What do you think about this skylight?

[MollyCMo]

Any thoughts on this skylight? It's not expensive so I'm concerned it's not a good choice...

https://www.amazon.com/ICON-01859-RV...125159919&th=1

[Brad_SwiftFur]

It looks to be designed for a flat roof, not a curved one. Will that be an issue for you?

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by Brad_SwiftFur

It looks to be designed for a flat roof, not a curved one. Will that be an issue for you?

There's not much curve at the top of the roof, I'm sure that skylight will flex enough to seal with Butyl tape and sealer. That doesn't look like a bad deal as skylights go. Would like to know what material it is?

[david.dgeorge07]

Which way would you orient it. Aren’t the ribs on like 28” centers? If you put the long dimension of it perpendicular to the direction of travel I think you might have some problems with curvature of the roof.

[MollyCMo]

Originally Posted by Brad_SwiftFur

It looks to be designed for a flat roof, not a curved one. Will that be an issue for you?

I'm glad you asked - I was thinking this might work in the center, maybe I could weld a frame with flanges that extend up a bit more on the ends to compensate for the lack of curve...I'm an amateur welder tho so concerned about making it air/water tight...

[MollyCMo]

Originally Posted by o1marc

There's not much curve at the top of the roof, I'm sure that skylight will flex enough to seal with Butyl tape and sealer. That doesn't look like a bad deal as skylights go. Would like to know what material it is?

Oh cool. I've never heard of Butyl tape so I just googled it and came across this article. Do you think Acrylic tape might be better based on this info? Looks like the tricky part would be getting it to set at the correct "bend" since acrylic tape takes so long to set.

[MollyCMo]

Originally Posted by david.dgeorge07

Which way would you orient it. Aren’t the ribs on like 28” centers? If you put the long dimension of it perpendicular to the direction of travel I think you might have some problems with curvature of the roof.

That is a GREAT question and I'd love to know the answer. I don't have a bus yet, and figuring out dimensions is the hardest part of the pre-planning. Do you know for certain that the ribs are 28" apart? I'm guessing like everything else it might vary between makes/models? I've been looking at photos online and trying to guesstimate...but obviously I can't do any really planning with just assumptions

[MollyCMo]

Originally Posted by o1marc

There's not much curve at the top of the roof, I'm sure that skylight will flex enough to seal with Butyl tape and sealer. That doesn't look like a bad deal as skylights go. Would like to know what material it is?

Oh yeah, forget to mention, it's polycarbonate. Which as I understand, would be better than acrylic for trying to bend it a bit?

[geminusprime]

Originally Posted by o1marc

There's not much curve at the top of the roof, I'm sure that skylight will flex enough to seal with Butyl tape and sealer. That doesn't look like a bad deal as skylights go. Would like to know what material it is?

It likely will flex, however due to the geometry it still won't be a great fit. While the lateral edges bend to conform to the slight bend, the medial edges will bend "up" and away from the roof.

This is because it's not a flat surface (ie a sheet of flexible transparent ploy) but rather has a bit of depth.

It's possible since the roof curve isn't great, but would put constant stress on the poly which may lead to cracks forming down the road (quite literally).

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by geminusprime

It likely will flex, however due to the geometry it still won't be a great fit. While the lateral edges bend to conform to the slight bend, the medial edges will bend "up" and away from the roof.

This is because it's not a flat surface (ie a sheet of flexible transparent ploy) but rather has a bit of depth.

It's possible since the roof curve isn't great, but would put constant stress on the poly which may lead to cracks forming down the road (quite literally).

Polycarbonate (Lexan) is superior due to the fact it won't crack or break, like plexiglas or acrylic sheet does. We use it as racer windscreens because almost nothing can penetrate it. I think if you use a strong method to secure it (rivets or screws)there should be no edge curl. The use of thick butyl tape helps fill any discrepancy in the curve.

[david.dgeorge07]

You can find info in my build thread, but I just used flat sheets of thin lexan. It worked well and the sheets are strong enough to stand on, but thin enough to curve to the contour of the roof. I have a row of 4.