New Specs for the Bus-House

        or.....

"I Can See Clearly Now"

Here's the scoop on our windshield. I had previously written about my crack problem and some valiant attempts to extend the windshield's life after it finally succumbed to a fifth rock impact during it's short life. But all my efforts subsequently failed. It was over. Time to throw in the towel. So officially... for the books, our average windshield life is 37,000 miles and just shy of 5 years. We saw a lot of the country through that glass during its time.

But you know how averages can leave one with an altered understanding of reality. And as we once again head down the road, in just a few weeks, I'll be extra vigilant and not a little fearful lest a rock-spewing gravel truck merges ahead of us... dramatically and quickly lowering that average. Oh no... say it ain't so Joe!

Out with the old...

 With replacement inevitable, I called our insurance agent... who had me call the insurance company's claims office... who had me call the nationwide glass people they deal with... who collected the vital information and found an installer who would be doing the job. I was surprised to learn that the installer can and does change out big single pane motorhome windshields in the field. Imagine that? I'd always heard that it was necessary to drive the motorhome in to a shop, hours away, where a team of people with a fork truck were needed to do the work. Once again, listening to all the "experts", I was misinformed. (I really should do a separate post on this subject -- RV "experts" we've known.  But it'll wait for another day.)

...and in with the new.

 Sure enough, this afternoon, as arranged, a small box truck shows up with three eager installers and a big hunk of glass that was destined to be our new windshield. It's not necessary to describe, blow by blow, the full process. But after just an hour and a half, they were leaving and the bus-house had new specs.

How much does this 5 foot tall by 8-1/2 foot wide curved sheet of glass weigh? No specific weight was listed, but two of us picked up and carried the old one back to the truck without too much effort -- so, I'd estimate it weights somewhere around 100 to 150 pounds... less than I thought it would.

And "they" said it couldn't be done!

 What did it cost? It didn't cost us anything thanks to glass breakage insurance and a declining deductable that had driven our portion to zero after four claimless years. But the quote to do the job was $2700 complete... about $2100 for the glass and $600 for installation. Now I'll wait and see what happens to my premium next year.