Dual pane windows

osims

bsims
I know the Landmarks are mirror tinted but not sure about Bighorn. One big difference with dual panes is noise reduction.
Bill
 

Delaine and Lindy

Well-known member
Dual Pane....

We have owned 3 5th wheel with dual pane windows and two without. Out Landmark had reflective mirror type and I can assure the dual pane window are like night and day difference. The dual pane with the dark tint gives much more privacy that the reflective at night for sure. Dual pane also has much more noise reduction. As for the R-factor its very little but the single pane will be 50% less. The dual pane window will be on every 5th wheel we buy from now on. Some will say they will leak thats not true they aren't gas filled. They will add some weight and will cost more but the cost isn't something I would worry about. Good luck with your choice. GBY...
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
I'm pretty sure the Bighorn dual panes are the dark tint and not the mirrored reflective like on the Landmark. During the day they are very difficult to see in from the outside. At night, with inside lights on you can still see in. We have added dark limo tint to our bedroom windows just so it's darker in the morning hours when we wnat to sleep in. We also added heat reflective tint to the big rear window to help reduce the heat from the sun.
 

caddojay

Tired and Retired member
My wife had the bedroom windows "re-tinted" from a vehicle tinter with a limo tint on top of the factory job. She sleeps late and now, you have to turn on the lights at noon to see in the bedroom. The price was under $100.00
 

Larryheadhunter

X-Rookies Still Luving it
All I can say is I wish I ordered my rig with dual pane windows for many reasons whether they were tinted or not. The wind whistling thru and the extreme heat and cold sure would make a difference. Well, next time.
 

Bobby A

Well-known member
a couple more question

Ray, tell me more about this heat reflective tint ?? do you also have dual pane windows ??

Caddojay, Do you also have dual pane windows with this extra tint added ??

The reason why I ask, I think I've read on another post and maybe even on another forum, that if you add tint to dual pane windows it is not good for the windows and creates seal failure and also voids the manufacture warranty. What do you/anyone know about this ??

Thanks,
Bobby A
 

SmokeyBare

Well-known member
Bobby,

Dual Pane windows in an RV... are not Thermo-Pane windows that most homes have today. These RV windows have a gas sealed between two panes of glass... as there are inside a home's Thermo-Pane window in a stick built house. In an RV, it's just dead air space between two panes of glass.

That being said, on our old (SOB) fifth wheel... I bought and installed a reflective film from Lowe's on those single pane windows. The film went on the inside of the glass, or at least that's where I put it. It helped on that RV for keeping some of the Sun's rays from heating up the RV. Those windows had no tinting.

Our BigHorn has dark tinted windows. I feel it would be useless to put reflective film tint to these windows because it would go on the inside pane of glass... and the dark reflective benefit would be reduced by the already darker glass. There may be a product that could be applied to the outside of the window glass... but on our BigHorn... during the day, trying to look inside the RV... it's really difficult because of the dark tint of the windows.

This is my guess only... I believe Landmark have a different type of window tint... one that is also reflective... than the Dark only type that is on BigHorn's. I believe they do this as one more distinctive difference they build into Heartland's product line.
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Bobby A,

I found many links on Google, searching with "window tint dual pane".

Here's one with some decent FAQs.

I read a few different sites on this and it seems that some tint may be okay for dual pane windows where others may not. Seems that some manufacturers make several different types of tint, each having a "dual pane safe" product.

As big a question would be "will Heartland's window supplier honor their warranty on a failed window that had tint applied to it"? I don't know the answer to this question. Your best bet is to contact the supplier directly. I know in the past, we've used Hehr. We may use a different supplier now. Check your glass for markings, then make direct contact.

Jim
 

ct0218

Well-known member
I have dealt with tinting residential window units for some time, and they are quite different. The reason a tint is not recommended for insulated (sealed) dual pane windows is that the tint goes on the inside pane of glass, and the film reflects the heat back towards the outside. This tends to overheat the dead air space in a sealed unit and cause it to lose its seal. Residential sealed thermal units often can be ordered tinted but that is done on the inside of the exterior pane of glass at the glazing factory prior to sealing the unit. The RV type dual pane windows are not sealed units so the air is free to move in and out of the air space. This tends to be less efficient both for thermal resistance and sound tranmittance, but the movement potential in an RV would most likely break the seal. Thermal windows are considerably more expensive than dual pane, so I'm sure that is another reason you would find them only in very high end units.
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Great insight Clark - thanks!

In your opinion, do you feel it should be fairly safe to apply tinting to the inside RV window on RV dual panes? Thanks.
Jim
 

ct0218

Well-known member
Yes, since the only reason not to is the possibility of a seal rupturing, and there isn't one to rupture. I know of several that have applied the film to the rear picture window to cut down on the FL heat and no problems. I plan on tinting mine now that it is not parked in the shade.
 

Bobby A

Well-known member
O.k. I guess that sums it up !! I guess the only thing left to do is get the manufacture of the dual pane windows position on this. Jim, I was wondering if you could make a few calls ?? It would be greatly appreciated by all.

Bobby A
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Sorry Bobby - I am not able to contact the suppliers (for the most part).

This is why I have suggested that a product owner (or even a prospective owner) does so.

I checked and at least for plant 2 (Landmark, Bighorn and Big Country), we now use Kinro.

Thanks,

Jim
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
From the Kinro website:

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]This warranty shall be voided if the unit is subjected to abnormal stresses from the load application of heat, excessive vibration, building or foundation movement, or when provisions have not been made in accordance with sound practices for adequate expansion or contraction of framing members, application of films to the interior pane of glass, or use of cleansing solution which attacks unit seal, or if glazed with materials which do not remain resilient for the life of the warranty, or if glazed with materials which are incompatible with the unit sealant, or if methods and materials used in glazing the unit do not completely repel water for the life of the warranty. Kinro reserves the right to inspect, in the field, any unit which is allegedly defective. [/FONT]

So there's the "official" statement. Will applying a tint film to the interior class really affect the dual pane system? Who knows. It's up to you but at least now you know what the window manufacturer's official statement on it is.

Jim
 

ct0218

Well-known member
It appears that the new supplier uses insulated glass units as opposed to the dual pane from from Hehr. I do know that in the residential units that quite often the seal would fail on IG units with the film applied, so it would not be a good idea. The good news is that the new windows are much more efficient.
 
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