Windshield replacement

Topic: Windshield replacement (Read 2628 times) previous topic - next topic

Windshield replacement

June 01, 2016, 08:59:32 pm

We've been sitting still for over a week now, but are facing south. Just now I noticed a vertical crack in the windshield, right in the curve, on the navigator's side. We're currently in St. Peters, MO, just outside of STL and will be here until Monday. We're due in WI 11 July. I haven't talked to the insurance company yet, but do we need to head back down to Nac to get the windshield replaced or can Safelite replace it here? Looks like it is about three days of driving from here to Nac, then another four from Nac back to Watertown.

Re: Windshield replacement

Reply #1 – June 01, 2016, 09:12:46 pm

I don't know about Safelite, but a small glass shop about 1.5 hours north of you replaced one for my parents a few years ago on their 320. Let me know if you have no luck with anyone closer.

Re: Windshield replacement

Reply #2 – June 01, 2016, 09:24:01 pm

Went to school in Watertown in the '70s. Near Whitewater hosting at a church camp this summer

Re: Windshield replacement

Reply #3 – June 01, 2016, 10:04:13 pm

I've had double pane Windows resealed, and a friend just had his SOB's windshield replaced satisfactorily at the FogDr in Sercey, AR.

Re: Windshield replacement

Reply #4 – June 01, 2016, 11:08:03 pm

David,

See if this helps at all. I never used them. Mobile RV Glass

Re: Windshield replacement

Reply #5 – June 02, 2016, 07:13:30 am

A good glass shop can replace the windshield. Copy the engraved supplier info and get the exact replacement, from FOT if necessary. Check the condition of the gaskets. If they're hard or cracking, replace them at the same time.

Re: Windshield replacement

Reply #6 – June 02, 2016, 06:13:47 pm

I know it is aggravating, I have the same and have been living with the crack for a year now. No need to be in a hurry to replace. Take the time to check with your insurance company and find a reliable installer. Have met other owners with more than one crack who were not in a hurry to get it fixed.

Re: Windshield replacement

Reply #7 – June 02, 2016, 09:55:02 pm

On the other side of this versus running a cracked windshield i recently replaced both sides of our coaches windshields.

Only one side had a crack on the bottom edge.

Like a new coach looking out of two perfect windshields. Like sitting outside.

Sure cheaper than buying a new coach.

A personal non rational pleasure that you will (not ) notice every day.

Especially if you take photos through the front

Re: Windshield replacement

Reply #8 – June 03, 2016, 08:35:19 am

Had both sides replaced at the SEA Rally in Brooksville, FL, four years ago. Vendor was covering half the deductable so for $250 we got the cracked side and the original driver's side replaced. Had a bit of a seal problem at the center but installer made good on the guarantee and had Rockford Glass re-seal it the following summer. Nice to have the shading on the top of each the same. Sorry, I don't remember the vendor.

Re: Windshield replacement

Reply #9 – June 03, 2016, 06:06:00 pm

I've had windshields on both sides replaced over the years. I contacted Duncan Systems, and they take care of getting an authorized installer who does the job right. Never a leak or problem. I carry a windshield rider on my insurance and I'm glad I do.
RV Windshield Replacement - Duncan Systems, Inc.

Re: Windshield replacement

Reply #10 – June 06, 2016, 12:01:35 pm

Talked to the insurance company this morning. They use Duncan, and we'll get a call today or tomorrow from them. Now all we have to do is figure out where we can stay. We've extended our stay here at 370, but have to leave on Friday as they are full for the weekend. Surprise, surprise.

Re: Windshield replacement

Reply #11 – June 06, 2016, 03:16:22 pm

I don't mean to hijack a thread but need some help from the gurus about windshields also.
History:
We bought "Rita" at FOT in Nov. 2014. She's beautiful and we love her. One of the things we had to do at purchase was replace the drivers side windshield that had a vertical crack starting right in the bend. No big deal. Then in November 2015 after a long trip in Sept and Oct we went out to check on her in her covered storage and found a cracked windshield on the passenger side starting at the bend. Figured a rock on the trip or bird flew into the garage. Replaced at FOT in Feb 2016. Then in March 2016 just before a trip to HWH a crack appeared on the drivers side in the bend while parked in Houston. By the end of the trip it was leaving broken glass on the inside of the coach. BUT in ST Louis while sitting still again at a campground we awoke to a broken windshield on the passenger side...again right at the bend of the glass. Our traveling buddies also had a cracked windshield on the passenger side they had replaced at FOT. OK now I'm really concerned. FOT replaced both of our windshields and split it with us...blaming the shattered by now drivers side windshield on rock strikes although it all began with a crack. Both windshields were less than a year old and one only 2 months old. And just this last week after a short trip to get an oil change a crack appeared on the drivers side in the bend again. Replaced just this weekend and FOT blamed on mud dobbers in the exhaust port of the 6 pack possibly affecting the leveling system. They put a screen over the exhaust port. This is 5 windshields in less than 2 years...and really none of them rock damage.

HELP

Re: Windshield replacement

Reply #12 – June 06, 2016, 04:32:44 pm

kb0zke

If you use Duncan in Elkhart, Ind, they have electric sites that you can use overnight. We were there 5 years ago and they replaced both sides covered,100% by our insurance.
Very nice people to deal with.

Re: Windshield replacement

Reply #13 – June 06, 2016, 04:43:08 pm

Quote from: GeeCeeZ – June 06, 2016, 03:16:22 pm

This is 5 windshields in less than 2 years...and really none of them rock damage.

I suggest you check to make sure the plywood dash is still glued to the fiberglass structure below the windshield. That glue joint may have failed and may allow too much structural flexing which causes the glass to crack.

Re: Windshield replacement

Reply #14 – June 07, 2016, 10:44:56 am

David, thanks for the tip. I'll go out and check it shortly. We had to move from one site to another, and the original crack has spidered quite a bit. I also see that the driver's side is starting to come loose. I'm thinking that we don't want to travel at all until things are fixed, so we'll ask the park if there is any way we can stay in a parking lot over the weekend, using the generator for electricity. We can fill and dump in this site, so water won't be a problem.

More later.

Re: Windshield replacement

Reply #15 – June 07, 2016, 10:55:45 am

Didn't see anything that looked wrong, other than a bunch of spider webs and a curious wasp. Of course, I don't really know what I'm looking for. Foretravel must have gotten a good deal on black spray paint, as everything is painted black. Sure makes it hard to see stuff.

Re: Windshield replacement

Reply #16 – June 07, 2016, 09:51:38 pm

The insurance company normally uses Duncan, and I heard from them today. They say they are having trouble finding someone who can come out to us and put in the windshield. They asked if I would be willing to take the coach to a shop. I said I might, but I'm concerned that the additional damage caused by driving about 300 feet would probably result in both windshields being in pieces on the road.

Jo Ann did some looking and found nomadglass.com so I emailed the link to Duncan. They said they can't refer directly to them, but if I got the ball rolling they could take care of everything else. Two questions: first, has anyone had any experience with these people, and second, am I getting a runaround here?

We've extended our stay here until the 17th, but then we may be on our own. We're on a standby list, but there is some big event here that has supposedly reserved every single site.

Re: Windshield replacement

Reply #17 – June 08, 2016, 05:27:51 pm

Nothing more from Duncan, so tried Nomad. They don't want to even come out and look, but referred me to an outfit in St. Louis. I called them this afternoon and they promised that a tech would get back to me today. So far I haven't heard anything.

David's idea makes sense to me, but I don't really know how to check for that. If someone is in this area who knows what to look for I'd appreciate hearing from you. Please email or PM me.

Re: Windshield replacement

Reply #18 – June 09, 2016, 11:35:28 am

After calling the St. Louis outfit (Glass Doctor) twice we finally found out that they don't even work on motor homes. The lady from Duncan says she has called several places and no one will get back to her, either. Called and emailed Mobile RV Glass this morning. Of course, they have only been open for 30 minutes today, but still nothing back from them, either.

A campground neighbor jested that maybe I should just take the windshields out, throw away the broken one and safely carry the other one, and just drive with no windshield. I'm half considering that, but I don't know how to get the unbroken one out without breaking it. No, not really, but I am getting frustrated.

Re: Windshield replacement

Reply #19 – June 09, 2016, 11:54:21 am

I called a local RV dealer and asked them who they use. The use All About Glass in Arnold, MO, so I called them. They do Duncan's work in this area, so I passed it on to the lady I've been working with. Maybe now we'll get somewhere.

Re: Windshield replacement

Reply #20 – June 09, 2016, 12:49:13 pm

Quote from: kb0zke – June 08, 2016, 05:27:51 pm

David's idea makes sense to me, but I don't really know how to check for that. If someone is in this area who knows what to look for I'd appreciate hearing from you. Please email or PM me.

I'm not sure how the dash area on your U300 is constructed, but on our U320 the dash is made from a horizontal flat piece of plywood. After carefully removing the upholstered panel that's attached to the plywood with Velcro strips I could see that the fiberglass front structure had originally been glued to the plywood immediately below the windshield, but that some of the glue had failed and so in some areas the fiberglass was able to flex freely . I would have expected the fiberglass to be attached to a rigid metallic structure, but it depended upon being glued to the plywood dash for rigidity. I re-glued the fiberglass to the plywood and it felt far more secure.

Re: Windshield replacement

Reply #21 – June 09, 2016, 01:37:57 pm

You can check for a loose cap by pushing out on the base of the windshield at the dashboard.
If the glue joint of the cap and structure around the windshield cutout is broken you will be able to push the windshield out maybe a 1/4 of an inch.
I had one of those. You have to remove both windshields then epoxy around the nose cap cutout an use lots of clamps to hold it overnight. I was amazed at how much quieter the coach was after that.

Re: Windshield replacement

Reply #22 – June 09, 2016, 02:20:45 pm

From what I've been told, someone will be here next week to take a look. I called Foretravel this morning and they said they have the windshield in stock. It will take them a day or two to crate it, so I hope that by the time we have to leave here next week Friday we will have a new windshield in place.

Re: Windshield replacement

Reply #23 – June 09, 2016, 04:41:11 pm

A loose front cap on the U320 usually is caused by a water leak. This can come from the windshield gasket, or more likely from the clearance lights above the windshield. The rubber gaskets on these lights fail and let the water in. The glue used by Foretravel on the front bulkhead to the front cap is not a water proof glue and the joint will fail if it gets wet. Be sure to check the plywood bulkhead for rot. I suggest using 3M 5200 fast cure sealant for the repair--- it is extremely water proof, pliable, and permanent. I used it on mine and have been very satisfied with the result. You can repair this without removing the windshield by using 4-6 #12 stainless wood screws with flush trim screwed through the front cap into the edge of the bulkhead after the 5200 is in place. You can leave the screws in place after the sealant sets up, or remove them and repair the holes. If done correctly, they look like they belong there and are not noticeable. In addition, they increase the strength of the joint--- no more flex.

Re: Windshield replacement

Reply #24 – June 13, 2016, 05:07:22 pm

After emailing and leaving phone messages with Duncan without response, I finally called Duncan and asked for a supervisor. She called the insurance company while I was on the phone to the insurance company. It seems that they were emailing each other, but no one was in any hurry to get things moving. The insurance company has finally approved replacement of the broken windshield AND replacing the gasket and resetting the driver's side windshield.

In the course of the conversations, it sounded to me like Duncan supplies the glass to the majority of the RV industry. Anyone know if Duncan supplies Foretravel, or does Foretravel get their class from someone else?

Affiliate Notice