double pane windows

[Super__R_]

In doing research before moving on to a new 5th wheel I was asking about double pane windows and a local dealer told me to forget them. He said they fail, meaning that they lose their integrity, and end up fogging up. I do lots of early season and late fall camping. Any discussion from individual's with double pane windows would be invited.

[past-MIdirector]

Our present rig is 10 years old and first with dual pane windows. Will never buy a rig without dual pane windows. Cuts down outside noise, helps both with heat and cooling.

[2oldman]

tonyandkaren wrote:
Since the dealer is telling you the windows fail he may have personal experience with the units that he sells

He also doesn't have any on the lot.


Dual pane windows
Dual pane windows 2
Dual pane 2013

[rk911]

Super "R" wrote:
In doing research before moving on to a new 5th wheel I was asking about double pane windows and a local dealer told me to forget them. He said they fail, meaning that they lose their integrity, and end up fogging up. I do lots of early season and late fall camping. Any discussion from individual's with double pane windows would be invited.

some will fail and fog, others won't. those that do can be fixed for not a lot of money. we have the double pane windows and wouldn't be without them. and yes a few of ours did fail and fogged after 5-6 seasons. we had them repaired and they are now as good as new...better than new. we would absolutely get them again when we decide to buy a new-to-us or brand new RV.

[tonyandkaren]

Since the dealer is telling you the windows fail he may have personal experience with the units that he sells. Check into specific brands to make sure they're not having problems before you buy. I think some windows manufacturers have more failures than others.

That said we've had double pane windows in two different motorhomes - no failures even after 21 years and 100s of thousands of miles of fulltime living.

[edatlanta]

A couple of things come to mind after reading the above posts:

Dealers want to sell what they have on their lot. If they have a lot of price point units they are going to say anything to move them. Price point units won't have dual pane windows or a lot of other nice options.

I full time and have dual pane windows. Don't think they are just about keeping the cold out during winter. We had a couple of nights back in January on my home base in Alabama where it was 9F. I was nice and toasty inside and zero condensation on the inside of the windows. I spend summers on the Florida gulf coast and dual pane windows allow me to remain cool when it is 95F outside and 100% humidity.

I would not even consider an RV with single pane windows.

[LarryJM]

Trackrig wrote:
A big discussion on this last week. I think it was about 8 or 9 to 1 in favor of the double paned windows.

Bill

That's probably true, but my view is that in general they might not be worth the cost and potential problems unless you are doing a large amount of VERY, VERY, COLD camping and boon docking to boot. Its all about the cost-benefit equation for the particular individual and how they actually use their RV.

Larry

[ford_truck_guy]

Do a search on here and you will see a ton of post with the same question.... At the end of the day MOST people believe that you are better with them... I am in that group , had several campers with out them , switched to a camper with them and won't go without .. Either way , get a new dealer , he is selling you what he wants to sell , not what you want to buy....
Joe

[wa8yxm]

Well there are two or three schools of thought.. First most RV's have way too much glass to insulated (not all that well) wall so when it gets sunny, it gets HOT.. of course opening said window can fix that. In most cases.

Now, double pane, does insulate better than mono-pane and it is true the seal between the two can become compromised, and some are filled with odd gasses that react with the glass and bad things happen (not all) and when bad things happen instead of being double Pane they become a double Pain in the wallet.

BUT. that said.. One of mine failed.. Some debris damaged the seal between the panes.. I damaged it some more. blew some 'Damp rid" up between the glass. it settled down in a corner where I have to look to see it (Completly out of my normal vision) and sucked up all the mositure, as it is intended it will, I fixed the seal, and all is good.

Odds of that being a successful repair... Dang Low. But it worked.

[Ivylog]

There were a lot of failures with the home style alum 1/2" spacer windows. The newer ones with a 1/4" hard rubber spacer have solved the problem. Hate to brag as all of my 10 year old ones are still perfect. That's 10 opening windows (20) sections plus one fixed.
FIND A DIFFERENT DEALER.

[camperpaul]

My current trailer has double pane windows and I wouldn't be without them. This past winter we had overnight low temperatures of 22° below zero and the inside temperature stayed in the 70s above zero.

My primary heat source is a 1500 Watt oil filled radiator, secondary is a 1250 Watt utility heater and the propane furnace is used only as a backup in case of electrical power failure.

[BobsYourUncle]

I'd be finding a different dealership if they have a salesman that feeds you this nonsense! He probably drinks his own bathwater.....

I am doing severe winter living in my TT with single pain windows. (Yes, I spelled it wrong intentionally)

In any kind of cooler weather, double pane is a much better choice. It is hard enough to keep an RV warm and if you buy a unit that is better equipped for your needs, you will be much more comfy.

I am going to upgrade mine to a more winter friendly unit. And it will have dual windows.

And if one fogs up, it is a very simple easy fix.
Well worth having them.

[pianotuna]

Hi,

Mine are 10 years old and have traveled 85,000 miles. No problems.

[Trackrig]

A big discussion on this last week. I think it was about 8 or 9 to 1 in favor of the double paned windows.

Bill

[n7bsn]

What they said, good ones don't fail and are worth the $$$$