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Old 04-28-2022, 10:37 PM   #1
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RV Windows - dual pane worth it?

Finalizing design requirements for RV windows (we ditched the stock windows), and am realizing there is a bit of a price gap between non-insulated and insulated dual pane RV windows.

I'd love the hive-mind's perspectives on:
  1. How much of a liability is a non-insulated RV window in a 4 season bus?
  2. (assuming they are necessary) Any hot leads on sourcing insulated windows of reasonable price/quality?

Thanks!

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Old 04-28-2022, 11:01 PM   #2
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My bus has all its original windows and I'm building insulated inserts to cover them all out of 2" XPS faced with plywood. Insulated dual-pane windows are better than single pane, but they're still far enough from real solid insulation that you'd probably want to cover them in really cold weather anyway, so in my mind they'd not be worth spending the extra money on.
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Old 04-29-2022, 10:27 AM   #3
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After years of camping in a Suburban and waking to condensation pouring down the inside of the windows I made sure I used dual pane windows in my little bus. The only window I get condensation on is the windshield--even with the use of a close fitting shade.
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Old 04-29-2022, 04:40 PM   #4
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Nice. I will be watching this thread too. As ol trunt said, condensation is a real concern. In my opinion, for cold-weather use, insulated glass is the way to go.

I haven't yet found manufactured windows that suit me, so I am considering building my own insulated window units for my conversion.
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Old 04-30-2022, 09:37 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tomrasdf View Post
...dual pane RV windows...necessary...
.
2003, for our ExpeditionVehicle, we mounted 3010 (three feet wide by a foot tall) dual-pane sliders designed for a stand-still house.
We mounted these at our eye-level standing inside, about eight feet above pavement.
.
a)
We thought the dual-pane would be resistant to temperature fluctuations, and somewhat mitigate noise transfer.
.
Real-world:
To vent humidity and odors, our windows are open 24/7/360°, so that eliminates one advantage.
.
b)
Second point... noise abatement:
Our walls are much bigger than our windows (structurally, I think this's a good idea).
Accordingly, we insulated with:
* adhesive-back acoustic against the wall, then
* one-inch pink-board, another air-gap, then
* two-inch foil-side poly.
.
You ask my experience.
We would do this again.
But, experience comes at a cost.
For about a half-century, we full-time lived-aboard a wide variety of conversions.
.
c)
We think yuge picture windows are impossible to insulate.
You could hang thick curtains to block some of the temperature transfer, but that eliminates the view... one of the purposes of a yuge window.
.
.
An aside:
We tend to be private people.
We treasure our solitude.
We like the ability to choose the time and the folk for our outside interactions.
Small windows set high help accomplish our goal.
.
A yuge picture window invites peepers to constantly investigate our inside activities.
And we think that is a bad idea.
.
d)
You ask about 'RV windows'.
We are pretty sure anything 'RV' has no place on a realistic conversion.
Based on our experience, anything from the 'RV industry' is barely adequate for cheap disposable RecreateVehicles designed by committee with only one consideration -- short-term profit at all costs.
.
If I wanted that, I would acquire that.
But, I do not, so I build and convert.
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Old 04-30-2022, 12:12 PM   #6
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Spent many hours searching for a window solution for my bus conversion which will get used in winter weather. Jeld Wen custom made to fit vinyl sliders with tempered glass added up to $361 each and several months wait time. Lowes house brand sliding windows (Reliabilt) in size 24X24 cost $98 and fit perfectly in this 03 Bluebird with some trimming of the nailing fin (and upper flange). I'm going to copy LargeMarge (Thanks man!)and mount them with flexible caulk.
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Old 04-30-2022, 12:35 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LargeMargeInBaja View Post
.
You ask about 'RV windows'.
We are pretty sure anything 'RV' has no place on a realistic conversion.
Based on our experience, anything from the 'RV industry' is barely adequate for cheap disposable RecreateVehicles designed by committee with only one consideration -- short-term profit at all costs.

Far less experience here, but that pretty much echoes my sentiments.
'Marine' is the word we use in most circumstances.
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Old 05-07-2022, 11:45 AM   #8
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Thanks all for the input!

Pursuing several paths right now including custom and 'marine' to get a good idea of options and relevant tradeoffs between $ / quality.

I'll post when we decide on a path forward.
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Old 05-11-2022, 12:04 AM   #9
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if you plan to full-time in Winter, dual pane windows will make life much better. How many people and pets will be living aboard? Do you have a shower? Propane stove? All of these factors seriously increase humidity in an RV.
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Old 05-11-2022, 07:43 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Timeline View Post
Spent many hours searching for a window solution for my bus conversion which will get used in winter weather. Jeld Wen custom made to fit vinyl sliders with tempered glass added up to $361 each and several months wait time. Lowes house brand sliding windows (Reliabilt) in size 24X24 cost $98 and fit perfectly in this 03 Bluebird with some trimming of the nailing fin (and upper flange). I'm going to copy LargeMarge (Thanks man!)and mount them with flexible caulk.
Hello, I was curious if you might be willing to show a step by step on how you did the mod and install of these types of windows... I'm really digging this idea.

Thomas
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Old 05-11-2022, 10:45 AM   #11
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Sorry Thomas haven't got any further than a test for size so far. Hope to get them in before winter, will post some photos of how it goes....



John
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Old 05-13-2022, 10:26 PM   #12
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I'm looking hard at ordering residential dual-pane windows with tempered glass.

Any words of caution about taking this route?
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Old 05-14-2022, 10:11 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tomrasdf View Post
I'm looking hard at ordering residential dual-pane windows with tempered glass.

Any words of caution about taking this route?
‐--------------
Ol Trunt did that a few years ago. There's a post with all of the order info, even a copy of the HomeDepot order form. Tempered Dual Pane Shed windows. Seems like they've been holding up over the years.
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Old 05-14-2022, 10:20 AM   #14
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Here's the original Home Depot order form. If you type in Shed windows in the Skoolie search engine at the top of the page you'll get more info.
Jack


http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f11/ho...ows-36517.html
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Old 05-14-2022, 10:42 AM   #15
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I’ve been cautioned by several well meaning tradesmen in residential construction that using residential tempered glass in a road-going application may cause some sort of rift in the space time continuum resulting in death, destruction, and denied insurance claims.

Not your experience?
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Old 05-14-2022, 11:09 AM   #16
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Bouncing and banging down the road may break the seal and result in fog between the panes. The windows I bought will collect a lot of dust in the drain area, which will be a chore to keep clean especially on dirt roads....
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Old 05-14-2022, 08:03 PM   #17
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Order the extra strength tempered glass variety. It meets the same standards as regular tempered windows used in cars. Do not use non tempered glass for obvious reasons.
Jack
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Old 02-17-2023, 09:12 AM   #18
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I intended to send this as a PM. Message deleted.
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Old 02-18-2023, 09:38 AM   #19
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An alternative to RV windows: vinyl storm windows

Here is an option to consider for windows you can leave closed in cold weather: vinyl storm windows. Last summer I used screen window kits to make some for my skoolie. I'm not the first to do that, but the design for the fasteners is my own. The video is here:



I mention it because the instructions in the kit said I could swap in 20 mil clear vinyl for the screen material to make storm windows. I had a go at that, as shown in this video:



The picture below shows the results, wrinkles and all. But it works. In fact, on a sunny winter day recently the glass on that window got too hot to touch (in case that's an issue.)

Stuffing 20 mil vinyl into the aluminum channels while avoiding puckering was challenging. After about the tenth storm window I figured out some techniques that got better results, as shown here:


If any of you tries making storm windows for your skoolie (or has already done it) I'd love to hear how it went.
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Old 02-18-2023, 10:37 PM   #20
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re -- stand-still house dual-pane windows longevity
.
2003-2023.
Two decades full-time live-aboard, summers up rough logger tracks to remote mountain lakes, winters on isolated Baja beaches.
No faults (no cracks, no fog, no failure in factory seals, etcetera).
We would do it again.
.
PS:
'For obvious reasons.'
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