Plastic dome over shower

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Jerrygroah

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Joined
Mar 6, 2006
Posts
286
Location
Mims,Fl, USA (central east coast)
Hello, I am seeking general information. I have a 1994 Damon Challenger. Over the top of the shower on the roof is a plastic dome.So far it has held up fine, but plastic eventually fails.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        My question is this, does anyone have any first hand knowledge as to how long the plastic will last and can I get a new replacement for it somewhere? Also is there something that I can do to prolong the life of the plastic?

Thanks, Jerry
 
I would expect the shower skylight to last almost indefinitely, barring an accident.  Ours is 10 years old and shows no sign of aging or discoloration.  What is your concern?
 
Like Ned we have had no problems.  I am aware of two cases in which problems developed but were self inflicted bu using the wrong caulk around the skylight.  In both cases the plastic skylight became crazed.  Being aware of the two mentioned experiences when it came time for me to caulk around the skylight I simply called the motorhome manufacturer for advise.  The confirmed using the wrong caulk would indeed cause crazing.  I purchased the recommended caulk from the manufacturerand have experienced no problem.  I have since used eternabond in areas needing caulk and still no problems.
 
If you would need a replacement I would try the RV salvage places listed in our library.
 
Living in Florida, the heat that comes in that dome is ferocious.  Does anyone have this problem and if so, how do I fix it?
 
Living in the desert southwest means extremely high heat and low humidity.  We've never had a problem with the shower domes.  I think you both may be worrying unnecessarily over a failure that probably will never happen - unless, of course, you're already seeing a potential problem.

ArdraF
 
raymarco said:
... how do I fix it?

You could put a canvas (or Sunbrella) blackout over it. You'd need to either use snaps or industrial grade velcro to hold the blackout in place. It would be a bit dark in the shower though.
 
I had a dome crack and leakl in a 1984 Alfa Gold travel trailer - of course, it was about 18 years old at that point.

Since I really didn't need the extra height of the dome itself, I removed it and substituted a piece of flat plexiglas I found at a surplus shop.  Drilled several screwholes around the edge, then set it down in a bead of caulk and used self-sealing roofing screws to hold it in place. 
 
Hey Guys, thanks for all the responces. I haven't had aproblem with my dome as yet, I was just anticipating. Also trying to get a feel for about how long I could expect the dome to last.

The idea with the flat plexiglass seems like a good solution, if a problem ever developed.

Thanks again, Jerry
 
raymarco said:
Living in Florida, the heat that comes in that dome is ferocious.  Does anyone have this problem and if so, how do I fix it?
We lived in Florida in a 1995 Serengeti that had a skylight over the shower. I had purchased a vent pillow from Camping World  to insert in the Fantastic fan ceiling opening. I contacted the manufacturer of that pillow and asked if they had a pillow for the skylight. They said yes, they will make one and just send them the inside measurements. They gave me directions for measuring properly. Cost me about $30 bucks. Worked great. Hope this helps you.

Regards,
Liz
 
I saw a shower skylight cover made from the silver bubble plastic sold at Camping World.  It was held up with Velcro.  They said they only used it during the day when they weren't using the shower.  We haven't gone through a summer in our motorhome yet, so I don't know how much heat will come in through our shower skylight.  Living in Texas, I imagine it's going to get pretty dang hot in the ba?o.  To bad the roof a/c can't blow into the bathroom.





 
cuts_up said:
To bad the roof a/c can't blow into the bathroom.

Ours does. Not into the shower itself, but immediately outside the shower door.
 
the only trouble we have with our shower dome is occasionally getting bird poop off it.  We love it and sure enjoy showering under the bright blue sky of the desert!  I suspect if there were any problems with shower domes, there would not be so many coaches and trailers running around with them!
 
Some RVs have a shade that can be pulled over the skylight, sort of a sideways mounted window shade. I've also seen a tambour-style rolling wood shade mounted under the skylight, to close it off when too hot or cold.

In our previous motorhome, I mounted another piece of acrylic sheeting (aka plexiglass) below the skylight, using aluminum angle for the mounting brackets. It was pretty simple to make.  That created a second dead air space and cut down on heat transfer immensely. I used smoke colored acrylic and it cut down the sun loading somewhat as well.
 
raymarco said:
Living in Florida, the heat that comes in that dome is ferocious.  Does anyone have this problem and if so, how do I fix it?

Ray,

I had a big piece of foam cut just a bit bigger than the shower opening. It was covered in a fabric much like a towel.  It slides up into the shower frame nicely and  eliminates the heat exchange.  Works well for cold too.  The problem was that over time the foam gave way and fell out of opening  pretty often.  It also darkened the bathroom so much that we had to have lights on all the time for everything.  I finally tossed it into the shed.  If it is hot outside we shut the bathroom door and only cool living areas so have not had a need for the shower  skylight "cover." 
Betty
 
We love it and sure enjoy showering under the bright blue sky of the desert

Under the sky is okay, but watch where you're parked in town.  A salesman once told us he was driving a test unit to a show and one night he parked in a hotel parking lot.  The next morning he was blithely taking a shower when he looked up and realized there were people on a balcony directly above him!!  ;D ;D

ArdraF
 
Karl,

Yes, it definitely was a salesman - and ever since I've always looked up when first entering the shower!!!  ;D

ArdraF
 

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