T@B 400 Stargazer Window Hinge

RayJim

We finally forked over the money and purchased the T@B cover from All Pro Adventures and replaced the $100 cover I purchased on Amazon last year; it already has holes in it. After one year the cheaper covers we have been using all begin to deteriorate and develop holes along the top and back, they disintegrate from the constant exposure to the sun. The Allpro cover cost around $500, and it is much thicker and sturdier than my previous covers and is made of polyester as opposed to the cotton like material that the previous covers I purchased were made of. The zipper on the Allpro cover is a heavy duty compared to the little cheap zipper on the other covers. Also, I was surprised to find that after covering the T@B with the new cover the temperature in the trailer did not exceed 107 degrees, as opposed to before with the older cover the temperature in the trailer would get up to 117 degrees. I leave windows cracked open with a pool noodle and cover the front, side and back window with a heat reflective material when parked in the driveway at home. Additionally, I also use an elevated plastic serving tray that fits over the vent fan so I can raise the hood 1/4 of the way, with the cover on, and run the fan on a timer during the day which helps to vent the hot air out of the trailer. Without any intervention, all windows closed, vent closed and $100 cover on, the temperature in the trailer exceeds 120 degrees. I believe because I did not vent the trailer or cover the window with a reflective material in the past this, it led to two of my widows, front and back, becoming detached from the trailer when opened. Last December I replaced both front and back windows for the 2nd time due to the plastic hinge expanding/warping causing the windows to detach from the trailer when opened. The last window I replaced, became detached from the hinge and the weight of the window broke one of the arms leading the window to drop down and the corner falling onto the propane storage lid breaking off part of the window. We have had these reoccurring hinge problems with the window for the past two years and we were uncertain what was causing the hinges to fail. Another problem caused by high temperatures is the glue used in the trailer begins to fail, this has caused the strip lighting above the sink to detach from the shelf it is mounted under. After two years of dealing with unhinged windows, we are confident that excessive heat was the cause. Hopefully our interventions this summer help to mitigate the heat, in and outside of the trailer, preventing damage to any more windows or problems with the glue failing inside. Hope this information will be of use to T@B owners to help prevent problems associated with excessive heat or for those trying to figure out why their windows become detached form the hinge.

09/03/22 update the temperature outside is 94 degrees and with all the above heat mitigation measures in place and an added window box fan hanging from the open door and venting out hot air out of the trailer, the temperature in the trailer is 114 degrees. 

Heat damage to the hinge is reading a gap of 10.

Heat damage to plastic/acrylic hinge.

What the hinge should look like

Replacement window gap should read only 6

So far cover the window with heat reflective covering has help and the window hinge is maintaining its shape and has not warped. It is important to cover the mental hinge and the area around it, so it is not indirect sunlight. In addition, purchase a good cover like the one they sell at Allpro, the one on Amazon for the Rpods are cheap/thin and don't offer much protection for the sun rays.

I added an extra length over the hinge just to be on the safe side and help keep the metal around the hinge cooler

Sharon_is_SAM

Sorry @RayJim.  I guess if the cover was reflective it may make a difference, but the limited insulation of the TaB just isn’t enough to reduce the ambient temperature.  I guess you need deep shade or conditioned, indoor storage to control the temperature.  I am surprised that we have not heard more about heat related issues given the large number of TaBs stored outside.

RayJim

It was 104 here yesterday, I kept the temp at 117 in the trailer, the heat is manageable if proactive steps are taken. It's not like a car that can sit in the sun with no cover and the windows rolled up year after year with no problems. I don't mind going through the extra steps to keep our Tab protected from the heat and in pristine condition.
 I'm in the process of buying another smaller used Tag, that we can tow with a smaller car to save on fuel cost. One of the questions I asked the seller "do you have any problems with the front Stargazer window", he replied by saying it comes of the hinge when you open it up too far. This leads me to believe the window problem is probably an issue in hotter climates, and not all that uncommon. I would assume any acrylic/plastic windows would have a limit on how much sun and heat they could withstand, not just on Tabs but any trailer.