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RFP · 06-07-2016, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheDuke

Rob; you are correct. The four screws on top are installed by Maxim. They do have a rubber gasket around each one, however I put a little dab of sealant over each one.

Good idea... I'll do that when my new skylight arrives (can't wait!)

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheDuke

I highly recommend installing two screws in each of the pre-drilled holes on all four sides, and cover them with a dab of sealant also. <<< snip >>>

My plans are to just put screws in (well, through) the pre-drilled holes on each side... not the front or back. Even that should be quite enough, given the additional "hold down power" of the caulk between the top of the curb and the skylight frame. If you think this an insane idea, just let me know!

TheDuke · 06-07-2016, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RFP

Good idea... I'll do that when my new skylight arrives (can't wait!)

My plans are to just put screws in (well, through) the pre-drilled holes on each side... not the front or back. Even that should be quite enough, given the additional "hold down power" of the caulk between the top of the curb and the skylight frame. If you think this an insane idea, just let me know!

What's four more screws? The holes are already there. I would think that the front ones are very important, due to catching all the wind! With the way the frame sticks up from the roof you will see how it catches much more wind, when compared to the OEM's. Don't skimp on four screws and a couple of ounces of sealant. "Do it right and Do it once!"

RFP · 06-07-2016, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheDuke

What's four more screws? The holes are already there. I would think that the front ones are very important, due to catching all the wind! With the way the frame sticks up from the roof you will see how it catches much more wind, when compared to the OEM's. Don't skimp on four screws and a couple of ounces of sealant. "Do it right and Do it once!"

OK, slave driver, I'll do the extra screws! Oh well, I'm deep into profound overkill, so "extra screws" is about normal for me! And I thought that I might be mellowing a bit... ah ha... not so!

Thanks, for the guidance

TheDuke · 06-07-2016, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RFP

OK, slave driver, I'll do the extra screws! Oh well, I'm deep into profound overkill, so "extra screws" is about normal for me! And I thought that I might be mellowing a bit... ah ha... not so!

Thanks, for the guidance

I hope that you find this "guidance" to be in the correct direction? May I ask what color frame and % of tints you ordered?

carl2591 · 06-08-2016, 07:09 AM

yeah, sorta like the 6.0L diesel engine Ford put in the late 2003 F-250s. Just because the "factory" does it does not make it right all the time. Google that one.

plus they make these things for buildings not airstreams per say. it might be some kind of standard thing they do with holes on top or they are used to hold the frame parts together. they seem to have a rubber washer under them but a dab of dicor will be good thing as well.

you are always better to screw in to the side flange than top that way the water will wick down the outside not inside, sorta like the crap you are taking off to replace.. screwed in top not side.

use a good adhesive and no screws needed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RFP

Aren't those "top screws" the ones that Maxim puts there to hold the assembly together? "Factory" screws... from the Maxim factory.

Rob

RFP · 06-08-2016, 07:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheDuke

I hope that you find this "guidance" to be in the correct direction? May I ask what color frame and % of tints you ordered?

Well, Duke, I opted for bronze-bronze-clear with a white frame. We are hoping that will keep the solar heat gain to a minimum... and 'less light' through that big hole-in-the-roof would suit us just fine.

That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it!

Rob

TheDuke · 06-08-2016, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RFP

Well, Duke, I opted for bronze-bronze-clear with a white frame. We are hoping that will keep the solar heat gain to a minimum... and 'less light' through that big hole-in-the-roof would suit us just fine.

That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it!

Rob

I don't blame you, I'd stick to it too! I got the white powder coated frame to, I however wanted "maximum" heat and light transmission, so I went with the 50% grey outside, the 20% grey middle and clear inner flat panel. We love them and can tell a huge difference in the light and heat transmission! Now we can actually leave the silly little shade open and still see outside.

Now That's my story!

RFP · 06-08-2016, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheDuke

<<< snip >>>

Now That's my story!

And a good story at that... I love a happy ending! I'm confident our story will have a similarly-happy ending. I am really eager to get the skylight... I ordered it 5/27 and David told me that production lead time was some twenty days... I didn't think to ask if that was calendar days or business days... so my window of expectation runs from 6/16 all the way to 6/27. Dang, it seems like a lot longer time when I actually write it down!

EDIT: Ooooo, my 100th post... I've gathered up another "rivet" ... Yay!

TheDuke · 06-08-2016, 10:05 AM

Mine came quicker than I was quoted. Maybe yours will too!

carl2591 · 06-09-2016, 06:33 AM

for me it going to be like 12-13 business days, close to 20 from date of payment. this is powder coated which takes longer.

Out of doors mart in colfax used to carry them in stock but does not any more.

I called to make sure they had the inside trims and they were like "they are flying off the shelves" so i had them hold 2 for me to pickup on trip to boone nc next wednesday. glad i called as it woiuld have been a bummer to drop in and NO trims to get..

now to get camper here, get the old stuff off and on with the new FOREVER I hope.

66Overlander · 07-10-2016, 09:01 AM

I finally had the time to go install the Maxim Skylights yesterday. Front and rear skylight before vs. after comparison photos are attached below along with a photo of the ladder I used for the job.

I ordered 22.75" x 22.75" and 26.25" x 17.75", both of which were 1/4" larger than the curb dimensions I measured thru the old skylights and they perfectly with just a little free play. When I got the old skylights off, the curb measurements actually varied from about exact to 1/32" over the dimensions of 22.5" x 22.5" and 26" x 17.5", so the Maxims had less than 1/4" total play (or less than 1/8' per side). I wouldn't have wanted to go much smaller and am glad I didn't order them any larger.

I installed them with QuadMax sealant and stainless screws in each hole Maxim provided, except for the front center hole on the front square skylight. Access to that location was blocked by the Fantastic Vent that is immediately in from of the Skylight. I assume that 11 screws plus the QuadMax will hold that one in place just fine. I will note that I had to buy a right angle drill bit adapter to drill the some of the holes, especially those on the front skylight facing rearward toward the air conditioner, because the drill would not fit in the limited space.

As for tint, you can see for both we went with the outer as Light Gray (50% transmission) with the middle and inner layers as Dark Gray (25% transmission each) for an overall light transmission of about 3.125% (50% x 25% x 25%). We wanted to minimize light and heat transmission. The original skylights were much too bright to us, so we never opened the shades. We are hoping that with the new very dark tint, we will now be able to open the shades. We did not pull the trailer out of the storage unit into the bright sunlight with the new skylights yet, but we could easily see the rafters in the storage unit when looking up thru the new Maxim skylights, so I know we will be able to see the sky when camping during the day although time will if we can see the stars at night or not (we don't care, the shades would be closed at night anyway).

The last thing you will see is that we went with the white powder coated frames. They look great from the outside, but this decision had an unexpected side effect from the inside. When looking up thru the skylights at a low angle, we can now see about 1/4" of the white skylight metal frames above the top of the silver plastic shroud Airstream installs in the skylight openings. This is not a big deal, but had we chosen to go with the clear anodized frames that was recommended by Maxim, the aluminum frame would be less noticeable from the inside. I only mention this in case someone would like the frames to be less noticeable from the inside. Either way I am sure the Maxims would look great and no doubt they will perform better than the original skylights.

And speaking of the original skylights, our were already cracked in the corners the first time I looked on the roof after picking up our 2016 Classic. This was caused because the perimeter of both skylights were embedded in the white sealant they put around the skylight curbs. In fact the sealant and outer flange of the skylights was keeping the double sided tape from sealing the original skylights to the curbs in many places (no way they were air or water tight). This plus getting a darker tint were the main reasons we wanted to replace the original skylights with Maxims. Anyway, getting the originals off was the hardest part of the job and prying the edges off the the curb sealant was hard and ended up causing the corner cracking to get much worse. The originals were damaged so much during removal that they are not salvageable as replacements for anyone else.

Anyway, this is not a hard do it yourself job, but you have to use proper care and safety precautions when working on the rounded roof of an Airstream.

66Overlander · 07-10-2016, 09:17 AM

I do have one remaining question after the install. Should I caulk the holes and screw heads in the sides of the skylight frames that Maxim used to assemble the skylights?

I caulked the screw heads in the lower frame that I used to secure the skylights to the curbs, but I did not caulk the screw heads provided by Maxim. The ones on top have visible rubber gaskets, so I don't think those need to be caulked, the the ones on the sides are in elongated holes, so I am not sure. I tend to think Maxim would have caulked them if they thought it necessary, so I didn't caulk them, but I could always do that later if necessary.

dznf0g · 07-10-2016, 02:44 PM

I did, but the way it is constructed, I don't think it is necessary.

RFP · 07-10-2016, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 66Overlander

I do have one remaining question after the install. Should I caulk the holes and screw heads in the sides of the skylight frames that Maxim used to assemble the skylights?

I caulked the screw heads in the lower frame that I used to secure the skylights to the curbs, but I did not caulk the screw heads provided by Maxim. The ones on top have visible rubber gaskets, so I don't think those need to be caulked, the the ones on the sides are in elongated holes, so I am not sure. I tend to think Maxim would have caulked them if they thought it necessary, so I didn't caulk them, but I could always do that later if necessary.

As I recall, if you dig through the earlier posts in this thread, David (at Maxim) says "no" don't caulk the side holes.

This should be obvious if you look at how it's constructed. Even if the screws were to be removed completely, there is no path to the inside.

Rob

KJRitchie · 07-10-2016, 05:50 PM

What's the most popular tint combinations. I have two skylights in my Classic 25fb, one in the rear living area and one in the hall adjacent to the bathroom and bedroom. I would like minimum heat transfer in the living area so I can leave the shade open. More light would be nice in the hall way near the bedrooms.

Kelvin

switz · 07-10-2016, 10:51 PM

In our 31' Classic, we put the frosted white in the hallway of the bathroom and the bronze in the front in the kitchen sink area. In the 23D with only one, we put in the frosted white.

carl2591 · 07-12-2016, 06:02 AM

We did the same combo on a 2005 classic with two skylights.

front skylight,, clear, bronze, clear

rear,, clear, white frosted, clear

you can see through the front skylight and it dampens the sun like a pairs of sunglasses. Rear is nice diffused light but not transparent..

I removed old skylights, cleaned the top flange off and filed down places where old screws holes had caused burrs on the metal. I also took a sharp wood chisel and removed old caulking around the bottom flange at roof.

After getting it cleaned up I took a tube of dicor and reapplied on the gap at bottom flange.

After getting the top flange clean and deburred i applied a bead of a RTV 7500 Silicon sealant / adhesive on the flange and sat the new skylight on adjusting to get it centered up.

Inside i had removed the plastic trim and wood strips you screw trim to that was bad due to prior leaks. Using my finger i smoothed out and removed excess adhesive on inside of flange..

let it sit overnight and reinstalled new wood stips and new trim (thanks Out of Doors Mart).

After pulling and and pushing on skylight I decided not to install screws in side of unit as the adhesive was good to go.. no screw holes in side to leak now.

took unit on 500 mile round trip and no issues with skylight and they look good.

btowntincan · 08-01-2016, 11:25 AM

Just finished mine. You can do the whole thing (except for the initial removal of the OEM skylight) from a stool inside the trailer. I made the mistake of trying to even place the skylight from inside, and made a bit of a mess. I recommend getting back on the roof for that step.

asv2 · 08-21-2016, 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KJRitchie

What's the most popular tint combinations. I have two skylights in my Classic 25fb, one in the rear living area and one in the hall adjacent to the bathroom and bedroom. I would like minimum heat transfer in the living area so I can leave the shade open. More light would be nice in the hall way near the bedrooms.

Kelvin

This may be a little late, but back when I was trying to make a decision, Maxim sent me 8 x 10 samples at no charge. Having the real thing in hand is enormously helpful. I went with the lighter gray because I like the light, and wanted to be able to see the stars. It's perfect for me and goes well with my grey couch and aluminum interior. Also I believe the heat reduction is in large part from the insulated layers, and not so much the shade of tint.

Edistobob · 08-23-2016, 08:01 PM

I placed my order for a new skylight this week and am eagerly looking forward to the installation. But I do have a question. For those of you that removed the inside trim work and pleated shade during the installation, is there anything to watch out for, or tricks about doing that? I haven't taken a close look at how it is installed and thought I'd ask before I do. Is it a straightforward process? Thanks.