Windshield break #2

[bpaikman]

I'm on my 2nd windshield that was replaced in December of 2018 by Newmar. The first one broke unexpectedly but seemed be a very small rock ding near the bottom center. The crack showed up one morning after raising the opaque shade to my complete surprise.

Now on the 2nd windshield it appears to be an identical scenario. Small rock ding, barely noticeable, near the bottom right of center. It formed a crack about 6 inches long and stabilized until my last campground where it was sunny and hot, I put the opaque shade down and as I was getting ready to start washing the front I heard a subtle pop noise, the crack went bottom center to top right.

The common scenario here is a very very small rock ding on the bottom of the glass I'd say 2 inches up from the bottom. It seems that the glass there is very thing, I'm not sure the thickness is uniform or not but my hunch is it's thin on the bottom. My thinking is that if I can prevent these very minor rock dings on the bottom it may help with longevity of the windshield. When I get #3 installed which I believe will be this coming October I plan to put clear bra adhesive tape along the bottom of the glass to help add a protective barrier.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LXD0VMP/?tag=rvf01-20

On another note, the last time around I was insured with National General who handed off to Duncan for the glass. I made sure I had glass coverage when I got my insurance, it was not on by default, and as replacement is approximately $4500 a pop you better make sure. This time around I'm with SAFECO who partners with Safelite Solutions. This is an entirely different ballgame as Newmar doesn't work with SAFECO/Safelite for some reason and now I'm waiting what seems like a long time to hear back to see if the estimate I got from Newmar will be covered in full or not. Getting through to SAFECO and Safelite has not been a good experience. As I just renewed I think next year this time I'll be looking for another insurance company.

We had to replace both split windshields on our 2006 Winnebago - It turned out it was not from water getting into the frame in an area we couldn’t see and weakening the support. The good thing is that insurance covered it - we were able to delay making a claim for a year or two, to get full coverage - I can’t remember why it worked that way. It was great because we were able to replace just before selling.

 

[Neal]

I was with an agency that used safelite. As stated Newmar will not work with safelite.

I had safelite transfer the claim to Duncan. This happened same day. A call to Duncan confirmed, and then newmar took over from there.

Thanks @redbaron as I got a reply from Safelite today to contact Duncan and tell them to take ownership of the claim. I called Duncan, they called Safelite and it's a bit of a mess that needs to be untangled as Safelite has it as a reimbursement. Long story very short is the Safeco/Safelite setup is a royal pain, if you file a claim tell them up front you want Duncan Systems to handle the claim. Duncan stepped up and is handling the transfer as initially I was told I had to go back and start over with the claim or something. Problem is you have to do everything through email with the Safeco/Safelite setup and wait a week between emails. I'm waiting to hear back from the kind gal at Duncan who is trying to straighten things out.

 

[Neal]

It's been handed off to Duncan, just got the call from them. Whew! So much easier!

 

[Neal]

Not turning out to be so easy. Duncan is not able to get Safeco/Safelite to get out of the "customer reimbursement" mode. Trying to get through to Safeco - PITA!

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

Ouch! That’s pretty ugly. At least up to now, we’re feeling pretty fortunate. State Farm accepted our claim, approved use of RV Glass Solutions in Oregon, and we have an appointment set up with them on June 23-25. They have confirmed the appointment and the fact that all the paperwork is in place. Keeping fingers crossed.

TJ

 

[bpaikman]

We had to replace both split windshields on our 2006 Winnebago - It turned out it was not from water getting into the frame in an area we couldn’t see and weakening the support. The good thing is that insurance covered it - we were able to delay making a claim for a year or two, to get full coverage - I can’t remember why it worked that way. It was great because we were able to replace just before selling.

That should read : It WAS from water getting in and rusting the window frame support.

 

[Neal]

Finally! I was told to call 1-800-800-0101 and have them remove the "reimbursement" status of the claim and Duncan now has control over it. Painful!

 

["EZ"]

I guess I need to call Allstate to make sure I'm covered for Windshield damage.