Pictures from a body shop...

[RTegarini]

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. This Winnebago motorhome is for what appears to be pretty obvious repairs to a leaking windshield frame, a problem that Winnebago denies or says is insignificant. Except to maybe the owners with this issue, that is.

[clyon51]

Heard about this problem from many winnie owners. First time I've ever actually seen it. Not good.

[John Hilley]

I think there are many a lot worse than that one.

[emiddleb]

Ah, you had the same pleasant surprise I had for my '04 Vectra when I had a windshield replaced early this Spring... had to essentially rebuild the whole frame for both windshields.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by RTegarini

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. This Winnebago motorhome is for what appears to be pretty obvious repairs to a leaking windshield frame, a problem that Winnebago denies or says is insignificant. Except to maybe the owners with this issue, that is.

A little duct tape and silicone and it'll be just fine!!

[doit2010]

Sure wish folks would quote the cost of things when talking about repairs replacement, and such. Sure would help the rest of us know we are getting a fair price,

SO what did is cost to repair your frame???

[emiddleb]

It always gets difficult to compare $$ on these things as each case is different as far as the amount of labor, materials etc to repair, which is why I was reluctant to share.

In my case, both windshields had to be removed (one was the broken one (rock impact) the other was fine but I wanted the rust on both sides fixed. There was a multi-month delay in getting a new 'official' windshield frame from Winnie at that time, so I elected to have the shop grind away the rusted portions, fabricate a new steel overlay, and weld all essentially make a new frame surface. Then of course replacing the windshields along with all the appropriate sealing and rustproofing so hopefully it won't happen again. Took about a week, biggest cost was the labor. Glass excluded, the frame repair was in the $2k range.

Shop said it wasn't their first rodeo when it came to doing this for a Winnebago...

[smlranger]

$1K per side is about right. I had my passenger side glass break due to rust and rust abatement and new glass was right at $1,000.

[FIRE UP]

Gang,
$2,000.00 is all you're saying it cost to repair the W/S frames and, replace the glass in both sides? Wow, that's incredibly cheap. I just had crack repaired in the passenger side and an estimate for that side of the windshield alone was close to $1,000.00. So all that work, and new glass, sure seems incredibly cheap to me. If you got it for that, that's great. I'd sure like to see the work prior to install of the glass.
Scott

P.S. On edit: Sorry, I just re-read the posts and saw that the glass was excluded from that cost. My bad.
Scott

[RTegarini]

Originally Posted by doit2010

Sure wish folks would quote the cost of things when talking about repairs replacement, and such. Sure would help the rest of us know we are getting a fair price,

SO what did is cost to repair your frame???

My father-in-law and I both used the same body shop and glass shop. Both windshields were replaced on both motorhomes. Approximately $1,000 in rust repairs to the body shop / approximately $2,400 for the windshield replacements. His repair was slightly more due to more windshield frame replacement than mine, but not by much, so figure $3,500+ with 'taxes and shop supplies' charges.

$7k between just these two motorhomes. Yeah, good job Winnebago! I can't believe more people here aren't outraged here, but they sure don't seem to be, or at least based on the couple of other threads here.

[emiddleb]

Originally Posted by RTegarini

$7k between just these two motorhomes. Yeah, good job Winnebago! I can't believe more people here aren't outraged here, but they sure don't seem to be, or at least based on the couple of other threads here.

To be fair, this has been discussed quite a bit. Quick search shows 40 threads in this Winnie Forum with keyword "rust" in subject. One thread is 16 pages and 220+ postings. Some about windshield, some about bays, some others.

Agreed on the issue... I've spent a fair number of hours working on the metal around my bays doing the POR15 treatment and have already discussed my windshield fix. But at some point I shrugged and figured that I'd rather fix the problem and enjoy the RV.

[go6car]

Horrible.

Does insurance cover any of this?

Just horrible....

[MRBB]

They could have used alum. and saved money and weight and not had any of these problems. Like the Stainless steel pump I bought. All parts S.S. except the steel shaft! What are these engineers thinking?

[emiddleb]

go6car, no, not usually covered by either insurance nor extended maintenance plans. Considered 'wear-and-tear' or sometimes 'owner negligence on maintenance' though how you'd check this without removing windshields is a question. At least it was so in my case...

[RTegarini]

Originally Posted by emiddleb

Considered 'wear-and-tear' or sometimes 'owner negligence on maintenance' though how you'd check this without removing windshields is a question.

'owner negligence on maintenance' is certainly one of the explanations I got from a Winnebago customer service rep.

In all fairness to Winnebago, on a non-existent page in my Owner's Manual it does state that the 'motorhome should never be driven or stored in inclement weather... and that if driven or stored in inclement weather or washing the motorhome is necessary, the reveal windshield molding must be removed immediately and all moisture thoroughly dried with a heat or hair-drying device. If the moisture is more extensive around the windshield frame, it's recommend to have a professional glass company remove the windshields and completely dry all surface areas. Failure to do so will absolutely lead to extensive rust and windshield frame failure.

The manual also points out that if this not feasible or practical over the estimated life and use of the motorhome, the purchase of any other brand of motorhome may be more practical and highly recommended.

I've owned many vehicles in my lifetime and other RV's and have never had this rusted windshield frame issue, but then anytime it was raining, or even might rain, I always walked to work and only camped in a tent, so my rusted Itasca is entirely self-inflected.

[emiddleb]

Bet you pulled off your "Dry-clean only" tag... maybe our windshield caulk shrunk?

[smlranger]

Originally Posted by FIRE UP

Gang,
$2,000.00 is all you're saying it cost to repair the W/S frames and, replace the glass in both sides? Wow, that's incredibly cheap. I just had crack repaired in the passenger side and an estimate for that side of the windshield alone was close to $1,000.00. So all that work, and new glass, sure seems incredibly cheap to me. If you got it for that, that's great. I'd sure like to see the work prior to install of the glass.
Scott

P.S. On edit: Sorry, I just re-read the posts and saw that the glass was excluded from that cost. My bad.
Scott

Scott, when I had my PS windshield done, it was $800 to Guardian for the glass and labor. Rust abatement done by the body shop included cleaning off the rust and using SEM Rust Seal (similar to POR). No cutting or welding was necessary. They also re-glued my genset access door and total to body shop was $200.

[wonderer1]

for my own info. when these shops are dealing with the rust are they replacing it with stainless steel or using hot rolled metal and a rust inhibitor ??? when i was young one of the tricks the old mechanics showed me was always paint you metal hot. testing --take scrap peice of metal. take a torch heat up your metal real hot. spray some paint it will burn off. but at a point you will reach, when it does not burn off, it sucks the paint in. that paint is also harder to chip off.

[C20]

My 08 looked as bad as that one. Repaired at the dealer in Kansas City for 1k.

[RonK]

Just curious, don't have a horse in the race, but does anyone know if Winne has changed the design to eliminate this problem?