Foretravel Owners' Forum

I've searched and read most every thread on the board about the front cap movement and windshield movement, but I feel as though I'm missing something.

Under nominal twist situations, my windshield can shift up to two inches out of alignment at the bottom (popping out of the gasket). The shift is always in the same direction - moving outward on the drivers side, and toward the inside on the passenger. The shift has NEVER occurred the other direction.

If on reasonably level ground, I can manipulate the airbags and tilt the coach back and forth to bring it gradually back into alignment (only to drive it and have it pop back out after pulling into a rutted truck stop or similar).

The shifting was previously accompanied by creaking noises of the dash plywood slipping over the inner surface of the front cap. I resolved that by getting things lined up and used West Marine Six10 to re-attach the two. There is now ZERO movement between the dash and the front cap. The windshield shifting reduced slightly, but is still significant.
I understand some movement is expected in this design, but the amount I'm getting can't be normal. I also do not think that a new gasket would do much for the problem (perhaps a very small amount of improvement, but not a real resolution). I'm concerned about using windshield adhesive in the gasket since that may move the stress more into the glass itself causing a bigger issue.
Any additional things to check or ideas?
Thanks!

Thanks Pierce  - about how much movement do you experience? Does it always move the same way for you too? Mine seems to have gotten worse over the past year, then seemed to improve a small amount after re-attaching the dash to the front cap.

Wow!! You guys should have an old coach like our '89.
No creaks. No groans. No shifting windshield(s).
Nothing but pure boredom when going across unlevel terrain.

Have you verified that the front fiberglass to wood blocks (look up from the two front small "doors") are still a  solid connection.

Particularly if used in areas with a lot of condensation, water condenses on the windshield and runs down into the wood, eventually rotting it.

So.... the question  I have is, what has happened to the front cap that has allowed all that movement?
We had slight movement and a few noticeable squeaks until I reattached the underside of the dash to the front cap fiberglass with a seam of 3M adhesive. No more noticeable movement of the windshield. If the OP has done this too.... what else could be "unattached".? Possibly delamination on the sides below the driver passenger windows?

Yes, that is what happened to mine. I did the repair myself, I separated the cap where it is joined to the roof by removing the metal strip that covers the joint. I also removed the drivers sider fender, that allowed me to separate the fiberglass from the backing (the glue had already released) so I was able to open the area from the windshield down to the bottom of that panel about 3 to 5 inches.
I applied  coat of adhesive in as far as I could reach with a spatula/putty knife and also spayed 3M adhesive in the rest of the areas.  I then put a 5' x 6' approx.. piece of cardboard against the area to protect the finish and on top of that I placed a 5' x 6' piece of 3/4" plywood, then I put a brace against the whole area to compress the laminate to the backing and allowed it to cure for about a week. This worked for me, I had my windshield reset last May in Lakeland Florida by Richard at Coach Glass and it has held so far. I think the adhesion between the laminate and the backing is a major part in the stability of the windshield. The drivers side of my coach is exposed to the Florida sun most of the winter months. I can see the difference from that side to the passenger side which is in the shade or does not get the direct sunlight/heat for extended periods of time.      ^.^d

I've been told that the windshield on our Grand Villas is actually a structural member, so it needs to be properly connected to the rest of the nose. Yes, there needs to be a certain amount of flexibility there, but when the windshield moves that much there is something wrong.

In the summer of 2020 we had to drive up from The Ranch (near Carlsbad, NM) to Riverton, WY. That took us through Colorado, and the windshield suffered for it. I didn't realize that it was that far out until we went through the Blue Beacon in Cheyenne. I got a shower, too! Fortunately I was able to grab some towels and keep most of the water on the outside, but we couldn't leave the windshield that way. The next day we found a shop that promised to reseat the windshield. When we got there they said they didn't work on motorhomes (!), but fixed it anyway - no charge! Last summer we had MOT replace the gasket. MUCH quieter now.

The Foretravel will not visit Colorado again. When we leave here this summer our route will NOT take us through Colorado, even if we head right back to The Ranch.

I checked this morning, and I've got significant delamination under the windows down to the wheel wells on both sides. It's not visible, and certainly wasn't this way before we did our year of travel last year. All the use may have contributed to the adhesive giving way and causing the windshield shift to worsen over time. I'm not certain of the repair approach that will be needed yet. I suppose the skin of the cap when properly fastened to the structure underneath yields a significant amount of stiffness.

I would say that is the reason for your windshield movement. If you have the time and ability, using the same process that I did will help secure the windshield. The higher up you can get, (between the slide window and the rear cap edge)  when regluing the more secure the cap will be. Also, I added some aluminum angle bracing where the floor meets the side between the headlight and the fender opening. I also added angle where the dash meets the front/nose above both access doors above the windshield wipers. After that was done is when I took it to have the windshield moved back into place at Coach Glass in Lakeland Florida..

Start by carefully inspecting the front cap to wood just below dash.  You have a LOT of movement to open up that much seam on the side.

How is windshield fitment?

Bringing this post back up since the weather is warmer and I'm ready to attempt a repair.  Starting on the driver's side. This joint looks gnarly and I'm going to clean it up, then get it reattached with some good adhesive. I'm thinking 3m 5200 for permanent fix? Surface prep will be challenging...

Not sure how far I can get the adhesive back in the the area below the window. I am considering some type of mechanical attachment in addition to the adhesive but haven't come up with a solid plan yet.

Any experience share with pictures would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Your picture shows exactly what my delamination looked like. The outside "skin" moves on the structure that it had been secured to. It was not easy getting the glue into the inner part of the structure. It took me and my son, one holding the "skin" out as far as possible, while the other applied the glue to the surface. As in my previous post we then applied pressure to the entire area until the adhesive set up. I allowed that pressure on the side to set for 6 or 7 days.....  Good Luck with your project it looks like you are on the right track..   

I glued and rivited my caps on.  Pry up the skin, inject your glue of choice , press the skin and large head rivet between the screws. 
  Turn the trim strip into a trim strip, and remove it from  adding much to the structure.

This makes a lot of sense too and should augment my other efforts. There is a metal frame behind that trim piece to take the rivet I presume?