My replacement w/s is falling out.

[Chips_Away_Windshield_Repair]

Two years the passanger side of my motorhome took a big hit on I-10 in AZ, cracked out even before I could stop and repair.

At the time we had R.V.Alliance Insurance, they used Duncan Glass Claims (?) for their claims.

They had me go to a shop for rplacement.

Yesterday on I-70 in Kansas I looked over and the top r/h corner is out 1/4th. of an inch, no sign of adhesive.

I called Duncan, they are hem-hawing around, supposed to get back this afternoon-not yet.

We live in Texas, a long way from replacement shop in AZ.
I suspect they will tell me to go back to the shop where installed. Not an option, over 1000 miles away.

Any ideas on what I should tell either the installer or Duncan if and when they call?

Thanks for any help and advice guys.....Bill Boone

[sydfloyd44]

Duncan Systems, as we know them, is best known for handling claims for State Farm. They specialize in conversion vans, motor homes, etc. Although we refuse their work, the way it normally works is this. You call your insurance, claim for the motor home goes to Duncan Systems, Duncan Systems gets you hooked up with an auto glass company that accepts their terms, DS ships the auto glass company the windshield for the motor home and the auto glass company is paid to put it in. The reason we refuse them is because there is only a little labor money to be made. Our real profit is on the glass. In this case, DS is making the bulk of the money for our work.
Back to your motor home. Your windshield is probably in a gasket. Knowing this, I am having a hard time imagining what is happening. Is it out of the gasket? If it is, there is really only 2 explanations I can think of. Either it was not fully in when originally installed or it was pushed/bumped from the inside. Is the locking strip in place on the outside of the gasket? (strip that runs thru the center of the gasket that locks it in place) In the extreme AZ heat, the gasket is probably 'extremely' soft. Hard to say without seeing it. There is typically no adhesive used in these gaskets unless the technician sees it is necessary for sealing purposes. Class A homes are not under the same FMVSS as passenger cars/trucks. Regardless, Duncan Systems should set you up with another another auto glass company where you are. This is what they do!!! They have contacts with auto glass companies all over the country. If there is an issue with going to a different auto glass company than the original installers, that should be an issue that DS should deal with. Especially if they recommended the original shop. There are requirements set by DS and insurance companies for what and how a shop warranties a job.
Well, hope this gives you enough info? too much?
Please post back to let us know how you make out or if you run into any roadblocks with them. Will try to help as much as possible.

P.S. As another avenue, this is how our company would handle this. We would do WHATEVER it takes to get the situation corrected. If we have to work with another company in another state and pay them for the work directly, we will do that. I can tell you we only had that situation one time for something minor. When the auto glass company called us, they told us what was happening and from experience, we knew whether the problem was legit and how to fix it. Fortunately, it was a GREAT shop who took care of the customer exactly as we would have, (talked to them when they returned home), and the cost was minimal. Checked their work and we are very satisfied. (we are much more critical than even the customer is!)
Just another thought.... Let us know!

[Lee]

Quote.
"P.S. As another avenue, this is how our company would handle this. We would do WHATEVER it takes to get the situation corrected. If we have to work with another company in another state and pay them for the work directly, we will do that."
Here is another thought.. A lot of 1980-late1990 motor homes were built of fiberglass without metal reinforcement in the w/s area. These will warp and the w/s's will seem to be installed incorrectly. Is your Co going to rebuild the front of the motor home? And are you going to eat the cost? The Ins CO will probably say, so sorry not our fault. We didn't build it. Then the customer can sue you the Ins CO and the w/s Manufacturer, Cause IT WASNT LIKE THAT BEFORE YOU PUT THE GLASS IN. Avoid these like the plague.

[sydfloyd44]

Lee, instead of jumping on anyone who has an opinion in attempting to help someone else, try adding something that might not be so cynical.
The post from graybeard said nothing about whether or not MY company should or should not be doing certain jobs. I am sure he could care less. He just wants to get his motorhome fixed so that he can get home SAFE.

P.S. Coincidentally, we DO NOT do Class A homes. Haven't done them since 1997. I was simply making a reference of what a company, such as ours, would do in this situation and yes, if we had to pay to get the fiberglass rebuilt, whether you believe it or not, WE WOULD. Just about 6 months ago we gave, yes, gave acustomer a comparable replacement vehicle because when the customer came to have his windshield replaced, it was rusted beyond repair. Turns out we had a hack working for us at that time and he never primed it. We took full responsibility and made it right. OK, so our company is one in a thousand. Can't imagine why we are so successful?

[Lee]

Never said you were a bad guy but giving away money for something you did not cause is not in your best interest. I also will go all the way to see that a customer is satisified but will not bend over to the sue happy bone heads that are out there. I have had customers accuse our shop of using 4" lag screws that they have picked up in one of there tires and wanting a new tire. I have also had a customer accuse us of runing a transmission because we put a w/s in their car. If you want to give away your business its your problem. If you don't do class A motor homes why did you post?????

[sydfloyd44]

Am I missing something here?

We used to do a lot of motor homes prior to us stopping in 1997. Haven't touched them since. This is for the exact problems as you stated. We don't want the liability and issues coming back at us. I know all about ridiculous accusations some customers can make. We deal with it on occasion. This is why we also do a full written pre-inspection on every vehicle we work on. Customer signs off and work begins. Limits the problems tremendously.

As far as "if we don't do Class A motorhomes, why did I post". Do you really need me to explain? At no point did I say what the problem is? Without seeing, nobody could give a definite answer. Anyone with any auto glass experience could look at it and determine what is wrong. Re-read graybeards question. That is what I answered. "Any ideas on what I should tell either the installer or Duncan if and when they call?" I gave a guess at the problem and then stated who Duncan Systems is, what they do and a suggestion on how to deal with them.

I have worked with Duncan Systems for a lot of years. No, not on the claims part because as I stated, we refuse that work. That is not the only business they do.

As I stated before, stop being so cynical and trying so hard to make someone else wrong. If you have another idea for Greybeard, post it. THAT IS WHY HE POSTED!

[Lee]

GRAYBEARD, Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. The cure to your problem is to sell your motor home to sydfloyd44. Their business is so succesful that they have enormous funds to spread around and need a motor home to store the extra cash. All this money would probably push the w/s's out any way so that is not a problem. Graybeard I hope your roof hasen't shifted or warped. Take it to a glass shop and get an opinion. If you are in the So. Cal area stop by and I will try to help you out. Sydfloyd44 why are you hiding behind a dumb name????????
A. Lee Festich
Alan Auto Glass
599 S Bonnywood Place
Burbank, Ca. USA 91502
phn 818-845-7300 fax 818-845-7355
http://alanautoglass.com/
AAAGLASSS@AOL.COM

[Chips_Away_Windshield_Repair]

All is well.
Thanks for the responses.
As it turned out, Duncan called the following A.M., told me to call Brinswanger Glass in Blue Springs MO where we were abut to check into a campground. Took the coach over to them,they had the approval from Duncan to take care of the problem.
According to the tech who seemed quailfied the glass coming out of the seal all along the right side is common on motorhomes due to the leveling systems. I left it and three hours later I was able to pick it up.
The tech said it just took "repositioning"

[sydfloyd44]

GREAT!!!!!

Glad it worked out for you without too many headaches!

Thanks for letting us know.