Ever had a window break by itself?

[gparker]

I just went out to the trailer to do a little work before the kids get home and I noticed some weird stuff on the credenza. A closer look revealed tiny slivers of glass, and only then did I realize the oval window above the credenza and below the "big" window" was cracked into a million pieces. It was still intact in the frame, but just barely. I could find no point that looked like an origin for the cracking, nowhere that looked like an impact point for a rock or BB, and no stray baseballs or the like outside. The temps here have not changed drastically, and the trailer has not been moved. Anyone have an explanation? While you are at it, what id the concensus about replacing these windows with lexan?

Greg

[RichardT]

I had a larger opening window on a 69 crack on its own a few months ago with no explanation. My guess would be a bird flew into it and lived, or was eaten before you got there. Another idea would be a small meteor or the like. Lexan will work, but glass is my first choice.

[gparker]

Yeah, the same window next to it has broken at some time in the past and is replaced by lexan. Looks good, but has scratches. I guess those can be polished out. Guess I'll start looking at old threads on how to replace windows....
Greg

[swebster]

Never had one break in my Airstream but many years aho I had the rear hatch window in my 280ZX explode outwards for no reason. I was driving the car at the time. The strange part was that it left a hole in the glass like a baseball went through it....but it was pointing outward.

The insurance adjuster said they just do this from time to time.

[Tom Nugler]

Happened to us. Been on the road for a few hours and stopped for lunch at your typical expressway off ramp eatery. We had only walked 100 feet or so and heard the pop. The front window was gone.
After lunch we took a slow trip to the next town for plexiglass and duct tape.
The story is that tempered glass can break from uneven heating or cooling. We see this from time to time with heated rear window glass in cars.
No real damage done but got another "On the Road" tale to tell.

Tom.

[garthbf]

my trailer was in storage and when we went to get it out the opening window next to the door had the inside pain cracked all over and pieces falling out. I think it must have been from heating and cooling.

[george blair]

This has happened to me twice in my 86 soverign.the first time was in the curved front window and just this spring in the door. These are apparently shatters due to temperature and stress. I am having a problem getting the door fixed because the contour in my replacement window isn't correct. I am seriously going to look for lexan. Anyone got a suggestion ?

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by george blair

This has happened to me twice in my 86 soverign.the first time was in the curved front window and just this spring in the door. These are apparently shatters due to temperature and stress. I am having a problem getting the door fixed because the contour in my replacement window isn't correct. I am seriously going to look for lexan. Anyone got a suggestion ?

A "door window" from Airstream, does have the correct curvature.

Andy

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by george blair

This has happened to me twice in my 86 soverign.the first time was in the curved front window and just this spring in the door. These are apparently shatters due to temperature and stress.

Tempered glass windows, can shatter by themselves.

The usual cause is a fracture of the surface temper, that you cannot see.

That fracture can be caused by a simple grain of sand hitting the glass hard enough.

Then, with daily ambient temperature changes, the invisible temper fracture says "that's enough", and then the glass simply shatters.

Regular glass is not tempered, therefore a scratch or a gouge, or even some sand blasting, will not cause it to break.

Not so with tempered glass.

Keep in mind that sand, dirt etc, from passing vehicles, can and does get to the trailer when being towed.

Strange as it may seem, small rocks usually will not bother tempered glass, and yet a grain of sand will fracture the temper.

And so it is.

Andy

[Aerowood]

In 2000 we were doing some ozone studies over the arctic when the left side cockpit window of our C130 suddenly shattered. It stayed intact but the pucker factor was real high as we retured to Thule Greenland, 3 hours away.

[Wayne Olson]

We just had this happen this weekend to a side window on our '85 345 MH. I have seen it once before with another MH. Lexan is a good solution and will not break. However, getting the tinting to match can be a problem.

[Inland RV Center, In]

True tempered glass can break any time.

Why??

Usually because the temper has a small fracture that you can't see, from even a grain of sand, that had enough temperature changes.

And then sometimes, just because "it wants to relieve" it's tempered stress.

It's a fact of the product.

You know, sort of like us human beings. When we had enough, we explode.

Andy