Do we really need skylights in the shower?

[holstein13]

Last night I was taking a shower and looked up at the skylight and wondered to myself, do we really need this thing? I mean it's only practical during the daylight hours, it's a big penetration in the roof that's prone to leaks and weakens the roof, and it lets in a huge amount of heat on sunny days.

So my question to you is this. If the manufacturer offered you the choice would you rather:

1. Take the skylight as standard equipment
2. Skip the skylight and opt for $150 cash in your pocket
3. Skip the skylight and take a 150 watt solar panel in that spot for no extra cost.

[Jim_Shoe]

My skylight over the shower is opaque, but lets light in. That's nice, because I have a non-fogging mirror in there,and shave while I shower. The only problem I ran into was on my way to Alaska, the Land of the Midnight Sun. My RV has three opaque skylights, including one in the shower. I found a Canadian "Walmart" that sold sheets of cardboard, but it was made out of black plastic. I already had a roll of the velcro a and b sides. So I stuck the squares of black plastic over the skylights at night and removed them during the day. Worked for me.

[donkeydew]

i would never buy new so being an option is out but would be a deal breaker on a used one if it did not have one,

[YC_1]

I painted all but a 1 inch band around the bottom edge on the outside of course to reduce the tremendous heat built up in the searing heat of the Sacramento Valley. My shower is plenty tall so I do not need the head space. Good idea on the solar panel. One less hole in the roof that could leak too.

[pegdiver]

We don,t have a skylight in our shower in the new MH. I miss it. It added lots of light into the area so I could clean the walls. The dinky light just doesn't work for shaving my legs either. Don't like the non opaque fan vent covers. It is almost like going into a tomb even during the day.

[ktmrfs]

holstein13 wrote:
Last night I was taking a shower and looked up at the skylight and wondered to myself, do we really need this thing? I mean it's only practical during the daylight hours, it's a big penetration in the roof that's prone to leaks and weakens the roof, and it lets in a huge amount of heat on sunny days.

So my question to you is this. If the manufacturer offered you the choice would you rather:

1. Take the skylight as standard equipment
2. Skip the skylight and opt for $150 cash in your pocket
3. Skip the skylight and take a 150 watt solar panel in that spot for no extra cost.

I suspect one reason they are their is for headroom. I'm just over 6ft tall and w/o the skylight I'd bump my head on the ceiling. And I do like the light.

[chuckbear]

We really like ours and would not consider removing it or painting it black, even here in our Florida sun. It's opaque, so no helicopter worries. I prefer to shower in the bright light as opposed to a dark closet. Chuck

[Homer1]

I do not know what I would have done with out the skylight. I am 6'4" tall and with out it I would be out of luck. Of course now I do not care if it is a skylight per se or just a bubble in the roof. I just know I needed the room.

On my first new motor home, they replaced 6 of them free of charge. Something was wrong with the way they were fastened to the roof. Eventually they did figure it out.

[lap527]

Dang, there are some tall folks here on the forum. I am 5'4" and DH is 5'3" so we have no need for extra headroom...lol.

[Mr_Mark1]

Our previous coach had the skylight that was two layered and opaque.

The current coach we have only has a Fantastic Vent in the shower with a chrome vented cover so you can't see out. Some light does come through. The half bath has a Fantastic Vent too with a solid piece of chrome dropped down an inch or so for ventilation around the sides). You definitely can't see out.

I didn't care for our skylight in the previous coach, it allowed too much light in during the morning hours and let too much heat inside. One summer I covered the skylight with a white garbage bag and it helped retain the air conditioning and limited the light coming in.

MM.

[mdcamping]

holstein13 wrote:

mdcamping wrote:
They have their use, especially after a large meal, adult beverages. Good to have that extra ventilation when finishing using the bathroom! :B :B

I think you are referring to the fan vent. I've got both a vent and a skylight in my bathroom. The skylight does not open or vent.

I think of mine as a skylight... it does provide light and it does have a fan. 🙂

Mike

[drdarrin]

holstein13 wrote:
Last night I was taking a shower and looked up at the skylight and wondered to myself, do we really need this thing? I mean it's only practical during the daylight hours, it's a big penetration in the roof that's prone to leaks and weakens the roof, and it lets in a huge amount of heat on sunny days.

So my question to you is this. If the manufacturer offered you the choice would you rather:

1. Take the skylight as standard equipment
2. Skip the skylight and opt for $150 cash in your pocket
3. Skip the skylight and take a 150 watt solar panel in that spot for no extra cost.

Sometimes, I would love to consider this but unfortunately, since I'm 6'6", I have the opposite problem. Does someone make a taller bubble?

[SoundGuy]

BarneyS wrote:
I have never seen a clear skylight in any RV.

:h Mine is clear. During the season when our trailer is parked here at the house I can look up through the bathroom skylight and easily see the second floor of the house next door so I presume the neighbours could see down in through the skylight as well. Frankly, I could care less as we wouldn't normally use the camper shower with the trailer parked at home and when camping there's no one but squirrels, birds, and stars to stare down at us. :W In fact, back in our popup days we had an outside PahaQue TeePee shower tent, with one of it's best features being a view of the night sky as we were showering ... nothing like it on a warm summer starlit night sky! I'm 5' 10" but I still wouldn't want a shower in any trailer without the added headroom offered by a skylight so the OP's alternatives are to me solutions to a problem that doesn't exist. 😉

[holstein13]

BarneyS wrote:
I have never seen a clear skylight in any RV. They are necessary for clearance in the shower for many, including me.

That makes sense. Mine is completely clear and I've got plenty of head room in the shower without it. My coach is 13' 4" tall. So maybe the skylight could be optional in the larger coaches.

[rvten]

Can not see through my skylight.

[holstein13]

CT_WANDERER wrote:
put your solar panel over the skylight

Can't, it's shaped like a dome. Not worth the trouble of removing it either.