Mini HEKI Roof Vent,,,,,INSTALL???

Steve,
Thank you very much for your descriptive reply. We store our Camper undercover whenever we are not traveling.

Thanks much, now to decide whether or not to pursue this any further.

Gary

ggadwa wrote:
Has anyone ever upgraded their Camper to have a Mini HEKI by installing the large Roof Vent system themselves?????

I am wondering if it might be doable on my late 2010 Eagle Cap 950???

Gary

Gary,

We have a Heki midi skylight in our 2009 Outfitter camper. The key to making them last is to cover them from the outside when not using the camper. We found out the hard way what the sun can do to them uncovered when stored. I had to replace the skylight due to heat damage once until I figured out how to protect it. I found a new skylight on Ebay from a seller in England. He was also able to supply a quilted soft reflective fitted cover that we fit over the dome. This has worked well for us.

When I replaced mine I was able to see how the framing had been modified to reinforce the cutout in the roof. They blocked all sides where the aluminum frame was not available. This is key to give the roof strength for such a large opening. I used eternabond caulk to seal it and it has work well now that I know how to use it correctly.

We really enjoy the extra light day and night over the bed. The insulated dual pane dome does not sweat when we camp in the winter similare to our seitz windows.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Steve

Does anyone own the Arctic Tern skylight? It looks like it fits the same hole as the Heki Midi, and might be a good replacement for it if the quality was really better.

I have a Dometic Heiki skylight, it's essentially garbage. The parts used are of the most poor quality. I tried to get a replacement part from the dometic dealer, it was 400 dollars, they couldn't give me an exact price because it would have to come from overseas and was 10 week wait.

They are outrageously expensive too.

Check out Tern Overland, they make a skylight similar to the Heiki, its half the price and twice the quality of the dometic. I saw them in person at Overland Expo.

I've said this before: the Heki is a nicely conceived, but very poorly executed vent. I have one in the BigFoot cabover that I've replaced parts of, then replaced entirely. I like the light and ventilation, don't mind the heat though that is a factor. However it is a very fragile piece of kit, that decays in sunlight. Parts for them are hard to get and expensive. It is cheaper and quicker to have them air express delivered from Europe, than buy them from Dometic USA.

If they had made it out of metal, or at least heavier plastic moldings, and something UV resistant, and Dometic actually supported the product in the US, then it would be great.

Not sure about the mini, but the midi is available in three versions: a bar operated, crank operated, and power operated. If you live anywhere there are bugs, go at least for the crank operated. The bar operated one requires you to open the bug screen to shut the lid, letting all the bugs inside and defeating the whole purpose of it.

Gary, I think it's a great feature and servicing them has become easier as Mike referenced. Again, mine is an earlier generation and we were warned by Host to treat the mechanics of it with caution. That included making sure you followed either screen with hand tension while it rolled up and not forcing the locking tabs on each side. The emphasis put on this was far more than any other aspect of ownership we experienced on the delivery.

I guess between you and Mello Mike's comments the Heki just might not be trouble free enough.

Gary

I can't help you not knowing how the roof is framed. It sounds like you have decided in favor for the vent. It has immediate charm if your camper came with one, but it can be lost quickly, like in the snap of a plastic lock. The screens lost tension on my older version (wouldn't retract) and I unsnapped all the trim and was able to re-wind the spring inside the rod and re-install. So far, it's been the most temper mental item used on our camper.

Ii read Mello Mike's Post before I posted was kind of fishing for what others thought of adding the HEKI Roof Vent system?

Thanks
Gary