Cracked Skylight on 2021 Reflection 337RLS

[Bivitar]

Just a heads up on that note due to the storm they're closed today.

Thanks howson and ncitro for the info.

[ncitro]

Bivitar -- GD experienced a significant winter storm yesterday. Consider trying again (phone call). With a bit of patient persistence I'm confident you'll get a response from Customer Service.

Just a heads up on that note due to the storm they're closed today.

[howson]

Bivitar -- GD experienced a significant winter storm yesterday. Consider trying again (phone call). With a bit of patient persistence I'm confident you'll get a response from Customer Service.

[Bivitar]

Both of the skylights in my 2021 Solitude 3740BH have the same failures described. The shower skylight seemed like it was confined to the shower but the kitchen skylight ruined the trim and wood ceiling panel (medallion?).

I tried calling GD customer service and after a long hold the call was dumped to voicemail. I also emailed customerservice@granddesignrv.com and shared the pictures but haven’t heard back.
I’ve ordered the ICON polycarbonate replacements but will need some help from GD to replace the wood trim and medallion since I can’t source those and have no clue how to match the finish color if I tried to replace it myself.

[Lonestar]

After looking at the pictures of the skylight I'm wondering if using washers with the screws might be beneficial. It looks like there is plenty of room to use a small fender washer, and that would distribute the pressure out a lot more on the skylight flange. Doing that and gently fastening the screw should prevent any future cracking.

[Santa61]

Santa61 Sorry to respond to an older post but Keith (and others) how has the Icon aftermarket skylight worked out?

I ask because I looked out back this am and saw something I didn't like. Chards of my bathroom skylight sticking up in the air above the trailer. I went out and assessed everything and found not only the bath but the skylight over the island were toast but the island didn't collapse, just cracked all the way around and is flapping in the breeze.

The culpret appears to be black walnuts falling from the tree above. I have had no issues the past 2 years but I have a feeling this plastic has become more brittle with sun and age. The storage containers I have from the dollar store seem to be more robust. Sorry for rv editorial comment. Just not a happy camper at the moment.

So, thinking of getting the Icon's assuming I can find the sizes I need and wanted to see how they're holding up.

Thanks
Terry

Sorry for such a late response. We returned from our Grand Canyon trip and put our rig in storage for winter back in late September. This is early for us but we had a few trips to TX that did not include our rig going with us.

The Icon skylight has been perfect for us. I have been very happy with the white lens choice. It continues to let in plenty of natural light and diffuses it perfectly. There have been no issues with the skylight and I do believe the aerodynamics of the Icon skylight is much more durable as well as sturdy. Being a sphere shape I believe it has similar protective physics of an egg's shell.

Hope this has been helpful and not too late.

Keith

[trkester]

Santa61 Sorry to respond to an older post but Keith (and others) how has the Icon aftermarket skylight worked out?

I ask because I looked out back this am and saw something I didn't like. Chards of my bathroom skylight sticking up in the air above the trailer. I went out and assessed everything and found not only the bath but the skylight over the island were toast but the island didn't collapse, just cracked all the way around and is flapping in the breeze.

The culpret appears to be black walnuts falling from the tree above. I have had no issues the past 2 years but I have a feeling this plastic has become more brittle with sun and age. The storage containers I have from the dollar store seem to be more robust. Sorry for rv editorial comment. Just not a happy camper at the moment.

So, thinking of getting the Icon's assuming I can find the sizes I need and wanted to see how they're holding up.

Thanks
Terry

[BillinTexas]

I did a little pealing back this afternoon to see how it would be and they used the correct type of screws on mine. They just over tightened them.

[Lonestar]

The Dicor self leveling sealant has worked as expected. The seal is secure and I have experienced no leaking. I was concerned at first with using Dicor on a TPO membrane but as you stated, Dicor now lists TPO as an acceptable application for use.

Keith

Keith,

Thanks for an excellent post on the repair. Sounds like many of us will be facing this repair.

Also, thanks for the info on the use of Dicor. I asked this question in another post before seeing this. I know there has been some discussion on this in the past. I spoke with GD customer service yesterday afternoon, and the rep agreed that Dicor was acceptable to use on the Alpha systems roofs.

[Santa61]

Thanks for the thread, Keith. I won't post any more pics as they are the same as others have posted. This gives me additional information to work with.

I do have a couple of questions. What length screws did you use? Did the Dicor cause you any problems on the TPO roof? I know the tubes now list as appropriate for use on TPO roofs but I was advised to use the Alpha systems 2101 self-leveling sealant. I have two tubes of Dicor is the reason I ask.

Bill & Cindy,

I purchased and used the Camco Universal Vent Installation Kit with Putty Tape to install the skylight. Included in the kit are #8 x 1" slotted hex head screws. This is what I used and they worked excellent. I installed them with a driver only to a close fit and then finished with a hand screwdriver to avoid over-tightening.

The Dicor self leveling sealant has worked as expected. The seal is secure and I have experienced no leaking. I was concerned at first with using Dicor on a TPO membrane but as you stated, Dicor now lists TPO as an acceptable application for use.

Keith

[BillinTexas]

Thanks for the thread, Keith. I won't post any more pics as they are the same as others have posted. This gives me additional information to work with.

I do have a couple of questions. What length screws did you use? Did the Dicor cause you any problems on the TPO roof? I know the tubes now list as appropriate for use on TPO roofs but I was advised to use the Alpha systems 2101 self-leveling sealant. I have two tubes of Dicor is the reason I ask.

[Jlawles2]

Santa61 Keith, Always looking for more knowledge. If you can post pictures of the angle and tool(s) you used when pulling up the sealer it will help. The few times I have had to pull up things on the roof, the membrane always looks horrible afterwards. Nothing in my chemical collection (that i was willing to try) seemed to soften up that stuff to make it easy to remove.

[Santa61]

Santa61 -- excellent work and documentation, thank you! That Icon skylight looks great.

Can you please enter the 337's VIN in your profile?

Jlawles2 , pull up and stretch the roof material? If the TPO material bond to the underlayment was healthy, why would any manipulation be required? Could this "stretching" have been an EPDM roofs or something in the past that I don't know about?

Howard

Howard,

Thanks for reminding me to enter the VIN number in my profile. I created the profile before delivery of our rig and forgot to update accordingly.

I have updated with the VIN.

Keith

[Santa61]

Santa61 Good looking install. Thanks for the writeup.

In removing the old one, did you pull up or stretch the roofing material?

Jlawles2,

I did not have any stretching or lifting up of the TPO membrane. I did realize that this could occur when scraping to remove the butyl putty and the dycor sealant. I used a putty blade to remove both. First I removed all the butyl putty and then removed the dycor sealant. What I found to be very important to avoid stretching or lifting was the angle in which I used holding the putty blade. I went with a low angle approach which allowed for a smooth cutting of the material and avoided gouging into the TPO membrane.

Keith

[howson]

TucsonJim
Dang it...I misinterpreted Jlawles2 ' post. Now I see he meant, "...when the skylight was removed and sealant peeled off, did the roof material stretch or pull up?". Somehow my brain interpreted his words to mean that stretching was required prior to reassembly.

Sorry for the confusion.