There have been numerous posts about the RV Fog Doctor facility in Searcy, AR. Many have recommended them for fixing "snakey" windows so we thought we would give them a try. We drove in from Yuma, TN where we stayed at Parker's Cross Roads RV park. Nice place. Anyway, it was a couple of hours to Memphis on I-40 and then a couple more on US64 to Searcy. The latter is mostly two-lane but flat, rural and with little traffic. Not much to see other than fields of soybeans, rice, and cotton.
Searcy is a small town (about 24K population) and the Fog Doctor was easy to find. We got in about 1 pm for an appointment the next day. We were able to immediately hook up to one of their 6 RV sites (50amp, water, and good wifi) which are located in front of their work bays. They were able to fix our snakey window in the afternoon of the day we arrived. It took about an hour. The staff was friendly and seemed competent and experienced.
They didn't want me to take any pics of the process, but basically, they clean the two panes of glass and then layer a continuous spacer between the two panes. The spacer is about 3/4" in from the edge of the glass. They then fill the space between the spacer and the edge of the glass with some sort of caulk that is heated while it is applied. It cooled and solidified quickly. They then reassembled the window. Note that the material they use to separate and seal the two panes of glass is different than that which failed in the original window. They guarantee their work for 2 years. The cost to repair a single pane was about $200 plus tax. They do charge 3% for credit cards. After our Bernd experience, we always use a credit card to pay for service. Not far out of our way to Nac and well worth stopping.
Below are some pics in random order.
George
Seems like a deal at $200.00 per.
Just curious........... what kind of seal did they use when they put the window assembly back on the coach?
The seal around the window was a hollow tube rubber-like material about 1/2-3/4" wide., They attached it to the window frame using some sort of adhesive. But the window/coach interface did not use adhesive. So I won't have to deal with the goo that oozes out around the stock windows.
George
It sounds like what FOT and Xtreme uses. Good deal George.
There is a reason Bern'd does not accept credit cards and I bet it isn't because of the 3% credit card charge.
Maybe the hollow sealer is better now. But seen a few delams around coach windows, including my last Dutchmen. To be safe, I would run a small bead of silicone around the the top of the window, or watch it close. May be OK now, couple of years when it dries out, probably will start leaking.
Sounds like they know what they are doing. Just putting it out there as a suggestion. Not putting them down.
Chris.
We are booked in there next Monday and possibly Tuesday morning to have 5 windows (all on the passenger side redone) they quoted $200 a piece. The cost of new windows was just too much.
I do not believe we will miss seeing the black lines in the windows!!
They told us they have huge bays that are used if it is raining or bad weather otherwise the work is done outside.
I had 5 widows done at Fog Doctor recently. Very nice folks, Lee is the manager. I do suggest you make note of each window before repair, check how well they open and close and the condition of the screws. BEFORE you leave check your windows for proper operation, I didn't do this and found that the windows were so tight the DW couldn't open them and it was a struggle for me as well, upon closer look many of the screws heads had the heads nearly stripped out which indicated to me to much force was used. Called Lee and he was very apologetic and said to bring it in and they would make it right. The first attempt to resolve didn't work, they thought maybe the frames got tweaked somehow. They had some Fortravel frames from another RR project and said they would use those for the rebuild, in the end they made it right, just saying make sure everything is satisfactory and working properly BEFORE you leave. Again very nice folks, I would use them again even though we had this issue, sometimes mistakes are made.
Yes, previous owner had ours done. All new Motion double pane darker window. $5K. That was 4 years ago.
But man are they nice
Chris
Some things you just never use a screw gun on.
Well those Philips screw heads are the worst design ever so I replaced all those with #6 -5/8THS long Robertson ones after placing them all in a piece of foam board and spray painting them black. They make for a much better easier to install screw and can easily be removed again if needed. Suggest you guys south of us start using these Canadian designed type and ditch those Philips for all jobs.
IMHO
JohnH
My OEM window frame screws are all Phillips- Robertson combination drives. What made you change to Robertson only?
This FT is my second rv that the previous owner bought and had Motion windows installed in Vancouver, Washington.
I so enjoy the non leaking, easy sliding, easy locking, non rattling, new screened windows.
RV Windows & Camper Windows | RVWindows.com (https://www.rvwindows.com)
Peninsula Glass - RV Windows Manufacturer | RVWindows.com (https://www.rvwindows.com/company/)
The guy (Chris) taking out the screws said they were aluminum and were between a #1 and #2 Phillips. A bit of a pain to remove. He was not impressed by the quality of FT windows. He used a Snap-on powered screwdriver. I checked the screws I could see and all but one look fine.
We drove from Searcy to Texarcana today. The traffic around Little Rock was pretty bad as were the roads at times. Glad we are out of AR. Hot today with a high around 95. Cooler weather is expected on Friday.
George
We had 5 of our windows repaired at the Fog Doc as well. Good crew and they even allowed us to use the lobby at night to watch TV and use the restrooms if we wanted to. Came in late in the afternoon and left the next afternoon. Happy, but windows were pretty tight to begin with, so they said there was not much they could do about that. Well, I went to Lowe's and purchased a window lubricant and worked on all the windows and all work much better now. We have a replacement window in the bedroom and yes, it is a pleasure to open and close. Wish we had more of those! lol
Joe which window lubricant did you get, May as well bring a can with me next week.
I have had good results with a dry type silicone spray lube. It is wet going on and then it dries. Vacuum or blow out the tracks first. Lube well.
Amazon.com: 3M 08897 Silicone Lubricant (Dry Type) - 8.5 oz.: Garden & Outdoor (https://amazon.com/08897-Silicone-Lubricant-Dry-Type/dp/B000PJED72/ref=sr_1_1?crid=6CVYWFQJ8W0R&keywords=3m+dry+silicone+spray+lubricant&qid=1570541828&sprefix=3M+dry+silico%2Caps%2C256&sr=8-1)
That is what I use, with good results.
This works for me:
Amazon.com: Food Grade Dry Silicone Spray, 13.25 oz.: Home Improvement (https://www.amazon.com/Food-Grade-Silicone-Spray-13-25/dp/B0086A7806/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=food+grade+dry+silicone+spray&qid=1570567594&sr=8-5)
Dave, it is raining here now, but will check and PM you tomorrow!