On the RoadTrek Yahoo Groups for the last several days there have been discussions of hard to open rear windows on Chevy Roadtrek's.
There is a reason for the hard to open rear windows on Chevy RoadTreks and the reason for the rear door windows being screwed shut, it is a safety concern, and a RVIA Code as well as a US regulation.
Today I received the following information from RoadTrek, reads as follows:
Sleeping Areas in RV's need to be protected from Carbon Monoxide emissions from both tail pipes and generators. The Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA) Code requires this.
The rear door windows are screwed (riveted on older units) shut by Roadtrek according to US regulations. The reason for this is that people sleep in the vehicle. Because it is possible for a person to be sleeping in the back of the vehicle when it is moving, and the vehicles are brick-shaped and create a negative pressure zone behind them when moving through the air, vehicle exhaust can be sucked in through the rear door windows and potentially harm a person there.
Note:
Having been a Police Officer for 38 1/2 years here in MA, being in Uniform Patrol as well as being in Detectives, Plain Clothes, in charge of Special Investigations I have witnessed and investigated numerous deaths involving deaths of Carbon Monoxide.
Have seen both accidental and suicidal deaths of Carbon Monoxide in Motor Vehicles, very sad.
It is important to keep all rear windows, being the rear doors, and the rear side windows closed when operating an RV or when the vehicle is standing and idling.
Also, folks should not be sleeping in the rear of an RV when the vehicle is moving as serious injuries or death resulting can occur due to a Motor Vehicle Accident.
Ron
Ron & Rose Cabral
New Bedford, MA
~K1RRC~RRCRT@aol.com
My '02 C190P, bought low-miles used, still had square-drive screws thru both rear window knuckle latches. Simple enough but somewhat costy to take them out and install screens.
Jim, "Yeah, I'm lost. But dam', I'm sure making good time!"
'06 Tiger CX 'C Minus' on a Silverado 2500HD 4x4, 8.1 & Allison (aka 'Loafer's Glory') www.tigervehicles.com
sergeant76 wrote: 1775 are the holes there were the screws should be?
Ron
I went out to look. There are no screw holes in the latch on either window and there are no screw holes any place around the window. There do not seem to ever have been any screws placed here to prevent the window latches from working.
Also - the two side windows in the back of my RT which are immediately adjacent to the rear cargo door windows open and close.
The Roadtreks destined for the USA are in some respects different from those destined for Canada. I have yet to see a Canadian Roadtrek with window latches screwed shut. From a safety point, one should never travel with only the rear window(s) open in any vehicle. Maybe that is something that is not commonly known. As for riding in the rear, the law in most provinces says that you must use a seat belt (properly). Lying down on a bed doesn't qualify.
"Drive with Care, Life has no Spare!"
2008 Roadtrek C190V 6.0L Hella Fog, Nighthawk Driving, Halogen Reverse Lights, Fiamma Air Horn, Firestone Air Bags, Custom Bed & Mattress, Custom O/Head Tray. website www.sen-f.ca
The cost was in buying the screens. Removing the screws was as simple as it sounds, as long as you have the right size square drive. Mine was complicated by being sent the wrong screens (don't recall which company, Bug Barrier or Screenz). The owners were on vacation, and neither I nor the girl who took my order knew there were two versions of the '02 RT C190P, with or without plastic trim around the windows. Natch, I got the wrong one.
Jim, "you never really learn to swear until you learn to drive."
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