Windshield

[ruffian]

Could I get opinions on the good and bad of "one-piece" windshields.



We sold our "02" and now, being bored with no repairs to make, are looking for the next motorhome. I am trying to figure out if I want to buy into a Monaco with that big single piece of glass. I had to replace the left glass is my last Diplomat 2 years ago and I am still hurting.

[Bussinit]

We love the view from the big one piece. I have replaced it once after catching a rock. Every insurance policy I've had has had windshield coverage. The replacement wasn't without it's issues but it was covered after paying our deductible. The issue we had was the shop that did it just did a poor installation job. The insurance company paid for a removal and reinstallation and I haven't had any issues. Hope this is what you're looking for. I don't think I'd like having a split windshield after having the IMAX view that we have now.

[8.3Oilbuner]

Hi Keith & Shirley; If you want the big, Monaco called it their Pan-a View window, YOU NEED TO DO YOUR HOMEWORK! Depending on the model in the food chain and the year, there were a lot of problems with the glass cracking at the top or bottom corners of that big piece of glass. This was model dependent and there were problems with the support of the front cap of the coach not being able to support that big piece of glass. From what I know, the upper model coaches Dynasty and above all the way up to the Signature had frames and structures that gave support to the windshield. I have a 2001 Windsor with the all steel chassis and a 2 piece windshield and would only trade up in models that have the 1 piece glass. I am not an expert on this but have been reading enough over the years and spent 2 days at RV Glass Solutions in Coburg Oregon in 2015 getting my fogged left front window replaced with solid glass. These people know what they are doing and I was very satisfied with their work. There were many coaches there with cracking one piece windshields for repair so that there would be no more problems. I got to talk to coach owners and the tecs. there and you gain a lot of knowledge of what the problems are and what fixes were available at that time. Again, just passing along what I know about the subject so you can make a decision in your favor and not have to worry about a front windshield cracking.
I am sure others here who have had the problem I have mentioned will chime in and let you know what they experienced first hand. Hope you find this useful. I don't know of a list that would totally identify all affected Monaco coaches with one piece windshields with cracking problems. Have fun shopping!

[Bobbafett]

All I know is. Prevost continues using a 2 piece window. And my GBM has a split ....
Cheaper to replace if something happens to it.
Other then that. One piece is nice too.

[distaff]

I have the one piece and don't see how a 1 inch strip down the middle would ruin the view. Maybe on my next trip I'll put a bit of masking tape down the inside and report back.

[windsorbill]

Originally Posted by distaff

I have the one piece and don't see how a 1 inch strip down the middle would ruin the view. Maybe on my next trip I'll put a bit of masking tape down the inside and report back.

Now that's funny

Many years ago, my dad had a nice Southwind gas motorhome. It had a dual front glass windshield. Over time, he had gotten into a few sand storms and had pitted the front glass. I was newly married and we borrowed it for a long weekend. Of course, we picked up a rock and broke the drivers side front glass on that trip. I paid the deductible and had the insurance co replace it before I returned it to him. Up until then, he never noticed the sand pitting until he had new glass vs the old pitted side. It was noticeable. He ended up replacing the passenger side out of he own pocked after that.

In hind site, I think we should have made a claim for the sand damage and not the rock damage, but that was a long time ago.

If I were looking for a replacement coach, I think the windshield choice would be pretty low on the 'must have' list.

[shootist]

My friend has an 08 hr that cracks windows in any sort of twist. 1 piece, he only paid 1500 installed out of Bakersfield Ca. The first one was 5k

[windsorbill]

As 8.3 says above, it seems to vary between models and years. I have air only leveling and have never had an issue with the windshield popping or cracking. I did have to replace it about 8 years ago when we caught a rock, but that's not the coaches fault.

[ruffian]

It was 5 or 6 years ago and there was a group talking about building supports to stiffen the front cap to support the windshield better. Trouble is the group may have taken over another thread and now I can't find any info on the support structure that was used. Of course this all took place more than 24 hours ago so my memory fails me but I do remember that at that time I owned a 2002 Diplomat, 2 piece windshield so I wasn't to interested enough pay much attention to the conversation.

[vito.a]

I've had both a 2-piece and 1-piece windshield. The new 1-piece Panaview also has the dash slightly lower for a better view.
We actually had more issues with the 2-piece due to improper installation. But, once installed correctly, both have worked well.
The leveling system not working correctly seems to crack windshields no matter what style you have.

I did read a thread earlier this year that said some early Camelot's had a cracking issue:
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f115/pana...ld-428923.html

[Peterson143]

I will give you two items for thought on one piece windows. They are great for traveling down the road and have an unobstructed few. Although I have had Foretravels with split windows and can not honestly say one is that much better then the other. However, our current Sig has had the window replaced three times in the last two years at about $4K each. First coming back from Florida though Louisiana. I10 has a lot to be desired in some spots and when we arrived home the top corner and along the driver side was "popping" out of the frame. Insurance replaced but the RV window shop said that it appears that the previous installer had "shaved" the fiberglass frame and the result was pressure on the corner that had popped out. Our rig has a floating front window. That is the seal is cemented to the frame of the coach and the window rests inside the seal and floats as it were. Second time lost two air bags on right side and this twisted the frame which caused the window to crack. Apparently this is not unusual for single frame coaches with long wheel bases (45'). This is when I found out that the different windows are sometimes no more then a quarter inch difference in dimensions and this can cause issues. The window we had installed after the Florida trip was the wrong window for the rig and was only one quarter inch off on the comers which caused binding and the crack. Replaced with correct size for the coach and it looked and worked great. Last time was when went to pickup coach from dealer after service and found window had been cracked. Why? No one admitted blame but repair facility replaced at their cost because rig was in their care when it happened. So there you have it. Earlier poster mentioned that Prevost still uses the split window. I tend to think there is a reason for that but there again that is just my opinion.

[ruffian]

I appears there is no consensus as far as one or two piece windshields. Funny thing today though. Went motor home shopping and found a Monaco Executive that was a little rough but at the right price would be worth buying. It had a big one piece windshield. After my worries about cracks, I looked this one over pretty well. Then sunlight changed or something an after an hour of checking this coach out. The windshield was cracked. Curb side, about 18" long crack from side to bottom.


Oh well! Lots of fish in the sea.

[distaff]

One thing I can say about the one-piece shield is that the S-Series chassis (Executive, Signature, Dynasty - I think, Beaver Patriot Thunder and Marquis after 2005) was an all steel superstructure, and it flexed very little. This meant the windshields didn't crack or pop out as the did on the RR10 chassis with the aluminium superstructure.

Cracks can have a lot of causes, did you examine the crack to see if there was a stone chip along its path? The chassis will have no influence over stone chips that spread, but it will prevent cracking caused by changing the shape of the enclosure.

Someone else on here will probably know the specific years and models of the S-Series, but when I was shopping it was one of my criteria.

[Maybe so]

Originally Posted by ruffian

Could I get opinions on the good and bad of "one-piece" windshields.



We sold our "02" and now, being bored with no repairs to make, are looking for the next motorhome. I am trying to figure out if I want to buy into a Monaco with that big single piece of glass. I had to replace the left glass is my last Diplomat 2 years ago and I am still hurting.

May I ask where you had the windshield replaced and what the cost was?