We have just changed over caravan and 2 out of the 3 skylights leak since we cleaned it......
We have the standard pop up skylights at the moments 2 in the main area and 1 in the bathroom.....
My wife quite likes the hinged ones rather than the pop up ones so my question is, can i swap from a pop up type to a hinged opening one?
And what are the pros and cons of each type?
Sorry if this has been asked before , i did a quick search and couldn't find the answer.
New ones for you to browse here and a link to a large breakers yard.
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I will be buying new, i've just never had to change one before so wondered what the different benefits of both types are?
As I have only seen the hinged types on much newer vans and every time I watch a video when someone replaces the skylight they always swap like for like so was just really checking that I can swap the style over without causing any issues?
Dont know if you can swap one for a different type but...
I think the new hinged ones must be closed if it rains. I cannot see them being open even a small bit without letting rain in. The push up type have an overhanging skirt shape which means they can be left open for ventilation. Very useful especially in the washroom.
Personally I find the large expanses of roof lights they fit now make the inside too light and too hot in bright sunshine.
As a self building DIY motorhomer I would suggest you tread very carefully indeed.
What I can't understand in the original post of Bindason is that your existing skylights only started to leak water after your wife had cleaned them................ What on the earth did she do to them?
If you do decide to change them then the aperture of the cut out hole through the roof must be exactly the same size, otherwise you will have to alter the shape which can be an absolute nightmare of a problem, so tread very carefully indeed.
If you do change them, then from my own experience Sikaflex is most certainly not the be all and end all silicone adhesive to use. Personally I tried it and it gave a very poor result so I broke the seal, cleaned it off and used black coloured Stixall the 2nd time, since when in 4 years I have experienced absolutely no problems.
As for me and just like 'navver', I didn't want the vast amounts of light and sun heat associated with large hinge up rooflights, so I used the far cheaper MPK rooflights sold by amongst others Magnum Motorhomes of Grimsby.
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Thanks for all the replies, I appreciate the info.
at Buzzy-Beans, we only collected this van on Sunday and it was barn stored so that's why we cleaned it and noticed them leaking, not that we used a product to clean that made them leak :)
Think Ill just fit like for like and stay with the pop up ones.
Possibly the existing rooflights are bonded in with the normal kind of revolting and generally useless mastic that the UK van manufacturers have used for ages.
It is useless stuff as over time it dries out and cracks, but of course it is cheap for them to buy, whereas people like me who have built their own motorhomes will in most cases use silicone based adhesives such as Sikaflex or Stixall.
Unless your rooflights have broken Bindason, simply remove them and carefully remove all of the old sticky stuff and then when thoroughly cleaned with meths or similar, apply a good thick bead of one of the above mentioned adhesives (I prefer Stixall which you can get from Toolstation) and then clamp it up bearing in mind that the strongest strength of thickness for these products is 2mm.
------------- There is a great World to be found out there, but by the very day, to find where it is becomes more of a challenge!
Have a look at the areas where the screw/pivots are located in the outer dome as the UV tends to make the little washers/spacers brittle and dissintigrate allowing water to get in.
Dave.
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Just had my pop up MPK replaced with a Heki, 400x400 a straight forward job according to dealership. Now we shouldn't get twigs,seeds, dirt and snow blowing in. The older pop ups were better, the "ventilated" ones are a pain in the rear.
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ours ''leaks'' when I wash the roof....Its an Omnivent type...with seals only on two sides ( NCC recommendation apparently ) and when I direct the hose some water gets under the skylight.....the parts that don't have seals ( for ventilation )
Next visit to the caravan store will be to ft extra seals for the winter....contemplating a Christmas holiday - first time !