TheSamba.com :: View topic

Mon Mar 12, 2012 11:56 am

has anyone found a better replacement than the ones offered by gw, bd, vc?
something that is water tight. what have you done with your skylight? any pics would be great.

Mon Mar 12, 2012 12:01 pm

I replaced mine with the one offered by Trevor (aka The Skylight Guy) -- which is possibly the same as what GW sells.

http://theskylightguy.com/

I got the single layer, has never leaked a drop in the 10 or so years since.

Mon Mar 12, 2012 12:12 pm

Ahwahnee wrote: I replaced mine with the one offered by Trevor (aka The Skylight Guy) -- which is possibly the same as what GW sells.

http://theskylightguy.com/

I got the single layer, has never leaked a drop in the 10 or so years since.

I have the same experience. Great skylight!

Mon Mar 12, 2012 12:30 pm

Cool colors too!

I'm needing a new skylight.. this guy's on my list..

Smoked Black.. mmmm..

Mon Mar 12, 2012 12:32 pm

Usually the leaks come from faulty rubber seal not the skylight itself.

Mon Mar 12, 2012 1:02 pm

not all here replace things cause they failed..

Mine was downright ugly, microcracks, scraped from low clearance garages... PO battered silicone.. hot glue gun.. and what seems like epoxy.. was fun to get it off.

Last fall.. I had disconnected the control arms.. so the skylight lense "floated" while driving.. I had little care about it cause I planned on a maintenance schedule for the entire top/shell//tent/skylight..

A couple weeks ago, I took the van to the drive in car wash.. the air dry caused the lip to flip forward.. I hit the freeway and was at speed.. and WHAM! I mean.. that fiberglass shudderred with alot of resonance.... it was intense.. hurt my ears and I nearly shat myself I thought I got hit... the deal is the 60mph wind.. the air caught the skylight flipping it back to its closed position with extreme force.. and shatterred it...

Pretty crazy.. I didnt think that stuff could break like that.

Oh well.. I had plans on replacing it during my top refurb.. (in the middle of that project now)

Mon Mar 12, 2012 2:05 pm

westfailed wrote: Usually the leaks come from faulty rubber seal not the skylight itself.

Not always. I replaced the rubber seal and still had a leak, then got a new skylight from Trevor and - problem solved.

It makes the whole van look better too...

Mon Mar 12, 2012 3:21 pm

My skylight leaked where the screws go through the plexiglass. I took it all apart, and re assembled it with a dab of clear silicone on each screw. No leaks anymore... I put a few coats of wax on it while I had it out too.

Mon Mar 12, 2012 5:03 pm

The previous owner installed a 12" RV vent in the roof of the Westy. Of course the lid was trashed after all these years and now there is a 1 foot square hole in the roof.

Easily fixed, but ugly.

It looks something like
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/product/replacement-vents/1912

Mon Mar 12, 2012 6:38 pm

Larry Davick wrote: The previous owner installed a 12" RV vent in the roof of the Westy. Of course the lid was trashed after all these years and now there is a 1 foot square hole in the roof.

Easily fixed, but ugly.

It looks something like
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/product/replacement-vents/1912

install an aftermarket sunroof, they look great.

Check under the Body folder on this website

http://www.weidefamily.net/vanagon/

Mon Mar 12, 2012 6:56 pm

Larry Davick wrote: The previous owner installed a 12" RV vent in the roof of the Westy. Of course the lid was trashed after all these years and now there is a 1 foot square hole in the roof.

Easily fixed, but ugly.

It looks something like
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/product/replacement-vents/1912

My Westie came with a 9 x 9 RV vent. The cut out is small enough that if I wanted to go with a OG Skylight I could. I have only seen one other van with this kind of vent.

Yours is 12 x 12?? I have not seen one in this size.

Mon Mar 12, 2012 8:43 pm

Wow! a sunroof on the fiberglass shell.. Dang. I don't love the job enough....But that's flippin that's awesome though..

I'm right in the beginning of a recoating the fiberglass and replacement of my tent.. I'm thinking about any mods which I could do which would make the van more fun during the trip..

A Sunroof does sound in order, had been contemplating it for some time..

I'm thinking about a front mounted sunroof, build some jailbars to hold the luggage, room to open the sunroof..

I am largely concerned with how the wind flows if I carve that basket out.. Not like it will have drainage issues.. but I am concerned about any wind buffeting.

I'm keeping my skylight though..

Sun Apr 22, 2012 8:03 pm

Ahwahnee wrote: I replaced mine with the one offered by Trevor (aka The Skylight Guy) -- which is possibly the same as what GW sells.

http://theskylightguy.com/

I got the single layer, has never leaked a drop in the 10 or so years since.

Awesome to hear your skylights keeping you dry ten years strong! Just check your seal annually though as they do tend to dry out get brittle and pull away from the corners after all that UV exposure...

We supply our skylights to BD & VC but not to GW!

We invite anyone to give us a call for any questions regarding your skylight. If you come to our shop to buy your replacement skylight, we will install it free of charge...

Sun Apr 22, 2012 8:20 pm

pushkick wrote: has anyone found a better replacement than the ones offered by gw, bd, vc?
something that is water tight. what have you done with your skylight? any pics would be great.

If you have some problems getting a good tight fit on your skylight or have some quality concerns, please call us, we can assist you! We also carry the OEM German Westfalia made double layer skylight, currently on sale from $125 for $99.99!

Sometimes people mismatch some of the other aftermarket skylights with the original hinges, and find their skylight wont sit as well as originally. So you need to stick with a quality aftermarket skylight such as our The Skylight Guy skylights that will work with original hardware and hinges, or replace the whole works...

We are here to help folks make their skylights work and look good, we make over ten different colors, We assist with the installations...just give Trevor - The Skylight Guy a call with your questions...8am-8pm Pacific Time
604-839-3597