Somebody used rocks to take out the windows on my volvo 240. Kids most likely. Any good tips on replacement glass. I need 4 new windows. One is the right side window(non sliding) , 2 sliding panels in the door, and the main front window. Only things i can think of is dealer parts or local glass guy. I need some quick advice before i go blow some money. Ken
Lexan MR-10 if the panels are flat Same scum will come back and smack glass out again.
Great! That's what i figured. so lexan? Where should i start looking for that? Glass guy?
Glass shops can usually get it. Just make sure it is Margard coated, I think all MR-10 is, but check to make sure. The plain old Lexan scratches up pretty good, but the Margard coating all but eliminates the scratches. Brian
And with Lexan panels, he'll find that's too much work, so make sure your hyd and fuel caps are secured as well as the engine compartment. Busted glass is bad enough...but a sabatoged engine! Lock her down.
Just one last thought, is the lexan going to increase the noise level in the cab? Any other reason I may not want to use it.... disadvantages? Ken
What is lexan :beatsme Is that what you guys call the tough see through plastic? Id try the local auto glass guy, they will be a good deal cheaper than the main dealer!
Lexan shouldn't have any impact on noise in the cab at all. If you are familiar with the cabs you see on forestry machines, you'll have seen Lexan windows. If you get Margard coated Lexan, then you have what amounts to an indestructible piece of glazing. You don't have to worry about the tiny scratches that will cause the window to cloud over time like Plexiglass or normal Lexan will do. All of the tiny scratches from cleaning off dust add up over time, and soon, you can't see through them. Margard solves that problem......can you see that I am a very strong proponent of Margard? Anyhow, the only real downside I can see to Lexan is the price. The stuff ain't cheap, but if you need windows that won't get broken, this is the stuff you want. As for the question of what is Lexan, it's a brand name of a plastic product that was developed by GE Plastics that is almost unbreakable. I think GE Plastics either got sold off, or changed names though. Brian
cab guards you would do well to invest in some cab guards like the ones on these machines ,i have a cab sheet for my case 590 and it does seem to deter vandals as they dont see the glass cheers graham
It is still GE it is about 300 per 4x8 sheet Marguard google it up for suppliers. It is what they use for bullet proof glass. There are a few companies that sell things similar but I would stick with GE. I found one in CT http://www.modernplastics.com/lexan...t-polycarbonate-sheet-ultramasked-p-1289.html specs are impressive it is what they use for fighter canopies I think. I used it on my race boats for canopies that were rejected for fighter due to small inclusion nothing structural.
Ok guys, and thanks for all the help. I have an update. I was back in the field yesterday afternoon around 4, relocated the unit further from the 'tracks' so thrown stones wouldnt reach it. This morning i went back to inspect it again, and would believe the son***itchs revisited the unit, smash the rest of the windows, poured about 2 gallons of used motor oil all over the interior of the cab, smashed the lcd display console, and pinned a dead squirrel and a note to the seat. The note read 'stop ****ing the tracks ****!!!' But i've got them beat cuz my names not ****! I am slowly losing my faith in humanity here. So anyway, I spent the afternoon and evening watching the unit, at 10pm i traded off with my father to watch overnight. We may keep this up for a couple nights just to see if they do return. A little background, my next door neighbour has a real problem with people on bikes, quads, and trucks driving down the 'tracks'. Backing up even further. There is an abandoned rail line that cuts through the middle of all our farms. Many years ago they lifted the rails and tracks and just left. Thus you have an endless trail for bikes etc. Of course, crop damage and vandalism is a problem way because the the trail travels through the back country with nobody nearby. So my neighbour has dug ditches and erected many obstacles to top the traffic. However, all he has succeeded in doing is moving the trail off the rail line, and into hte adjacent field as the quads travel around the barricades. This has left a lot of them really pissed. His machine has be hit several time. This is the first time for me. Unfortunately i am not a party to the blockades, and they hit my machine by mistake. Needless to say, my neighbour got an earful tonight, and i don't think i'm going to be getting a christmas card from him either. Any thoughts on catching these guys. If they do come back, i hope to be able to id the bikes, maybe get a chance to talk to thier parents. If i'm really lucky, maybe find someone to sue for damages. :Banghead
A piece of wire tied between two trees works pretty good! :eek2:OMG Rn'R.
You sir, are a moron. I had a good friend die in highschool because of this. I understand your situation with the tracks very well. All I can say is that you will have a very long battle ahead of you. Is there any chance that you can reroute the traffic around your field and a post a sign? The other problem that you have is that if someone has an aciident on your section of tracks, you will be liable stil....
Only thing i can think of is one of those high tech hunting cameras. It will take covert night pictures with date and time stamp included. Tell me you have insurance to cover all that damage..... It sounds like they have about hurt you financially; and are about to destroy your machine.
Wow - that's a tough one. You know, I seriously don't think I would want to catch them. The outcome would not be good for you after you are done with them - I am sure you know what I mean. Probably better to just rig a camera.
Flashpuppy, while I am sorry to hear about your friend, this was a tongue in cheek reply to watglen’s question and does not warrant the name calling on your part. I am well aware of the consequences and would not recommend that anybody do it. Mind you, if I was in watglen’s position, I just might be prompted in to doing something drastic. These people are criminals, they damage his and his neighbour’s crop, vandalise property, and because someone tries to stop them, they destroy his machine. Up until now, watglen is showing an extreme amount of patience. We have the same problem here on public holidays in the sand hill country around the coastline. People from the city think that it is their god given right to drive and ride anywhere they wish, they cut fences, shoot up windmills and generally cut up the sand hills, damaging the vegetation which in turn makes them drift. Rn’R.
Few years back I did the same thing, I sat and waited at night. This did not work they never returned at night. One week day I went to the yard at 4pm to hear a bunch of banging. When I got closer their were 6 kids being destructive. I could not believe how fast kids could run. I never would have caught any but I yelled so loud in my deep voice one kid froze. Held him by the shirt until the cops came. I fell and cut my hands of while running. Mother comes back with a minivan full of kids to rescue the guy I had. Told her he is not going anywhere till the police arrive. They all got locked up, all six kids. Not one parent said they were sorry at the station. It whole deal cost them about $8,000.00 one kid didn't have the money to pay so it was on his record unlike the ones who paid where it was then exsponged from their record. Then few months ago some idiots burned a shanty to the ground. Not much in it but odds and ends but it leaves you thinking every time you pull in what is next. I did look into the hunting camera deal but never did anything as it was confusing which to buy. I think I will invest in one soon for the construction sites and the yard. You could probably get away with punching a guy in the head if caught but stringing wires is premeditated and you may get the wrong person.
I agree. Its not my intention to beat the crap out of them. I would like to explain that the machine they are looking for is parked next door, and they have hit the wrong guy. Also, i would like the sue someones parents for damages. The ECU is trash. If a small piece of glass costs $120, what does THAT cost! Can't wait to find out... All you can do is smile, getting pissed gets you nowhere... On the plus side, i found the lexan mr10 in toronto. A sheet costs $500, so the windows won't cost much. Should save me a pile over the dealer price. He is going to quote me an anti-theft kit too.
what does an anti theft kit consist of?
Antitheft kit consists of 10 feet of chain and a collar. You supply the rottweiler. Kidding... You've seen them, steel sheets that clip on over the windows. My machine has about 12-15 panels. There is also a storage rack installed somewhere so you can carry the panels with you. They lock in place. Others have said that since the glass is covered there is less urge to smash something.
i would just put up a sign that says SMILE your on CAMERA meaningless threat but you would be amazed if your in a wooded area they never know if theirs a camera in the trees.
We had a logging contractor back home who was having issues with vandals beating his iron up way out in the bush. Try as he might, he never could catch them in the act. He came up with a great idea, he taped open the mike on the radio in his loader, and when they turned on the master switch, the radio on his nightstand crackled to life. The way I was told the story is that he jumped up, called the police, and flatly stated that they better beat him there, or somebody should just call an ambulance now. I guess the RCMP had a hard time keeping up with him on the way out there, but they sure tried, cause they were pretty afraid of what he was going to do when he caught them. Seems he was a great guy, but not too prone to stop and think before he acted. I guess all went down pretty peacefully, but they got them. Brian
I apologize if I gave you offense from my comment. I do not disagree that this is totally unacceptable on their part, or that this is a criminal matter. The ole dirtbike guillotine just ruffles my feathers....
No worries, flashpuppy, and under the circumstances, I can understand that. Rn'R.
I should ask, is there any chance of saving the old instrument cluster. It is an lcd display with fuel, temp, etc. It still works, but the lcds are caved in. A new one is $4500. Perhaps someone can fix mine????
Probably not. Alot of the time the manufatures use custom parts, or at very least "house" part numbers to prevent component level repair and force you to buy an OEM replacement. If you want to post a picture of the smashed unit and post any numbers off the LCD display part of it, I will see if I can match them to anything. The other kicker is how the solder joints are done. Alot of modern stuff isn't really made to be repaired and can be difficult/impossible to de-solder and re-solder. -Andy
Not that it matters at all, but I did some searching and it is no longer GE. GE sold their plastics division in 2007 to SABIC (Saudi Basic Industries Corp). For what it's worth, I figured it may make it easier for others to find the stuff in the future. Brian
I found an article http://www.sabic.com/corporate/en/newsandmediarelations/news/20070521.aspx thanks I would assume they would still come up under GE if googled
I sorry to hear about you excavator Here in Philly, they will custom fabricate kits consisting of plywood or sheet metal. Then they will make a tray out of metal tubing and put that on the side of the carbody, so it can store the sheets when they are not in use. When ever they are done, they will put the sheets on to protect the windows, stops vandals, and theives. Not my pictures, but as you can see their is the tray on the side of the carbody to store the sheets when not in use. one with sheets on it
I feel for you, have been in this situation a number of times. Can you hire a security company to check in on your jobsite a few times a night. Although plexiglass is unbreakable, you don't want to use it for front glass replacement, in scratches easily, an make it a pain for an operator to see through in certain conditions
Some of the guys on this forum say that lexan mr10 works well because it has an abrasion resistant coating. The supplier said it will work well for this application. I picked up a grey and a clear sheet. 6mm thick. $700 total. Its cheap enough to be worth a try.
Been there, done that, got 75,000 pounds of scrapiron (that just had 1600 original owner hours on it). They put something in the motor to lock it up, on top of all the windows and instruments...
Damn punks, I wish you could catch them in the act so they could be beaten to a bloody pulp.
It occurs to me that vandalism/mischief costs society billions each year. It is by far the most costly type of crime in society, and we do so little to stop it.
Well, its fixed. Spent two weeks cleaning the cab, replacing the windows. I went with the abrasion resistant plastic all around. Went with grey tint in 3 windows, just to cut some heat in the cab. Windows only cost $700, compared to about $2200 for factory glass. For those savings i can replace the plastic with glass later if it doesn't work out. The big item was the ecu. Its the little guage panel with lcd engine temp and fuel guage. Idiot lights and all. That part was $3700, plus 500 for software, plus 275 to program it. That was painful. I hope it never happens again. We have a pretty good idea who did it, but i'm not sure what to do with that information. The next step is one of those trail cams...
Almost $4500 for ECU, I feel for you! You ve stayed real calm through all this, I'd have some one strung up by now!
The trail cams are good, the downside is that they flash at night.Easy to find and smash. Unless you can find one that works different. Mailtrain
I have a solution to that, rig an M80 to go off as the camera flashes, bet they won't smash it then.
so i go to my yard and three machines have the lights knocked out (12 lights and three broken convex mirrors :bash:bash So now what trail camera should I get? I looked before but now I am getting one If they are infared is there is no flash? Any ideas about hiding or protecting one? I did catch a bunch of kids few years ago and it cost them 8+ grand. :bash:bash
Supposedly you want one made by Reconyx, model rc60ho. Supposed to be the best. Thats the one i'm likely going to get. It is supposed to be the best. No flash, wide area detection, long range detection,
That looks like a very good unit http://www.trailcampro.com/reconyxrc60horeview.aspx Another review:RC60-HO's are modified RC60's. They are modified to emit a very high dose of invisible 940 nanometer infrared light. The HO part of the model name stands for "high output". The base unit -- the RC60 -- is unique among trail cameras. Although many claim to use "invisible IR" LED illumination, all but this type of trail cam emit a very visible red glow when they trigger, which is thought to initimidate deer. The Reconyx RC60 has a filter which blocks out all the visible light light, so there is no red glow. The LED illumination is completely invisible to human eyes, but as Wally has discovered, some mammals can detect this "invisible" part of the light spectrum, somehow. At two separate locations Wally noted that deer passed by normal RC60's without stopping, but did stop in front of a RC60-HO unit (hereinafter referred to simply as HO) and seemed to be particularly curious about it, but showed no fear. In these two instances the deer were apparently transfixed by something -- most likely the illuminator. Some people surmised that the deer could not see the flashing light (because it would have detered them), but could somehow feel the flashing light -- perhaps a slight warmth sensation. Something about these trail cameras held the attention of the deer for nearly a minute while the camera took several photos of it. http://www.bfro.net/wally.asp
ideas for hiding them? Don't want to lose $650
Best idea i have is to install a steel box on side of my dump trailer with the camera inside it. Sort of hide it in plain site idea. Park the unit next to the dump trailer at night.
:idea Just thinking...... Would need to experiment with location of box and distance to machine Would not do a lot of good to get good pictures of asses
For that kind of money for the ECU, I would build some kind of steel box to go around it at night. 1/8" steel, and weld a 5 sided box, then a lid, hinged with a pad lock.
Really sorry about your vandalism Watglen. I'ts work a mechanic never likes to do. Brian: Do you run a grapple or just bragging?:lmao
I ordered that camera today, and they also have a wall mountable box to put it in. Looks like a standard electrical enclosure. You would never give it a second look if it was mounted on the side of a building. We'll see how it works...
Good luck, hope you can catch them on camera trying it again.
Hahaha, no, I don't run a grapple. I run a hydraulic shovel, RH200...just a baby. Brian
good idea I may PL 400 a cube of concrete block together and have the camera in side. Make it so a few slide out. Now I wonder if I have a picture of them there do I need a picture of them actually doing the damage like throwing the brick at the machine or something?
what kind of camera did you order watglen?? i would be like to know. what a bumer, no respect- it seems as though the world is not the same. oh yea.. rock salt loads????
Its a rc60ho Made by Reconyx. Built in the US, repairable in the US. We'll see soon enough how it works.
keep me posted also! Thanks. Made in the USA :usa I can swallow the price easy now!
Are the areas where you are parking your machines fenced in? I'm thinking that a good chain link fence with an electric livestock wire going around the top would be more trouble than the average vandal might want. I suppose with insulated posts, you could electrify the chain link itself. Just remember to post signs saying the fence is electrified (lawyers).
.....maybe you have a new place to dump stumps, concrete, manure, etc
Who do you think did it, watglen, and what is that person's relationship to you? I have some ideas. . .