Window damage - what to do

[kamadeca]

Went to visit the Silver Condo the other day, only to find that some ingrate managed to lob a rock at the window on the curbside above the bed. The first damage to my baby. It must have happened the night before, because fortunately there was no water damage in the trailer.

When I called my dealer, I was informed that they don't replace the glass, they replace the whole window for CAD $350.00 + installation, and it would take 4-6 weeks just to get the part in. I called an auto glass place who came out to look at it and said they could probably replace the glass as long as it wasn't curved (I don't think it is, but didn't have a straight edge to be able to test it.

After all this preamble the question. The current glass is "tempered". The auto glass place says they could replace it with laminated which would be cheaper, and stronger. My question - what's the difference and would it really make a difference to the trailer? Why do they use tempered anyways?

Look forward to the usual helpful advice that I find throughout these forums.

Thanks in advance.

[nickcrowhurst]

Malcolm & Katalin, laminated glass is described at http://www.glassonweb.com/glassmanua.../laminated.htm
Tempered glass is described at http://www.glassonweb.com/glassmanua...x/tempered.htm
I would be happy with laminated glass in your situation. It is what is used for car windscreens. You might wish to consider obtaining a used window from one of the RV salvage yards, which you can find by using the search facility on this forum. Good luck. Nick.

[rluhr]

I am certainly no glass expert, but I've been talking to a few in the course of my endless search to replace the original tempered glass in the late 60's models.

I've been told that there are good reasons Airstream used (and apparently continues to use) tempered glass rather than laminated. It has something to do with the stresses encountered by the window system. One glass specialist emphasized that laminated glass substituted for tempered would not last if the window system were not specifically designed for it.

That's somebody else's two cents worth... but worth considering. You have to ask yourself why Airstream used tempered glass in the first place if they could have used laminated and saved money?

-- RL