Glass
RV Windshield Replacement
In short: A Class A windshield is a structural bonded component the size of a small window wall, and replacing one is a two person job with a curing period rather than a mobile service appointment.
- Typical range
- $1,800 to $9,500+
- Labor hours
- 6 to 30 hours
- Updated
A Class A motorhome windshield is a different job from an automotive windshield in every respect that matters: size, weight, structural role, sealing method and the consequences of getting it wrong.
What makes it different
Size and weight. A Class A windshield half can exceed 45 kilograms and be well over a metre and a half on its long dimension. It takes two people and setting tools to place, and it cannot be manipulated by hand once the urethane is on it.
Two piece construction. Most large coaches use two halves with a centre divider. The divider has to seal to both halves and to the body, and it is a common leak point.
Structural bonding. The windshield is bonded with urethane and contributes to the rigidity of the front structure. It is not a cover over an opening.
Cure time. Urethane needs time to reach safe drive-away strength. That is measured in hours and it is not negotiable. A vehicle driven before the bond has cured has an unsecured windshield.
Low volume glass. Many coach windshields are made to order rather than stocked, which affects both price and lead time.
Repair or replace
Chips and short cracks outside the driver's primary vision area are frequently repairable with resin injection. It is quick, inexpensive, and it stops the crack propagating, which is the real value.
Replacement is required for long cracks, anything crossing the driver's sightline, and any damage at the edge of the glass. Edge damage matters more than it looks because that is where the structural bond is, and a crack running to the edge has compromised it.
Temperature cycling in Southern California makes crack propagation faster than owners expect. A chip that is stable in mild weather will run across the glass on the first day the coach sits in direct sun and then gets air conditioning on the inside.
Corrosion, which is the hidden cost
The pinch weld, the metal flange the glass bonds to, corrodes under the urethane, particularly on older coaches and on any vehicle that has had a previous leak.
Bonding new glass onto corroded metal produces a bond that fails, and it fails by leaking, which accelerates the corrosion further. So the correct sequence when we find rust is to remove it, treat and prime the metal properly, and then bond. That adds cost and it is the difference between a windshield that lasts and one that leaks in two years.
This is also why injecting sealant around a leaking windshield from outside is a poor idea. It hides the symptom and traps water against the metal that caused it.
Camera and radar recalibration
Modern coaches, commercial trucks and vans increasingly mount forward collision warning cameras, lane departure cameras and radar units to or behind the windshield.
Those systems are aimed relative to the glass. Replacing the glass moves them, by small amounts that matter a great deal at distance. Recalibration is required, and a system that has not been recalibrated is worse than no system because it acts on incorrect information.
We handle this as part of the job. See ADAS scan and recalibration.
What it costs
| Job | Typical range | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Chip or short crack resin repair | $150 to $450 | 1 to 2 |
| Commercial truck or bus windshield | $1,800 to $4,500 | 6 to 14 |
| Class A single piece | $2,500 to $6,000 | 8 to 18 |
| Class A two piece | $3,500 to $9,500 | 12 to 30 |
| Pinch weld corrosion repair | Added to the above | 4 to 14 |
| ADAS recalibration where fitted | $275 to $1,800 | 1 to 7 |
Labor is $210 per hour for glass and body work, $285 for calibration. Special order glass requires a non-refundable deposit because it cannot be returned. See the pricing page.
Why this is not a mobile service
Windshield work on a large vehicle needs a controlled environment. Urethane cure is temperature and humidity dependent, dust contamination on a bonding surface produces a weak bond, and wind makes placing a large panel dangerous.
All windshield work here happens at the Yorba Linda facility for those reasons. If the coach is not drivable, call and we will talk through the tow.
Estimates are $150 and credited back against an authorized repair.
The centre divider on two piece units
On a two piece Class A windshield, the divider between the halves is the component that causes most of the recurring complaints.
It has to seal against both glass halves and against the body, it sits in the exact spot where water running down the windshield concentrates, and on many coaches it is a rubber or composite section that hardens and shrinks with UV exposure.
A divider that has hardened lets water into the dash area, where it drips onto the instrument cluster, into wiring looms and eventually into the floor. Owners frequently attribute that to a leaking windshield and get the glass reset, which does not address the divider.
We inspect and replace the divider as part of any two piece windshield job rather than reusing an old one that looks acceptable. It is a small part of the total cost and it is the difference between a windshield that is dry and one that leaks somewhere you cannot see.