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Old 04-30-2006, 10:27 PM   #1
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Residential windows......

I was in Lowes the other day and came across some windows. Low E, tinted, basement style, which means that they slide left to right, instead of up and down. Made out of vinyl and looked to be fairly heavily made. Any ideas on wether they would work or not? And would the screens stay on at 65-70 mph?

Thanks in advance,

Jeff

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Old 05-01-2006, 07:43 AM   #2
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I’d stay away from residential windows for the simple fact that the regs say you’re supposed to have only safely glass in a moving vehicle.
You’d probably get away with them …but if you ever got into an accident and someone got hurt. The courts would come down hard on you.
But if you don’t mind the cost of replacing the glass I would think it would work out fine.
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Old 05-01-2006, 12:02 PM   #3
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Safety glass is only required on front and rear windows of passenger vehicles. Obviously buses carrying children have different rules since all the windows on a school bus are safety glass. I kind of like the idea of "unsafe" glass personally as someone from the north country. I carry a spring loaded center punch in my truck all the time when I go driving out across the lakes. One push of the button and the side windows will shatter. Do that with safety glass and you get something that just resembles a rock chip. Of course I wouldn't drive my bus across the lake until there was 36 inches of ice anyway....

I think the windows would probably be ok, but I might worry about their construction and design tolerances not working so well in a setting that is always moving. The body of a school bus is always twisting and flexing. I'd worry that a window without a fair amount of "give" might break. Of course I have no real experience with this either. You want to be our crash test dummy?
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Old 05-01-2006, 01:59 PM   #4
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I think by safety glass he means it will shatter into a million little pieces not brake like a house window with big sharp edges. I've broken a few windows out of cars myself (not for malicious purposes) & they all shatter into little tiny pieces, I think that’s so you don’t get stabbed or cut by a big hunk of glass. Windshields have that plastic or whatever in them that keeps them from breaking apart.

I've never smashed a bus side window to see how it brakes.

I'm no expert but I've smashed a few (scrapyard bound) car windows in my time
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Old 05-01-2006, 04:19 PM   #5
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Safety glass is the stuff with the thin membrane on the back of it (usually plastic). This is what prevents your windshield from shattering, even with a crack. Swing a hammer at a windshield and then swing it at a side window and you'll soon see the difference. You can actually peel the plastic film off safety glass if you break it. As a side note....this is how a lot of factory tints are applied so they look like they are actually part of the glass....the tint itself is the DOT safety coating.

As for why car windows shatter differently than house windows is beyond me although I've seen them break into tiny pieces and into big chunks. It probably has an awful lot to do with the support structure and the shape of the glass. Someday if I'm bored and have a computer that can run the program again maybe I'll run a finite element analysis on a curved glass window and a flat pane and see what happens.
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Old 05-01-2006, 04:54 PM   #6
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This tells nothing of how well it works but I thought I would point out that house windows have been used on converted buses forever. Just take a look at some of the house buses at this site:

http://www.mrsharkey.com/busbarn/morebus.htm
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Old 05-01-2006, 05:28 PM   #7
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What I meant was I think that both "shatter into a million pieces" side windows & windshields are considered safety glass, just obviously different kinds.

Like I said I'm no window expert, in fact I never even thought of it until I started reading this post. Then I was thinking hey why do side windows shatter into a million pieces & house windows break into big hunks? I just assume its some sort of safety thing... I could be wrong but it makes since.
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Old 05-01-2006, 06:44 PM   #8
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Yeppers, I didnt know if it would be a good idea or not. Thats what I like about this forum, ask and yea shall know. I did make a deal with a guy on ebay for 6 rv side windows. So, I should be geting them within the next week or two.

Thanks all for the advice, going to stick with the rv style and type of windows for the safety aspect. Will be having my grand daughter and daughters riding with me.

And no I dont plan on being a test dummy.
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Old 05-01-2006, 08:41 PM   #9
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These are both types of saftey glass. The one that we all know is like the windsheild. The other that shatters into a million pieces is a tempered glass. My side windows are tempered glass. When my one broke from the tree branch peices went everywhere.
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Old 05-01-2006, 08:42 PM   #10
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RV windows might be a better idea anyway since they slide open rather than lifting up or tilting out. Lift up windows scare me (I've almost lost far too many fingers) and crank out windows would not only look goofy, but very well may make you illegally wide. I can't remember the exact width that's legal in Minnesota, but I know that my bus is close. I don't think it would ever be an issue, but it's something to think about.
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Old 05-01-2006, 08:55 PM   #11
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The windows I was looking at were the slide open, not the lift up. Were more like the ones you would find in a basement window app.
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Old 12-10-2019, 09:22 PM   #12
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You can also source windows made for children’s playhouses. They’re tempered glass (same as your windshield) and have that “home” look. They’re also mega cheap ��
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Old 12-10-2019, 09:57 PM   #13
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All the RVs our family had prior to 1985ish had residential style aluminum windows. I think all the glass was tempered though.
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Old 12-11-2019, 12:11 AM   #14
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love my horizontal sliders... but they were factory installed.
each one pops/tilts out for emergency exit, no roof exit
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Old 12-11-2019, 05:56 AM   #15
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But Brian whatever will you do? You're gonna scare these fine skoolie folks with your bus that has half the ribs of a a school bus!!! lol

How you been, man?
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Old 12-11-2019, 08:25 AM   #16
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But Brian whatever will you do? You're gonna scare these fine skoolie folks with your bus that has half the ribs of a a school bus!!! lol

How you been, man?
You mean it's gonna collapse from its own weight?!
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