Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
Mike Ellis
TDR MEMBER
I had a small leak in my Bigfoot's bathroom window, so I decided to pop the whole window out and reseal it rather than just recaulk around the edge. I was told that the windows are very easy to remove, given the luck I have had with other "simple" repairs I didn't believe it but I can report that this time people were telling the truth 
All you have to do is remove the screws from the trim ring inside the camper and pop it off, it is like a flange that holds the window assembly in. Once it is off, running a plastic putty knife around the window on the outside to break the sealant free had the window free in a jiffy. It comes out all in one piece at that point.
It was interesting to see the foam sandwich construction of the Bigfoot up close and personal. I caught the leak pretty early, so I had no signs of delamination or wood damage. The window opening is basically a "porthole" cut into the side of the camper, no seams or studs. The foam is a pink styrofoam, surprisingly sturdy - I could compress the sandwich only a small amount with a stout squeeze. The opening itself was very nicely cut, the edges were smooth and precise, and the window fit snugly. The edges of the opening looked "new" - the foam and luaun looked like they had been cut yesterday, in fact there were still some traces of debris from the cut.
The foam in the walls is not a solid piece, you can see seams in the window opening where the panels or blocks come together. They were fit pretty nicely.
The window itself was rather interesting. Looking at the back side of the lip that seals against the camper body, it has a very slight ridge around the outside edge so that sealing tape can be mounted between window and camper. The butyl rubber tape that was on the window was therefore pretty thin, with the ridge all the way against the camper body there must not be but about 1/16 inch gap underneath - not a lot of room for tape. The camper had a bead of silicone run all the way around the window lip to further seal the seam (i. e. , outside the butyl tape area), it did not adhere well to the camper and just came off in strips by rubbing with fingers. Underneath the flange though, they had used a different type of caulk that took a LOT of elbow grease to remove. I used acetone to clean the area of the flange, and it did not affect the tough caulk in the slightest.
I removed all the butyl and cleaned up with acetone, then I lined the flange all the way around with a strip of double-sided Eternabond tape. BOY that stuff is sticky, never seen anything like it. I put the window back on and tightened down the trim ring screws, and a thin bead of Eternabond was forced out from under the edge of the flange, looked to be sealed pretty good.
Cleaning up the Eternabond whupped me for a few minutes, can't scrape it off with a tool and it is so sticky you can forget about peeling with fingers. I ended up running a razor blade around the outside edge, and using a small ball of the Eternabond to dab at the trimmed pieces and pick them up - worked great.
I left the camper out in the open the last few days, and today we have had a pretty stout storm. I went over the window with a fine-toothed comb, no leaks! The Eternabond sealed it as advertised.
I pity da fool who has to remove that window in the future... . wait, it'll probably be me :-laf Oo.
All you have to do is remove the screws from the trim ring inside the camper and pop it off, it is like a flange that holds the window assembly in. Once it is off, running a plastic putty knife around the window on the outside to break the sealant free had the window free in a jiffy. It comes out all in one piece at that point.
It was interesting to see the foam sandwich construction of the Bigfoot up close and personal. I caught the leak pretty early, so I had no signs of delamination or wood damage. The window opening is basically a "porthole" cut into the side of the camper, no seams or studs. The foam is a pink styrofoam, surprisingly sturdy - I could compress the sandwich only a small amount with a stout squeeze. The opening itself was very nicely cut, the edges were smooth and precise, and the window fit snugly. The edges of the opening looked "new" - the foam and luaun looked like they had been cut yesterday, in fact there were still some traces of debris from the cut.
The foam in the walls is not a solid piece, you can see seams in the window opening where the panels or blocks come together. They were fit pretty nicely.
The window itself was rather interesting. Looking at the back side of the lip that seals against the camper body, it has a very slight ridge around the outside edge so that sealing tape can be mounted between window and camper. The butyl rubber tape that was on the window was therefore pretty thin, with the ridge all the way against the camper body there must not be but about 1/16 inch gap underneath - not a lot of room for tape. The camper had a bead of silicone run all the way around the window lip to further seal the seam (i. e. , outside the butyl tape area), it did not adhere well to the camper and just came off in strips by rubbing with fingers. Underneath the flange though, they had used a different type of caulk that took a LOT of elbow grease to remove. I used acetone to clean the area of the flange, and it did not affect the tough caulk in the slightest.
I removed all the butyl and cleaned up with acetone, then I lined the flange all the way around with a strip of double-sided Eternabond tape. BOY that stuff is sticky, never seen anything like it. I put the window back on and tightened down the trim ring screws, and a thin bead of Eternabond was forced out from under the edge of the flange, looked to be sealed pretty good.
Cleaning up the Eternabond whupped me for a few minutes, can't scrape it off with a tool and it is so sticky you can forget about peeling with fingers. I ended up running a razor blade around the outside edge, and using a small ball of the Eternabond to dab at the trimmed pieces and pick them up - worked great.
I left the camper out in the open the last few days, and today we have had a pretty stout storm. I went over the window with a fine-toothed comb, no leaks! The Eternabond sealed it as advertised.
I pity da fool who has to remove that window in the future... . wait, it'll probably be me
:-laf Oo.
