Hello folks from England.

I must apologise up front for the length of this posting ...
(especially as it's my first post to this group) but it needs to be
longer in order to explain the full situation and what I hoping you
can help me with.

I am hoping that someone can help me with information about the
Spaceframing to the windscreen area of my 1991 Sportscoach
Crosscountry 38ft diesel pusher on a Spartan chassis?

We've had her for quite some years now, and she's been a great bus
(bar trying to self-ignite once in Germany, and another episode of
self mutilation in Belgium a couple of years before that... but
they're stories for another time).

We have the usual split screen at the front... we got a stone-hole in
one last year in France... and when our UK autoglazing company looked
they recommended both be replaced due to the delamination that was
occuring on the drivers side screen. We got two new screens sent
across from the States. I took the RV to the Autoglass depot to get
them fitted last week.
But, ...as they removed the trims and then began to cut off the
sealant it exposed along the bottom of the screens a lump of
thoroughly rusted metalwork held together only by the sealant
itself.
We couldn't tell if this was the remains of a horizontal tube of the
spaceframe, or 'just' a piece in-fill steel behind the lower part of
the screens.
But, either way we decided to halt the fitting then, rather than
continue to cut out the screen only to discover that it was in fact
one of the tubes (and therefore structural) and I'd be stranded with
an immobilised vehicle many miles from both home and/or someone who
could rebuild the framing.
That is where we are now... I drove her home and took her straight to
the local coachbuilders, But, the shop-owner freely admitted that he
had never worked on an American RV before, had no idea what to expect
when he removed the screens and exposed whatever is underneath, and
even had no ideas on how to go about removing the front fibreglass
panels,  without cutting them off... (something I don't want him to do
for obvious reasons).

In short (and to use his own highly expressive terminology) "...I'm
f*****ng scared of touchin' this mate, 'cos I haven't a clue what s***
I'm going to expose, nor how much it's gonna cost you for me to
f*****g fix it ...".

On Thursday and Friday I contacted the Damon agents here (I know their
Service Manager), and also managed to make contact with the Spares
Department at Coachmen Ind.Inc. in the States.
I was asking Coachmen if they had filed away somewhere the old plans/
drawings that showed the space-frame tubing of the 1991 Sportscoach A-
class 38ft RV on a Spartan chassis.
Their answers was 'no'.
Meanwhile, my contact at the Damon Agents came back to say he couldn't
understand what I was describing (when talkong about the rusted
steelwork) as in his experience 'all' coaches had the glass bonded
directly to the fibreglass.
The spares section contact at Coachmen emailed further on Friday
saying that he had spoken to some of the older technicians, and they
recalled that some of the vehicles at that time had a steel 'ledge'
that the windshields 'sat on', ... and it looks as if this might be
what we are seeing... but I am still worried about what that 'ledge'
was fastened to. --- I presume it was welded to a horizontal
spaceframe tube slightly higher, but the Coachmen technicians have
said they would need to see one again to remember properly, and give
any accurate advice(somehwat helpful suggestion... but not practical
given that i am 5-6000 miles away).

Sorry for the length of that opening ramble... but it gives the
position as we are at today.

I am desperate to find any illustrations --- as in, (for example),
old photographs of the Sportscoach assembly plant that might give
clues, drawings made by anyone else who has had the same (or similar
experience), verbal descriptions of what the framing should look like,
old sales material for the 1990-92 period Sportscoach/Coachmen A-class
machines that might show artists impressions of the spaceframe
elements... in short folks I am desperately seeking any news/views/
information/pictures/drawings/sketches/constructive comments/etc. that
I can show to my local coachbuilder to help allay his fears and
convince him that this is something he doesn't need to 'fear'. (Even
though he too has a 2 month waiting list).
Can anybody help please?   (if there's a 'better' group to ask then
please feel free to let me know .....or even feel free to refer them
to this plea).

BTW and just to finish ... yes, I have already asked the Service
Manager at the Damon agents to undertake the work... he has stated he
wouldn't consider getting involved before next winter (yes...
really!), the Monaco Agents here in the UK (who claim to be the
'insurer approved specialists on US RV's) ... wouldn't even discuss it
with me.  Their Service Manager was verging on the abusively abrupt
and wouldn't even discuss getting involved ... so you can imagine that
I'll be lining up to buy my replacement RV from that bunch then....
not!
It was a similarly depressing story elsewhere; and I have discovered
in the past week how pathetically useless the RV trade are here in the
UK, with the Damon agent being the only one who was even willing
discuss it (albeit with a hugely extended wait for help... if at all).

Please... any information would be more than just simply appreciated.

Ian Broadbent
England UK