Winnebago glass fogging

[rbates1944]

After reading much appreciated discussion on solving problems with fogged glass I ordered new glass from Atwood window. Although the price has went up considerably ($100 plus $40 shipping) it’s still a good deal.
The problem I encountered was waiting to be shipped (2 weeks) when I will be going vacation in one week.
So my only option, since the fogging was a safety concern, was to break out the inside glass. This worked out well. By putting down a drop cloth then using a hammer and ceterpunch I tapped the window in one corner.
It took two taps but the window broke into thousands of pea size pieces, which were easily vacuumed up, with a shop vac. The hardest part was cleaning the small pieces of glass from the window channel.That done I made several small wood shims the same thickness of the glass and put them in place to hold the outside glass from coming loose. This was to be a temporary fix, but you can't even tell there is a pane missing. If I hadn't already ordered the new glass I might have left it like that. It took about 1 1/2 hours to do, but is not too difficult.

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbates1944 If I hadn't already ordered the new glass I might have left it like that. It took about 1 1/2 hours to do, but is not too difficult.

rbates1944, √ Thank you very much for the review and process to replace the window!

[azloafer]

Because the Atwood windows are so prone to fogging, I understand that some coach owners are breaking the inside glass pane out and just leaving it with a single pane. I have replaced three windows in our coach. I am unable to do it myself so it gets expensive. Is there a problem having just a single pane? Is the efficiency of a dual pane worth the cost? Joe

[rbates1944]

I can't see that themopane glass would make that much difference unless a person is in a very hot or cold climate. I think its a selling point more than anything, but is it worth all that trouble and expense??????????

[AFChap]

Quote:

but is it worth all that trouble and expense??????????

Trouble??? ...I guess you mean the possibility of internal fogging?

Is it worth it to have:
- no sweating/water running down the inside of the glass in cold weather?
- less utility cost to heat/cool?
- much quieter inside due to added insulation/sound deadening factor?

I guess the answer will vary depending on how/where you use your rig, and your personal preferences. As a fulltimers, I will say dual pane glass is definitely worth it to me! We have only two panes that sometimes get moisture inside, and have not bothered to have them replaced.
-

[azloafer]

When the side windows in the cab fog up you will want to get them fixed because it is difficult to drive and see clearly through the mirrors. If you are in an accident it will not be in your favor to have fogged cab windows. Besides the two necessary windows I had a third window fog. It was a special long and narrow shape and had two swing out portions. That one was $1300 because it could not be fixed and was only available from Lichtsinn Motors. The dealer had replaced two windows for us before we accepted the coach! That's five windows on an '08! We are second owners. I've read so much about Atwood Windows fogging that it is a shame there was not a recall. I hope Winnebago dropped them. I don't know what brand Winnie is using now. (I am not able to do repairs myself) My warranty doesn't cover glass...period. My State Farm Insurance will pay for a windshield; side windows are only covered if it is vandalism or wind damage or an accident. Joe

[MickBrennan]

There have been lots of discussions on this board about foggy double "pain" windows. One place that fixes them is Suncoast Designers in Hudson FL. They fixed two of ours at a reasonable price. The work is very fast and they are neat. The parking lot has water and 50 amp hookups in case you need to stay. Suncoast Designers repaired about 25 windows the day we were there, they said it was the slow season.

[azloafer]

I did a search for someone in the Tucson Metro area and came up with nothing. I'm hoping someone starts foggy window repair here. I am anticipating more Atwood window problems based on past experience. Joe

[nbounder]

According to the crack technical team at a local dealership/service center, dual pane windows do little to insulate us from the outside world. They claim the biggest gain from these gems is noise reduction. Anyone have experience to support this?

[Gary RVRoamer]

My last three rigs have had them and I can't tell much difference

[AFChap]

Quote:

According to the crack technical team at a local dealership/service center, dual pane windows do little to insulate us from the outside world. They claim the biggest gain from these gems is noise reduction. Anyone have experience to support this?

Were they by chance trying to sell rigs with single pane windows at the time??

Dual pane rigs are definately quieter inside in our experience. Other than that, dual pane glass makes the most difference in cold weather when single pane glass sweats profusely with the dribbling water staining walls, etc under the glass. I only wish the windshield were dual pane in that kind of weather!!!

[Cruzer]

Dual panes definitely are an improvement - both in heat transfer as well as noise. There's also differences between the various brands. Our 2003 Suncruiser had a deeper tint to it's dual panr windows. That helped keep the sunlight (heat) out of the coach on hot days but the outside window panes themselves got very hot and you wouldn't want to touch them on a sunny day. The windows in our '04 Bus and '07 Bus did not have this deep of a tint. It was easier to see out of them than the Itasca windows but the coach interior got hotter on sunny days because the lighter tint allowed more sun (heat, again) to penetrate the coach.

I've always thought that the golden reflective tint, like Country Coach used, was the way to go but from what I hear the gold coating gets scratched easily and isn't perfect either so I guess the jury is out on that.

My Itasca always had sweaty windows around the outer fringes in cool weather. While the dual pane portion provided a good insulation barrier, the aluminum frames conducted the cold into the coach and transferred that cold to the outer edges of the window. On a cool morning when the shades were first opened it was common to see through the center of the window clearly but have a 2" wide rim of condensation around the outer edges of the windows. Tiffin makes there own frames and uses a thermal break to eliminate conduction between the outer and inner portions of the aluminum window frame. I no longer have any condensation issues.

I guess the best would be Winnebago glass in Tiffin frames.

Actually, I've even found a difference between single pane and dual pane in the Fantastic Fan vent lids. Our Suncruiser came with an "insulated" vent cover. Really all it was was two vent covers glued together to form an air gap. When I first got my '04 Bus I found that the vent lid would drip condensation if we had lots of moisture in the coach in cool weather. They were the standard vent lids and they also got fairly hot in sunny warm weather. I replaced them with the dual pane covers and the lids remained cool in hot waether and no longer dripped.

So, yes - dual panes do have benefits.

[Rubytuesday]

We have a 2005 Winnebago Voyage with a fogged cab window on the passenger side of the coach. I have read several posts now about taking out the inside pane of glass. Does not sound to hard, I just am afraid that it will compromize the interigity of the window. Will it fall out? Is this a problem with most gas coaches as they do not have an airbag system like a diesel coach. We have already replaced the drivers window for the same reason. The rest of the windows are dual pane also and knock on wood, no problems yet.

[AFChap]

Quote:

Is this a problem with most gas coaches as they do not have an airbag system like a diesel coach.

Diesel coaches/airbag suspension rigs are by no means immune to this problem...