Broken Front Windows

[theSubdude]

hello, i purchased Bambi 19' new in 2006. Approx 5 years ago the left front window broke, sort of exploded, lots of small pieces inside and out. It was not being used at that time, plexiglass shield was undamaged, the window before breakage had no damage, nobody had been around it, it was level. i had that replaced, (pricey)!
This morning i checked on Bambi, (just a habit), and noticed all the glass on the inside. Now the right front glass is broken the same way, same thing, shield undamaged, and unmoved, there was no damage to window before breakage, it is level. Bambi has not been moved or used in 3 months. What can cause this. Both windows has broken now. Help.

[rmkrum]

The windows are made of tempered glass for safety. It is heat treated to make the glass set up internal stresses that assure that, if it breaks, the pieces will be small, relatively safe to fly around, and not as likely to cut anyone....

The downside of this is that a tiny nick on an edge can easily lead to the glass shattering. Other times, it just shatters spontaneously. I had it happen to a large sliding glass door in a home. Quiet day, no wind, no sign of damage or vandalism, and "WHUMP!" the glass shattered into billions of pieces all by itself. And yes, the stuff flies everywhere!

It happens, and I'm not aware of any way to reliably predict or actively prevent the problem..its a characteristic of the material.

I understand your frustrations...the sliding glass door was boarded up until a local neighbor just happened to be replacing one the same size, and I inherited the old one...the parts were unobtainium..as far as getting a replacement glass or door--no longer made..

[Movino777]

I had the exact same experience 2 nights ago. My front window was up, turn knobs locked in. I left the Airstream for 3 hours and came back to a mess! It shattered into thousands of little pieces. I live on a 40 acre ranch. No one around, nothing touched. What The H$#%? happened? Where can I go to get this tempered glass replaced that won’t cost an arm and a leg? 2015 Bambi Sport 16’. Thanks in advance! 🥴. Maureen

[potoole]

Originally Posted by Movino777

I had the exact same experience 2 nights ago. My front window was up, turn knobs locked in. I left the Airstream for 3 hours and came back to a mess! It shattered into thousands of little pieces. I live on a 40 acre ranch. No one around, nothing touched. What The H$#%? happened? Where can I go to get this tempered glass replaced that won’t cost an arm and a leg? 2015 Bambi Sport 16’. Thanks in advance! 🥴. Maureen

My 2015 Bambi Sport 16’ just popped also. I might have been handling to roughly, but it wasn't doing anything that I had not don before. I just tried to open it by myself only pushing on one side of the window from inside.

Where did you find your replacement glass? Did you find any way to improved on the design?

PP

[Pete B55]

Originally Posted by potoole

My 2015 Bambi Sport 16’ just popped also. I might have been handling to roughly, but it wasn't doing anything that I had not don before. I just tried to open it by myself only pushing on one side of the window from inside.



Where did you find your replacement glass? Did you find any way to improved on the design?



PP

Check Out Of Doors Mart

[Aironius]

Is your Bambi parked outside? I had an experience similar to rmkrum's. A tempered glass storm door on my house suddenly shattered on a cold morning while I was watching TV. Sounded like a big bird strike, but I found no dead bald eagle on the porch. The sun was shining at a low angle on part of the glass, and the crack pattern emanated from that spot, so it must have been thermal stress. (it was safety glass so stayed in one piece but totally shattered).

[potoole]

Aironius

My trailer was parked outside. I was at a campground trying to open the front window when it happened.

The window did not stay in one piece. I am wondering why it is not safety glass as it shattered all over me and the campsite!

Phillip

[richard5933]

Safety glass shatters into thousands of tiny pieces, as opposed to the large shards 'normal' plate glass breaks into. The 'safety' part is that the tiny pieces won't usually cause and serious injuries.