Glass Installation Tips
Please read this information before purchasing glass.

If you plan to replace the glass in your 1966, 1967 or 1968 Airstream, please read this page first as the windows currently being manufactured are not necessarily available as outlined in your owners manual. The following procedure takes into account the differences and gives guidance on how to install the windows we offer.

WARNING: Working with glass is potentially dangerous. Always wear eye protection and heavy gloves designed for working with glass. Remember that original Corning windows can shatter into very sharp shards rather than the pebbles you may have seen in tempered auto windows.

The aluminum extrusion that holds the glass is called a glass bar. There were three different types of glass bars, all for the same type windows. Only Type 3 was ever meant to be field serviceable. In other words, if you have Type 3, your replacement project will be much easier than if you have Types 1 or 2.

In all cases, the glass is held in place using a sealant or adhesive bedding tape in the groove of the glass bar. The original sealant used was Dow Silastic RTV-732. It is still available, although other sealants may work as well or better than the original. (For your convenience, we hope to offer an appropriate sealant in the near future, but at this time you should buy a sealant from a local glass shop or hardware store).

To prevent unnecessary aggravation, we recommend recruiting a friend to help with window replacement. With the large windows, you'll want two friends.

TYPE 1: 1966 Models	TYPE 2: 1966 & 1967 Models

Type 1 glass bars were used for only a short time at the beginning of the production run of the 1966 trailers. These had a "J" or rolled type hinge. glass bar was integrated with the lower half of the hinge. They were quickly fazed out for some reason that we haven't discovered. Type 2 glass bars were the replacement and they were used on trailers up until April 1967. As you can see from the diagrams above, they were very similar.

Neither Type 1 nor Type 2 windows were originally intended to be field serviceable. Replacement glass would have come already attached to a new glass bar. Now, nearly 40 years later, the only option is to reuse the glass bar.

The procedure for replacing glass on Type 1 and Type 2 windows is the same. The glass is embedded in sealant inside a fixed channel in the bar. This sealant is what holds the glass in the window. To replace the glass, you will need to extract the old glass from the channel by breaking the bond between the glass and the sealant. Fortunately, this can be done on a workbench since the first step is to remove the glass bar and glass from the hinge.

To remove the glass bar from the hinge:

Open the window about half-way.
Remove the “E” ring at the top of the window.
Push the link to the side of the window until the stud is free from the arm.
Rotate the glass bar and arm to a horizontal position.
Type 2 only: Loosen the set screws in the window glass hinge located at the top of the glass. If any of the set screws should break off flush, simply drill the screws out, and install new ones a half inch to one side of the drilled-out hole.
Apply pressure from the outside toward the trailer to unhook the glass support bar from the hinge. The window may be difficult to remove due to sealant in the hinge. Cleaning out as much sealant as possible will make the task easier, but separating the glass bar from the hinge will probably take some time.

Now is a good time to inspect the rubber window gaskets. Clean the gaskets and check for damage that may allow the window to leak. If you replace the gaskets, make note of how they are trimmed where they makes contact with the glass bar. Failure to trim correctly may cause leaks or may keep the window from sealing well. Spray the rubber gaskets liberally with silicone spray (available at auto parts stores). Airstream recommended they be sprayed once a year as routine maintenance.

To install new glass in existing glass bar:

Clean the old glass or plastic out of the glass bar's channel. One good method is to clamp the bar in a padded vise, and starting at one end, pry the pieces out of the channel with a small screwdriver. Take care to distort the channel in the bar as little as possible.
Remove remaining old sealant from the bar's channel for best new seal.
To ensure that the channel is a full 1/8" wide the entire length, you may want to take this step. Insert a 1/8" drill bit in the chuck of your power drill so that the bit extends out of the chuck only as far as the depth of the glass channel. Run the bit the length of the channel to router it out smoothly and evenly. This will remove very little material from the inside of the channel, but may make installation much easier. Take great care, again, to distort the channel as little as possible.
Fill the clean channel with sealant.
Clean and degrease the glass with a non-residual cleaner like Isopropyl Alcohol, along the edge of the glass that will be inserted in the glass bar.
Push the new glass firmly into the channel until it bottoms. Leave the sealant squeeze-out until it cures, and then remove it with a razor blade.
Be sure the glass bar is centered in the window frame. The bar should extend about 1/8 inch beyond the glass on both sides.
Reverse the removal procedure outlined above.
CAUTION: do not force the glass closed; the hinge sections will be bent and the window will not function properly. When the hinge is hooked properly the glass will swing closed of its own weight.
Check the clearances between the sill, keeper, and latches.
Place the stud in the hole of the arm farthest from the glass.

TYPE 3: 1967 & 1968 Models

By April 1967, Airstream was starting to use a new type of window. These Type 3 windows were designed to be field-servicable. If you are lucky enough to have Type 3 glass bars, you will find the project easier than with the earlier types.

With Type 3, the glass bar is a two-part clamp that holds the glass. It is designed so that the two parts of the glass bar can be separated to release the glass. Unlike with Types 1 and 2, only the exterior half of the glass bar can be removed from the hinge, so you will be releasing the glass from the bar while the bar is still mounted to the hinge on the trailer.

As with the other types, you should first disengage the arm.
Remove the screws from the inside.
Slide a wide flat tool (like a putty knife) along the face of the old glass (or where the glass used to be) to separate the two parts of the glass bar. The outside half of the bar will come off when you have broken the seal created by the old sealant or tape.
Clean all surfaces.
To hold the glass in the bar, Airstream originally recommended using "bedding tape" instead of sealant with the Type 3 windows. The bedding tape Airstream used in the late 1960s seems to have been a two-sided adhesive tape. We have not identified a source for this product. Most of our customers simply use silicone RTV sealant instead of tape.
Set glass and reassemble glass bar.
Reengage arm as described for other type windows.

Ideas for Avoiding Leaks

Many owners of 1966-68 Airstreams have noticed that their old windows leak. This is due to design limitations and is not a function of whether you have old or new glass in your windows.

After installation is complete, there are steps you might take to reduce or eliminate leaks. We offer these ideas as suggestions only. They are assembled from various sources and experienced Airstreamers will disagree about their effectiveness.

Close and latch the window. You will notice a small gap beside the glass and under the glass bar. Fill this gap with sealant until the sealant can be seen flush with the glass bar. This seals a tiny gap where the glass doesn't lie flat on the rubber gasket. This is typically a gap significant enough to produce a steady drip in a hard rain or while driving in rain.
Likewise, another point of entry for water is at either end of the hinge. Apply additional sealant to the ends of the hinge.
To prevent leaking through the hinge, you may want to inject sealant into the moving parts of the hinge. To do so, run a bead of clear silicone sealant on the pivot point of the hinge and work it in by moving the hinge up and down. Do the same on the back side of the hinge. When doing this, you will want to open and close the hinge so that it works into the hinge evenly and the excess is expelled. After it has set, remove the excess with a razor blade. (This method should be undertaken with caution. With Types 1 or 2 windows, putting silicone sealant in the hinge may make it really hard to remove the glass bar in future repairs.)
After 24 hours, spray silicone lubricant on the hinge (the same lubricant used on the rubber gaskets).

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