Forum Discussion

gowestwardho's avatar
gowestwardho
Explorer
Feb 06, 2015

How Important is Double Pane Windows? (Precept 3UL & others)

I was curious if anyone had an opinion on how important double pane windows might be on a coach? In looking at the Jayco Precept 31UL I noticed it is all single pane glass, albeit frameless and tinted. (But for insulation value that means nothing).

I'm speaking more of high temperature camping than winter camping in this regard. Has anyone tried living with both and noticed a significant difference in inside temperature and the need to run the A/C a lot more because of double pane (or lack thereof)? Or is it NBD?
Class A
  • DanTheRVMan's avatar
    DanTheRVMan
    Explorer
    Feb 07, 2015
    deandec wrote:
    ClassAGeek wrote:
    Meh. We have single pane windows in a used coach that saved us 10's of thousands of dollars when we bought it six years ago. We have camped in the 100's °F but more often in 30's °F. We just do weekend camping trips. We don't have any plans to live in our MH.

    Are double pane windows essential? Hardly. The high number number of air leaks and 1" thick foam insulation (or less) in many locations around and under the MH contribute much more heat and cooling loss than the windows.

    Double pane windows would be nice but I am happy because I didn't pay for them.

    Your demands may be different.



    We agree. The Windshield is the biggest heat transfer problem.

    Tinting on all non cockpit windows helps a great deal on single panes.


    Correct

    I have had both and prefer single pane for reliability/eliminating repairs. Windows are such a small part of over all heat and noise you'll never feel the difference so it simply isn't worth the effort on a rolling home.

    Again condensation in cold climates is the one exception that is noticeable
  • deandec's avatar
    deandec
    Explorer
    Feb 07, 2015
    ClassAGeek wrote:
    Meh. We have single pane windows in a used coach that saved us 10's of thousands of dollars when we bought it six years ago. We have camped in the 100's °F but more often in 30's °F. We just do weekend camping trips. We don't have any plans to live in our MH.

    Are double pane windows essential? Hardly. The high number number of air leaks and 1" thick foam insulation (or less) in many locations around and under the MH contribute much more heat and cooling loss than the windows.

    Double pane windows would be nice but I am happy because I didn't pay for them.

    Your demands may be different.



    We agree. The Windshield is the biggest heat transfer problem.

    Tinting on all non cockpit windows helps a great deal on single panes.
  • rgatijnet1's avatar
    rgatijnet1
    Explorer III
    Feb 07, 2015
    dezolen wrote:
    So my 1/4 " thick windows are the same as dual pane? Not.
    The windshield is 2 layers laminated for safety reasons and are not even close to being dual pane. No window on earth provides much insulation value. Less glass will do more than anything other than shades.


    Having trouble reading? I did not say that the windshield was the same as a dual pane insulated glass. I said that it WAS 2 layers of glass with a plastic layer in between instead of an air gap. Here is EXACTLY what I said:

    For those that think the windshield is ONLY single pane glass, they are wrong. The windshield is dual pane with a plastic layer laminated in between instead of an air gap.
  • dezolen's avatar
    dezolen
    Explorer
    Feb 07, 2015
    So my 1/4 " thick windows are the same as dual pane? Not.
    The windshield is 2 layers laminated for safety reasons and are not even close to being dual pane. No window on earth provides much insulation value. Less glass will do more than anything other than shades.
  • rgatijnet1's avatar
    rgatijnet1
    Explorer III
    Feb 07, 2015
    I've had both and prefer the dual pane windows to the point that it would be a deal breaker on any coach without them. For those that think the windshield is ONLY single pane glass, they are wrong. The windshield is dual pane with a plastic layer laminated in between instead of an air gap. The windshield is also at least twice as thick as a single pane window glass.
  • DSDP_Don's avatar
    DSDP_Don
    Explorer
    Feb 07, 2015
    Richard, I don't think you're being fair to your own coach. The Bounder has been one of the best and most popular Fleetwood products for years. It's certainly not an entry level gasser. There are probably more Bounders on the road than any other model of Class A.
  • RLS7201's avatar
    RLS7201
    Explorer II
    Feb 07, 2015
    DSDP Don wrote:
    The Bounder is not an entry level coach. It's more mid level. The entry level has been the Storm, Flair, Terra and Fiesta, maybe even a few others.


    In 1995 it was the Fleetwood Flair, Bounder, South Wind, Pace Arrow, all the Diesel Pushers and the American Line of coaches. That surely don't put the Bounder in the middle. But they all had dual pane windows as standard equipment, except for the Flair. Please don't push my ol Bounder into a higher tax bracket. GRIN

    Richard
  • Jagtech's avatar
    Jagtech
    Explorer
    Feb 07, 2015
    Dual pane windows are a pain when they start to fog between the panes. That gets annoying, and expensive.
  • chloe_s_ranch's avatar
    chloe_s_ranch
    Explorer
    Feb 07, 2015
    Our 2013 Winnebago Vista 27N (entry level Winnebago) had dual pane windows, as does our current Winnebago Sightseer (mid level). Our 99 Rexhall had dual pane windows. Seems crazy not to have them for all of the above reasons posted earlier.
  • msturtz's avatar
    msturtz
    Explorer
    Feb 07, 2015
    Our entry level Palazzo has standard dual pane windows. We owned a different coach and it had single pane windows. It was very difficult to heat and cool. We also ran a mechanical dehumidifier 24x7 to keep the condensation down. It was a major nuisance. We even had to run the generator and roof A/C when driving on occasion because the dash A/C couldn't keep up.

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