Well we took a rock face-first up here in MN. I'm going to try to make it back to AZ before having the windshield replaced. After seeing one of the previous windshield posts, I'd like to know just how hard replacing one of these is. I have a shop about two hours from my house that has done it successfully in the past but it'd be nice if I could find someone local to do it. I'm sure this won't be the last time.
I know of a GREAT glass guy that recently did my Jeep but understand that automobile experience may not translate to RVs. I would like to avoid the local RV dealerships at all costs.
So - is this something that takes experience with Foretravels or does other experience, be it with other motorhomes or just cars, translate?
I wouldn't worry about that crack, it will last for years like that. I had 2 windshields done
when I had my Monaco. The first one a guy came to my place and did it and the second
one I went to a glass place near me and both did a good job. The right windshield on my
coach is cracked worst than yours and I will get it done some day, not a priority for me.
Search "windshield replacement" on the Forum. Lots of good info, plus some horror stories.
So being this was recently replaced i would contact the previous installer and talk to him. Good chance a matching tint can be had. He also my have input putting in a second glass, is the inner pane cracked? I personally wouldn't worry about it. Also if covered with the nano tint windshield tint would contain any loose chips
I have a similar, but longer crack. It has been stable for almost two years.
I notified my insurance company that I had a non-repairable crack, that it was not in my line of sight, and that I would let them know when it became a problem.
When we got our coach a few years ago, the windshield appeared new. Now it has dozens of small chips. I suspect the little chips will continue to multiply, some will become cracks, before the existing crack becomes a problem to me.
Part of me would like to have the windshield pristine, but I think it is a wear item like tires. Also, I had lots of insurance claims in a short time. New windshield in the Monaco. Total loss on the Monaco. New windshield on the FJ Cruiser. Total loss of the FJ Cruiser. New windshield in the Tundra. New windshield in the newer FJ. All in about two years.
My only advice with regards to windshield replacement comes from an experience we hat at Foretravel MANy years ago. We needed a new windshield in the ... '95 U320, I think, and I was watching while the new unit was resting on the padded workhorses while they guys prepped the coach for installation. For some reason, a bit of random information popped into my head while I stood there. I was able to take my finger and carefully run it around the outside edge of the new windshield. Sure enough, I found a chip on the edge! I pointed it out to the installer (time has taken his name from me, but we knew him well ... not Alton but one of the regulars) and said I needed to have a different windshield for our coach. He looked surprised ... looked at me ... and trotted off to find another. Just a small chip will affect the integrity of the entire thing, leading to those mystery cracks that appear in high heat or out of nowhere when you open the curtains in the morning. Can't remember where I first read the bit about checking the edge. My head is filled with bits of obscure and mostly useless info.
You are absolutely correct and certainly not useless information. So those small chips if they are crack free can be ground and polished to stress relieve and reduce localized stress. Very good catch, most would of missed. Tempered glass that has had the edges ground and polished are much more resistant to cracking under stress.
Installing it is different from installing it in a car, MOT installed it by sliding it in from the side, it appeared to be a good bit of work but did not take long to do.
You can make it to Az many times with no I'll effect from that crack. I would keep fishing until I found the deal and the person or people to do it that suited me best. No rush as far as use ability is concerned, at least from what I see. Frustrating yes.
We got this little gem first day out on a month long trip to Glacier a couple months ago. Had a guy come to campground in Pocatello and pressure fill it with resin the next morning... so far so good. Keeping fingers crossed she don't spread....
Sorry for the double post... still learning how to use this feature....
We took this hit at mile marker 183 on hwy. 200 in Montana. No vehicles in front of us and an oncoming car must have pitched something clear over to our passenger window. Sounded like a rifle shot but there was nothing around but that car.
We have glass coverage. Call ins and they arrange everything including install.
No glass coverage, do not break the new windshield as you can get to purchase another one.
Yes Craneman, ours came from car going other direction also. Was loud. Scared the crap out of us. NB 395 between Beatty, NV. And Winnemucca.... ...
Installing it is different from installing it in a car, MOT installed it by sliding it in from the side, it appeared to be a good bit of work but did not take long to do.
I insisted that my insurance allowed me to go to MOT for the replacement.
Watched three guys, who probably have installed LOTS of windshields, struggle with it. I think there is more to it than meets the eye. There was a question about reusing the gasket. If I remember correctly, they reused it.
I have had to replace mine twice. My advice is to call your insurance company and they will arrange it for you at their nearest authorized installer. Both times it was the installers recommendation that it needed to sit overnight before resuming travel.
As said, report to your insurance company. I had a similar situation -- took a rock that left a chip in the lower driver's side as I pulled into Battle Mtn., NV on 305. I stopped in McCall, ID and had a glass shop look at it, hoping they could do a repair but they said it couldn't be repaired. The tiny chip turned into a crack all the way to the top.
At that point I took it to glass shop in Pullman. They took the numbers off the original glass and the replacement was identical. They reused the gasket.
* The coach wouldn't fit into their shop so they did the job on the street.
Automobile windshields are boded in place with hot adhesive and become part of your automobile's structure.
Foretravel is old school with the windshield isolated from the body by a flexible gasket. Both are skilled operations with totally different skill sets, and as Carole Savournin has pointed out chips in the edge of the glass will spread eventually. The best tool for removing chips in glass is a resin bonded diamond grinding wheel, but most old school glass shops use a silicon carbide wet sanding belt.
Go ahead. Make another insurance claim. I dare you.
Art
Several years ago we had the navigator's side windshield replaced by a local guy that came out and did the work. The insurance company found him and sent him out. He reused the gasket. Two years ago we came north on I-25 through Colorado, and the driver's side windshield shifted out of place about ½" or so. I didn't notice it until we stopped at the Blue Beacon in Cheyenne. Both the coach and I got a shower! No one could find a place to fix it properly, so we had to live with a temporary repair (automotive guy shifted the windshield back into place) until we got to MOT last summer. We had them replace the gasket, and the driver's side windshield broke during the process so we got to buy a new one.
They have two spots directly across from the bay they use for windshields that are as close to level as possible. Once the windshield is installed they carefully back the coach into one of those spots, put a brace in place, and tell you not to move the coach for 24 hours. Since they actually did this on Friday the coach didn't move until Monday morning. One year later all is still good.