the glass and the moulding. Has anyone Else run Into this problem with these older coaches?
Thanks, Mitch Sayer
On our 1994, before our last trip, I noticed light between the center gasket and one side of the windshield. After a moment of panic, I shot it with WD-40 and pushed it back to center with a putty knife. I checked it after about 5000 miles, and it does not seem to have moved.
oldMattB
I just wonder If this Is commen occurrence with these older coach?
Thanks for your reply, Mitch Sayer
Mitch, I had both WS's replaced last year. 15 years of rock chips and sand blast made them hard to see thru. On the advice of FT and the local glass shop I had the rubber seals changed . This seal is one piece for both sides and the side windows. We then had two other trips to the glass shop to recenter the WS's after the seals settled in. Glass shop used no lube as they said once lubed the glass would keep moving. After two adjustments of seal including center strip they are firmly in place and have been no problem.
Last winter I pulled into a field at a show in FL and dropped a wheel into a swale, I almost had a heart attack as I heard the WS's creak and groan as body twisted. Once back on level everything was alright.
I am sure that you and others know that FT has exclusive rights to these GV WS's from Guardian and no matter what Insurance adjuster tells you about other aftermarket glass they are wrong. Adjuster ( Duncan Glass ) insisted that they could get glass and I let them show there ignorance, second set of WS's was ordered and shipped from FT.
Gary B
Mitch:
Our coach was built 20 years ago this month; still has the original front windshields. They have several repaired "stars" and some fogging of the edges on the passenger side, but the only time I have had noticeable movement of the glass was when, even after "leveling" with the HWH, there was still significant torque or twisting of the chassis. As soon as we moved the coach to a more level pad, glass returned to normal location with no leaks.
Like Don, original windshields, no issues.
Brett
I spent at least a half hour on the phone with a new member regarding his GV windshields. He is presently stuck down in Southern California with major windshield problems. Cracked one transitioning from road to driveway and has had nothing but trouble since then with quite a few windshields, both Foretravel factory and aftermarket. The driver's side windshield opening is approx. 1/2" lower than the other side. After fitting a new glass one side pops out. If the glass is glued to the gasket, the gasket pops out. If both are glued, the glass cracks. The insurance company may ship his GV back to Foretravel to get it fixed correctly. I don't believe he has any damage history.
Hope he posts his experience as I am sure I missed a lot of details. Sure makes canceling collision/comp a no-no!
I have had my body (the U300 that is) make some pretty good cracking noises doing the same thing.
Wonder if this could be associated with leaks that weakened the integrity of the roof, etc?
Pierce
Is there a correlation between model years for windshield problems and roof problems?
Craig
Pierce, I think I would be looking at the bulkheads on the coach with WS problems, sure sounds like a lot of twist. I have not measured the WS openings on my 95 GV but I have no reason to suspect that they are different. When my WS's were replaced we had a bad time getting the upper rear corner of the left WS to stay in the gasket and at the same time the center strip was wavy, when we got corner to stay and center in a straight line problems ceased. I have to give it to the local installer, he was willing to keep working on it til it was right.
Gary B
Gary,
As I remember, the bulkhead issue was one of the first things I asked him about. I think he has gone to several different shops with countless hours trying to figure out what is wrong. Need to have him post all the details. The 1/2" right to left discrepancy reason was still unknown. Bulkhead was my first thought. I don't have a bulkhead problem but have really heard some nasty noises when going off the main road where the transition is abrupt and the coach flexes.
Craig,
Don't know which model he had as it was a little hard to understand his cell phone. I think it was a 93 or 94. Not sure if a "roof problem" exists for any model. Just have to watch for cracks up top and even look in the upper compartments for stains that might indicate a leak. The smell of mildew is a warning sign also. I don't like the way water proofing compounds are usually spread on the roof. Looks terrible and just makes it harder to find a problem later.
This was always a problem for sailboats as well as even 3/4" marine ply eventually gets soaked and rots so cabin tops, decks can be in for major work.
My roof problem possibility was just that, a possibility. Could have been a dozen other reasons. I have seen other posts where there was damage below the fiberglass roof material, possibly from leaks. Since he ruled out a bulkhead issue, I was just considering other possible reasons. A "stab in the dark".
Good afternoon gentlemen, When the glass shop replaced the driverside glass they sealed the W.S. to the moulding for a tight seal and to keep it from moving. looks like I need to find a new glass shop that will install my new moulding and re set the glass.
Does anyone know of a glass shop or a RV center that Is trustworthy & close to the Albuquerque area ?
Thanks, Mitch Sayer
If it were me, I would make the journey to Mecca. 829 miles
In Mecca this is what I was told:
The problem lies in the bonding of the front cap to the frame, a known problem. The bond is known to shear when overstressed. It needs to be redone which requires removing both windshields, possibly the dashboard also. New bonding putty is then injected and the front cap is clamped in place. Windshields are then reinstalled.
There is a possiblity that one or both windshields will be damaged in the process. If this happens it's your problem, Foretravel will not pay for new glass.
It's about a 12 hour job on a Unicoach. The more I think about the work involved in this, the more I think it's a screaming good deal.
This is what I was told by the service manager, I opted to not have this work done. They very carefully urethaned my existing gasket and windshield in place and I have had no further problems after 10K miles. I have also been careful not to drop my coach off the road shoulder which is how all this started. It was my fault, not a defect of the coach.
I talked this over with the very experienced guy who reinstalled my glass and glued it in. He told me I could do a semi repair by screwing through the glass into the ply backer which it is supposed to be bonded to. Said you could use screws and snaps for a windshield cover, that's what most people do. Makes me look at coaches with exterior sun screens in a whole nother way.
I will have Foretravel do this work if and when the problem reappears. When I got to thinking about how they diagnosed it so quickly, minutes, I wondered how they could know this is the problem without extensive measurement. I "think" how they tell is by tapping on the fiberglass with a metal object. When I did this it was immediately apparent where it was bonded and where it was loose.
It's an aggreviating problem, but a solvable one.
Chuck
Chuck, That's the value of this forum. You have probably saved a bunch of GV owners a lot of grief. I have no WS problems but still I will be tapping on the front cap to see if there are any hollow sounds.
You get one attaboy
Thanks
Gary B
Mitch, it sounds like you are on the right track by replacing the moulding if it has become so rigid it will not conform to the windshield shape. I am guessing that once your windshield is completely seated with a good seal it will stay that way.
Chuck, if I understand correctly the information regarding End Cap Bonding was related to a Unicoach. I don't think it would relate to a Unihome (Grand Villa) since there really isn't an end cap like on the Unicoach and the front end of the Unihome is supported by the chassis.
It is my opinion that Unihomes with hydraulic leveling systems may be more apt to have problems with windshield displacement since the chassis is torqued frequently during the leveling process. I'm not sure about the ORED chassis but I'm guessing it is even more of an issue since the metal frame chassis is even less rigid than the Unihome. My bet is that the coach in S. CA. is has some structural damage from over flexing the chassis sometime in the past. They will probably find either fiberglass delamination, adhesive failure at the end cap connection or bulkhead separation for the measurements to be off a full 1/2". It should be taken to Foretravel for evaluation IMHO.
I was told by a very experienced Tow Truck Driver I know that once a Big Rig Motorhome has been in a ditch and had to be lifted out by a tow truck it will be virtually totaled. Of course he had never pulled a Foretravel out of a ditch and from many stories I have heard and read the Foretravel monocoque chassis is so rigid it can suffer the Ditch Debacle and still survive.
Kent,
Talked to the owner again last night. He is going to post details in a few days when he gets to his daughter's house.
Suspect you are correct about towing out of a ditch. Have you ever driven next to one and seen how badly a lot of them sag behind the real axle? What were they thinking when they built it? Probably don't total them but drive them to "Slab City" in SCal.
Pierce
It would be interesting to know if the 1/2" lower windshield cutout is level-parallel-symmetrical with the cutout on the other side. If it is, then it was manufactured or modified this way. If it's out of line then the front fiberglass non cap is twisted due to separation or excessive chassis torquing.
Careful reference markers, a builders level and operating the jacks should readily reveal the source of woe. I have a highly calibrated eyeball and can not spot any visual indication of delamination on my coach but it exists. It should be readily detectable and measurable by a skilled tradesman.
Foretravel service strongly indicated that leveling sequences are at the root of almost all of these problems. An additional stress like an offroad excursion brings the problem to a head.
Chuck
Sorry, CRS kicked in and I thought we were referring to the GV's RE: WS's. Back to bed til it clears up. :)
Gary B