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RV Skylight Issues? Here’s How to Deal with Them

RV Skylight Issues? Here’s How to Deal with Them

No one enjoys showering in the dark. Fortunately, many RVs have an RV skylight located over the shower to let more natural light in, and provide more headroom, too. Unfortunately, when you’ve owned your RV for any length of time, problems are bound to arise, and the RV skylight is no exception. But, the good news is that if you’re just a bit handy, you can fix many of these issues yourself.

Common RV Skylight Issues

There are several common issues with RV skylights. You may experience one or several of these at a time. For instance, after years in the sunlight, the outer plastic frequently used for RV skylights can start to cloud, yellow, and become brittle. In bad cases, it can even crack and cause leaks.

Another problem could be in the area of the inner plastic liner of the RV skylight. The space between the inner liner and outer skylight can accumulate condensation and dirt, or it can come loose if the adhesive holding the clear section to the opaque outer ring begins to fail.

Regardless of the location, we’re here to tell you how to fix these common problems.

How to Clean & Repair the Inside of an RV Skylight

If you have issues with the interior portion of your skylight, you’ll need to unscrew the interior frame from the inside and remove the entire inner piece. This will allow you to more easily determine the cause of the problem. While the inner piece is off, you can inspect the upper skylight piece for leaks or cracks.

Resticking the Inner Skylight Liner with Double-Stick Tape

If a part of the skylight’s inner plastic layer is separating, the fix may be as simple as replacing the double-stick tape to join the pieces back together. Be sure to scrape off the old double-stick tape, and use rubbing alcohol to make sure the surface is clean prior to applying the new tape. Also clean the edge of the inner liner, being careful not to scratch or damage it.

We recommend using a heavy-duty mounting tape, like this one:

Sale
Gorilla 6065001 Tough & Clear, Double Sided Mounting Tape, Weatherproof, 1" x 60", (Pack of 1), 1-Pack
  • Crystal Clear: This permanently clear double sided tape won't yellow over time, making it the perfect window hanging adhesive to match your clear...
  • Super Strong: Where typical fasteners won’t work, this strong, double sided wall tape can hold up to 15 lbs, keeping objects firmly attached to any...

Make sure the tape adheres all the way around the perimeter of the skylight before removing the backing. Line up the liner with the edge of the skylight frame and press firmly from both sides to make a good seal.

Cleaning the Inside of An RV Skylight

Before re-installing the skylight liner, take a damp cloth and wipe both the upper portion of the liner and the inside of the outer skylight cover. You won’t be able to access these once the liner is reattached.

Gently put the RV skylight liner back in place, and start a couple of screws to hold it in the opening.

RV Pro Tip: Use a hand-held screwdriver instead of a powered one, as the plastic frame can be fragile. You don’t want to over tighten and cause a new crack!

To see our step-by-step instructional video showing how to access the inside of your RV skylight and replace the double-stick tape, click on the photo below:

 

An RV skylight inner liner can be repaired

Click the image above to view our post & video about repairing an RV skylight inner liner

 

If you already have leaks or cracks in the outer portion of your RV’s skylight, or if it appears they may be imminent, you’ll need to do more extensive repairs to stop the leak or to prevent one from happening.

How to Repair a Leaking RV Skylight

Removing and replacing a leaking RV skylight might seem like a challenging job, but it’s actually quite simple.

Tools You’ll Need

Before you start, you’ll need to have the following tools and supplies on hand:

Now, put on your gloves, and let’s get to work!

Step-by-Step RV Skylight Removal Instructions

The first step to fixing your RV skylight is to remove the old seal using a putty knife. After exposing the heads of the screws, use the cordless drill to remove them all.

Separating skylight from roof

If you have a rubber roof, be careful to avoid slicing it with the putty knife.

Next, carefully insert the putty knife under the edge of the skylight and slide it around the entire edge all the way around. This will allow you to pry it away from the roof. Use caution, especially if you have a rubber roof, so you don’t slice through it with the putty knife. Remove the old skylight and set it aside.

Next, scrape up any remaining sealant with your putty knife. There will be some sticky residue remaining, even after scraping with the putty knife. This is where mineral spirits comes in. Put some mineral spirits on your old rag and use this to clean up the area and remove as much of the sealant as possible. Again, if you have a rubber roof, use the mineral spirits as sparingly as possible. Be sure not to soak the roofing material too much… you could cause the underlying adhesive to come undone, causing bubbles or other problems with your roof.

Installing the New Skylight

Now that you’ve removed the old skylight and the area is clean and dry, you’re ready to install the new skylight on your RV. To do this, use your caulk gun to run a thick bead of Surebond SB140 over the old screw holes along the entire perimeter.

Next, set your new skylight in place. To spread the bead out and ensure a complete seal, wiggle the skylight gently until caulk comes up through the screw holes. Then screw the new skylight into place. (This may involve creating some new holes if they don’t line up perfectly with the existing holes, but don’t worry about making new holes, or not using the olde ones… the sealant will seal them up to prevent them from leaking).

When you tighten the screws, they should flex the skylight a little but not be so tight that they crack it. After all the screws are in place, add one more bead of the SB140 sealant along the skylight’s edges and over the screws.

Once you finish this, the job is done and your brand new RV skylight is ready to go!

Again, if you’re a more visual DIY learner and would like to follow along with us as we replace our skylight, click on the photo below to access our step-by-step video explaining the entire process:

 

The outer plastic of an RV skylight

Click the image above to view our post & video about replacing the outer portion of our RV skylight

 

Simple RV Skylight Repair is Easy to DIY

As you can see, dealing with an RV skylight issue is simpler than you may have initially thought. We’re confident that you can complete this task yourself by following the steps above. With regular maintenance and repair of your skylight when needed, you’ll enjoy the added light of a clean and clear skylight, and save yourself many potential headaches by stopping leaks before they happen.

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Andi

Friday 16th of June 2023

Is there a solution other than replacement when a skylight becomes too cloudy to see through?

TheRVgeeks

Friday 16th of June 2023

Hi Andi. Great question! For a super quick and easy test, you can actually try toothpaste! Yes, toothpaste! We did it on the headlights on our towed car (Toad Headlight Hygiene — Does Toothpaste Actually Work?) and it worked really well. The only issue is that the cloudy part that you're removing is the hardened, UV-resistant coating on the plastic. So, once polished shiny again, the sun will fairly quickly make it hazy again. But it's a quick and easy way to check if it's POSSIBLE to remove the haze and get the skylight clear again.

Once you've tested and determined if it will work, you could use a more dedicated product. We've used these simple wipe kits that come with one set to polish the haze off and another to apply a UV coating (link available at the bottom of this post: Headlight Restoration — Best method yet for restoring plastic headlight lenses). When we used them on the CR-V headlights, they stayed clear for about a year (after about 9 months we started seeing signs of the haze returning, but it wasn't until about 12 months that they really needed recoating).

Since doing THAT post & video, we've been testing another solution that's outlasted them all to date (15 months and still going strong): Meguiars Headlight Restoration Kit (mostly because the spray-on UV protection is much better and thicker than one you wipe on). If you want to just use the toothpaste technique to clear up the haze, and then apply protection, you can buy the UV spray separately: https://amzn.to/3JiyOck

Don

Sunday 23rd of October 2022

I want to use a water proof sealant on a skylight as it gets too hot in our trailer . What would be the best to use?

TheRVgeeks

Sunday 23rd of October 2022

Hi Don... not sure a waterproof sealant is going to do much to reduce the heat transfer through the skylight. You may want to look into a plastic-compatible, reflective spray paint (like a Krylon Fusion) that would reflect the light and heat (but will also make it permanently darker if it completely blocks the light). Or you could cut a piece of Reflectix material (available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3FqaBQn ) to fit inside the skylight and reflect the heat out (just be aware that in extreme heat conditions, the reflector COULD cause enough heat to build up inside the skylight to warp/melt the plastic!).

Tim Buchanan

Wednesday 28th of September 2022

Why use SB140 sealant rather than butyl tape and Dicor self leveling lap sealant that I remember you using in a previous video? As always, thank you for all that you share with us.

TheRVgeeks

Wednesday 28th of September 2022

Hi Tim. The reason is because that’s what the skylight manufacturer recommended be used. Looking further into it, it’s because Dicor can react with the plastic used to manufacture the skylight, causing it to age faster and likely need replacement sooner.

John Kalichak

Monday 13th of June 2022

How soon can sealant be exposed to rain?

TheRVgeeks

Tuesday 14th of June 2022

Hi John. We checked the specs on the companies website, and it actually doesn’t specify! There may be instructions on the tube, but we don’t have one on hand to check. We did find information that says it skins over in one to two hours, but our usual practice is to simply make sure that there is no rain in the forecast for the next 24 hours before we apply it.

samG

Monday 25th of January 2021

Can't be more work than pulling windows and resealing them. Just that newer roofs have to be treated with kid gloves. And ask sellers what type of roof, lucky if they answer. Aluminum roofs= much more durable. Stay Safe.

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