Picture window 1981 Excella has water inside

[ANGIEWALKER]

Hi, does anyone know how to take the picture window out & take the double window panes apart and put a new seal in and replace? I have the same problem with the vista view windows? (just no water but nasty seal melted down and look ugly) help! the airstream dealer told me you can't take them out from the inside , that the whole window has to come out, is this true?

[Lance M]

Hi,
You can cover the inside window with tape, carefully break the inner pane and remove it piece by piece. Be careful. Wear all your safety gear.
After you get the inner pane out, you can scrape the window film off of the outer pane and clean it up. You can then seal it with a good polyurethane sealant. You may need to use a rubber hose to fill the gap between the glass and frame.

[dbj216]

I think your dealer is right. My 86 Limited stack windows have water in them and the seal has moved into the area between the frames. I think I counted 52 bucked rivets holding the stack window frames to the skins, and a whole bunch of calk on the inside. I believe Airstream sells replacement stack window assemblies for about $275 each. The picture window would be considerably more.

Mr. TOP described the process several Airstreamers have used to clean up the unsightly mess between window panes. I'm thinking about doing it, but haven't mustered the courage yet.

David

[perryg114]

You have the same trailer as I have and you are real close to me. I am in New Market. Those double pane windows can be a real pain. They can be taken apart but it is not a fun process. The easiest approach is to do like TOP said and bust out the inner pane and shim the outer one to hold it against the outside of the frame. I have one window like yours that is one of the lower stack windows. I have not had time to deal with it.

To rebuild a window you have to remove the frame from the trailer, lots of rivets. Then you have to separate the frame after removing a rivet that holds the two halves together. You then need to find a shim and some butyl tape to replace the gasket that has failed. Now you have to put it all back together and rivet the frame back into the trailer.

Perry