Let’s face it: Your windshield will get cracked at some point during your RV adventures. Whether you’re driving to a destination, get something kicked into your window, or some fluke happens while traveling, your windshield will take a ding it can’t handle. Luckily, you can have your RV windshield repaired or replaced throughout the nation thanks to Mobile RV Glass. But what if you can avoid it? That’s even better!
Let’s look at seven ways your windshield will get wrecked on the road and whether you can do anything about it.
Gravel Roads
Gravel roads are one of the most common ways any vehicle windshield gets damaged. Since these roads aren’t set, gravel gets kicked up into the air by other vehicles. If it’s timed right, that gravel will hit your windshield and crack it. Unfortunately, if you must drive over gravel roads, you can’t control whether the right piece will hit your windshield and damage it. If you can avoid gravel roads, do it; otherwise, you’ll have to take your chances.
Construction Vehicles
We’ve all switched lanes or slowed down to avoid being trapped behind construction vehicles, especially when loaded with asphalt, gravel, or other materials. Depending on the driver, the road conditions, and how windy it is, those materials can fall off the vehicle and right into your windshield. Your best bet, when stuck behind a construction vehicle, is to pass them as soon as possible. While you can slow down and linger behind them, your motorhome could still be hit by falling debris.
Windshield Construction
Sometimes you get unlucky with your RV and get a dud windshield. This could happen on the construction line or during installation. If you went with a cheaper windshield when customizing your motorhome, you might have issues, too. There’s no avoiding this one. In this case, replacing the windshield as soon as possible is the way to go.
Bad Windshield Installation
Just like poor windshield construction, sometimes your RV windshield is installed wrong. The more you drive your motorhome, the more the vibration from the road can cause a poorly installed windshield to come loose slowly. Eventually, that vibration will either crack the windshield or pop it out. If you notice the windshield is loose, take it to a repair shop as quickly as you can to have it popped back in or replaced.
RV Accidents
Any RV accident, even a minor one, can crack or blow out your windshield under the right circumstances. It also doesn’t take a vehicle-on-RV accident to crack a windshield. Children playing in the street or a limb breaking of a tree you’re parked under could damage your windshield and more. When it comes to avoiding RV accidents, follow the rules of the road and park your RV out of harm’s way and that’ll be the best you can to avoid cracking your windshield this way.
Temperature and Pressure
Temperature changes and sunlight can crack your windshield, especially when going from one extreme to the other. This makes glass contract and depending on the pressure; it can crack or splinter; the same can happen in extreme pressure changes, such as going up or down a mountain. To avoid temperature changes causing issues with your RV windshield, consider an RV windshield cover to use when parked in the sun or the cold.
Hail
Hail, like gravel, impacts RV windshields the same way. The high-velocity impact cracks or shatters the windshield depending on a variety of factors. RV windshield covers and other accessories may mitigate some of the damage of small hail strikes but for the most part, won’t stop the impact from cracking the windshield. Unless your RV is parked in a storage unit or garage, chances are you won’t be able to escape hail damage if caught in a storm.
When RVing, you never know what the next turn might take you. Don’t worry about wrecking your RV windshield, if it happens – it happens! There are professionals like Mobile RV Glass that’ll take care of it no matter where the wind takes you.
