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Old 05-17-2018, 11:03 AM   #1
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Installing a new skylight

I just finished replacing the Neo angle skylight on our 2004 Monaco Signature. Our original skylight had a few cracks and at some point dust and moisture had gotten in between the two panels.

Our skylight is two separate panels, an inner garnish with a clear rough texture and an outer tinted colored panel. I ordered replacement skylight panels from both Amazon and Camping World trying to find the correct panel combination. Most Monaco diesel coaches use a “Neo Angle” 30x13 skylight panel over the shower. The cutout measures 30” x 13”, but the panel itself is several inches larger with the flange. Specialty Recreation in southern CA makes many of these panels. Their smoke Neo Angle 30x13 panel runs about $200 from most places. Specialty Recreation also makes a white neo angle skylight inner garnish. I also found a much thicker/heavier clear Neo angle NSL30X13 panel made in Canada from Camping World (see first picture). I ended up not using the Specialty Recreation white inner garnish because combined with the tinted outer panel it allowed very little light into the coach. By chance the Specialty Recreation outer tinted panel had a 6” “bubble rise” and the heavier clear panel from Canada has a 4” bubble rise. These two panels fit together very well leaving a dead air gap between.

The next problem is removing the old sealant. At some point our panels had leaked on one corner and the previous owner cured it with lots of Dicor sealant. I used a chisel and small hammer to remove the old sealant. I placed the old sealant into a bag and all together there were several pounds of Dicor. Now you have access to the screws holding the panels onto the fiberglass roof. The old screws are #8 x 1” long hex head self-drilling stainless steel screws. For new screws, a friend pointed me to Allen’s Fasteners. They have these screws for 7 cents each (vs .50 cents each locally) and they ship USPS very reasonably.

With the old panels off, I now had to scrape and clean the fiberglass roof again so the new sealant has a clean surface to bond to. I used a spray can of Brake Clean (do not get any brake clean on your new Lexan panels!) and a rag along with a razor blade scraper to remove the sealant and butyl tape from the roof. This can be time consuming.

My original panels were installed with gray butyl tape, but it leaked on one corner so I did not want to use that again. At first I was going to use Eternabond to seal the panels to the roof, but after speaking to the folks at Specialty Recreation they recommended Surebond SB140. The solvents used in most of the other sealants attack the polycarbonate and they eventually crack. SB140 is safe for skylights.

I did a trial fit of the various panels and decided to combine the clear panel from Canada with the tinted panel from Specialty Recreation. I predrilled a few of the corner screw holes to make it easier to install the two panels later. (The original panel screw holes did not line up with either of the two new panel screw holes.) I first applied a wide bead of SB140 sealant to the fiberglass roof along the line of the screw holes making sure to fill the original holes also. I then installed the clear inner panel and lined it up with the previously drilled corner screw holes using a piece of thick wire. This is your last chance to clean the underside of the tinted panel and the upper side of the clear panel. I used liquid car wax to clean the panels. I then applied a thick bead of SB140 to the upper flange of the clear panel and installed the tinted outer panel. I then lined it up with the corner holes using a thick wire and began installing the screws. You know you are sealing it well when the sealant bulges out of the edges and also comes up through the screw holes. I added additional sealant to each screw head. It's not necessary to add more sealant to the edge of the panels.

Some tips I discovered:
Do not get any cleaning solvents on your skylight panels. Clean them with plastic cleaner or liquid car wax.

Make sure you use stainless steel screws.

Pre-drilling the corner holes really helps when you are doing the final install with sealant covering up the holes and trying to line everything up.

It would be nice to be able to use both panels from the Canadian company. They are much thicker and stronger. The challenge will be to make a gasket/spacer to go between the two in order to form an air gap.

Surebond SB140 sealant. I ordered 2 tubes but 1 was enough.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Specialty Recreation tinted skylight (I would order this from Camping World as it's less expensive)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

#8 x 1” stainless steel hex head washer Tek screws
#8 STAINLESS STEEL HEX WASHER HEAD TEC SCREW
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Old 05-17-2018, 11:12 AM   #2
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Nice job, thoroughly documented. Your write-up could or should be included in the box with the skylight.
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Old 05-17-2018, 03:38 PM   #3
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Hi Vito.a; Great write up with nice pictures! I do have a question. I have a neo-angled skylight on my 01 Monaco Windsor. I have one small crack in the radius up from the flange next to the edge of the roof on the coach. Been thinking about replacing it. Could you have replaced the outer without replacing the inner? Was the inner on yours in good condition? Just curious! I measured my flanges on top of the coach and the best measurement I could come up with, can't get exact because of the sealant covering the edges, was 30.5" to 31.0" by the next smallest leg measurement about 11.0". I know it says hole size 30"X13". I have not measured the hole which I would guess would be from inside the coach. Am I in the ball park of the outside dimensions of your replacement? Thanks in advance. Also learned the hard way about brake-clean getting on the skylight. Was cleaning up around my standpipe to reapply some sealant and a few drops drifted onto the skylight. Left white spots.
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Old 05-17-2018, 05:38 PM   #4
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Nice write up on you repair.
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Old 05-18-2018, 04:13 AM   #5
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I just scraped the old sealant off our skylight yesterday afternoon. Fortunately it came off fairly easy. Guess I was lucky. I am resealing everything before I paint the roof. As usual Vito great write up. Thanks for sharing.
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Old 05-18-2018, 08:57 AM   #6
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8.3, yes my original intent was to just replace the outer skylight. But, a 30mph wind gust changed that plan.
You need to be very careful separating the two Lexan lenses and cleaning the old sealant.
All three of our Monaco coaches have had this 30x13 Neo angle skylight. It may be easier to measure the opening inside the shower.
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Old 05-19-2018, 10:47 AM   #7
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Outer skylight dimension is 16" x 34".

Link to Specialty Recreation Neo Angle white inner garnish:
https://www.campingworld.com/neo-ang...sh-30x13-white

Link to thicker Icon Technologies Neo angle clear skylight (4" bubble):
https://www.campingworld.com/rv-skylight-nsl3013c-clear
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Old 05-19-2018, 11:01 AM   #8
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Good morning Vito.A; Thanks for the links and dimensions.
Have a great weekend!
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Old 05-19-2018, 01:36 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BigLar368 View Post
I just scraped the old sealant off our skylight yesterday afternoon. Fortunately it came off fairly easy. Guess I was lucky. I am resealing everything before I paint the roof. As usual Vito great write up. Thanks for sharing.
It was sealed with the proper sealant. Surebond SB140.

This stuff remains soft, and removes easily.
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Old 05-20-2018, 07:39 AM   #10
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I recently replaced mine on a 08 Navigator. It had two different types of sealants on it that had hardened making it difficult to get off and to clean the roof. I discovered Citrus Air Freshener dissolves glue when I removed the film from the front of my Dynasty. It is now my favorite cleaner and using it I was able to soften and then remove all of the sealants.

I guess I'm old school (and old) so I still use silicone seal. If I ever have to replace again I know I can remove it easier than all the stuff someone put on it and I can see where the screw heads are located.

DO NOT LAUGH at Citrus Air Freshener until you use it.
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Old 05-20-2018, 05:12 PM   #11
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Good afternoon Ivylog; I see in your post that you used the Citrus Air Freshener to remove the glue when you took your 3-M mask off. I am going to do that this summer. Did the Citrus take the glue off under the mask? Sounds a lot better than the toxic stuff, gasoline, goo b gone etc. Can you tll me where you buy it. I am in Wa. state. Thanks in advance.
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Old 05-20-2018, 06:15 PM   #12
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H Depot carries a larger version than the 3oz CA Sentes at Lowe’s. You do not want environmental friendly water based...the oilier version is much better. I read recently that a 3000 psi pressure washer with a fine tip will take both the film and the glue off without hurting the paint. I would still clean with the air freshener as it melts the glue. Tried citrus goo be gone...not even in the same league.
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Old 05-20-2018, 06:35 PM   #13
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Hi Ivylog; Thanks very much for the info. Have a great evening!
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Old 05-21-2018, 02:57 PM   #14
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Can you point me to the exact Citrus Air Freshener?
I removed the 3M mask on our coach with a 3000psi pressure washer and a 0 degree nozzle, but there is some residual glue I need to remove.
Thanks
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