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08-24-2007, 09:44 AM
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#1
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4 Rivet Member
1964 22' Safari
Eagle River
, Alaska
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 251
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Reproduction astrodome vent cover
I installed new reproduction Astradome vent cover from VTS. Although it is heavy duty and well made, it is not as translucent as the original. No where near as much light comes through. It appears to have random brown, almost burnt looking areas 4-6” diameter when sun light comes through.
Has anyone else installed one of these and how did it look from inside in daylight?
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08-24-2007, 01:41 PM
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#2
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Rivet Master
Airstream Dealer
Corona
, California
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 16,497
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Safari64
I installed new reproduction Astradome vent cover from VTS. Although it is heavy duty and well made, it is not as translucent as the original. No where near as much light comes through. It appears to have random brown, almost burnt looking areas 4-6” diameter when sun light comes through.
Has anyone else installed one of these and how did it look from inside in daylight?
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Our astrodomes are milk white and solar gray.
Most owners chose the solar gray because it let in a lot of light, but no more UV than the white.
Solar gray is a soft light, and the milk white is a little on the harsh side.
Andy
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08-24-2007, 03:37 PM
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#3
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2 Rivet Member
Owings Mills
, Maryland
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 58
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I have installed one of the astradomes from VTS on my 61 Caravel. Mine replaced a homemade styrofoam and rusty metal concotion that let in no light, so I am getting more light. I haven't noticed any splotches like you describe. I am going back to the trailer over Labor Day weekend and I will look at it carefully.
__________________
Kaye and Lynn
1961 Caravel
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08-24-2007, 04:11 PM
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#4
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4 Rivet Member
1964 22' Safari
Eagle River
, Alaska
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 251
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Thanks for the help
Seems what I wanted was Andy's Solar Grey. Expensive learning curve.
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08-24-2007, 05:06 PM
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#5
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Rivet Master
Airstream Dealer
Corona
, California
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 16,497
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Safari64
Thanks for the help
Seems what I wanted was Andy's Solar Grey. Expensive learning curve.
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Modern ceiling vent cover should let in some light.
White light is good.
Solar gray light is superior.
Brown light is a bummer.
Andy
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08-24-2007, 06:12 PM
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#6
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Rivet Master
2016 23' International
Centennial
, Colorado
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 1,684
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Reproduction astrodome vent cover
I purchased a solar grey one from Andy. It was easy to install and made a nice difference in the amount and type of light coming into the coach. And, I like being able to see the stars at night.
Steve
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08-27-2007, 01:35 PM
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#7
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Rivet Master
2005 30' Classic
...
, ...
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 512
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08-27-2007, 02:06 PM
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#8
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Rivet Master
1977 31' Sovereign
1963 26' Overlander
1989 34' Excella
Johnsburg
, Illinois
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,944
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I think the dome the original poster was referring to was the oblong front dome. The one in Siffy's posting is a square dome. You can get the squre ones at any RV shop. The oblong ones are not available except thru Andy at $ and are acrylic based. The VTS ones, I think, are made from thin fiberglass. Polyester fiberglas does have a brown tone. I chose to make mine out of corrigated Lexan polycarbonate which has much better impact resistance and insulation qualities. It is not as pretty or like the original but much cheaper. They use it for green houses.
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08-27-2007, 02:34 PM
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#9
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Rivet Master
2005 30' Classic
...
, ...
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 512
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15" X 25 1/2" is not square.
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08-27-2007, 02:41 PM
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#10
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Rivet Master
1963 19' Globetrotter
Currently Looking...
Orion
, Illinois
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 714
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I've got one from VTS and love it. I tried two of them from Inland and they both cracked ; good thing about the VTS one is the metal reinforcement in the area where the operator is attached. My experience puts me in favor of the fiberglass.
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08-27-2007, 03:15 PM
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#11
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Rivet Master
2005 30' Classic
...
, ...
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 512
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$137.95 + shipping VS. $39.90 + shipping & seal
That's a big difference in price.
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08-29-2007, 02:24 PM
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#12
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4 Rivet Member
1964 22' Safari
Eagle River
, Alaska
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 251
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Thanks,
63Air, do you have photos from inside? Is it at least uniform in color?
Mine sure looks brown in spots. I'll try to post photos later.
I wrote VTS...no response
Unhappy camper
I need daylight
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08-30-2007, 12:10 PM
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#13
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Rivet Master
1963 19' Globetrotter
Currently Looking...
Orion
, Illinois
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 714
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S64 , I'll have to look at the color, I've never really noticed. I was more concerned with the outside look and how it funtioned, especially after my two from Inland failed. I suppose since it is fiberglass you could just paint it. Never really cared about light getting in.
Surprised you have not heard from VTS as they are very customer friendly.
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08-30-2007, 03:35 PM
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#14
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Rivet Master
Commercial Member
1957 30' Sovereign of the Road
1959 28' Ambassador
1949 24' Limited
Peru
, New York
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 745
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Greetings Astradome people,
I fabricate the Astradomes for Vintage Trailer Supply at my Airstream Restoration shop in Upstate NY. After a great deal of searching, we used an original (Ohio production) dome to create the tooling & to determine the construction method. The shape, materials, opacity & overall look are identical to the original used from 57 through the early 60's. We believe that the factory switched to an injection molded part at some point in the early 60's through about 66 in order to cut costs. These have also all failed by now. California production trailers received a slightly different design of Astradome that was slightly higher in the central portion & did not have a gelcoated surface. The surface on these ones broke down quite quickly due to UV's as well. Our Astradome is fabricated by hand from fiberglass mat, cloth, gelcoat & resin. The gelcoat is sprayed into the mold & is the white surface you see on the top side of the dome. White gelcoat was not & is not intended to be tranlucent however due to varying thickness of the gelcoat, there is a certain amount of light penetration. This is why you see darker areas. We added stainless steel inserts between laminations in the fastener area to strengthen the surface where the ladeau lifters attach. The domes were originally pop riveted to the lifters & overtime would pull through the glass/mat matrix. We recomend using stainless steel machine screws & nylon insert nuts to install them now. As I'm sure you are all aware, the plastics industry has made great strides in the last 50 years & what was once very prone to UV failure can now be replicated out of UV resistant resins & gelcoats. These are the only differences compared to an original. As Wally once said "make no changes, only improvements". We chose to work with Steve @ Vintage Trailer Supply on this project & many others because of his outstanding approach to customer service. If you have any questions or concerns about any of his product line, you should call or email him. We have also decided to add a 5 year warranty to these Astradomes, so if they fail due to constuction defects, it will be replaced no charge. The other alternative would be to fabricate one yourself or to purchase one from Inland RV. Although this product looks good overall, it has several design flaws in my opinion. The first one being the material it is made out of. It is fabricated out of Acrylic (commonly called "plexiglass") sheet which is thermoformed into the shape. Another piece of acrylic is bonded into the inside of the curved dome surface. If you have ever worked with Acrylic, you will know that it cracks very easily when drilled. The second one is that the two parts have an air space between them and do not come completely together in the area where the ladeau lifters attach. A number of our customers have commented that after purchasing one of these domes, due to the stresses induced during drilling or inserting pop rivets in order to fasten the ladeau lifters, the domes cracked & were no longer usable. If Polycarbonate (commonly known as "Lexan") had been used & the air space had been eliminated, this product would probably be acceptable. Polycarbonate is very user friendly & workable however it is approximately double the price of Acrylic so I suspect that is the motivation for the material choice. Vintage trailer Supply sells our version of the Astradome for $169 & Inland RV sells it's version for $179 however they are on "sale" right now for $137.......a "sale" that never seems to end.
Both Steve & myself are very active in the Vintage Airstream community & believe that creating faithful reproductions of components using the best materials available today will only enhance the value of your trailer & ultimately bring other devotees onboard. My wife & I, along with our 5 year old son have logged over 10,000 miles on our 59 Ambassador International since February this year, going to rally's all over the country. We meet & discuss many of these issues with other vintage devotees in order to better understand your needs.
Hopefully this has given everyone a better understanding of what goes into product development.
Thanks,
Colin Hyde
VAC Technical Advisor
PS I'm not so sure that "brown light" exists in the color spectrum.
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08-30-2007, 04:13 PM
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#15
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Rivet Master
Airstream Dealer
Corona
, California
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 16,497
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Vent cover material.
Colin Hyde.
We do not use plexiglass to make our covers as you stated.
Parts can be on sale as long as we wish.
The "trapped" air space, is a "thermal barrier" according to Airstream engineers.
Fiberglass, can never pass as much light as other types of plastics.
Andy
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08-30-2007, 04:20 PM
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#16
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Restorations done right
Commercial Member
1962 26' Overlander
1961 26' Overlander
Vintage Kin Owner
Currently Looking...
Baltimore
, Maryland
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 5,545
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Excellent response Collin. Could your company also offer the lifter too. My astrodome opening is filled with galvanized metal and the lifters have been removed. Do you know of a source of finding any. You could offer a delux kit with new lifters and handles to control it.
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08-30-2007, 04:50 PM
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#17
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Rivet Master
, Minnesota
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 7,721
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Colin,
I bought one of your covers from Steve. I liked the instructions that came with it. It's pretty sturdy.
It did chip on one corner.
I should have tied it down. It was just sitting up there when a gust of wind blew through the door and sailed it halfway across the neighborhood. A little gelcoat repair and it almost as good as new. No problems since I reinstalled the lifters.
The lack of light transmission isn't a problem. I have several windows that give me a nice view and plenty of daylight.
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08-30-2007, 04:50 PM
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#18
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Rivet Master
Airstream Dealer
Corona
, California
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 16,497
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Vent operators
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08-30-2007, 09:05 PM
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#19
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Rivet Master
1963 19' Globetrotter
Currently Looking...
Orion
, Illinois
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 714
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Collin's comments are dead on about the Inland product and how it can fail as this was exactly what I experienced. Based on my experience with both products I find his to be the best choice.
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08-30-2007, 10:19 PM
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#20
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Rivet Master
Commercial Member
1957 30' Sovereign of the Road
1959 28' Ambassador
1949 24' Limited
Peru
, New York
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 745
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Andy,
Plexiglass is the trade name for Acrylic and although you point out that your vent lid is not plexiglass, it still acts like plexiglass when it is drilled and every installer needs to do this. I'm sure a number of people on this forum have drilled into these vents & had "issues". Just ask? We have no fear of quality issues of our products because we actually use them, just like Wally did, and if & when they fail, we figure out what went wrong & fix it, so the next guy doesn't have the same issue.
As far as I know, you are correct, you may have a sale for as long as you like, however from a consumers point of view, a perpetual sale is considered the normal price so there is no actual saving.
The trapped air space is a great idea & works well as an insulator, however having that space in the area where lifters attach is a poor design feature, in my opinion.
Actually, fiberglass can pass virtually as much light as any clear plastic sheet. Surfboards have been made for years with clear gelcoat, resin & of course, clear glass fibers, layed up onto shaped foam blocks. Check the graphics on any surfboard, they can be seen perfectly through any number of fiberglass lay-ups. We did not choose to build our Astradomes with these materials because that was not the intention or look of the original astradome. It is technically possible though, however it would be at a higher material cost.
62Overlander, We have looked into reproducing a correct ladeau lifter that would open the vent the same amount as the originals and not require multiple twists of the knob, however we have not taken this project to the production stage yet.............but stay tuned. Remember, "make no changes, only improvements". The next owner will thank you for it!
Sorry guys, this all comes from over 20 years working in the Industrial Design field.
Thanks again,
Colin
PS Mark, sorry to hear that your Astradome "took flight", however it sounds like you made out OK & didn't have to purchase another one. Granted, it would have put a few more dollars in my pocket if you had, but it makes me feel much better knowing that you're happy with our product.
PSS 63air, How did your two covers from Inland fail?
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