Rpod 2020 192 windshield

I also had the front windshield shatter on our Rpod 195. It has been a nightmare, can't get Rpod on the phone. I got one call and now nothing but leave a message. We are from South Dakota and are in Oregon, trailer repair place said it could take months to get the windshield because they have trouble getting through to Forest River. This has been a nightmare. Couldn't find a rock in the trailer so have no idea why the windshield shattered. We have it taped with waterproof Gorilla tape and multiple layers of house wrap trying to keep out water. I can't drive this back to South Dakota so I'm hunting a place to store the trailer until we can get the window. So disappointed in Forest River assistance, last product from them.

Tempered glass will shatter if it's surface is struck and scratched by a rock or other hard object. The rock doesn't need to penetrate through the glass and the glass can even shatter later from an earlier scratch.

This is because tempered glass has a thin layer that is in compression on it's surface while the interior of the glass is in tension. The two lavers balance each other. It is the compression on the surface that is squeezing the glass together making it strong. Once a scratch is formed cutting through the surface compression layer it releases all the internal tension and you get thousands of little pieces. This usually will happen right away but not always, it could take a little time for the scratch to work it's way down to the tension layer.

Bottom line is tempered glass is a great material for things like sliding doors but a terrible material for windshieldd which are subject to strikes by sharp objects. You never see car windshields made of tempered glass for that reason.

If you get another tempered glass sheet for the front window of your rpod it will break again next time it gets a rock hitting it unless you cover it with something to protect it. Or you can get a sheet of polycarbonate (Plexiglas), cut that to size, and replace the existing window with that. Much better in the long run, nothing will break that stuff.

A better option for replacement of the tempered glass might be "safety glass" that they use for windshields.  It's the kind that has two sheets of untempered glass laminated with a sticky glue between the two sheets.  I've purchased it before when I had to replace a window that my son sent his skateboard through that was located next to a door.  It would probably stand up to the rocks and other road debris a little better than tempered glass.  

Thanks for the suggestion. Any ideas for how to get Rpod to answer their phone? :-)

Security film couldn't hurt and might help. A cover for use while traveling might help more.