Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Got all my side windows installed today

The original Cabin Car design used fixed windows on the sides.
By fixed, I mean they did not open.

After failed attempts to use wood frames (leaks) they switched to rubber glass channel.
This material is still commonly used for fixed automotive type applications, such as the rear door windows on a service truck body.
Generally, those applications are on 1/8" to 1/4" thick material.

On Rob's version of the Cabin Car, we went with 3/4" sidewalls for extreme strength.
Because of the thickness, I had to use a channel that has a locking strip to hold the glass and squeeze the rubber against the glass to prevent leaks.



It goes together well, but takes a bit of skill to do quickly...I took a little longer...

Once that locking strip is installed, the glass isn't going anywhere!
Same goes for leaks, no water is getting in!

Here are the steps.


Step 1; cut the hole, seal the raw edge, and make template for glass.



Step 2; install locking rubber glass channel.



Step 3; Use a small brush to get plenty of thick soap and water mix in the channels and on the face of the rubber so the glass will go in.



Step 4; Carefully work the glass into the channel, then find a helper to hold the glass from the inside while you push the rubber lip over the glass...without breaking it.




Step 5; Then install the lock strip, remove the protective paper, and wash ofv all the soap and finger prints.




Step 6; Now you can hang your curtains and admire the finished window

As some of you no doubt noticed, the "glass" is actually plexiglass, but "real" glass is installed the same way.

The rubber channel is a good way to "create" a custom shaped window without having one custom made.
The disadvantage is of course that the window doesn't open.

The cost is not slight either...

Per window;

Glass; $25.00
Labor to install; $25.00 (do it yourself and save)
Rubber channel; $25.00 (with shipping and installation tool)

Total, $75.00 per window.

Not cheap, but a custom made to order window in an odd shape like these would easily be in the hundreds, per window.

Rob

Rob,

Do you have a URL for that rubber channel?

Mike...

P.S. It looks really good!

Thanks Mike!

I ordered it from Austin Hardware.

http://www.austinhardware.com/dept.asp?dept%5Fid=388

Rob

sure looks like a rear side window from a VW Beetle , which I know are flat glass. just in case someone wanted this shape in automotive glass.
early beetles ( before 63) have smaller windows than newer ones
shape pretty much the same either way.

and i agree with mike - nice job!

mikeschn wrote:Rob,

Do you have a URL for that rubber channel?

Mike...

P.S. It looks really good!

Really nice lookin' window install...we have gotten some of the same stuf from TJTrailers.com to install in the Alligator Tear but weren't brave enough...maybe on the next one, seeing how well it worked on yours
madjack

Hmm them old vw bugs are plenty here.. same with that rubber...
Rob that does look nice .....

On our build Im using Camp Inn Door Kits and Windows...


Classic Finn

Looks very nice! Thanks for sharing the details & pics

Looks great Rob...

Where the channel meets at the bottom do you "weld" it together with SuperGlue or something like it? That's what I've used before for gaskets on boat hatches.

Dave

Dave I don't know what Rob did but when I got the same stuff from TJTrailers, the recommended using a dab or two of auto windsheild sealant (evil black stuff)
madjack

That's the same way we install the windows on the trains here at work. But our windows are a little bigger.

the beetle came to the US in 1949, was first made in 1945 in germany.

mikeschn wrote:Rob, I thought it was the same VW window too, emailed Andrew he said no, VW too new, but I am sure they were beeing made in 1936,so how old is a cabin car?

Do you have a URL for that rubber channel?

Mike...

P.S. It looks really good!

[/quote][/quote]

You folks are dead on with regard to the VW window thought

When we made the full size template for the sides, the window size and shape was determined...and cut out with the sides.

A while later, the VW. idea was brought to my attention...oh boy!!! I thought I'd struck it rich!
But alas the cutouts were too big to fit the VW glass

It would have been great, as the VW windows open (somewhat).
Another problem was symetry, the Cabin Car windows, front and rear, are 2 different sizes, the VW is just 1.

Screens for a VW would also be a challenge...

During the build, I looked at a number of 40's cars that used a similar shaped rear window, as their inside trim would have looked pretty cool.

I also actually started building wooden window frames for it, but after seeing one on the trailer, I realized that I would have just as much trouble as they did originally with keeping them watertight.
So I went with the rubber.

Some VW windows might show up in the next project though


As far as the seam in the rubber, butyl calk seals any gaps quite well.
If it is installed correctly though, no sealer is needed.
The rubber is cut long, and forced in so that the two ends have a good deal of pressure on them, keeping any water out.
When the lock strip is inserted into the channel, it forces the rubber on both sides against the glass, and also forces the rubber on both sides against the wood.

Rob

48Rob wrote: It would have been great, as the VW windows open (somewhat).
Rob

Rob,

Most VW windows do not open, the ones that do were an option, and mount totally different than the fixed windows. There is a plastic trim that fits over the body metal that the rubber would have went over, then the window has a "hinge" screwed to the front of the opening, and a latch screwed to the rear of the opening.

The later (1965 and up), larger ones, are realitively easy to find, but the earlier ones are usually very expensive and hard to find.

On a side note, I plan to use the loovered type windows from a early 1960's VW Westfalia van on the doors of my tear.

Hi Jeff,

Can you tell I'm not a Volkswagen man

Oh well, even if all person could find was a fixed window, the laminated glass would be a good deal.

The places around here were talking a hundred dollars apiece to cut new ones for me

Rob