Foretravel Owners' Forum

Foretravel Motorhome Forums => Foretravel Tech Talk => Topic started by: Barry & Cindy on November 05, 2012, 11:06:37 pm

Title: Shower skylight
Post by: Barry & Cindy on November 05, 2012, 11:06:37 pm
Our shower skylight has several cracks on the smoked inside flat plexiglass, and a crack on the outside smoked dome.  Silicone temp repair has held up, but it is now time to replace our original skylight.

ODL may not make the AD2828DB anymore and I am not sure what comes with it.  Lowes has a Solar Industries unit that may work, but outside dome is pretty clear and there is no inside flat plexigalss part.

Has anyone replaced their skylight in recent years?  And if so what was replaced and what was re-used?  And where did the skylight parts come from?
Title: Re: Shower skylight
Post by: JohnFitz on November 05, 2012, 11:34:49 pm
Barry,
I replaced mine some years ago and got the parts from Home Depot but recently I was told by a HD person (insert grain of salt here) that they don't make the plexiglass ones anymore but do sell a replacement piece that is dual pane (real) glass and is flat.  I don't remember the cost but it was much more than the plexiglass part from before.
I don't remember the size but I think it's around 24" square.  When I replaced mine from HD parts I just bought a dome piece and square piece and used RTV to seal between the two and to the base frame - no sealant required for the outer clamping trim piece.

A quick search yielded:
Replacement Skylight Dome (http://www.skylightdepot.com/domes/)
So it looks like you can still get the plexiglass ones.  I would snoop around other home improvement stores to see if you can pick one up locally.
Title: Re: Shower skylight
Post by: nitehawk on November 05, 2012, 11:54:58 pm
Barry, if you do get a clear plexiglass skylight you can "frost" the inside by using an orbital sander with sand paper or emory cloth, preferably a fine grit.

Check old posts and you can find one by George Stoltz re his replacing his skylight along with info re where and part numbers.
Title: Re: Shower skylight
Post by: Bobby Carter on November 06, 2012, 12:00:03 am
Barry I replaced the dome on mine don't remember if the flat plexiglass came with it are not got mine from FOT this was a couple of years ago.
Title: Re: Shower skylight
Post by: John Haygarth on November 06, 2012, 12:20:10 am
you can also make a frosted finish with spray can paint. They make a frosted finish one.
John
Title: Re: Shower skylight
Post by: philtravel on November 06, 2012, 07:13:26 am
I bought one from FOT after my cleaning guy stepped on it. It was a 10 minuet job.
Title: Re: Shower skylight
Post by: Dave Cobb on November 06, 2012, 08:55:37 am
Hope this helps:

I am in the roofing business and buy skylights all year.  Sometimes a big box store will have the new units, that are double dome.  Usually a clear inner dome and a smoked outer.  When that does not work, I order them from one of the many places in the DFW area that form them to spec.

Critical is an inner dome shape that allows any condensation that forms drips off in the correct place to leave the frame unit.  In a home if the shape is wrong then the condensation can damage the sheet rock tunnel.

With all my experience, the coach in a warehouse, the local fabricator only 6 miles away, and wholesale buying power guess what was easier and almost the same cost?  While at Foretravel, they had the size in stock, and charged less than 30 minutes to install.  I could not have done the job any faster, with my own ladder, two trips to the supplier, and supplies to seal the unit.

But you should be able to source the skylight locally, you really only need the ID of the aluminum frame to sit on the coach's frame curb. On my older coach the skylight is called a "curb mount", meaning it has a square "L" flange mounted to the roof of the coach, and it has a removable "L" cap flange that is a complete assembly of metal, and two domes.  One can take apart the top "L" and replace just the two or a single plex dome if you can not find the correct color frame.
Title: Re: Shower skylight
Post by: kenhat on November 06, 2012, 09:51:26 am
I did mine about a month ago. It was 24"x24". I got mine from Clear Domes our Specialty (http://www.cleardome.com/). It was about $80 and another $30 shipping. That seemed pricy but it was a direct trade out and wasn't having any luck elsewhere. I had Ace Hardware make me a 24x24 sheet of flat plexiglass and used silicone to stick them together. Went in easy but the trim piece in the shower that butts up against the plexiglass was very inconsistent. Touched on one side but over a 1/4" gap on the other side. This has to be sealed completely or you will end up with moisture in the roof framing. I used some no-caulk tape I found at Walmart to seal it. So far it's held up for me. Time will tell. Hopefully yours fits better and you can just caulk it. I did seal the outer trim piece on mine. It looked like water could find its way around and into the roofing otherwise.

Thought I mention that I used clear but they come in amber and white also. If I had it to do over would go with the amber. A full moon or a street light completely illuminates the bathroom!

see ya
ken
Title: Re: Shower skylight
Post by: Larry Bradley on November 06, 2012, 09:54:54 am
Barry,
I had one made at Acra-Lite of Texas in Garland.  Phone 972-494-4429.

Single Bronze Lexan on Skylight and Flat Acrylic white for flat cover.

I used eternabond tape rather than calk with no leaks. (double sided tape)

Total cost for skylight was $92.00

I am sure  if you google skylight mfg you will have someone close to you for custom made. 

Larry Bradley
1998 U270
2011 Grand Cherokee
Title: Re: Shower skylight
Post by: Roland Begin on November 06, 2012, 10:43:02 am
My dome was broken by a falling branch this summer, I have "temporarily" sealed the hole with the thought of replacing just the dome as the flat piece is not broken. Can I just replace the dome or do I have to replace both pieces?

Roland
Title: Re: Shower skylight
Post by: kenhat on November 06, 2012, 12:34:23 pm
@Roland If the plexiglass is in good condition you should be able to reuse it. If not it was only $10 or $15 bucks at Ace. I'm sure any hardware store will have it. It's easy to replace when you have everything apart. Not so easy later on...

see ya
ken
Title: Re: Shower skylight
Post by: Roland Begin on November 06, 2012, 02:15:57 pm
Ken, thanks for the info, guess I will replace both pieces.

Roland
Title: Re: Shower skylight
Post by: nitehawk on November 06, 2012, 03:47:00 pm
Please, if you can, get Lexan instead of plexiglas! Plexiglas can and will break easily into sharp shards. Lexan is much tougher, so much tougher that it is used for applications in situations where personal safety is an issue.
Title: Re: Shower skylight
Post by: sgwynn on November 06, 2012, 08:27:35 pm
August 2012:  I replaced bathroom skylight with an inner, and outer unit for 25.5 x 25.5 from RV Replacement Skylights from Bri-Rus - PPL Motor Homes (http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/rv-vents/rv-replacement-skylights.htm)
Pricey, but it's working well.  Mods needed:  trim 1/4" from outer smoke dome to fit the curb, remove shower door so the interior trim piece could be
removed, trim inner dome to fit interior trim, and silicone calk inner dome to trim, re-install.

My 22 year old shower door was brittle and the wheels were breaking off easily, so replaced it with a nice curtain.

Total project:  < $400.00.
Title: Re: Shower skylight
Post by: Barry & Cindy on November 09, 2012, 10:24:38 am
Thanks Dave,

We are going to remove the top part of the skylight soon and see what may be available to replace either the plastic dome or the top frame.

Thanks for your notes on what to look for.

Barry