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FLiPisHoLLyWooD View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Topic: Broken Front Window???
    Posted: 12 Oct 2020 at 7:50am
Hey all, while driving down the highway this weekend, my front window shattered. not sure how this could’ve happened, as i’ve seen the videos on youtube testing how durable and shatter resistant the front glass is, so any insight from anyone or ideas on what this might cost to repair?

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Oct 2020 at 8:23am
Did it shatter into lots of small pieces? If so then its tempered glass.  Tempered glass gets its strength by heating and then rapidly cooling the glass sheet creating a thin but very high compression (>10,000 psi) layer in the surface. If a sharp object cuts through that surface the compression layer is compromised and the sheet immediately breaks into small pieces. 

That's not what car windshields are made of, they are made of two laminated layers of regular annealed (non tempered) glass, so when they break you get long cracks like in window glass, but since there are two glass layers with an adhesive layer they hold together safely. 

So that demo is bogus if they're using tempered glass, because the guy is striking it with a rubber mallet not with a sharp object like a rock. How many times do you see a rubber mallet flying at you on the highway?

In any event, you should contact FR for a replacement window. Maybe your trailer insurance policy will cover it. 



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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Oct 2020 at 8:26am
Shattered or is it a spider web looking cracks. Look for an impact point usually where the cracks converge.
If it just shattered it may be a bad installation and you can warranty it.
If it has an impact point and spiders from there your probably going to have a hard time getting them to cover it.
Good luck
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Oct 2020 at 8:52am
In the video you can see the window bend inward when struck or jumped on....so it's probably acrylic, lexan, or polycarbonate, or some similar derivative commonly called 'plexiglass'.

Maybe they use different suppliers, or because of a shortage of these, and installed actual glass in some of the recent units.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Oct 2020 at 9:06am
Hello and welcome!
I would contact my dealer if I were you and see if it can be replaced under warranty. This is a new trailer and the front window should not be shattering during normal driving. In my opinion (for what it is worth), there should be a cover for the window that can protect it while the trailer is being pulled. Even if this is (according to the video linked in your post) windshield quality glass, something is causing them to shatter. Therefore, having some sort of cover for travel would be prudent.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Oct 2020 at 9:28am
Tempered glass will flex like that too. But you're probably right, if you look close you can see what appears to be a piece fly off right at the end of the video. 

So not tempered glass and not laminated windshield glass. So that window has nothing in common with automotive glazing which is either one or the other. 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Oct 2020 at 10:40am
Originally posted by offgrid

Tempered glass will flex like that too. 

I've NEVER seen automotive tempered glass flex like that.

Tempered glass is extremely hard but also extremely brittle. (not talking about phones and tablets here) 

If you know this to be true, that large curved sheets of tempered glass can flex like a trampoline, you have managed one factoid that has eluded me for my entire life.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Oct 2020 at 11:15am
Originally posted by podwerkz

Originally posted by offgrid

Tempered glass will flex like that too. 

I've NEVER seen automotive tempered glass flex like that.

Tempered glass is extremely hard but also extremely brittle. (not talking about phones and tablets here) 

If you know this to be true, that large curved sheets of tempered glass can flex like a trampoline, you have managed one factoid that has eluded me for my entire life.


Best friend works for AGC, the company that makes about 90% of the glass in automobiles built in the USA. He is a mechanical engineer, and does all kinds of studies on glass. I assure you, tempered glass can and does flex. Some types of glass, and different layups can and will deflect more then some others, but it does happen to some extent regardless.

As far as the front windows on campers, Just like windshields, they can break. Stuff hits them. Stress fractures. Etc.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Oct 2020 at 11:18am
Originally posted by offgrid

Tempered glass will flex like that too. But you're probably right, if you look close you can see what appears to be a piece fly off right at the end of the video. 

So not tempered glass and not laminated windshield glass. So that window has nothing in common with automotive glazing which is either one or the other. 


I suspect the piece flying off is part of the plastic frame, not part of the window itself.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Oct 2020 at 12:36pm
Originally posted by podwerkz

Originally posted by offgrid

Tempered glass will flex like that too. 

I've NEVER seen automotive tempered glass flex like that.

Tempered glass is extremely hard but also extremely brittle. (not talking about phones and tablets here) 

If you know this to be true, that large curved sheets of tempered glass can flex like a trampoline, you have managed one factoid that has eluded me for my entire life.
>
Tempered glass has >10.000 psi surface compression, you have to either exceed that figure or scratch through the surface layer before it will break. It is incredibly strong, but when you compromise the compression layer all that energy gets released instantly and the glass sheet turns into a bunch of tiny pieces. If you go to the tempering furnace in a glass factory that's how the manufacturing engineers know how much surface compression they are putting in the glass. They take a piece of hacksaw blade and scratch an edge, then measure the size of the pieces. 

Solar module superstrates are 1/8 inch tempered glass. I designed and tested them for a living. In our front loading tests they had to support 113 lbs/ft2 combined wind and snow load. That is over 2400 lbs on a 1 x 2 meter standard solar module.  To put that in perspective its about 2 feet of water over the whole glass sheet. They flex well over a foot in that test and still wouldn't break unless they popped out of the frame first. 

We had a marketing manager who used to go to trade shows and jump up and down on the modules to demonstrate how strong they were. He was about 6'4" and weighed over 300 lbs, a lot more than the guy in the FR video. We finally got him to quit doing that after one of our customers installed a big solar array on a tar and gravel roof. His installation crew was walking all over the modules and broke dozens of them, not because of their weight but because they picked up sharp gravel on their work boots and scratched through the compression layer. 


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