On the road and getting no help

[Nalle]

It's a long story, but it needs to be told.....
On our northbound trip from AZ to Canada in April, a semi throw a rock and shattered the driver side slider window on my 2004 Itasca Meridian. Having full glass coverage, I called my insurance company who referred me to Safelite Solutions, who handles their glass claims. As this happened in Canada, they referred my to their Canadian counterpart.
Nobody could find a replacement, but after I made several calls to Winnebago, they found one spare that I promptly ordered and had shipped up to Canada.
I found a local shop willing to help me with the installation, only to find out that it was the wrong window. Winnebago was good - they gave me a full refund rather quickly.
Back to the Insurance Company and Safelite Solutions. Nobody could find a new window for me. So, I started looking myself and eventually found a company i Florida that could make me a new window (thermal dual pane) for about 25% of what I paid for the one from Winnebago. Great! But, I did not want to have it shipped to Canada, with duties and extra shipping cost. Just ship it to my first stop back in US - Burlington VT.
So, I am now on my way to Burlington and trying to get some local help with the installation. Well, all of a sudden Safelite Solutions, who is the Insurance Company representative and that could not find me a replacement window, has no interest. Since they are not supplying the window (I guess where the profit is?) there is no interest in just getting the installation labor. The same holds true for the main RV dealer in Burlington - no interest in just the labor.
Maybe this is the new industry standard?? With full glass coverage insurance, I have had to do all the work myself and I have paid for everything myself and now it seems that I am stuck with installing it also. At least I know that it will be done right then......

Nalle

[RickNC]

From a repair shop perspective, You ordered a window that is not the original replacement. . Since it is not the original window, insurance is probably not going to pay for it, If they do it won't likely be for the actual amount of labor it took to install. If the shop has to modify the opening or do other work your bill is going to quickly go up to the tune of $100 plus an hour. Plus the window being being of unknown quality to them, they don't want to be stuck with a claim if something goes wrong with the window.
I worked as mechanic and service manager for several years in a car dealer, we always sent these jobs down the road to someone else unless they were an established customer with us.

[Gary RVRoamer]

Safelite isn't really in the RV side window business and the local Safelite franchisee in VT probably doesn't want to get potentially bogged down (see RickNC reply) in a low profit job. Safelite itself is an automotive glass supplier that profits from the glass they sell through local installers, so no profit for them either.

I sympathize with your difficulty but am not at all surprised by it. It is often difficult to get RV side windows fixed at all, and you made it even harder. Besides, VT isn't exactly a hotbed of RV services. You may have some better luck in an area with mre glass shops and RV services, but it's still likely to be at premium prices.


Do you have a whole window or just the glass to be inserted in the frame? I ask, because replacing an entire window is rather easy and you can probably get a mobile RV tech or handyman to do it. Inserting glass in the frame, however, is a bit more complex, plus there is the risk that the glass won't be quite the right size.

[Isaac-1]

I just went through something similar in Louisiana, ended up getting the windshield through the insurances preferred vendor, Safelite Solutions then having it installed by a local glass shop as the preferred vendor had no installation service in my area. The entire process took a bit over 3 weeks, 2 of which was Safelite Solutions locating a windshield.

[Sue46]

We had a window break. We have full RV coverage and were given the name of a place to order the window from in Ohio(?), Duncan Glass, 574-294-6852.


The had me take pictures of the window, get some numbers off of it and sent them the info. Easy to deal with. We had them ship it to a third party repair place and they installed it.


Do you have fulltimers insurance? The Safelite solution sure seems like the Rv is attached to an auto policy.

[Nalle]

Well, the point is that I have insurance and pay for full glass coverage. Over the years, I have had a few windshields replaced. Every time the insurance company has taken care of me - either sending someone out to do the job, or sending me to a Safelite shop. And, this time nothing. Glass is glass. Just because it is on a different side of the RV, it is still covered. I did not pay for windshield insurance, I am paying for full glass coverage.

Nalle

[FIRE UP]

While I sympathise with your not so pleasant solution, I have a question. You say a "semi throw a rock and shattered the DRIVERS SIDE SLIDER WINDOW...." I'm wondering, how this is even possible. I'm not saying it didn't or can't happen, I'm just trying to figure out the physics of it happening. If you're following a semi and it picks up a rock and flings it backwards, what kind of odds would be that, that rock, could go past the windshield, past the drivers side STATIONARY window, past the driver side mirror, and then hit the SLIDER which, is deeper into the coach, than the stationary one?

Now, if you're approaching a semi, and it's going the opposite direction that you are, and it does the same thing, picks up a rock and flings it in your direction, again, that rock, which for all intent and purpose, is basically hurling parallel to both the truck and you, now has to slide by the windshield, the mirror, the stationary piece of class and hit, with enough force, to shatter that deeper inset slider, on the drivers side. Hmmmm.

Now, even if the rock were to contact the mirror, and, like a pool table cue ball shot, be angled at the precise angle to hit ONLY THE SLIDER, that's still an amazing feat.

Now, as for your glass, there used to be a place in AZ that made about 98% of the windows for RVs, ALL RVs. They were a huge company. They had the templates for a zillion RV windows and, if they didn't have one that you needed in stock, they'd have it that afternoon from a template. But, as usual, that was a while ago and I don't recall their name. Sorry.
Scott

[Blastvalve]

Nalle - Welcome to the Burlington Area! Give Washburn Auto Body a call, they can do RV work (Not sure on RV glass but I know they do RV body repairs) and have a bay that can take rigs up to 50 feet. They do car glass, just not 100% sure if they do RV.

Washburn's Auto Body
204 Boyer Circle
Williston, Vermont 05495
Call: 802-863-1383
Fax: 802-864-3546
E-mail: info@washburnautobody.com

They are not too far from Exit 12 off I-89. Owners name is Aaron.

[Isaac-1]

You ask how this happens, the answer is all sorts of ways. My recent front windshield break occurred when an oncoming 18 wheeler dump truck threw a rock, which by definition means the rock was on a divergent flight path, which means it is likely to hit the front of the vehicle, but could also hit the side.

[cataska]

RV glass solutions Oregon they know what glass you need and can ship it to you.

[Nalle]

Well, that was a long dissertation on rock throwing. It is entirely possible if you are stopped at a 45 deg angle, waiting to get on a highway and a semi truck, without the trailer and no rear wheel fenders come driving by at 70 miles an hour.
It is one hell of a surprise when a window a foot from your left ear disintegrates and unless someone a few miles away could throw a rock that far I'll put my money on the one and only passing semi.
Nalle

[rodekyll]

I was headed through Snoqualmie Pass one night in a blinding snowstorm when suddenly my driver's vent window exploded. Never figured out what happened. It was just gone. Nobody else on the road that I could see, and it was night in the wilds.

[leadman]

I am currently 11 days into getting a windshield replaced thru Progressive insurance. They have their glass work done by Safelite Solutions which passes it on to Duncan to actually get the job done, maybe.
I have thrown many rocks when I a kid and the majority would curve. I would not expect a rock to fly perfectly straight.

The rock that hit my passenger window high in the top center almost came thru the glass. Did manage to punch a little hole thru. Did not see when we parked that night as it was in the blackened area at the top. In the morning the windshield had 2 one foot cracks in it.

[Sue46]

We were very happy with Duncan. We didn't need a windshield replaced but a window further back in the MH. We were on the road, Duncan ordered the window, held onto it until we conctacted them as to where to send it and had a 3rd party install it. Our insurance paid for everything.