Vogler Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 (edited) A topic of a poster adapting his hardtop tub for overlanding led me to this write-up of the replacement windows I put in our 110. It's been over a year since I replaced the horrendous truck cab windows of our Td5 Hardtop 110 with gullwings. I liked the look of the original windows, but I finally had enough of the cheap and fragile plastic latches and sliding windows that took a fight every time we wanted to use them. A reason not to open them often prevailed... The Explore glazing windows are AFAIK the only truck cab-sized gullwing replacements. Regrettably they weren't available in clear glass so I opted for the lightest available grey ones. It's darker, but its not too conspicuous from the inside. The holes had to be enlarged slightly - a couple of mm's above and below. Without windows the flimsiness of the body is abundantly clear... The holes of the windows unfortunately don't correspond, and some overlap which is a bit annoying. Basically the screws seem to be an installation aid, whereas glue is the fixing method. I opted to add an extra pair of screws in the horizontal parts of the frame. I used industrial grade Sikaflex 552AT to glue it to the body. The choice for 552 turned out not to be optimal, I should have used a more fluid variant. It slightly buckled the body since there was less compression far from the screwed connections. Ideally I should have used a frame on the inside. An instructional video has been on the website of Explore since I installed the windows, there it is clear that a much more viscous product is used. There were two minor issues with the windows: - one of the gas struts leaked. - the hinge points for the gas struts were too close te one another, and bent outward the first time I closed the windows. That in itself wasn't really an issue, but it made the gas struts come closer to the frames, due to which they tended to pull out the rubbers. I contacted Explore, they admitted that the holes were probably made with measurements for the SW variant. Since they were glued, replacing wasn't an option, so they immediately sent new hinge points, screws and a quality thread cutting tap along with a new gas strut. Ever since I have been really happy with the windows. They weren't cheap, but the gain in quick acces is a real pleasure and gives sooo much more flexibility when camping. Access is not only quicker, but now the complete window surface opens, and not only half of it. They also aren't as draughty as the original ones and don't protrude from the body. I also appreciated the lack of the vertical line in the middle, they feel like they give a more clear view from the inside. Only downsides compared to the sliding type, is the fact that you can't open or close the latches from the inside, and that they're at forehead height (eye height to some) when open, but that's most likely inevitable due to their geometry. I did bump into them a couple of times. Greetings, Joris Edited October 3, 2020 by Vogler 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 They are quite neat I like them. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arjan Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 Nice - well done ! I have closed sides on the OneTenand that is not easy at times Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 They’re a very tidy and practical improvement over the truck cab windows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arjan Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 Prices are not too bad IMHO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Poore Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 Ooo interesting. Been thinking it would be really nice if I could open the back window in the 6x6, particularly on hotter days - they might be just the ticket. I like the benefit of the full width but then again being a pick-up / flat-bed I'll probably have stuff against the back anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddy Posted October 6, 2020 Share Posted October 6, 2020 21 hours ago, Ed Poore said: Ooo interesting. Been thinking it would be really nice if I could open the back window in the 6x6, particularly on hotter days - they might be just the ticket. I like the benefit of the full width but then again being a pick-up / flat-bed I'll probably have stuff against the back anyway. just tip the back up😬 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Poore Posted October 7, 2020 Share Posted October 7, 2020 23 hours ago, muddy said: just tip the back up😬 It's on the cards... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzar Posted October 8, 2020 Share Posted October 8, 2020 The truck cab back has a bit more structure than a hard top, you might have to do a bit of hacking to make that cat flap window fit. Consider replacing the rust magnet slide series slide tracks with the better plastic option from the series 3 club as an alternative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex Member Posted October 8, 2020 Share Posted October 8, 2020 On 10/5/2020 at 3:18 AM, Arjan said: Prices are not too bad IMHO Do I read that right 365 Euros per window? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arjan Posted October 9, 2020 Share Posted October 9, 2020 Depending on the window.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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