Reflectix over the skylight

dave17352 wrote:
I wonder how well a solar reflective paint would work?

I've considered doing this to the outside of the skylight in our bath. This time of year is horrendous. It lets in an enormous amount of heat. Reflectix stuffed up inside has helped some, but still, it's gets hot.

I don't really care about letting in light. With all LED lighting, the skylight really only serves as headspace while standing.

I cleaned up and sprayed the outside of the bathroom skylight with White Krylon Spray Paint for plastic. Looks great and greatly reduced the heat load. I tried using reflectic on the inside prior to painting but wasn't happy with the results. The white paint seems to work for heat reduction.

For people that block their roof vents, if you are concerned about heat build up open the skylight before you put in your pillow or reflectex.

I would like to have something in the skylight blocking the sun most of the time but don't want to chance damaging the plastic skylight. The instructions warn against closing the shade fully in sunlight because of heat buildup so I went with the outside cover. The two foot wide piece of Reflectix covers near all of the skylight and gets rid of the solar cooker effect so that I can flop down in the bunk in the middle of the day in comfort. I use four tiny binder clips on each side and flip the little handles up against the plastic so that they won't interfere with clearance under the hatch.

It's only a small bit of trouble to put in place and remove, and the best I've been able to come up with so far. I much prefer the metal hatches on my previous campers, but that's the way this one was built.

I had the dealer call Lance and ask about replacing the hot thing with the fantastic fan and they said sure.I would not have ordered a Lance or any other camper with that very hot thing ever again that was in 2011.

Fantastic Fan also has the option of having a dark smoke colored, double pane dome, instead of the clear acrylic one. Combine that with a dark vent cover and very little light or heat comes in during the day, even when open.

Still insulate this during winter to retain more heat in the TC and avoid the condensation from dripping on you.