How do I remove the skylight '65 Globetrotter

[gseverin]

Hello,

Our Airstream has a double-crank skylight that needs repair.

Do the rivets need to be hacksawed to get the skylight to be lifted out?

Thanks!!

[GreatPumpkin]

Originally Posted by gseverin

Hello,

Our Airstream has a double-crank skylight that needs repair.

Do the rivets need to be hacksawed to get the skylight to be lifted out?

Thanks!!

Don't hacksaw. Drill out the rivets to remove the skylight.

....needs repair

- leaking, replacement, what kind of repair?

BTW.... welcome to the forums. You'll find the answers to your many question already posted here, or from one of the many helpful people who have encountered the same questions.

[S C Streamer]

Is this what you are talking about? The rivets that attach the risers to the roof vent frame.


I need to install a new / old Hehr alumn. vent w/ risers on my Bambi II.

I've been wondering, do I ?

A-drill out the rivet
or
B- hack saw the rivet

Also how do you install this type of rivet?

Thanks,
Mark

[markdoane]

If the vent operator is like the one Mark pictured, you don't need to drill out the rivet, or use a hacksaw.

There is an aluminum button at the other end of the outer tube that engages the spiral in the inner part. Carefully pry out the button ( it looks like a rivet) with a knife blade. Then you can lift out the inner workings and the skylight.

Don't lose the button. If you do, you can make a new one by peening a head on a piece of 1/4" aluminum rod, but it's not a fun project.

[Darol Ingalls]

Look on S C Streamer's photo. The "rivet" A is not really a rivet but a pin that fits in a hole in the opener. Simply pry the tab outward and disconnect the round opener. Once you have both openers loose, lift the skylight, turn it sideways and bring it down through the hole. Working on in on a bench is MUCH easier than overhead. The openers themselves are disassembled as Mark describes. Lots of corrosion, but usually fixable. New ones are available from Inland but require some modification to work properly on some older style vent covers. Darol

[S C Streamer]

I'm replacing the vent lid with operators/risers attached to the existing vent frame.

New lid with risers

As you can see the old operator/risers are in bad shape.

Thanks,
Mark

[S C Streamer]

markdoane & Darol,

Thanks for the help. That new / old vent lid cost me a pretty penny and I didn't want to screw it up.

Mark

[flyfshr]

Do not, and I repeat do NOT, toss your old risers. They can be put in a solution and left to soak for a week or two and can be convinced to work again. Always keep a couple of spares because these are hard to come by.

Brad
FF

[gseverin]

YES!!!!!!!

I have the assembly that Mark has. I used graphite to work the cranks.
However, the lid is cracked a little. I wanted to remove it to either use
100% silicone or replace. But from what flyfshr said...they are pricey.

Thanks for the info and pictures. Now I see the solution.

gseverin

[dwightdi]

If this is the big lid in the front of the Airstream the lid is pricey. Old lids age with sunlight and lose physical properties. I would guess you could glue the old lid if it has a small crack. I replaced my lid with Corrigated Lexan flat sheet. Not stock looking but cheap and more durable than the original lid.
If you are talking about the small square lids in the back, you can replace those with standard lids from Campers World or anybody else.

[gseverin]

It's the big plastic one in the front.

When you used the Lexan flat sheet, did you screw the riser assmebly onto it?
...and it just lies flat on top of the opening?

Art

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by S C Streamer

Is this what you are talking about? The rivets that attach the risers to the roof vent frame.
Attachment 22568

I need to install a new / old Hehr alumn. vent w/ risers on my Bambi II.

I've been wondering, do I ?

A-drill out the rivet
or
B- hack saw the rivet

Also how do you install this type of rivet?

Thanks,
Mark

There are two holes in the operators.

The small pins or studs that are on the bracket, goes into those holes, holding the operator in place.

DO NOT DRILL THOSE PINS OUT.

Simply spread the bracket apart a little with a screwdriver and the operator will drop out.

The holes in your operators are in the same location as those in the operators that we have made.

Photo attached.

Andy

[GreatPumpkin]

Originally Posted by Inland RV Center, In

There are two holes in the operators.

The small pins or studs that are on the bracket, goes into those holes, holding the operator in place.

DO NOT DRILL THOSE PINS OUT.

Simply spread the bracket apart a little with a screwdriver and the operator will drop out.

The holes in your operators are in the same location as those in the operators that we have made.

Photo attached.

Andy

Andy in your picture the two holes in the "hinged" part of the opener is what I was talking about drilling the rivets out of. (where the operator attaches to the dome) Is that what you are referring to? On my '64 those are riveted to the dome, hence my direction to drill them out - however mine is a replacement from a P.O. somewhere along the line. (and it leaks where they re-attached the new dome with pop-rivets and some sealant over that)

[gseverin]

The hinges that attach to the plastic skylight lid are ok. I didn't want to
saw those. I plan to spread the bracket apart as suggested a couple of times above.

BTW Andy, what do new metal rectangular vents cost for that skylight opening....at Inland RV Center?

Art

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by GreatPumpkin

Andy in your picture the two holes in the "hinged" part of the opener is what I was talking about drilling the rivets out of. (where the operator attaches to the dome) Is that what you are referring to? On my '64 those are riveted to the dome, hence my direction to drill them out - however mine is a replacement from a P.O. somewhere along the line. (and it leaks where they re-attached the new dome with pop-rivets and some sealant over that)

The hinges are held in place with rivets.

Drill them out with a # 30 drill bit, "SLOWLY".

I was referring to the pins that hold the operator in place.

Andy

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by gseverin

The hinges that attach to the plastic skylight lid are ok. I didn't want to
saw those. I plan to spread the bracket apart as suggested a couple of times above.

BTW Andy, what do new metal rectangular vents cost for that skylight opening....at Inland RV Center?

Art

Metal vent covers are no longer available.

Granted, they were cheap, but they don't let any light in.

Letting some light in is a good thing, be it milk white or solar gray(better).

Saves on the battery when your self contained.

Andy

[dwightdi]

Here is how I did it. You need to make a little aluminum lip around the Lexan so the rain will not blow in when you are on the road. This is the material they use to make greenhouses out of. Hail resistant and very sunlight durable.

[flyfshr]

The one I made is very similar to Dwight's but I used two sheets of lexan with a dead air space between to act as a thermal barrier against the AZ sun. I also replaced the screen with shade cloth. Makes a tremendous difference.

Here's a cross section.

Brad
FF

[63air]

If your vent is the 14x26 I highly recommend the one sold by Vintage Trailer Supply. It's fiberglass with a metal insert where the operator attaches. I had two bad experiences with the ones Inland sells. First one cracked while I was riveting the operator to it so I ate the cost of that. Second one was installed with no problem and it proceeded to crack on its own a year latter. It is a type of plastic that can not be repaired (according to Inland ). The Vintage product is of very good quality , for the price it would be hard to duplicate by the time you bought the materials. Also it looks really good on the vintage trailers. Nothing against Inland just found a beeter product.

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by 63air

If your vent is the 14x26 I highly recommend the one sold by Vintage Trailer Supply. It's fiberglass with a metal insert where the operator attaches. I had two bad experiences with the ones Inland sells. First one cracked while I was riveting the operator to it so I ate the cost of that. Second one was installed with no problem and it proceeded to crack on its own a year latter. It is a type of plastic that can not be repaired (according to Inland ). The Vintage product is of very good quality , for the price it would be hard to duplicate by the time you bought the materials. Also it looks really good on the vintage trailers. Nothing against Inland just found a beeter product.

Our covers "can" be repaired, very easily. We have "never" said that they cannot be repaired.

Drilling through plastic is different from drilling through metals. Plastic drilling takes time and patience.

Part of the vent covers job, be it a Solardome or Astrodome, is to let light into the coach, be it solar gray or milk white.

Our products do that, with ease.

A fiberglass cover, that is gel coated, lets in zero light. Without gel coating, it would let in "brown" light. Not a very pleasant color for a living area.

Of the thousands of those covers that we have sold, maybe one person a year says they cracked it due to their drilling haste.

But to have two of them crack for the same owner, has never been heard of in some nine years.

Andy