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During the storms over the festive period our van's skylight parted company so I bought a new one from the local caravan shop. When I took it out of the box the part that fits outside the van (on the roof) has small holes which I think is for screws bored all round it. As screws were not supplied would I be correct to think that I could use a good waterproof sealant to secure this in place instead?

Thanks in advance.

Hi! sorry to hear about your storm damage,I hope it didn't get too wet inside!

I don't think I would trust sealant to hold any part of the sky light on.

Why not use stainless steel self tappers (so they dont rust) and put sealant on as well,with an extra squirt in the screw holes?

Sometimes you can fit a new outer drome without resorting to removal of the whole skylight/rooflight, this is acheived by undoing the four screws that fit through the opening handles and gently easing the handles away from the main frame of the skylight and them refit the new outer drome skylight.if this sounds unclear maybe one of the other good folk on this site can explain more clearly but at least this way it saves disturbing the roof sealant and creating maybe another water source problem.

Micky

I would use the tape sealant available from caravan dealers and of course the screws !!

Hey Lawrence which part of St Helens are you from?

I was born in North Rd and went to Cowley quite a while ago.

Same year as Ray French to give a clue !!

When i changed my roof light to a Omnivent i used W4 roll mastic to seal it to the roof , Sikaflex 512 Caravan sealant could also have been used . 
Although mine is screwed from inside , i'd recommend that you do screw your roof light on and not just rely on the sealant/mastic to hold it in place , you can find the stainless screws at B&Q ( make sure you apply sealant to the screw threads ) .
When you remove the old sealant from the roof use white spirit on a rag ( Note dry the area well after using White spirit , even better clean with Meths ( methylated spirit ) , the reason is that any residue of White spirit stops the mastic sticking properly.

Hope this helps .

atb

Wizard

I used silicone when I fitted the Omnivent and all was well for 12 months then it rained in a little even though previously the pressure washer caused no leaks.

The silicone had bonded to the van roof and was the devil to remove but it came away cleanly from the plastic of the roof vent.After removing the 4 screws the vent just lifted off the roof minus the silicone !!

I was supplied with mastic on the roll from Broad Lane Caravans.

They got this from the workshop and it stuck really hard.)it was a yellow colour and much stickier than W4 which I have used to good effect before)

You have to be exact before placing the vent as it gave no second chances