A Crack in the Silver Lining
“There’s no way I can fix that” said Montie, looking skeptically at the RV
“It was bound to happen” thought I, rather dejectedly
Or rather, to put it more precisely, it was bound to happen just as we entered one of the least populated States in the country coasting along into no-man’s land to stay at a remote State Park, having just put 150 miles between us and the full-service RV repair center we’d used the day before.
Yes, it was a lot to think about all at once.
All in all, it really just served to prove the point that Murphy’s Law has a way of finding you when you least expect it, and as much as I like being right, this was a bummer of a situation.
So, this was the scene.
A deserted Wyoming road in the pouring rain, one lone car coming towards us and one large rock ejected into the air. The rock did a perfect interpretation of Newton’s Laws of Motion following a beautiful parabola right smack into our unsuspecting $2,500 windshield and leaving a sharp and crystal-clear 1-foot crack as a souvenir. “Drat” and other stronger expletives are really the first things that come to mind. Then, you frantically try to wipe the thing in the ridiculous hope that it’ll erase away, followed by more swearing and finally a hollow acceptance than the darn thing is really cracked.
But, as the great philosophers always say (at least some of them), everything in life is a learning experience and so it was with this. Cracked windshields are, for the most part, covered by insurance (depending on your State & your insurance). So, a quick call to our agent followed by a chat with a windshield repair facility (Safelite came highly recommended on the RV forums) sent a man out to our State Park site the next day.
The repair people either fill the crack with a resin or they have to replace the whole windshield. In spite of the initial gloomy comment, Montie was a man of persistence and decided to try the resin even though cracks longer than a dollar bill usually don’t take them. We were ridiculously lucky and ours took…sort of. We’ve got a small bit at the end which may or may not hold, but we’re willing to take the chance instead of a full replacement (which our deductible would have us pay out-of-pocket).
Also Montie, as it turns out, is a 5-star man and wouldn’t accept payment since he couldn’t guarantee the crack would stick. He’s also a local and we chatted about the State Park, fishing and his band Broken Road (go check them out in Cheyenne at Little America if you’re in the area). So, if you find yourselves in the same situation as us do not fret…Safelite and Montie are here to save the day.
More on windshield repair in this excellent post:
http://rv-roadtrips.thefuntimesguide.com/2010/01/rv_windshield_glass.php
Yikes! We have Progressive insurance. Started with $500 deductible. Every year we have owned “a” RV (we’ve owned 2 different ones but this applies to the whole time we’ve been with them – not each vehicle), we have a vanishing deductible. We just reached the $0 deductible range, and that feels really good!
BTW – we took delivery on an RV that had a huge crack in the windshield because things tend to get beaten up in Alaska. Going on the boat, gravel being thrown at you constantly.
Alaska is the land of the broken windshield. We had this Diamond Fusion stuff put on our trucks. It is a coating that they use on skyscraper windows. It has kept us from “cracking.” I don’t know if it is available everywhere, but I am sure it will be soon. Also puts a UV protection on the windshield. Water and mud slide off.
Have not put the treatment on the RV, but I would like to do that before we leave.
Sorry to hear. We have used Speedy Glass for years and love them as well. They do great ding repairs, as well.
That is great that you are talking to someone in the town that is going to be our homebase. Husband needs VA clinic, and we’ll just go back “home” to get care. That is the town where we’re going to buy a house, too after our fulltimer experience is worn out.
(if it is ever worn out).
Like seeing the pictures of the skies in Wyoming. Yay. I cannot wait.
My house is going to sell….My house is going to sell…..(my mantra)
You look like you’re having a great experience, anyway and having a good time being what RVers have to be —flexible.
🙂
Yeah, I just learned about the coating from that other website we linked to. Sounds like it might be worth it. By the way, interesting thing about insurance. If you change home-state your coverage might change. For example, RV windshield cracks are not covered in all states (as it turns out) so depends on both your state and your coverage. I didn’t know that before this happened. Oh, and you’ll love WY…awesome place!