Fixing the skylight on BF10.4 - picture heavy

[HMS_Beagle]

Bigfoot builds a very nice camper shell, then severely compromises it by how they install the roof penetrations. The skylight in the shower on mine leaked just once (wind? tilted the right direction?), I wanted to fix it permanently. There were two basic design issues: the skylight flange is flat and the roof curved, and they attempted to overlap the flanges of the skylight and plumbing vent cover. This resulted in gaps of more than half an inch, which were expected to stay sealed (at least until the warrantee expired) with a huge pile of butyl caulking tape. It did not last long.

[HMS_Beagle]

I know what you mean. I've got a fair amount of work into fixing the issues with this one and making it more useable for me. A new camper would be starting all over again. That's why I've thought about building one from scratch, that is also a very large effort. But it would be designed not to leak and be maintainable, both are qualities lacking in the commercially available offerings.

[notsobigjoe]

I thought that's what you were talking about and yes they were a bit off! I've gotten very close and personal to my Lance 1181 and have seen many goofs like the one you pictured, especially in the basement. It seems when they ran out of ideas they simply covered it up. Love the camper but I've put so much into it that I'm Leary of ever starting over. I know every square inch of it. It's almost become a crutch instead of an enjoyment.

[TxGearhead]

Yes, it's the best quality of about any type RV.
I doubt they're very motivated to do anything different with people standing in line for the campers.
I've thought about selling mine and buying a 10.4 a little further down the road.

[HMS_Beagle]

notsobigjoe wrote:
OP,
Very nice work and pro finish! The 5th picture down you said "Note that they somewhat missed the hole required of the shower." What were you referring to?
Thanks, Joe

I suspect that this camper, built in 2008 but purchased new by me in 2013, was very early in the 10.4 production. Maybe the first. If you look at the picture there is a 5 inch gap between the opening in the shower (covered by plywood in the picture) and the roof, and the skylight flange only overlapped that side by 3/4". On the other side, 3". Basically, they missed. When I did the living room remodel on the other thread there were some similar boo-boos hidden under the carpet. They had cut a piece of floor away, realized they went too far, then stuck it back together bridging the cut with a million staples. By the time you've built the 5th one or so, you probably don't make these mistakes.

I'm not ragging on Bigfoot, still the best camper made in my opinion (at least for less than 100K). It's just that the bar in the RV industry is so very low, you don't have to do much to be above the bar.

[HMS_Beagle]

TxGearhead wrote:

There is no reason, none, that they can't fab a curved base for the skylight.
I've thought if I ever ordered a new Bigfoot I would delete the skylight.

The only excuse I can think of is that they use the same mold (I think) for the 10.4 and 10.6, with the shower in different places. This is easily handled with a mold insert. Honestly with a weeks work on the mold they could improve their product significantly. It would cost them very little extra for each camper. I did order a new one years ago, a 9.6 and told them I wanted no roof penetrations: no rack, no antenna, no ladder, etc. It came with the ladder, required for fire egress I was told. This one, purchased new-old-stock, has a bunch of extra potential leaks.

[notsobigjoe]

OP,
Very nice work and pro finish! The 5th picture down you said "Note that they somewhat missed the hole required of the shower." What were you referring to?
Thanks, Joe

[Vw_triker]

Good job, excellent write up!

[TxGearhead]

I thought my vent looked bad.
That Heng's doesn't last very long. I've redone mine 3 times in the short time I've owned it, 5 years?
There is no reason, none, that they can't fab a curved base for the skylight.
I've thought if I ever ordered a new Bigfoot I would delete the skylight.

[HMS_Beagle]

I eliminated over 30 screw holes - many of which were stripped at the factory anyway - and I think any leaks associated with these penetrations. It could have been done so much easier at the factory with minor mods to their mold. If they simply put a molded plinth of about 1/2" tall under each penetration, they would eliminate probably 99% of the leaks, even with the cheap caulk and all the screws, because water runs downhill.

[HMS_Beagle]

The flanges where trimmed so they no longer overlap. This left almost no flange on part of the plumbing vent cap, but I am confident it will never leak, until gravity fails and the water can climb over the tube bonded inside.

[HMS_Beagle]

The edge of exposed epoxy was painted with PU paint, as epoxy has poor UV resistance. The skylight was set in 3M 4000UV sealant, and no screws were used at all. The sealant is far stronger than the screws, and does not involve drilling 20 leaks into the roof. The new plumbing vent cover was set the same way. It would have looked better if I'd cleaned all the old sealant off the top of the skylight flange, but a little bit of it was still stuck well, and heck - nobody will see it anyway.

[HMS_Beagle]

The frame was set in West Six10 epoxy. I've already removed the masking tape protecting the roof from squeeze out. The tape going left (towards the camper centerline) is to prevent the frame from sliding off of the roof in the wet epoxy as it sets

[Lwiddis]

Excellent posting. Informative.

[HMS_Beagle]

Here is a view along the contoured edge, You can see the curve of the roof which the flat skylight flange was asked to accommodate. The curve is approximately 3/8", either the flange and skylight must bend that much or you would have to have that much caulk at the ends.