Foggy Debacle

The foggy windows in the bus have always been an annoyance. They were foggy when we bought the bus. However, replacing them wasn’t a priority since the issue was primarily a cosmetic one.

This year, while sitting in Albuquerque, waiting for our Jeep to be repaired, we realized that we were reasonably close to a glass shop that offered foggy window repair. Essentially the seals are replaced and the glass cleaned. Repairs are far less expensive than outright replacement. So, off to Arizona we went.

The trip out I-40 westbound was ugly. A storm had come through the night before, and the black ice did a number on traffic. We were so thankful to have an onboard restroom and food as the 4 ½ hour trip to our stopping point turned into a 9 hour trip. The next day we arrived in Mesa and parked at the glass shop.

We noticed discarded razor blades and broken glass in the parking lot as we hooked up to electric. Hmm… Then we were told that the quote was not accurate. Our type of RV windows cost more to fix. Grr…This trip was not starting out well. Still, we were at the facility, and the revised quote was still in family with other facilities we had called. We decided to go ahead with the project.

The next morning the guys were ready to start at 7:00 am. They worked hard all day. At one point just about every window was out of the bus. This was a huge undertaking.

Late in the afternoon, the first couple of windows were reinstalled. They were still foggy. Wasn’t that what we just paid to have fixed? I was very upset. All that time and money, and we still had foggy windows! It turns out that the glass was etched. They had been in bad condition for too long. The guys were as discouraged as we were. Typically, etched windows leave a calcium deposit that is noticeable, and alternatives can be discussed upfront.

Over half of the windows were permanently etched. The glass would have to be replaced in those if we wanted clear windows. Ugh! More cost. So, we opted to have the glass replaced in some and live with the remainder. The guys worked diligently to redo the windows we asked. It was a costly option – time and money on our part, time and effort on theirs.

The windows are certainly better than before, but the process could have gone better. I think if I were to do it again, I'd only do one or two windows at a time. I think it would be far less frustrating and stressful on everyone. 

Hard at work

Kind of scary looking - especially when things go wrong

Before

After

Before

    

After