Yesterday we departed Cypress Glen Campground at Withlacoochee State Forest and 
moved about 40 miles south and west to Hudson, Florida for a service appointment. We arrived Sunday evening and parked outside their locked gate for our appointment scheduled for the first thing Monday morning. Country Coach and many other manufacturers use a double-pane thermal window made by SeGi. SeGi windows have a horrible reputation for losing their seal and fogging with moisture between the glass panes, often within only a year or two after manufacture. When we bought our coach, two windows showed significant fogging, and LazyDays replaced them at their own expense. Attaboy LazyDays! Since that time another window has fogged, the one in the entry door. Since that window is necessary for good vision while driving, it is an important safety consideration to have it promptly replaced. However, with the recent economic downturn, many coach manufacturers have curtailed operations. Suppliers, such as SeGi have also shut down, and won't sell directly to the consumer anyway. Besides, who really wants to pay big bucks for new SeGi windows when they still have sealing problems and are prone to fail again??? 
Not me! On the Country Coach users' forums we learned of Suncoast Designers in Hudson, who will rebuild and repair existing windows for significantly less cost than replacement. Their primary business is building custom windows for residential construction, but with the downturn in that business and the increasing occurrence of failed RV windows, they are starting to promote the RV business.
At 6:30 am the gates opened and a flood of workers and another RV roared through. We got up and moved into the compound and met Jeff, who explained the repair process. They first remove the window/frame assembly from the motor home, which is
pretty simple in the case of our entry door. Then they disassemble the window frame to remove the glass assembly. Then they separate the dual panes and remove the old seals. After that it gets fun. First they run the panes through a conveyorized machine that washes and dries the panes. Next they install a new seal and sandwich the two panes together and run the assembly through another conveyorized machine that cures the seal. Just prior to setting the seal they apply a little positive air pressure between the panes. SeGi uses a vacuum on their windows, which apparently contributes to their failure. Finally, they put it all back together and re-install the unit in the coach. Looks great. I have read on the forums that with shipping and installation, a new replacement SeGi window runs over $1000. Suncoast Designers got us out for $120. They were super-nice folks and very professional. If you need your windows repaired, check 'em out.
Today, after our window service, we moved another 40 miles south to near Tampa. We are camped at Rally Park, the on-site campground for LazyDays. When we bought our coach LazyDays gave us 20 coupons for free camping at Rally Park, and we still have 19 nights remaining. As it turns out, our Crown Club membership will expire on January 31, so we decided to blow our coupons as our membership expired. This means free camping, free meals and free happy-hours until January 31 or until our coupons run out, whichever comes first. Sweet! Actually, we will stay here only 9 nights before leaving, but we will be back for 7 nights just before the end of the month.
Just after checking in we ran into old friends. George and Irene have a Country Coach of the same model and floor plan as ours. We first met George and Irene at the Crown Club as we were buying our coach two years ago. Since then we have seen them at several rallies, and we are both members of the Southeast Country Coachers. George is very knowledgeable about his (our) coach and has been very helpful when problems arise. We also met Jim and Luci, who are at the Crown Club for some warranty service. We met Jim and Luci at the Crown Club last year shortly after they bought their new Monaco. Since then we have kept up with each other via e-mail, and we narrowly missed each other while passing through Michigan last September.
One objective while we are in Tampa is to spend as much time at Busch Gardens as we can. Hopefully we can get a few paddling days in too.
moved about 40 miles south and west to Hudson, Florida for a service appointment. We arrived Sunday evening and parked outside their locked gate for our appointment scheduled for the first thing Monday morning. Country Coach and many other manufacturers use a double-pane thermal window made by SeGi. SeGi windows have a horrible reputation for losing their seal and fogging with moisture between the glass panes, often within only a year or two after manufacture. When we bought our coach, two windows showed significant fogging, and LazyDays replaced them at their own expense. Attaboy LazyDays! Since that time another window has fogged, the one in the entry door. Since that window is necessary for good vision while driving, it is an important safety consideration to have it promptly replaced. However, with the recent economic downturn, many coach manufacturers have curtailed operations. Suppliers, such as SeGi have also shut down, and won't sell directly to the consumer anyway. Besides, who really wants to pay big bucks for new SeGi windows when they still have sealing problems and are prone to fail again??? 
Not me! On the Country Coach users' forums we learned of Suncoast Designers in Hudson, who will rebuild and repair existing windows for significantly less cost than replacement. Their primary business is building custom windows for residential construction, but with the downturn in that business and the increasing occurrence of failed RV windows, they are starting to promote the RV business.At 6:30 am the gates opened and a flood of workers and another RV roared through. We got up and moved into the compound and met Jeff, who explained the repair process. They first remove the window/frame assembly from the motor home, which is
pretty simple in the case of our entry door. Then they disassemble the window frame to remove the glass assembly. Then they separate the dual panes and remove the old seals. After that it gets fun. First they run the panes through a conveyorized machine that washes and dries the panes. Next they install a new seal and sandwich the two panes together and run the assembly through another conveyorized machine that cures the seal. Just prior to setting the seal they apply a little positive air pressure between the panes. SeGi uses a vacuum on their windows, which apparently contributes to their failure. Finally, they put it all back together and re-install the unit in the coach. Looks great. I have read on the forums that with shipping and installation, a new replacement SeGi window runs over $1000. Suncoast Designers got us out for $120. They were super-nice folks and very professional. If you need your windows repaired, check 'em out.Today, after our window service, we moved another 40 miles south to near Tampa. We are camped at Rally Park, the on-site campground for LazyDays. When we bought our coach LazyDays gave us 20 coupons for free camping at Rally Park, and we still have 19 nights remaining. As it turns out, our Crown Club membership will expire on January 31, so we decided to blow our coupons as our membership expired. This means free camping, free meals and free happy-hours until January 31 or until our coupons run out, whichever comes first. Sweet! Actually, we will stay here only 9 nights before leaving, but we will be back for 7 nights just before the end of the month.
Just after checking in we ran into old friends. George and Irene have a Country Coach of the same model and floor plan as ours. We first met George and Irene at the Crown Club as we were buying our coach two years ago. Since then we have seen them at several rallies, and we are both members of the Southeast Country Coachers. George is very knowledgeable about his (our) coach and has been very helpful when problems arise. We also met Jim and Luci, who are at the Crown Club for some warranty service. We met Jim and Luci at the Crown Club last year shortly after they bought their new Monaco. Since then we have kept up with each other via e-mail, and we narrowly missed each other while passing through Michigan last September.
One objective while we are in Tampa is to spend as much time at Busch Gardens as we can. Hopefully we can get a few paddling days in too.
1 comment:
Nice story about the window repair work. John & Pat Lively shared the same experience with us a few weeks ago in TTO. John Drew, a 2 Trek owner, is having windows done at the same shop next week.
dw
Post a Comment