Heki Skylight Shading
Forums all over the internet have justifiable complaints on how much sun and heat the Heki Skylight lets in. I camp in the desert southwest most of the time so I am constantly looking for a solution ...
Forum Discussion
We like our skylight a lot. If I bought a new camper, I'd definitely want one in spite of the issues with it.
It is in the way of adding solar panels. In some ways it is a pain. The gas shocks have died, and they don't provide an easy way to replace them due to their design. I had to replace one latch that broke and that is a pain both to get the part and to make the fix although mine made it 9 years. Practically speaking, you can't have it open where there are bugs. At best, the bugs come down to the screen, and you have no way to get them out without climbing on the roof, or opening the screen to the inside if you want to close the screen. Basically, the screen is mostly worthless.
We keep the shade closed, but I think I'll have the DW make a cover that slips over since she is good with the sewing machine. Putting a cover on it is a small price pay compared to how much light it lets in. We put reflectix in the area at night to reduce the heat consumption. We don't generally go camping in extreme heat because we don't enjoy hanging out in 90+ heat. For 80s we can get by without AC.
Of course, if you spend minimal time in your camper during the day, I guess it doesn't matter. We like our very open floor plan and windows of our double slide. It's pretty dark and overcast during much of the year in the Northwest. The skylight helps a lot for that.
It is in the way of adding solar panels. In some ways it is a pain. The gas shocks have died, and they don't provide an easy way to replace them due to their design. I had to replace one latch that broke and that is a pain both to get the part and to make the fix although mine made it 9 years. Practically speaking, you can't have it open where there are bugs. At best, the bugs come down to the screen, and you have no way to get them out without climbing on the roof, or opening the screen to the inside if you want to close the screen. Basically, the screen is mostly worthless.
We keep the shade closed, but I think I'll have the DW make a cover that slips over since she is good with the sewing machine. Putting a cover on it is a small price pay compared to how much light it lets in. We put reflectix in the area at night to reduce the heat consumption. We don't generally go camping in extreme heat because we don't enjoy hanging out in 90+ heat. For 80s we can get by without AC.
Of course, if you spend minimal time in your camper during the day, I guess it doesn't matter. We like our very open floor plan and windows of our double slide. It's pretty dark and overcast during much of the year in the Northwest. The skylight helps a lot for that.
