UPDATE

Well, I'm now even more confused. The replacement window arrived this morning very well packaged but dirty, written on with some sort of Chinagraph pencil and marker pen and bearing three sticky labels of the not readily removable type.

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Half an hour with methylated spirits soon had the window nice and clean although it could do with a good polish with special acrylic compound to get it pristine.

I then removed the original window. Dead easy! Disconnect the two adjustable stays and remove the plastic end cap from the hinge bar.

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One screw holds plastic retainer.

Then slide hinge bar out.

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I then had to swap over the catches. Here I was puzzled to find these plastic spacers that had been left on the replacement window whereas mine didn't have any.

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It was then a simple job to fit the new window. BUT..........

1. The hinge bar on the new window is anodised a dark grey/brown where mine is bright alloy and
2. The plastic surround on the new window is grey whereas mine is a light bronze colour.

The mismatch is glaring so I decided to return the window for a refund and make an insurance claim to get a new one that matches my caravan. I emailed Automotive Leisure (12 miles or so from where we live) for a quote thinking I'd collect and fit it. No such luck. Would you believe that AL replied that they don't do windows for the Touring range of caravans?

By coincidence, Jean at Jandi sent me an email saying she hoped I'd managed to get the right one so I told her of my problems and of my decision to return the replacement for a refund. A while later she replied with a long and very helpful explanation regarding colour fading in Eriba plastics and the practical impossibility of obtaining colour matches in parts even after very short periods of exposure to sunlight.

Apparently, all the plastic bits were supplied in only one colour but the vans from the early 2000s faded worse than others. My windows started out grey but have since faded to their current bronze colour probably due to the effects of UV radiation.

This leaves me with a dilemma. The replacement window is now all parcelled up ready to go back but, apart from the anodised hinge bar, is probably as good as I'm likely to get. Should I keep it and look into swapping the hinge bars over and hoping that the grey will eventually fade to bronze? Can hinge bars be swapped reasonably easily and safely? (They appear to be pressed onto a rubber strip on the perspex so it should be possible, if a bit scary)

As I said earlier, bugger! Any suggestions anyone?

Zitat

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Quote Aaron Calder :- 1. The hinge bar on the new window is anodised a dark grey/brown where mine is bright alloy

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Sorry Brian, when we talked earlier I though it was the hinge bar on the recently purchased window that was grey.

Bronze anodizing, if it is that, is a coloured dye added to the anodizing process. It seems very strange why they should use this process when all the other aluminium parts on the Eriba are just anodized. Is it possible to recreate the colour on the existing hinge or paint both hinges a dark colour?

Randa

Zitat

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Quote Eribanut:- I don't believe that all window surrounds are same colour (grey) as I have had 3 Eribas, 2001 430, 2006,420 and 2006 540

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I'm not sure about that Mike for Brian's windows (centre pic) look grey until the replacement window is put alongside them. They then show up as bronze. The windows on our van (RH Pic) which remember, is the first of the Eribas to have double front windows, are still grey which suggests the early (prototype?) windows hold fast. The one on the left which I believe to be Buzz Lightyear's van, is very bronze (His van is post 2005).

I know photographs are maybe not the best way to show up a colour and tint problems but if you're theory is correct then we are talking about two different shades of "bronze", light bronze, darker bronze as well as silver.

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Randa

Zitat

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Quote Eribanut:- Roger I think that is the case as our Triton 420 had Grey Bronze Grey window surrounds alternating all around the van. If the plastic surround was changing colour due to ultraviolet light or whatever they should all have been affected. I think Hymer have used different surround tints over various years, I know the wheel spats and front A frame plastic on earlier vans were prone to ultraviolet discolouration but not the windows.

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I hear what you say Mike and if it were not for the fact that Jean of Jandi has it on good Authority from Hymer that they have never ordered or fitted bronze windows to Eribas then I would have to agree with you.

I wonder if it's not solely an effect of weather and storage conditions of the vans by their owners but more a manufacturing process problem that causes the colour change over time from one batch to another? I have to ask the question why my van is unaffected as it's one of the first to have the double window front and it has experienced long periods of time in hot conditions?

I recall talking to one owner on Facebook a few years ago who had the "David Bowie" look to the front of his van and he assured all that the part numbers on both windows were identical except for the left and right handing mark.

Randa

I've managed to find a Facebook thread with photo. It was at last year's Halloween (not the thread I mentioned above).

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This one shows the whole window as being bronze and not just the surround so "where are we now"? (see wot I did there? )

Randa

Just to clarify matters, the 'bronze' colour I mentioned referred to the dark tinted decorative areas outside the clear perspex of the window itself and not the transparent areas.

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