TIP # 124 A New Look, A New Window, for Bushtracker???

Submitted: Friday, Sep 29, 2006 at 23:12
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Well, all Credit for this one goes to Marie Matthews of “Jimarie”, and it just goes to show you how Others are always contributing to the Research and Development… Marie may have just changed the look of some Bushtrackers in the future!

My Reservations against the Dometic windows were:
1) Not tinted, more heat and light…..
2) Flies, flies, flies, as you have to open the screen to shut the window… With 60 flies on the screen in fly country, this could be a real downer…
3) Cost, they used to be quite a bit more expensive.
4) White internal frames lack a bit of decorum, and I thought the screen mechanisms were just a bit flimsy feeling and thought their might be a maintenance issue there...

Advantages were always that there is a little more noise and insulation factor, and better seal and lock system.

Well, now # 1 Reservation is shot, they come tinted now in the past few months..
# 3 is better, as the cost difference is getting more competitive, still more expensive but not as much as it used to be. #4 is probably unfounded and just takes some getting used to, and so far the screen mechanisms have not had much in the way of complaints… So that just leaves #2 Reservation: Flies, flies and flies…

Well, Marie just shot that one down as well. She came up with a novel idea that had not occurred to me, and my hat is off to Her!!! See if I can explain this easily, the windows have an unlocked position down, up at half mast, and fully open on their support struts. You lift it up further and it comes all the way back down to the lock position. Here is Her system: First you lower the screen and unlock all windows, leaving them down and closed. Then you raise the screen back up. Next, you go outside and lift the window from the down position from the outside!!! No flies….. To close the windows, you go outside, and brush off the flies from the screen, lift the window and lower it down to the closed position as you brush the flies away. Then you go inside and raise the screen on the now fly-less window and lock it shut… Too simple, Marie!!!

Now mind you, the system is a bit fiddly, but it works!! MAGIC, MARIE!!!! That leaves me with some minor décor concerns about the inner white frame, and minor concern about maintenance on the screens (that is admittedly unfounded as these windows are all the rage in Europe)… That leaves me with those little minor concerns, against better noise and insulation factor of the double skin window, for only $850….????? Well Marie, you might have converted me. On my next Show van (we have to renew our personal vans every couple of years to reflect the current technology) On my next one I may just go the Dometic Windows myself to give a proper hands on final decision if it is worth doing to all or not, with the Bull Dust. They are better, they have a better locking system, they seem to seal better, and they may not have the top hinge dust problem on the rear of the van…

Marie, you may have just altered history a bit. We will have to solve the Decorum issue with the white inner frames… If my own tests come out good in relation to the double skin window in the Bull dust, we will make it an Option to upgrade the windows on our Gear List and we will put them in the Show Vans… My hat is off to a Fine Little Lady!!

Kind Regards from the Ranger. Always trying to do it better, with a little help from my Friends…!
"The Last Stand In Open Country"

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Reply By: Bushtracker - Thursday, Oct 12, 2006 at 00:48

Thursday, Oct 12, 2006 at 00:48
You might just see the new windows at the Show in Brisbane, end of this month...

We used to call it the "scratch and dent Show".... It is not the "BIG SHOW OF JUNE", more of a "witto end of year clearance show".... But we are expected to be there. Any of you Boggers, with ANYTHING ELSE to do, I probably would not bother driving across town for this little mini show...

But for some Newbies to be, we are somewhat expected to be there.. I have my doubts if it is worth the trouble, but...... Hence we will have a 17' there with the new Dometic windows on board for any Newbies that want to see them in action...

Regards, Ranger
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