Unexlpained broken window

[garyp4951]

I went to storage yesterday to get some things out of the 5er, and this is what I found. The manager said they have never had any problems, and reviewed the camera footage for the last 2 weeks when I dropped it off. There is no one in the spot behind me, so the camera showed the rear of the 5er good, but nothing was found on video.

I called Cedar Creek to order a window, but they will only sell to a dealer. My dealer said the window would be $240 plus a few hours labor to replace.
I'm still wondering how the window was broken, maybe someone turning around with a ladder rack, a bird, or something thrown at it.

[klassic]

garyp4951 wrote:
Thanks for the link but I Called Forrest River, Cedar Creek, and although it is 2 months out of warranty, they are sending the window unit at no charge to my dealer. The dealer wants $300 for labor, so I'm going to see if I can just pick it up and install myself. That's what I call customer service, for Cedar Creek not my dealer.

Garyp.. my SilverBack was 2.5 YEARS out of warranty and CC did $6000 worth of various repairs (even things I broke) at no charge.

[Spacelink]

We have a brand new Thor Hurricane Motorcoach (34J Gas model) that we have had less than one month and continually experiencing minor to semi-major issues.
Going out to check on it this morning (and of course, it has been pouring ALL night), I discovered one of the two windows over the dining table was shattered and laying in the yard. My first thought was someone drove by and maybe threw a rock or BB gun but the screening on the inside was undisturbed. It is one of the new external type windows that open outward and when closed is flush against a rubber gasket. Upon looking at the 'scissor arms' that open the window I noticed that they were slightly bent downward indicating that there was probably some sort of force against the window. Being as we are having severe thunderstorms, I can only conclude that there must have been an extreme gust of wind that caused it.

[ChuckV1]

I walked out one morning to find the side window
in our Class C broken, no rocks, nor BB's, just
broke. I told DW that it must have been space
junk or a bird, called MFG and they sent me a
new window for $250. When opening the box I
found out it was the wrong window, called MFG
and they sent me another ant no cost to me,
again wrong window.

I called them again and they swore it was the
correct one, I read them the serial number, re-
measured the window, they said the two sent
had to be right. Long story short, the third
window came witch was wrong again but after
calling them again I found out that someone had
changed the window number on the order, their
fault not mine. I ask if they wanted the other
windows back they had shipped, they said throw
them away and they would ship me the right one.

I said no thank you, give me my money back, three
time and they were out. This exchange took over
a month and a half. I went to local glass guy,
it took a day to order, next day install and
was $75 cheaper than what the MFG wanted. 😄

I have learned my lesson, glass guy is cheaper,
faster, Garnette's work, thus i'm happier and so
is DW :C

[marspec]

I was surprised at how easily a complete new window can be installed. In my case it was a two person job but took less than 30 minutes.

[Sport45]

The plexiglass looks good.

Why do you think CC's customer service is better than the dealer's? CC wouldn't send you the window under warranty or even sell it to you directly.

The dealer has to pay an installer and hey, they all gotta eat too.

[garyp4951]

Thanks for the link but I Called Forrest River, Cedar Creek, and although it is 2 months out of warranty, they are sending the window unit at no charge to my dealer. The dealer wants $300 for labor, so I'm going to see if I can just pick it up and install myself. That's what I call customer service, for Cedar Creek not my dealer.

[handsome51]

garyp4951 wrote:
I went to storage yesterday to get some things out of the 5er, and this is what I found. The manager said they have never had any problems, and reviewed the camera footage for the last 2 weeks when I dropped it off. There is no one in the spot behind me, so the camera showed the rear of the 5er good, but nothing was found on video.

I called Cedar Creek to order a window, but they will only sell to a dealer. My dealer said the window would be $240 plus a few hours labor to replace.
I'm still wondering how the window was broken, maybe someone turning around with a ladder rack, a bird, or something thrown at it.

The window looks like it is made by Hehr. Look at the window or one of your other ones. It should say on it. It looks just like one of the windows in my Carriage 5th wheel. Here is a site to start with. You also could put Hehr windows in google and see what it comes up with
http://www.pellandent.com/RV_Products_List.aspx?CategoryID=35

Leslie

[padredw]

We have a 2007 HitchHiker II which we keep under a good shed, but not enclosed. We have towed it over almost the entire lower 48. One morning I was walking behind the RV, when I thought I was stepping on gravel that shouldn't be there, but looked up and saw the large back window shattered. There was probably as much broken glass on the outside as on the inside of the trailer. We jumped to the conclusion that someone must have slipped up thorough the woods behind our house and shot a BB or 22 rifle. We called the police who filed a report and then had to special order that entire back window frame. I don't remember exactly but it was over $1000 just for the window and frame. We had it replaced at a local RV center.

The discussion on this thread makes me consider the possibility that it was not vandalism, and could have been some kind of spontaneous break. Of course, we will never know, but I have no reason to think anyone would want to do such an act of vandalism. We acted in entirely good faith, and our insurance covered the cost of replacement.

Frankly, I hope this theory of "unexplained broken window" is correct.

[rattleNsmoke]

I understand the Trans Am story completely. I own a Corvette C-4 with a targa top. That SOB will crack if the top isn't perfectly level when you install or remove it. The body on the C-4 is like rubber unless stiffened with the convertible's X-brace or something aftermarket. Sorry for wandering off topic.

[GoPackGo]

I used to have a Chevy Blazer - one of the small ones, which I had bought new. One day my wife drove it to a grocery store. She came back with a cart full of groceries and pushed the button on the rear top piece of the hatch, which was all glass. It exploded and showered glass everywhere and the pneumatic lifts were just hanging there with small pieces of glass attached. We thought that someone had shot out the glass but the glass shop said it was probably due to stress. After the new hatch was installed I noticed that the entire assembly seemed to fit better, easier to open, close, etc. So I think stress really was the cause.

Interestingly, I also had this happen about 20 years earlier. I had just bought a new T-bar Trans Am and had driven up to watch a car race in Wisconsin. I had the 2 pieces of the roof removed and the windows rolled down because it was such a nice day. We parked in an unlevel field. After a few minutes, the driver side window loudly exploded and glass pieces erupted out of the window slot. I thought someone was shooting at me. As luck would have it, Pontiac had a booth there (It was a Trans Am series race), so I went over and had a talk. A couple of engineer types walked back to my car with me and spent some time trying to figure out what happened. Their conclusion was that, with the roof panels removed and the car sitting unevenly, the body flexed enough so that the window holder assembly was putting a twisting force on the window when it was down. So after a little bit, it just exploded. True story. I was standing next to the window.

Yes, I wish I still had that car.

Tim

[kellertx5er]

Sport45 wrote:
There may well be thermal stresses acting on the glass, but I guarantee the heat isn't causing a pressure buildup in the trailer. Vents on the drain systems would keep that from happening even if the doors and windows were all perfectly sealed.

x2. Hard to imagine heat+internal air pressure blowing out a window- tempered glass or not.

[Star_Gazer]

glazier wrote:
Tempered glass will break without impact blow, we have documents in our shop providing information on this. It is rare, but tempered will bust spontaneously. In the commercial glazing industry we contribute most of this to Nickel Sulfide In the glass.

Yep, thought our honda mini van was broken in to as the passenger side window was shattered. But it was in our closed garage over night. I guess tempered glass can have stress that just lets go without warning sometimes.

[glazier]

Tempered glass will break without impact blow, we have documents in our shop providing information on this. It is rare, but tempered will bust spontaneously. In the commercial glazing industry we contribute most of this to Nickel Sulfide In the glass.

[KilroyGuy]

Pane! Pane!