Community Forums

Rookie RVer · 04-30-2023, 05:31 PM

The more I travel the more I find out.

Just got back from a 4000mile trip. I took a shower this morning and looked up to see standing water. When I got home I investigated and saw that above the shower there is a clear skylight but outside that clear skylight is covered by a black opaque skylight and the water I saw was trapped between the two. Now I am debating, do I put back both skylights hoping not to trap moisture that will condense every time the temp drops or rises of just put back a single skylight. Turn out the clear one is pretty stiff plastic while the opaque one is very flexible. I am guessing the opaque was put on to protect the clear.

So, put back a single clear or clear and opaque in tandem? What do you say? And again, THANKS!

sibe · 05-01-2023, 05:22 AM

I think the Sky lights should be sealed between layers to avoid trap of moisture, or air exchange.. I can see the inside sweat and drip..

Mine got so bad that I had damage over the years as that moisture built up and leaked causing soft ceiling and wall.. I never really worried and let it go, bad move..RV was stored and used only 2-3 times a year ..

I removed skylight, I am short.. so dont need that 4 inches.. insulated, FRP cieling. NO issues.

But I am sure you can find a quality sealed sky light.

SJ-Chris · 05-01-2023, 05:16 PM

If I'm understanding your situation correctly, you should not have any water in between the two "panes" of the skylight. On my RVs over the shower, I have an exterior skylight piece and an interior skylight piece. The one on the exterior should be properly sealed such that water never gets inside. If you are seeing water, seems like you've got a leak. You are probably lucky that you actually saw water as (in my case) I believe most of the time if the outer dome is leaking then water will get into your ceiling and go wherever it can flow (....which can be really bad as you might not even notice until things get really bad).

I suggest you get up on the roof (or have someone do it for you) and inspect to see if it looks like you need to reseal. On one of my 3 RVs I recently had to do this (...I'm in CA and we got lots and lots of rain this winter). I cleaned around the seal, and then applied 3 coats of Dicor roof sealer around the skylight and up slightly onto the skylight itself. While I was doing this and since I had all the materials out, I decided to touch up my other RVs and hit the front cab and rear trim seals.

Good luck!
Chris

THenne1713 · 05-02-2023, 05:28 PM

Maybe wrong, but from my experience, you may well have a crack/ hole in outer skylight;; my OLD appeared to be sweating after rain,, and plywood wet around, but all dry after new installed, despite no obvious damage.

Mich F · 05-02-2023, 07:38 PM

Add me to the, it's more than likely your outer skylight has a crack or isn't properly sealed crowd. I don't think the very flexible outer skylight is a good thing.

THenne1713 · 05-02-2023, 10:21 PM

THINKING FURTHER KINDA SOUNDS LIKE INNER/ OUTER are Backwards? Heck On mine, some idiot mounted barrel chair backwards then had to remove seat belts from mounts and attached belts w/ small bolts to seat springs apparently not caring about mistake?

sibe · 05-03-2023, 05:02 AM

The exterior leak is most common..., you have too look good.. , clean and seal edges first as these guys mentioned.. then check it over for the leak, this is easiest to have done..

As I mentioned Mine was sealed well on outside to a point , I got POed and roof coated the entire outside..
Next season I sill had moisture .. I had some heat on during winter, and just sitting closed up the space was still fogged and wet spots.. .. My area is not a dry Arizona or SoCal place ,, we are very moist..., green moss will grow on sides if you dont park in Sun..LOL..

If the ceiling got soft, I just say be mindful of a possible larger repair.... My Skylight Delete was best roof seal, mod I ever did..
Now I have to find a small leak where the Awning attaches to rail.. It only does it after a ice build on roof and melt , refreeze sessions.. I have slowed it WAY down to a small trace only after winter,,

Rookie RVer · 05-03-2023, 07:54 AM

Yep, you folks are right. I removed and thoroughly inspected both skylights and found a crack in the outer. You couldn't see it unless you bent the flange down a bit and voila, there it is. On even further inspection I found that the previous owner or some other idiot had tried to install the skylights above an interior trim ring that was too tall for the hole and they cranked the flanges down to the roof causing the crack. So I tried the trim ring down after installing the new skylights flat on the roof and everything seems good. It was a real pain to clean the outer surface of interior light and inner surface of the outer light while handling it to install it. But it is down. on to the next leaks.