Posting today from the Fort Wayne airport.
A little while ago I replaced the mechanicals on the skylight assembly. Nice smooth action now, with the plastic wheels that so often deteriorate.
Still had a small drip when it rained, so I bought a skylight seal kit from Bus Depot and installed it last week. The onslaught of rain that night was a true test of the seal and it failed - miserably! I had not compared the two seals, but the Bus Depot version was much smaller. The actual seal part (tubular in shape) was no bigger than 1/2 inch in diameter while the one that was on the van prior was a generous 3/4 inch.
Upon discussing with various other helpful souls at TheSamba.com, it has been noted that the displeasure with the smaller seal is numerous in persons. One additional person who already dealt with this issue suggested the same seal that is sold for poptop seals. Some suppliers sell it by the foot and I will need to procure some of this to seal up the skylight.
It will be raining again this weekend, and we will be camping. I will need to reinstall the older seal and add some additional sealing to keep the omnipresent rain at bay.
Ought to be a good test for the canvas as well. Reservations have been made, monies paid and no getting it back. Think we are getting wet . . .
UPDATE - After removing the older seal, I ordered up some pop top seal by the foot from Bus Depot. It has a larger 'bulb' than the supposed replacement product. I installed it with a bit of silicone within the part of the seal that crimps over the edge of the skylight. Then a bit on the tube that connects the two ends when installed all around the skylight.
As of today, a week after that bitch Hurricane Irene blew through, I am leak free. Wish I could say the same about my house roof.
Hey! sorry I thought I left a comment but I think it was erased.. Anyway, I am wondering if your pop top seal gasket is working out for you still because I am about ready to sell my 84' because I keep failing to successfully seal it! I've tried epoxy, fiberglass resin, silicone, and other gasket replacements and my bucket still stays in my interior. I'd love to hear back. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteFunny you mention it. I had a thunderstorm experience this past weekend. Had a slow drip from the area of the split in the gasket, but I realized it was passing around the gasket, not through the split. If it was not raining today, I would have tried to reseal the seal itself to the pop top.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, I realized that the original pop top itself has bowed a bit over the last 30 years. The vent window rubs up against the pop top just as the seal is being compressed. I had planned to grind away some of the lip of the vent window, as that window is cracked and I have a replacement in garage. Will see the cracked one modified and determine if this is finally the answer.