Front Glass Replacement

[westysplace]

Just bought a used 2008 Fun Finder X210. Discovered during the walk-through that the front window was cracked in the corner and taped over with a hefty clear tape. The protective outside cover had been closed during initial sale negotiation and was not visible inside without lighting. This glass appeared to be in shards and not safety glass. The specifications I have seen indicate safety glass as a standard. Anybody know the story on this.
Thanks

[webslave]

Depends a little on what you are calling "safety glass"... It should be tempered glass, a form of "safe glass", that, when broken, breaks into small granular chunks as opposed to the sharp shards that you are describing.

"Safety glass" is laminated glass...tempered glass, plastic center, tempered glass; all formed into one piece. Won't shatter. In automobiles, you'll find safety glass (laminated) in the windshield; tempered glass as a rule in the other windows. What makes it "safety glass" is that it is designed to fracture like tempered glass, but, it also provides enhanced "safety" by keeping you in the car as opposed to flying out the windshield in a head-on collision.

I haven't looked for the logo (there is usually a logo embedded in the glass to indicate tempering), but, I would imagine all the windows in the TT should be tempered. RVIA does not set requirements for windows, but, I believe enough states have a requirement for tempered glass in non-windshield vehicle applications, that all the major players use tempered glass all around on the TTs, 5vers and MHs (MHs get safety glass for the windshield).

If the previous owner broke the original window and did a DIY job replacing it, he may have had "sticker shock" at the price of a piece of tinted tempered glass and took the cheap way out and replaced it with plate glass, I can't imagine a dealer doing something like that, but, there are some pretty low players out there, so I won't take that off the table as a possible cause. Plate glass, as you can tell by looking at the results, is not made to take the bouncing and flexing found in an RV and will usually fail at the corners when flexed...the mere tightening of the window frame on installation will flex plate glass enough to usually cause a stress failure. Usually, tempered glass, when flexed past the point of failure, "explodes" or "disintegrates"; not something you could fix with tape.

Safety glass will "crack", but, not fail (windshield cracks). Tempered glass when broken, usually is fairly catastrophic in its failure (large scale resultant damage even though the initial failure is small). Plate glass will take damage to a localized area and leave the rest relatively intact (golf ball through the window; leaves hole and fracture lines and lots of sharp shards).

More than you wanted to know, but, IMHO, yes, your front window should be tempered glass and it shouldn't be repairable with tape that is holding sharp shards together.

[westysplace]

Thanks for your reply.
Yes, I am familiar with these types of glass. We have friends who live about 150 yards out on the slice side of the golf course with tempered glass windows installed on that side of the house. An expense they didn't anticipate.
The location of the cracks is in the lower right corner of the window. I could indent the broken glass slightly from the outside and expose some sharp edges on the inside of the trailer. I can't help but think this is regular plate window glass.
Googling turns up Fun Finder X210 specifications for "tinted safety glass windows" on a few marketing sites, but the CruiserRV site only states "radius tinted windows".
Louis Autoglass is turning up on site tomorrow, Monday, and they should be able to tell what kind of glass it is and what is installed in the other windows.
Happy RVing.

[westysplace]

All,
Just verified with Louis Autoglass that this trailer has regular plate glass windows (radius tinted) all the way around. I guess because there are laws on the books that no one should be riding in this trailer on the road, there is no requirement for safety glass. I hope any kids throwing the baseball around the campground diamond have good arms!
Happy RVing.

[webslave]

Regular plate glass? I'm surprised. I wonder how they get around having plate glass in an automotive application...I imagine since it is illegal to ride in a travel trailer while in motion, that it doesn't apply to them. I'll have to sneak a peek at a 5th wheel the next time I'm in a CG...some states do allow riding in them under certain circumstances. Would be interesting to know if they have plate or tempered glass.

Learn something new everyday... Did you replace with plate or tempered? Was wondering what the price differential is now. I know 10 or so years ago, it was a fairly substantial difference between plate and tempered, at least in the 1/4" glass I was putting in a coffee table that I made...

[westysplace]

Unfortunately, this item was identified during walk-through after the rock bottom negotiated price was fixed. Couldn't justify asking the dealer to split the cost with me on safety glass when all the others were designated to be plate glass. The window replacement was 1/8" thickness and cost approximately $200. At least the rock guard flap will help prevent breakage when traveling. Thanks for the reply!

[Chadw3]

Where did you find the replacement glass. What was the iinstall like? I have a cracked front window and I am not sure the best way to repair it.

[Chad59]

Any glass shop should be able to make a piece for you cheap.