Re-installation Rear Window Glass 1968 Overlander International

[Rhodo1937]

We have been residing in a 1968 Airstream in New Mexico for over 3 months. The AS was a PA AS and it seems that after the hot sun got to it, the rear (bath) window disengaged from the hinge (on top) and fell to the ground. We must be living right as it did NOT shatter or break!!

Anyhow, I have thoroughly cleaned the glass and the groove in the hinge and am somewhat perplexed. I believe I read in one of the posts on this forum that one only needs to use silicone sealer to hold this glass in place. In another post, I read that butyl tape should be applied to both sides of the glass and then the silicon on that and the hinge (fill the groove and install the glass...remove excess).

I hope that the AS "glass and window EXPERT" reads this and can set me straight. With the Phillips screws (on the back side of the hinge), i guess the glass could be shattered if they are overtightened. If there was a layer of tape for the screw to pierce, perhaps that would hold better with less chance of glass breaking. I will be looking for a response! Thank you.

[BIGED52]

Rhodo1937, First, I am not the '68 window expert but I do know who he is..... That would of course be Andy R. from InlandRv. He was traveling around for Airstream as a trailer troubleshooter when our trailers were new! Second, I have some small experience with these window glass installations. I had to replace all the glass in my '67 Safari. Only the curbside non-opening window was an original glass window when I got my trailer in '04. All the others were plexiglas. Fortunately for me and you too our window assemblies that hold the glass panes are Type 2. This means that they are better than the '66 to early '67 assemblies as far as ease to (for an owner) replace missing or broken glass. To replace the glass in your trailer you need to loosen the screws on the clamp bar at the inside top of the window where the glass fit between that inner clamp and the hinge frame. On that window there are several screws to loosen. Place double sided reinforced tape over the top edge of the glass pane far enough that it shows below the clamp edge on the interior side and below the hinge edge on the exterior side. Seat the glass pane up to the top edge of the hinge side and while one person holds the glass in place (side to side as well as up high in the hinge) another person can re-tighten the clamping screws. After checking that the glass is installed correctly take an exacto or box knife and trim the double faced tape along the bottom edge of both the clamp and the hinge. Then on the exterior run a bead of silicone sealer along the lower edge of the hinge where you removed the excess tape from to seal that area against water. Boom Done!

It can also be done with butyl glass tape in the same manner but Andy R. from Inland says the double sided tape was how the factory installed the glass to begin with. I installed mine with the glass tape and trimmed it off and sealed the exterior edges on all my glass and it has stayed in so far. So you can use either type tape and the rest of the steps apply. Hope this answers you questions. Happy Trails, Ed

[Rhodo1937]

Now all I have to do is find a source (in Santa Fe NM) for either the double-sided tape OR the Butyl Glass tape.

Would glass repair shops have these materials? Must I order from Andy @ Inland? As all the windows were installed at the same time and have been exposed (more or less depending upon positioning when we parked) to the same amount of EXTREME sun, I anticipate having to repair some more before winter sets in. Guess I should buy some extra.

Thanks for your relatively simple explaination of the procedures. When cleaning the channel, what appeared to be a white tape (I thought the prior owner may have used a white silicone sealer and it had set)..with my utility knife it came out looking like a 1/2" white ribbon..double thick.I was concerned about torquing the screws into the glass...felt it might shatter if tightened too tight! Will try and locate a source of the tape...

Gary Thomas (Rhodo1937)

[BIGED52]

Gary, Any good glass repair shop will usually carry both. All Hardware stores/Lowes/Menards will carry the re-inforced double sided tape. I would work on one window at a time untill all have been re-seated with new tape or glass (butyl) tape. Nothing like the peace of mind knowing they are all secured. If any of the windows leak then the seals should be replaced. I just used Airstream door seal (D type) that has been used from the factory since '08. It works great on the windows! Use 3M (black) weatherstrip adhesive on the frames and then set the tape backed (D) seal into the frame. A little of the adhesive goes a long way! Be sure to allow for rounding of corners and don't cut the seal. I used Butyl tape along the top edge of my frames to seal the top (hinged) area and the (D) shaped seal down left side, across bottom, and up right side on each window frame. Doing it this way allowed for the best seal. The open ends of the (D) are sealed well by the rounded edge of the window hinge when closed. FYI. Hope this helps. Happy Trails, Ed

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by Rhodo1937

We have been residing in a 1968 Airstream in New Mexico for over 3 months. The AS was a PA AS and it seems that after the hot sun got to it, the rear (bath) window disengaged from the hinge (on top) and fell to the ground. We must be living right as it did NOT shatter or break!!

Anyhow, I have thoroughly cleaned the glass and the groove in the hinge and am somewhat perplexed. I believe I read in one of the posts on this forum that one only needs to use silicone sealer to hold this glass in place. In another post, I read that butyl tape should be applied to both sides of the glass and then the silicon on that and the hinge (fill the groove and install the glass...remove excess).

I hope that the AS "glass and window EXPERT" reads this and can set me straight. With the Phillips screws (on the back side of the hinge), i guess the glass could be shattered if they are overtightened. If there was a layer of tape for the screw to pierce, perhaps that would hold better with less chance of glass breaking. I will be looking for a response! Thank you.

Gary.

Use a layer of double sided sticky tape on the inside and outside of the glass, at the top.

Fasten the hinge on the glass.

Carefully remove the excess tape from the bottom of the hinge.

Hardware stores, etc, all carry the double sided tape.

Use 1/16 thick material or as close to it as you can.

Andy

[silverleeper]

This might help too. Look here Google Custom Search

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by silverleeper

This might help too. Look here Google Custom Search

That installation method works great, but only for the 1966 windows.

Double sided tape works best for the 67 and 68 windows.

Andy

[silverleeper]

Originally Posted by Inland RV Center, In

That installation method works great, but only for the 1966 windows.

Double sided tape works best for the 67 and 68 windows.

Andy

This is from a 67 Owners Manual. The Google search is on corning window posts on Airforums.

[Stefrobrts]

When I had to replace one of my windows, I went to the local glass shop to ask about the double sided tape, and the guy just gave me the remnants of a roll he had laying around. It's super sticky stuff! So far, so good!

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by silverleeper

This might help too. Look here Google Custom Search

That quote is not the first "Manual mistake" and for sure not the last.

Those manuals were not written by Airstream, but by publishers.

There are many mistakes in the later "Service manuals".

One of the biggest mistake was how to place a rivet shaver over the Olympic rivet.

Some of the manuals said "Never" place the shaver straight on, but to hold the shaver at an angle. DUH!!!!

Andy

[BIGED52]

Originally Posted by silverleeper

This is from a 67 Owners Manual. The Google search is on corning window posts on Airforums.

Lee, If you open the '67 owners manual to the very 1st page behind the front cover you will see the Airstream title page. At the bottom center of this page the copyright date is 1966. This tells me that some of the information contained in the manual is carried over from the previous year of manufacture and that the manuals do contain some information that was not updated as parts were upgraded on the assembly lines. I have always used mine as a guideline not a bible. I even have a supplement page that the original owner taped onto the last (blank) page of the manual for my trailer that updates information on where the Univolt location (Chapter 5) was moved from the battery compartment to under the lavatory sink. So keeping that in mind there definately are different procedures used to service the type #1,type #2 & type #3 glass hinge/clamp bar assemblies and you need to ID which type you have on your (individual) trailer. In order to know which style is on your trailer you must have a guide to the three styles of assemblies. If you look at the website for VintageTrailerSupply.com under the windows tab and pull up the replacement glass for '66-'68 trailers there is an excellent set of instructions to determine which type of window hardware your (indivdual) trailer has. I would say from what you posted that that was the reason for Andy Rogozinski to post the way he has concerning this issue. Andy is the best source of information going back to these trailers that we have here. Not to be argumentative but a word to the wise would be to heed what he says and check what info you have before posting. He is usually dead on with the knowledge he has gleened from the many years he worked as a Airstream troubleshooter. I learned the following early on with my experience here on the forums. I try only to steer in the right direction if I'm driving and know the correct route. Otherwise, I sit in the back seat and listen to what is being said in the posts and correct/explain only if I have made mistakes myself and know the correct course or information. In '67 you may have had at least 2 of the three types of window hardware either of which were correct for the production runs of these trailers that year. As is also true for the '68 model year that it had type #3 hinge/clamp window assemblies. Keeping in mind that a vintage trailer may have also been repaired with available parts at some time in the last 40+ years and any (individual) trailer may contain parts from any of the three model years that had curved glass. Sorry for being long-winded but trying to get the least confusing info out to the folks that read these posts. Over the years we all are really just trying to help each other. That has been the best thing about these forums postings! Mine are not meant to be taken as anything more. Hope this helps! Happy Trails, Ed

[silverleeper]

Originally Posted by BIGED52

Lee, If you open the '67 owners manual to the very 1st page behind the front cover you will see the Airstream title page. At the bottom center of this page the copyright date is 1966. This tells me that some of the information contained in the manual is carried over from the previous year of manufacture and that the manuals do contain some information that was not updated as parts were upgraded on the assembly lines. I have always used mine as a guideline not a bible. I even have a supplement page that the original owner taped onto the last (blank) page of the manual for my trailer that updates information on where the Univolt location (Chapter 5) was moved from the battery compartment to under the lavatory sink. So keeping that in mind there definately are different procedures used to service the type #1,type #2 & type #3 glass hinge/clamp bar assemblies and you need to ID which type you have on your (individual) trailer. In order to know which style is on your trailer you must have a guide to the three styles of assemblies. If you look at the website for VintageTrailerSupply.com under the windows tab and pull up the replacement glass for '66-'68 trailers there is an excellent set of instructions to determine which type of window hardware your (indivdual) trailer has. I would say from what you posted that that was the reason for Andy Rogozinski to post the way he has concerning this issue. Andy is the best source of information going back to these trailers that we have here. Not to be argumentative but a word to the wise would be to heed what he says and check what info you have before posting. He is usually dead on with the knowledge he has gleened from the many years he worked as a Airstream troubleshooter. I learned the following early on with my experience here on the forums. I try only to steer in the right direction if I'm driving and know the correct route. Otherwise, I sit in the back seat and listen to what is being said in the posts and correct/explain only if I have made mistakes myself and know the correct course or information. In '67 you may have had at least 2 of the three types of window hardware either of which were correct for the production runs of these trailers that year. As is also true for the '68 model year that it had type #3 hinge/clamp window assemblies. Keeping in mind that a vintage trailer may have also been repaired with available parts at some time in the last 40+ years and any (individual) trailer may contain parts from any of the three model years that had curved glass. Sorry for being long-winded but trying to get the least confusing info out to the folks that read these posts. Over the years we all are really just trying to help each other. That has been the best thing about these forums postings! Mine are not meant to be taken as anything more. Hope this helps! Happy Trails, Ed

I posted the manual pic as a visual guide and nothing more. If you have a more current pic of a 68 model year please post it.

I also posted a link to posts about other Corning window posts so Rhodo1937 can find more info on this subject.

Just trying to help...

Link to VTS that Ed mentioned above. Vintage Trailer Supply - parts and supplies for vintage travel trailers!

[BIGED52]

Lee, I wasn't being critical just trying to clear up some of the 40+ year old fog in the manuals. The instructions say to fill up the gap in the glass to aluminum area of the hinge side of the mechanism. The silicone only really seals to the glass so why have all that extra silicone on the hinge. The corrected way is to seal just along the bottom edge of the hinge side of the window to keep water from affecting the tape. The guys who wrote the literature for the manuals and the available sealants back then left a lot to be desired. Andy R. told me years ago that the factory had originally used the double faced reinforced tape to stick the glass to the hinge and the clamp side to the glass to insure the glass would stay in place. Over the years the weather affects the tape and it finally lets go of the glass. The clamp and hinge alone cannot keep the glass in place. Heck we all just want to have a good feeling that the glass won't fall out because we were not told how best to keep it attached to the trailers. Rd

[silverleeper]

Originally Posted by BIGED52

Lee, I wasn't being critical just trying to clear up some of the 40+ year old fog in the manuals. The instructions say to fill up the gap in the glass to aluminum area of the hinge side of the mechanism. The silicone only really seals to the glass so why have all that extra silicone on the hinge. The corrected way is to seal just along the bottom edge of the hinge side of the window to keep water from affecting the tape. The guys who wrote the literature for the manuals and the available sealants back then left a lot to be desired. Andy R. told me years ago that the factory had originally used the double faced reinforced tape to stick the glass to the hinge and the clamp side to the glass to insure the glass would stay in place. Over the years the weather affects the tape and it finally lets go of the glass. The clamp and hinge alone cannot keep the glass in place. Heck we all just want to have a good feeling that the glass won't fall out because we were not told how best to keep it attached to the trailers. Rd

Ed, Nowhere in my posts am I debating what you have stated. I simply posted info on Corning windows...Geeze!

Is the Landshark on the road yet? Love to see some pics.

I assume the Andy R you speak of is Andy from Inland RV and not the Andy R that owns Airforums.

[Rhodo1937]

Thanks to all. I believe a good repair was made with double-sided tape from a "glass repair shop", small bead of silicone ONLY on the top of the glass and bottom of the hinge area was sealed using the "masking tape procedure" (none on glass & nice seal on bottom). I am now prepared for new failures as the windows were probably all installed at the factory. Of course the West facing rear window (HOT New Mexico sun) probably had much to do with the failure of the original adhesive.

[BIGED52]

Lee, Nope! We are just towing locally while we get everything inside done the way we want it....... Seems like that takes the longest. I am in the process of designing a new table for the front dinette. I hope to be posting some pictures soon. Also looking for some nose art to fit on the curbside and streetside front. Maybe a great white decal...LOL! Ed

[BIGED52]

Originally Posted by Rhodo1937

Thanks to all. I believe a good repair was made with double-sided tape from a "glass repair shop", small bead of silicone ONLY on the top of the glass and bottom of the hinge area was sealed using the "masking tape procedure" (none on glass & nice seal on bottom). I am now prepared for new failures as the windows were probably all installed at the factory. Of course the West facing rear window (HOT New Mexico sun) probably had much to do with the failure of the original adhesive.

Gary, Great news! Now just do one at a time when you choose! Sooner or later you'll have 'em all done and be good to Go! Happy Trails, Ed

[TracyD]

This picture is obviously from some sort of manual. I would love to find one, are they for sale somewhere?I have found the owners manual, but it is pretty basic, being a newbie to Airstreams this would come in very handy. thank you