WAAAAAAAAHHH!!!...my windows broke!!!

[Jim & Susan]

Sorry, Guys, TMI. Let me try again.

Certain parts of the front of the trailer are more rigid than others. These less rigid areas happen to be below and around the wing windows in question.

In my trailer, the aluminum frame members, and to a lesser degree, the aluminum exterior skin in these areas, are bent and distorted. Anything that causes deformation in these areas would transmit to the other areas around it.

The windows are apparently an integral part of the actual structure of the camper in this area. In my camper, the wing windows are double paned glass. The seal between these panes have failed for some reason and water vapor has leaked in, resulting in the green “slime” growth between the glass panes.

There are only a couple of reasons for the seal being broken and water vapor leakage. The deformation of the aluminum frame/shell, vibration from going down the road, or simple failure of the seal due to age or poor design.

The point to all of this is that things in the front structure of the coach are all out of “plumb”, if you will. Stresses have built up in areas that are not supposed to be under stress. Depending on the amount of stress, a small change of some kind could “twist”, push, pull or in some other way further deform the window frames, exterior shell or trailer frame to push the glass to the point that they shatter. It is possible that, depending on the amount of stress, it would only take a small change to shatter the glass.

If I had any suggestions for your situation, I would say look at the window frames and see if there are any broken welds. Look at the “U-channel” below the windows next to the floor and see if they are deformed. Look at the actual steel frame below the windows and see how much (not “if”) rust has deteriorated the structural integrity of the frame.

Ken, I don’t mean to “hijack” your thread, but I will have to deal with bringing all of these items back into “plumb” when I put the floor back in and I am worried that I will shatter the windows when I do this. Thanks for allowing me to post here.

Jim

[malconium]

I think what Jim is saying here is that deformation of the body around the windows could have built up enough stress on the glass so that it was just waiting for some additional small amount of force to trigger the break. While that does seem possible it also seems very stange that both windows would go at the same time.

A past experience of mine suggests that it is possible that it could have been vadalism. I understand that thieves sometimes use the spring loaded type of center punch to break out the glass of a car window. My wife and I in fact had something like that happen once when we were visiting Vancouver, B.C. (a strange coincidence?). Our car was parked in an underground garage below the hotel where we were staying. In the morning we found that one of the rear side windows was shattered. There was no sign of a rock or tool. As I recall the glass was both inside and outside of the car as though it had just shattered. You might check with the local police to see if there were any reports of anything else being broken in the area around that same time.

Malcolm

[Foiled Again]

Originally Posted by malconium

I think what Jim is saying here is that deformation of the body around the windows could have built up enough stress on the glass so that it was just waiting for some additional small amount of force to trigger the break. While that does seem possible it also seems very stange that both windows would go at the same time.

Malcolm

My thought would be that if one window shattered due to the frame deforming or failing, that break itself would put more stress on the other window... probably causing its failure. Just a semi-intelligent guess...

Tin Lizzie

[Forrest]

Check out eBay for 1970 replacement windows. Here's the link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...ayphotohosting

[TroutStream]

Thanks Forrest but mine were the forward wing windows. Probably worth it for someone to pick it up though...


Ken

[Forrest]

Still, you might want to contact the eBay seller to see if he might be willing to salvage the forward wing windows that you need.

[Inland RV Center, In]

TroutStream.

Your insurance company will cover the costs of the windows, the sealer, rivets, shipping and labor, if you have comp coverage. There is no question about that type coverage.

The only problem rebuilding the windows is two fold.

First, the gasket is not available, which makes the repair, very questionable.

Second, should the repair fail, your insurance company may say "forget it", in that the trailer was modified in a "non-factory approved method".

Yes, the replacement windows are expensive, but that is controlled by Airstream.

Who are you saving money? Not yourself, if you have insurance.

If you have paid for the insurance, use it. That's why you bought the policy.

Should a repair fail and cause a rotten floor, as an example, that insurance claim will be denied, on the basis, of improper repair, and long term damage.

Certainly, there are some owners that live way way over the edge, but thats not being fair to yourself, when insurance will pay for the loss.

Once again, opinions are just that, but facts always remain facts, except to the select few, who buy parts at K-Mart and the like.

The sole purpose of insurance is to cover your financial loss, as long as the loss was sudden, direct and accidental. In your case, the circumstances fit the bill, "exactly".

Insurance companies do not raise the cost of the policy, for comprehensive losses.

Andy