# RV Windshield Replacement: Cost, Hours and Process in Hacienda Heights RV windshield replacement removes and installs the large laminated glass on a Class A coach or a van and truck chassis motorhome. Class A glass is usually set in a rubber gasket rather than bonded, comes as one or two pieces, and cracks far more often from chassis flex and gasket pressure than from a rock. ## Specifications - Price band: $2,500 to $7,500 - Shop hours: 6 to 18 hours - Turnaround tier: Moderate body - Insurance billable: yes - Parts lead time: 10 to 30 business days for Class A laminated glass, 5 to 10 for common chassis windshields - OEM brands: Hehr, Duncan Systems, Trim-Lok, Sika, Pilkington ## Most Class A windshields do not crack from rocks Owners are surprised by this and it is consistently true. A Class A coach sets very large laminated lites into a gasket in a body opening, and the body opening moves. The house structure flexes against the chassis over uneven ground, body mounts settle and compress with age, and the front cap itself moves with temperature. The glass is the stiffest thing in that assembly, so it takes the load. The result is a crack that starts at a corner or an edge and runs inward, with no impact point anywhere on it. Frequently it appears overnight or after a single hot afternoon, because thermal expansion is the last increment on a lite that was already loaded. Owners describe it as the windshield cracking by itself, and functionally that is what happened. This matters for the repair, because replacing the glass without addressing why it was loaded gets you another crack. We check the gasket condition, the channel for corrosion and distortion, the body mount condition where we can see it, and whether a prior install shimmed or forced the lite. Then we set the new glass with the gasket doing the work rather than the glass. ## One piece, two piece and what each one takes A two piece Class A windshield uses a center divider bar and two large lites, which is how most coaches from the 1990s onward are built. Each lite is heavy and awkward rather than truly heavy, and it takes a crew, suction handles and a controlled lift to set without twisting it. Twisting a lite during install is how a fresh windshield cracks in week two. A one piece windshield, common on newer high end coaches, is a single very large lite and the handling requirement goes up sharply. It also raises the stakes on the part: a one piece for a specific model year is frequently a special order with a long lead time and no substitute, and it carries a non refundable deposit at order because the freight and crating are real costs on a crated lite. Chassis windshields on Sprinter, Transit and cab chassis coaches are conventional bonded glass and price predictably. The one caution there is anything mounted in or reading through the glass. Where a camera or sensor lives on the glass, it comes off and goes back on its original bracket, and if the chassis maker requires a calibration procedure after glass service we will tell you so and refer that step rather than guess at it. - Two piece Class A, per lite or as a pair, divider bar and gasket renewed - One piece Class A, special order, long lead, crated freight - Gasket and lock strip replacement, which is where most water complaints resolve - Channel corrosion repair before glass, because rust in the channel means the next glass leaks too - Wiper transmission and cowl reinstatement disturbed by the glass work - Bonded chassis windshield on van and cab chassis coaches ## Cost, hours and the insurance path The band on this page is 6 to 18 hours at $210 per hour and the glass itself is the larger share of the total. That is why the low end is not low: even a single lite on a common Class A is a real part with real freight, and the labor includes gasket work, channel prep and reinstating everything the glass sits under. Glass is one of the more straightforward claims in this program. Comprehensive coverage commonly includes it, deductibles for glass are sometimes lower than the standard deductible, and the cause is easy to document. We bill direct with every major carrier and we write channel corrosion or gasket failure as its own line where it exists, because that part is usually the owner's rather than the carrier's. Where an owner wants to wait, the honest advice is that a crack in laminated glass runs. It runs faster in heat, faster over rough ground, and once it crosses the driver's primary sight line the coach should not be driven that way. Planning the replacement around a 10 to 30 business day lead time is far better than being surprised by it. ## Not included - We do not perform glass work at a customer location. A two piece Class A windshield is a bay job with a crane strap, a bench and two to four people. - We do not chip repair a crack that has reached a glass edge. Once it is at the edge the lite is compromised and it will run again. - Wiper motor and linkage failures are electrical and mechanical scope written separately, though we reinstate wiper transmissions disturbed by the glass work. ## Questions **Why did my motorhome windshield crack when nothing hit it?** Because on a Class A the glass is the stiffest element in a body opening that flexes. House to chassis movement, settled body mounts, a hardened gasket and thermal cycling all load the lite, and it relieves that load by cracking from a corner or an edge inward. The absence of an impact point is the tell. Replacing the glass without checking the gasket, the channel and the mounts invites a repeat. **Can a crack in an RV windshield be repaired instead of replaced?** A small contained chip away from an edge and away from the primary sight line can sometimes be stabilized. A crack that has reached an edge cannot, because the lite is compromised there and it will run again from the same place. On Class A glass most of what we see is edge originated, which is why replacement is usually the recommendation rather than a resin repair. **How much is a Class A windshield?** The band on this page covers it and the glass drives most of the number. A single lite on a common two piece application sits toward the bottom. A one piece special order lite with crated freight sits at the top. Labor is 6 to 18 hours at the posted body rate and includes gasket renewal, channel prep and reinstating the wiper transmissions and cowl. **Will my insurance cover it?** Frequently, and glass is often the cleanest claim on a coach. Comprehensive coverage commonly includes it and some policies carry a lower glass deductible. We bill direct with every major carrier. Where we find channel corrosion or a failed gasket that predates the crack, we write it as a separate line, since that portion is typically maintenance rather than a covered loss. **How long will the coach be here?** Plan on one to three weeks in the building once the glass has arrived, and check the lead time first. Class A laminated glass runs 10 to 30 business days and a one piece application can exceed that. Common chassis windshields are 5 to 10 business days. We do not pull old glass until the new lite is physically here and inspected. --- Source: https://ocrv.club/rv-body-shop/rv-windshield-replacement OCRV Center, 23281 La Palma Ave, Yorba Linda, CA 92887 Phone (949) 799-3387. Email info@ocrvcenter.com. Serving Hacienda Heights and the surrounding area. 18.4 miles, 24 to 38 minutes via SR-60 west to Fullerton Rd, then south to La Palma Ave. In shop work only. All estimates are priced and credited against an authorized repair.