I am curious if anyone has used a flat Acrylic sheet in place of a skylight. I have a situation where I got a new to me RV that has some damage around one end of the skylight due to water intrusion and a friends suggested that since many skylights are acrylic why not just use a acrylic sheet and extend it beyond the damaged area so that there will be no more damage from water. I checked with a local acrylic company and they can cut me a smoked 1/4" acrylic sheet to any size I want up to 8'X4' and I am thinking this is a good idea. Anybody know why you can't use it in place of the cheap domes? TIA

I suppose it could work. Often I look at home made solutions against what I find in the RV market that already exists and usually find there is a good reason why the manufactured items are designed the way they are. In the case of skylights, they are usually a dome type to obviously shed water. I have used acylic before on other applications and it's difficult to drill into without cracking it thus inviting problems. I am not sure how it would fare with the constant moving, flexing, expansion and contraction, and vibrations that it would experience on an RV.

I've had two mh's where that had been done. As long as you seal around no problems. Also, if it's in the shower you may bump your head.

You can still buy replacement skylights that will fit in the same spot on your RV. In fact they are available at thru your local building supply stores.

Effy wrote:I suppose it could work. I have used acylic before on other applications and it's difficult to drill into without cracking it thus inviting problems.Thanks, I have used the 1/4 acrylic before for other things and never had it crack. Usually easy to drill to but have to use new drill bits and masking tape the area to help before drilling I have found.Thanks Effy for the info.

wny_pat wrote:You can still buy replacement skylights that will fit in the same spot on your RV. In fact they are available at thru your local building supply stores. Yes, you can still buy replacements and in fact there are a number of them that are acrylic as well. Just not flat. The problem is that I am going to use a bigger piece to cover a bigger area because of the damaged area of the wood on one side of the existing skylight. There is no way to repair the wood in the area without cutting the rubber roof and I am not going there. Sad that some people just let these problems continue to the point that it is to a point of damaging wood. Thanks pat

RV Skylights | Good Sam Community

17 Replies

sailor_lou
Explorer
Sep 26, 2013
My MOHO came with a dark tinted skylight over the shower that I really didn't like and I couldn't locate a clear or translucent one in the same size. After some searching I found AIA Industries:

http://www.aiaindustries.com/

They fabricated a white translucent polycarbonate one for me with a dome exactly to my specifications and can pretty much make any shape/size you want. It might be worth a call.

Lou
05 Travel Supreme Envoy
SteveR58
Explorer
Sep 26, 2013
After reviewing my options I don't see much choice but to try this approach to fixing the RV skylight and roof. It is not a choice I like but in order to fix the roof next to the skylight I would have to have a new rubber roof after replacing the wood under it in that area and there is no way I would opt for that. In other words it boils down to money. I should of looked closer before I bought this RV last week! :( Lesson learned!
SteveR58
Explorer
Sep 26, 2013
wny_pat wrote:
You can still buy replacement skylights that will fit in the same spot on your RV. In fact they are available at thru your local building supply stores.
Yes, you can still buy replacements and in fact there are a number of them that are acrylic as well. Just not flat. The problem is that I am going to use a bigger piece to cover a bigger area because of the damaged area of the wood on one side of the existing skylight. There is no way to repair the wood in the area without cutting the rubber roof and I am not going there. Sad that some people just let these problems continue to the point that it is to a point of damaging wood. Thanks pat
SteveR58
Explorer
Sep 26, 2013
Effy wrote:
I suppose it could work. I have used acylic before on other applications and it's difficult to drill into without cracking it thus inviting problems.

Thanks, I have used the 1/4 acrylic before for other things and never had it crack. Usually easy to drill to but have to use new drill bits and masking tape the area to help before drilling I have found.

Thanks Effy for the info.
wny_pat1
Explorer
Sep 26, 2013
You can still buy replacement skylights that will fit in the same spot on your RV. In fact they are available at thru your local building supply stores.
wildtoad
Explorer II
Sep 26, 2013
I've had two mh's where that had been done. As long as you seal around no problems. Also, if it's in the shower you may bump your head.
Effy
Explorer II
Sep 26, 2013
I suppose it could work. Often I look at home made solutions against what I find in the RV market that already exists and usually find there is a good reason why the manufactured items are designed the way they are. In the case of skylights, they are usually a dome type to obviously shed water. I have used acylic before on other applications and it's difficult to drill into without cracking it thus inviting problems. I am not sure how it would fare with the constant moving, flexing, expansion and contraction, and vibrations that it would experience on an RV.

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RV Skylights

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