Window gone... found when parked.. fixing nightmare

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tanglemoose

tanglemoose

Well-known member
Joined
May 14, 2013
Posts
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Pulled into campground and got ready to take slide out and right side of large window is gone.. shattered pieces left on brackets... called around and got all sorts of versions how to fix tempered glass... Window out, glass place. Order week out and install on tt...

What have you had experience with fixing... ? On road and won't be home for another 900 miles...
 
It's been a few years, but we turned up at a remote storage lot and found a large side window on our motorhome (deliberately) broken. Called my insurance agent and got a referral to a local glass/window company. The folks who came out had a contract with Avis to replace glass in their rental cars. They replaced the complete window (covered by my insurance company).
 
We had a large rear window shatter on one of our trips to Canada.  Local glass company didn't  have a large enough to piece of safety glass on hand, but they installed a sheet of plexiglass that held up for a couple of months until we could get the window fixed properly.
 
Plexiglass / acrylic sheet is a great temporary fix.  It is relatively easy to cut or shape. It is unbreakable.  It will yellow over time.  It is fairly cheap.  Works great for the short term fix.
 
grashley said:
Plexiglass / acrylic sheet is a great temporary fix.  It is relatively easy to cut or shape. It is unbreakable.  It will yellow over time.  It is fairly cheap.  Works great for the short term fix.
Click to expand...

Plexiglas will break if stressed, Lexan will not. 
 
I has the copilot sliding window shatter in Arizona in 108F heat this past June.  It was an 8 week process to have a new window made and then a $500 deductible before I was done. If you don't have insurance I am convinced that installing it yourself is not all that tough.
 
I would call the manuf of the camper and see if they could send you one- if not look for a surplus store
 
If you only need to replace the glass, the local glass shop can generally cut a piece of laminated glass to fill the opening. 
 
I used black trash bags secured with Gorilla tape (a lot of it) to cover my Jeep topper side window. Held for 2, 000 miles. Duct tape didn't work. Goo Gone will remove the adhesive later.

Ernie
 
I used black trash bags secured with Gorilla tape...
Click to expand...

Since it had just started raining the evening we discovered the broken side window in our coach, we also used a black garbage bag(s) and duct tape. In our case, it was only a few days on a storage lot before the glass company was able to replace the window.
 
RV side windows are mostly rather simple things. You didn't mention the type (fixed, sliding panel, awning, etc) but generally the entire window frame can be easily removed in 20-30 minutes and most glass companies can insert new glass in the frame. You may have single pane or double pane glass. If the glass company doesn't know how to remove RV windows, DIY or get an RV dealer or mobile RV tech to pull it out and you can take it into the shop. If arrangements are made ahead of time, they ought to be able to insert the new glass in a few hours unless they have a other work ahead of you. Then re-install the window frame in the RV.
 
How big is big?  You can always use plywood for a temporary fix. I had the upper front window in my class C suddenly break out while going thru Tonapah, NV a few years back. Drove to Pahrump and got some plywood at Home Depot to fix it until I got home.  I will see I can post photos of my temp fix.
I used two pieces of plywood to do the repair because of the width and the nice people at Home Depot let me get the plywood cut to the size needed. In fact one ofd their peopl;e came out and helped me position the pieces. I installed the pieces from the inside becuse of the height of the window.
 

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