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offgrid 
Senior Member 
Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
 Topic: Broken Front Window???Posted: 12 Oct 2020 at 3:15pm |
Good point. So we are needing Flipishollywood to let us know if the window he has is glass or plastic....If glass then it should be tempered and should have broken into a bazilion pieces. If plastic, its probably acrylic, polycarbonate/lexan is very difficult to break, at least not until it has been UV damaged, which takes awhile.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
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mjlrpod
Senior Member
Joined: 27 Sep 2016 Location: Massachusetts Online Status: Offline Posts: 1215 |
Posted: 12 Oct 2020 at 4:41pm |
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This is becoming a quite common complaint on the facebook V2 r-pod site. I actually hate the front window idea all together. If r-pods continue to put them on pods, I will move to a different model next time I buy. I hope within a few years when I'm looking, they will have stopped putting the front windows on.
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2017.5 Rp-172
2020 R-pod 195 2015 Frontier sv 4.0L 6cyl I'll be rpodding |
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FLiPisHoLLyWooD
Newbie 
Joined: 23 Jun 2020 Location: Indianapolis Online Status: Offline Posts: 3 |
Posted: 12 Oct 2020 at 6:11pm |
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couldn’t get the photo to upload, so here is a link to see the broken window. it’s definitely tempered glass from what i can tell. Pic of broken rpod window
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2020 R-Pod 190
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FLiPisHoLLyWooD
Newbie
Joined: 23 Jun 2020 Location: Indianapolis Online Status: Offline Posts: 3 |
Posted: 12 Oct 2020 at 6:12pm |
I may need to get on the facebook group if there’s a V2 forum for owners. |
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2020 R-Pod 190
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offgrid
Senior Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
Posted: 12 Oct 2020 at 6:29pm |
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Yep, sure is tempered glass. Most likely a rock hit it, cut the surface layer and broke it. When FR says that it is like your car windshield they are misrepresenting, windshields are not made of tempered glass. They are laminated glass so they don't turn into shrapnel when a rock hits them. Your car's side windows are tempered glass, but those aren't subject to rocks striking them.
If you can't get FR or your insurance company to help then you will unfortunately will need to pay to have the window replaced yourself. Then cover it with something while driving, it will just keep happening otherwise. Maybe glue magnets to the glass to hold the cover?
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
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podwerkz
Senior Member
Joined: 11 Mar 2019 Location: Texas Online Status: Offline Posts: 966 |
Posted: 14 Oct 2020 at 8:51am |
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I would make an attempt to find a plastic alternative. (lexan, acrylic, polycarbonate, etc)
Using a tempered piece up there, when the entire automotive world does not, seems inappropriate on the part of Forest River. But, it does not surprise me especially in these days of increased demands, rapid production, inflated margins, long wait times, poor engineering, lack of quality control, and the overall apathy from the major players in the RV industry. But, having said that, I do like the Camping World YouTube Concert Series on Tuesday Nights,,,so there IS that.  |
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r･pod 171 gone but not forgotten!
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offgrid
Senior Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
Posted: 14 Oct 2020 at 9:15am |
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I agree that a polymer for that application would be much better.
If someone wanted to take on that challenge then polycarbonate (Lexan is a brand name of polycarbonate just like Plexiglas is a brand name of acrylic) would be the better choice. Stronger, less brittle, and you can heat form it with a heat gun if you are careful. The problem is going to be to get the shape right and get it glazed in so it doesn't leak. Getting a leak in that area could be a much worse disaster than a broken window. Another thing that could help would be to cover the tempered glass with a clear vinyl layer. Get as thick vinyl as you can, the purpose would be to stop small rock chips from reaching the glass surface. If you ever get a big rock strike it would still break but that should be a rare event unless you're towing to Alaska or something. You'd need to experiment a bit with clear adhesives to stick it on there, and you'd want to be able to replace it after a couple of years when the vinyl gets weathered. Or stick it on with magnets.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
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ArenaBlanca
Senior Member
Joined: 07 Sep 2016 Location: Alamogordo, NM Online Status: Offline Posts: 158 |
Posted: 14 Oct 2020 at 10:02am |
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Many of the new camper models have these front windows so I suspect this problem will not be uncommon. Has anyone found a way to prevent this from happening? They make "bras" for cars to prevent rocks from chipping the paint and bugs from staining it. Do they make something similar for R-Pods and how would you secure it?
I had a Trailmanor camper once that had an aluminum cover over the front window. But the window had an internal wooden frame that was more secure than the sandwich material used to make the new R-Pods.
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Enjoy Life!!
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Bounder
Newbie
Joined: 28 Jul 2020 Online Status: Offline Posts: 15 |
Posted: 15 Oct 2020 at 3:48pm |
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Slightly lengthy, but there's a bunch to say here. My wife and I just got home from an extended trip to the Oregon coast with our 196 (2021 model, but early in the model year production with the 202 graphics). We woke one morning late in the trip and discovered that our front window was shattered - completely crazed one side to the other, top to bottom with no sign of an impact visible. It had stayed in place - at least until it was touched, at which point parts began to fall out.  The calls began. Contacted my selling dealer, who expressed sympathy but said there was nothing they could do - that FR responded better to direct calls by customers. Contacted FR - who have, by the way, a system designed specifically to make it difficult to reach human beings directly. Eventually reached, after multiple calls, Meghan in Warranty. I described the issue to her, indicating we were on the road, and would be leaving on another trip just a short time after our return home. I told her I knew we would have to take steps to prevent further damage while moving the trailer, whether to home or a dealer or wherever. I also told her I knew the factory was nearby, and asked her to check whether there was any way of using their resources. As it turns out - and amazingly - Meghan arranged for the factory in Oregon to have the window replaced right away. We drove the 3 hours (5 as it turned out, due to a road closure), and the window was replaced the next day. Wonderful - and a good attitude from the staff there. Kudos on that front to them and to Meghan. As it turns out, the replacement unit was either poorly installed or has some faults of its own - that night, we had heavy rain in the California redwood forest, and the new window leaked like crazy! The new problem has been reported, I have done my own temporary repair on the leak issue (high quality silicone sealant, used liberally  ), and we will see how they handle this. Also, I would swear the interior metal frame is installed top to bottom, as there is now a seam split in the bottom that was on the top with the original.In discussion with the factory staff, I found out a few things...
Since this is happening often enough to be noticed, I strongly suggest that any of us who have these windows should be loud and persistent (though polite) in telling FR that they need to make this change, and to make it available as a retrofit for those with the earlier design. |
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Bounder
2021 196 Hood River |
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mjlrpod
Senior Member
Joined: 27 Sep 2016 Location: Massachusetts Online Status: Offline Posts: 1215 |
Posted: 17 Oct 2020 at 9:28am |
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I predicted this very issue the first day I saw they were putting front windows on the pods. I commented on it here a year ago. It was so simple to see. I hate the entire idea anyway. Who wants a big window right over there head in bed. It lets light, and pulls in cold in spring and fall camping. Any leaks will go immediately into the bed. The whole thing is terrible in my opinion. I hope they stop putting the front window in by the time I buy my next pod, or i'll be buying something else. I'm so glad I got my 195 before this silly decision was made.
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2017.5 Rp-172
2020 R-pod 195 2015 Frontier sv 4.0L 6cyl I'll be rpodding |
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Broken Front Window???