Recently, we were told of the ordeal a church went through when they needed to replace the windows of their older 15 passenger bus. They called the church insurance company to open the claim, then took the bus to Safelite Auto to get the repairs done. However, Safelite Auto was not able to handle the odd sized glass that was in the bus, and neither were the three other local glass dealers! Frustrated, the church searched for a different solution. As they are situated in a busy resort town, there are a higher than average number of RV dealers around them. When passing one of these dealers, a member of the church noticed that the RV’s on the lot have many odd sized windows which would need eventual repair or replacement. Excited to have a new possible solution, they called a local RV dealer who was able to refer them to someone who may be able to help. He inspected the bus windows, but was unable to identify the correct window style that he would need to order for the replacement. Their bus no longer had the bus conversion company metal plate which has all the information that would help him know where to find what was needed. This small metal plate should be attached to the bus, but was no longer there. Unfortunately, this meant that he would have to measure and custom order the glass, a more complicated and costly job than it should have been.
Many churches buy their vehicles in used condition, in an effort to be good stewards of their funds. One thing to remember when doing this is to make sure the bus conversion has the conversion company identifying plate, or that the information is included in your paperwork. If there is a plate on the bus, it is wise to take a picture of the plate and file it away for future reference, just in case it is lost at some point. Remember when researching your church insurance options to check your church insurance quote to make sure that a situation such as this one is covered as part of your package.