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mattRox · 11-25-2020, 12:34 PM

One of the 28 x 30 inch windows in my 2018 25FB camper mysteriously exploded (after it hit our gate while pulling out on day one of a 5 day trip)

We see it as just another chance to learn from our many mistakes. We actually just took it in stride and worked the problem. I ran off to Home Depot and bought a 30" by 36" piece of thin plexiglass. Using some speed tape (aluminum tape) I first stuck a foot long segment to the skin behind the rock guard to see if it would be impossible to remove. After about 30 minutes it peeled right off, so I felt I could safely go to town on our window.

We drove about 800 miles round trip through all sorts of conditions and it held up great!

After getting home I ordered the new window and plan to put that in myself. Doesn't look too difficult at all. Window appears to come with all hardware already installed.

Bubba L · 11-25-2020, 02:14 PM

It’s not an uh oh if you can repair it. Could’ve been a lot worse. Just add one more piece of experience to your knowledge base. Happy travels and stay safe.

CBWELL · 11-25-2020, 04:51 PM

Very easy to replace. I had a roadside window taken out on a chipseal highway this summer. Covered mine with poly until the new window arrived. Took about 15 minutes to install the new window. All of the hardware is on the window. You will need a stepladder or a 3 step stool to get the window onto the top track, as you need to have the window about 120 degrees to the opening.

Roscoe1996 · 11-27-2020, 01:23 PM

Hi. This happened to me just now, the shards are still in the grass as I type. With mine, the window was stuck to the seal and a certain someone used brute strength from inside using the lift tabs and the lift tabs went up but the glass shattered. Love that certain someone...she’s a peach. (Lol)

Anyhow, I’m off to Lowe’s for plexi. But where did you order the glass. Quick search online is complicated. They all want to sell the whole assembly from sash and gaskets.

Will hope to get glass only or at most hardware on glass included.

Roscoe1996 · 11-27-2020, 01:28 PM

EDIT: this is on a 2013 Int. Serenity 27fb. It is the front bedroom curbside window (opposite egress window).

CBWELL · 11-27-2020, 04:14 PM

Go to your nearest Airstream dealer. These windows are Airstream specific.

mattRox · 11-28-2020, 06:15 AM

My local dealer wouldn’t just order the part. They wanted me to drive it in and leave it. Didn’t have any windows in stock, either.

https://highskyrvparts.com/

The frameless was half the cost.

Frameless Side Window Glass Curved 30-1/2" x 28-3/4" - 195510-93
- Glass Shipping Box: Glass Shipping Box 1 $353.22

Sub-Total: $353.22
UPS Ground: $78.40
Total: $431.62

Roscoe1996 · 11-29-2020, 02:47 AM

Thanks CBWELL for the thread and the advice. I ended up ordering the exact part from HighSky RV that mattRox suggested. I did the plexiglass temp, except I cut it the size and shape of the window , drilled holes for the lock brackets on the bottom, the lift levers n the side and the hinged stay bracket in top. While this temp fabrication works to keep the wind out, it rattles a bit when locked and I won’t trust it on the highway.. tape is probably better . Or a thicker plexi glass

mattRox · 12-03-2020, 02:17 PM

Two weeks in and still waiting for the part to arrive. The email said "Be patient, part may take 3 weeks". No tracking number. Oh well.

Roscoe1996 · 12-04-2020, 02:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mattRox

Two weeks in and still waiting for the part to arrive. The email said "Be patient, part may take 3 weeks". No tracking number. Oh well.

mattRox, I should be somewhere behind you in line for the glass. I will stop running to the door every time I hear the UPS truck emriubdvthebcirber. I hope it goes alright. I looked for an email, and nothing. I better give them a cal.

CBWELL · 12-04-2020, 06:43 AM

I ordered mine from CanAM in London Ontario. They normally have stock but were out and waiting for a shipment from Jackson Centre. The first window came broken because of bad packaging and probably poor handling. They shipped the second at no charge to me. I imagine this time of year the freight companies are way behind, and with the Covid problem things are even worse. My total wait was almost a month.

Jim J · 12-04-2020, 07:07 AM

This happened to me on a road trip a few years back, I had left a bedroom window unlatched. A passing semi sucked it open and broke it. Of course it was raining. I discovered it at our next stop when I went in the trailer to use the bathroom. Sounded a bit noisier than usual.

I cleaned up the mess and stopped at a Home Depot about a mile away. I was going to put up a quarter inch thick piece of plywood that I would cut to fit the opening but decided to go with a piece of corrugated package material that I cut with a pocket knife, covered with a garbage bag, and sealed with duct tape to the area around the window. This was a much cheaper and quicker temporary fix than my original idea.

I put this on north of Dallas, Texas and it held up fine for the next several days until I finally made it by Jackson Center to get another window and install it. Duct tape came off leaving a little but of residue which was easy to clean up using some auto cleaner wax.

Now, I always check my window latches from the outside of the trailer as I do my final walk around before leaving for the road.

**moosetags** · 12-04-2020, 07:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roscoe1996

mattRox, I should be somewhere behind you in line for the glass. I will stop running to the door every time I hear the UPS truck emriubdvthebcirber. I hope it goes alright. I looked for an email, and nothing. I better give them a cal.

Is emriubdvthebcirber a new word that I am not familiar with or did the typewriter run wild on its own?

Brian

RivetED · 12-04-2020, 08:02 AM

This is a fairly common issue. I think the combination of the tempered glass window, a non-yielding gasket, and the flexing of the Airstream body adds to the possibly of failure. Of course if the window hits something or gets hit by road debris or stones then it's going to be an 'oh well' moment.

I'm going to have sun-shade film put on ours, another project on the to-do list, but I wonder if the film will at least keep the glass pieces intact enough to get it home. I've seen side windows on cars that have held up after being shattered, just thinking that could be another rationalization for adding the film. Anyone have experience with that?

I do keep the gaskets 'seasoned' with 303. Between the two of us it seems like sooner or later the lift levers might do the same thing as Roscoe1996 and others have had happen.

Back to emriubdvthebcirber

I can usually decipher spell check or typos but you got me on this one!

mattRox · 12-10-2020, 02:53 PM

To those of you waiting on parts, I contacted Sky High RV Parts today as it has been three weeks since the "shipping" date.

The customer service person said that Airstream is running one or two or three weeks behind the three week quoted time. I believe the word COVID was mentioned at least 7 times.

I asked if I would receive a tracking number and they said Airstream does NOT provide tracking numbers.

Hope this helps,

mattRox · 12-31-2020, 07:59 AM

Six weeks today. Still no specific information about my window from Sky High.

mattRox · 01-11-2021, 01:56 PM

The window arrived today. 7 and a half weeks after ordering. The Airstream factory was closed for almost two weeks during the holidays but the folks at the parts department in Jackson Center said that 6 to 8 weeks is about right.

Installation was simple, but now the window doesn't close completely unless someone pushes on it from the outside. I think it may be that the glass lost a bit of it's curve during shipping and will soon conform to the proper bend, but we'll see. It's a tam operation now.

CBWELL · 01-11-2021, 03:48 PM

Check to make sure that you have the top hinge in the track correctly! You don't want to put tension on the window or you will be replacing again. Glass does not change its curve once it is made. There might be some foreigh particles in the track, so clean them out and reinstall.

Roscoe1996 · 01-11-2021, 11:27 PM

Thanks MattRox. No notice yet that it has shipped, but should be soon. Will update with pics when it arrives. And if you end up sending it back because the curve no’s not right, I may have the same problem. Will let you know.

mattRox · 01-12-2021, 03:38 PM

Thanks for the suggestion. I was mistaken. It’s not the curve of the window, I think it’s an arm binding a little bit. The window closes completely on one side and is less than a half an inch off on the other. I will take it off again and inspect but it looks good.

Also, there was no notice of shipping until the doorbell rang.