Dangerous roof light - partial solution
I think the Roof Light manufactured by Dometic Seitz is a dangerous design. It can slam open unexpectedly, leaving the van exposed to rain and potentially breaking the light right off. It is fitted to many caravans makes, including my Bailey.
The problem is that when the light is latched into one of its two slightly open positions, gusts of wind can unlatch it and slam the roof open. Photo 1 shows the light fully open on my return from a day out, after it had been left in the slightly opened ventilation position.
Here is a video showing the fault and how this happens: https://youtu.be/sxhl97c4YWc (Video opens in a new window)
Has anyone else had similar problems? (The older version of the roof light had a positive lock, as shown in Photo 2, so didn’t have this problem.)
When I suggested to Bailey that they were using a faulty design of roof light and ought to do something about it, they said it wasn’t their problem, it was Dometic’s. (However, I think that it would be the caravan manufacturer who would be liable should damage or costs be incurred because of an item they chose to use that ‘was not fit for purpose’ and they had been made aware of the problem.)
PARTIAL SOLUTION
Photos 3 & 4 show my solution. I have used thick nylon cord (threaded through the vent holes), to tie the opening bar in its open positions, so that gusts can’t unlatch or rip off the roof light. Photo 5 shows what I do with chord when the light is closed.
Not the most elegant solution, but better than having a holiday disaster! Has anyone come up with other solutions to this problem?
Comments
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what is the spring on the video attached to the side, seems that is not helping as pulling the arm down instead of up so any wind/vibration will not help. should the spring be on the other end of the frame which is attached to the window.
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Don't have it open when its windy, Job done
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We forgot about the design fault when we had a caravan with this type of roof light over the fixed bed. It resulted in a pool of water on the duvet due to a thunderstorm when we were out, luckily the whole thing didn't snap off. Yes it's a bad design, our newer one in the motorhome can be partially locked but I think they are flimsy if bad weather occurs.
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We only use our large rooflight on our bailey when we are in,we get add ventilation by using the smaller roof lights that can be "locked"in the first stage of opening,i would think any large rooflight of any type would be "vunerable"in windy conditions
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We would not use roof vents to cool caravan. If we are out during a sunny day then would not want the light open to the first position shown as we would want the roof blinds drawn to exclude the sun and the blinds are likely to flap madly in a breeze. Just rely on he built in edge ventilation. When we return on a hot day we would open all normal windows and use blinds on sunnyside
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Yes, I am surprised that the roof lights didn't have catches to secure them in the open position like they did on the original ones. However, I noticed that the latest models have gone back to having catches to stop them being blown right open when they are in a partial open position (or rather the ones I checked at our dealer's did have).
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Some years ago we had a Lunar with this same Heki midi roof light.
The second time we used the van we left it slightly open as it was very warm, a little breezy and at that point we had not realised how poorly secured they were.
On our return we found it had been lifted by the wind, had cracked at the hinges and a few bits of the plastic were on the floor by the draw bar. Having borrowed some steps, bought some plastic sheet and duct tape we repaired it as best we could.
We bought and fitted a replacement plastic dome... £190 at the time.
We never ever opened it again. It is a very poor design.
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I'm puzzled. There is no spring in the Video. You can see the opening bar for the roof light. If you mean the photos, then there again is no spring, although the nylon chord in the photo where I have wound it, then tied it around the opening bar could look a bit like a spring.
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This problem doesn't need a windy day to happen. If the wind direction is right, it can happen in quite gentle conditions. But in any case, weather changes, and an adequate and competent design should be good enough to cope with the wind coming up a bit. If you are going out for a whole day, things can change. Of course, if it is a genuinely windy day, then one would keep the light closed.
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I had asked my local caravan stockist if the design had been updated, and they had said no. But you say that you have a newer design that has been modified. Thanks for the tip off. I will have to go and look at some of this year's van and motor home models and see if I see what you report.
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This problem happens in what could be called moderate to mild conditions if the wind direction is right ie average British weather, where any design that was "fit for purpose" should be OK. The small light can't be used on my van, as the locking is only in the fairly open position which lets rain spray in and onto the bed if it showers.
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Thanks for this information. I had asked my local dealer if the design had changed to include a lock, and they said no. I will have to look at some new vans and see if I can find the ones you describe.
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You experienced exactly what is my worst fear, the roof light being broken. Did you claim the costs off the manufacturer on the basis that they had integrated a component into their product that was "not fit for purpose"?
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Interesting to hear that you had the same problems. Have you seen the post by "Justus2" where the roof light did in fact break?
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There is a spring clearly visible in the video at 1.15. It is attached to the operating arm and the back of the gray bracket on the roof light and as lornalou1 says it looks as if it will assist any wind in lifting the roof light.
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The dealer as I remember wasn't in the least interested nor could they get a replacement part.. It was about 8 years ago and I just wanted to get the van in use again so a DIY repair seemed the cheapest and quickest way to move on from the event. I just couldn't be bothered to chase it any further.
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Photo of modification by '@ian-pedley' on the swift talk forum
think he has a web site with the parts for sale
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with ref to above post see
https://www.swift-talk.co.uk/swift/forum/design-ideas-modifications/186823/heki-thump
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I think I see what you are referring to, but it is nothing to do with the problem of the roof light unlatching itself.
Look at the first photo, which is the video at 1.15 mins. If I understand you correctly, you are referring to the spring indicated by the red arrow. This spring partly balances the opening mechanism to make it easier for the user to open the light. It is not part of the latching mechanism.
The latching is done by a peg at the each end of the opening bar, which latches into a shaped groove, at the point indicated by the green arrow. The second photo shows the grooves that the end pins locate in (not photo is mirror image of video)
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You are quite right about the latest models. Here is a photo of the large roof light on a 2019 Bailey, with a lock on both opening positions. The fact that the design has been modified shows that they have had problems, even though it has been denied. (The caravan dealer had told me that the new models were not different, so they must be trying to cover up too.)
Importantly, this is not just a Bailey issue, as may makes of caravan and motorhome have fitted the faulty roof-light design, (as witnessed by the problem some of members have reported on this post.)
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the spring is assisting the bar. push the window up and the spring will pull the bar to the vertical slot so when you let go of the window the bar will drop down in to the vertical part of the slot just like if the wind got to it. try taking spring off and pushing the window again and bar will stay near the end. If the spring was attached to other end of said window bracket it will assist in holding the bar at the correct end. hope you get my explanation.
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A neat solution. Note my other post showing how the manufacturers have at last fixed the fault in their latest product.
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I'd spotted this problem on the same rooflight fitted to our previous Elddis Crapvan 2014 model - I just squeezed 50mm of garden hose into each main channel under the selected vent position - tight enough to prevent release but easy enough to reposition as required.
Crude but cheap (a bit like the caravan!)
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. he made the video and can't see it.